THE  ■ DAWN  • OF 
CIVILIZATION 

EGYPT  AND  CHALDEA 


PROFESSOR  MASPF.RO 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/dawnofcivilizati00masp_2 


. 


I 


THE 


DAWN  of  CIVILIZATION 

EGYPT  AND  CHALDEA 


BY 

G.  MASPERO 


HON.  D.G'.L.  AND  FELLOW  OF  QUEEN’S  COLLEGE,  OXFORD 
MEMBER  OF  THE  INSTITUTE,  AND  PROFESSOR  AT  THE  COLLEGE  OF  FRANCE 


EDITED  15  Y 

A.  H.  SAYCE 

PROFESSOR  OF  ASSYRIOLOGY,  OXFORD 


TRANSLATED  BY  M.  L.  McCLUEE 

MEMBER  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  EGYPT  EXPLORATION  FUND 


WITH  MAP  AND  OVER  470  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  PLANS 


NEW  YORK 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 

1894 


EDITOR’S  PREFACE. 


Professor  Maspero  does  not  need  to  be  introduced  to  English  readers.  His 
name  is  well  known  in  this  country  as  that  of  one  of  the  chief  masters  of 
Egyptian  science  as  well  as  of  ancient  Oriental  history  and  archaeology.  Alike 
as  a philologist,  a historian,  and  an  archaeologist,  he  occupies  a foremost  place 
in  the  annals  of  modern  knowledge  and  research.  He  possesses  that  quick 
apprehension  and  fertility  of  resource  without  which  the  decipherment  of 
ancient  texts  is  impossible,  and  he  also  possesses  a sympathy  with  the  past  and 
a power  of  realizing  it  which  are  indispensable  if  we  would  picture  it  aright. 
His  intimate  acquaintance  with  Egypt  and  its  literature,  and  the  opportunities 
of  discovery  afforded  him  by  his  position  for  several  years  as  director  of  the 
Bulaq  Museum,  give  him  an  unique  claim  to  speak  with  authority  on  the  history 
of  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  In  the  present  work  he  has  been  prodigal  of  his 
abundant  stores  of  learning  and  knowledge,  and  it  may  therefore  be  regarded 
as  the  most  complete  account  of  ancient  Egypt  that  has  ever  yet  been 
published. 

In  the  case  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  he  no  longer,  it  is  true,  speaks  at 
first  hand.  But  he  has  thoroughly  studied  the  latest  and  best  authorities  on 
the  subject,  and  has  weighed  their  statements  with  the  judgment  which  comes 
from  an  exhaustive  acquaintance  with  a similar  department  of  knowledge. 
Here,  too,  as  elsewhere,  references  have  been  given  with  an  unsparing  hand, 
so  that  the  reader,  if  he  pleases,  can  examine  the  evidence  for  himself. 

Naturally,  in  progressive  studies  like  those  of  Egyptology  and  Assyriology, 
a good  many  theories  and  conclusions  must  be  tentative  and  provisional  only. 
Discovery  crowds  so  quickly  on  discovery,  that  the  truth  of  to-day  is  often  apt 
to  be  modified  or  amplified  by  the  truth  of  to-morrow.  A single  fresh  fact  may 
throw  a wholly  new  and  unexpected  light  upon  the  results  we  have  already 
gained,  and  cause  them  to  assume  a somewhat  changed  aspect.  But  this  is 


IV 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


what  must  happen  in  all  sciences  in  which  there  is  a healthy  growth,  and 
archaeological  science  is  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

The  spelling  of  ancient  Egyptian  proper  names  adopted  by  Professor 
Maspero  will  perhaps  seem  strange  to  many  English  readers.  But  it  must  be 
remembered  that  all  our  attempts  to  represent  the  pronunciation  of  ancient 
Egyptian  words  can  be  approximate  only;  we  can  never  ascertain  with  certainty 
how  they  were  actually  sounded.  All  that  can  be  done  is  to  determine  what 
pronunciation  was  assigned  to  them  in  the  Greek  period,  and  to  work  backwards 
from  this,  so  far  as  it  is  possible,  to  more  remote  ages.  This  is  what  Professor 
Maspero  has  done,  and  it  must  be  no  slight  satisfaction  to  him  to  find  that  on 
the  whole  his  system  of  transliteration  is  confirmed  by  the  cuneiform  tablets 
of  Tel  el-Amarna.  The  system,  however,  is  unfamiliar  to  English  eyes,  and 
consequently,  for  the  sake  of  “ the  weaker  brethren,”  the  equivalents  of  the 
geographical  and  proper  names  he  has  used  are  given  in  the  more  usual 
spelling  at  the  end  of  the  work. 

The  difficulties  attaching  to  the  spelling  of  Assyrian  names  are  different 
from  those  which  beset  our  attempts  to  reproduce,  even  approximately,  the 
names  of  ancient  Egypt.  The  cuneiform  system  of  writing  was  syllabic,  each 
character  denoting  a syllable,  so  that  we  know  what  were  the  vowels  in  a 
proper  name  as  well  as  the  consonants.  Moreover,  the  pronunciation  of  the 
consonants  resembled  that  of  the  Hebrew  consonants,  the  transliteration  of 
which  has  long  since  become  conventional.  When,  therefore,  an  Assyrian  or 
Babylonian  name  is  written  phonetically,  its  correct  transliteration  is  not  often 
a matter  of  question.  But,  unfortunately,  the  names  are  not  always  written 
phonetically.  The  cuneiform  script  was  an  inheritance  from  the  non-Semitic 
predecessors  of  the  Semites  in  Babylonia,  and  in  this  script  the  characters 
represented  words  as  well  as  sounds.  Not  unfrequently  the  Semitic  Assyrians 
continued  to  write  a name  in  the  old  Sumerian  way  instead  of  spelling  it 
phonetically,  the  result  being  that  we  do  not  know  how  it  was  pronounced  in 
their  own  language.  The  name  of  the  Chaldsean  Noah,  for  instance,  is  written 
with  two  characters  which  ideographically  signify  “ the  sun  ” or  “ day  of  life,” 
and  of  the  first  of  which  the  Sumerian  values  were  ut,  babar,  kins,  tarn,  and  par, 
while  the  second  had  the  value  of  zi.  Were  it  not  that  the  Chaldsean  historian 
Berossos  writes  the  name  Xisuthros,  we  should  have  no  clue  to  its  Semitic 
pronunciation. 

Professor  Maspero’s  learning  and  indefatigable  industry  are  well  known  to 
me,  but  I confess  I was  not  prepared  for  the  exhaustive  acquaintance  he  shows 
with  Assyriological  literature.  Nothing  seems  to  have  escaped  his  notice. 
Papers  and  books  published  during  the  present  year,  and  half-forgotten  articles 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


V 


in  obscure  periodicals  which  appeared  years  ago,  have  all  alike  been  used  and 
quoted  by  him.  Naturally,  however,  there  are  some  points  on  which  I should 
be  inclined  to  differ  from  the  conclusions  he  draws,  or  to  which  he  has  been 
led  by  other  Assyriologists.  Without  being  an  Assyriologist  himself,  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  be  acquainted  with  that  portion  of  the  evidence  on  certain 
disputed  questions  which  is  only  to  be  found  in  still  unpublished  or  untranslated 
inscriptions. 

There  are  two  points  which  seem  to  me  of  sufficient  importance  to  justify 
my  expression  of  dissent  from  his  views.  These  are  the  geographical  situation 
of  the  land  of  Magan,  and  the  historical  character  of  the  annals  of  Sargon  of 
Accad.  The  evidence  about  Magan  is  very  clear.  Magan  is  usually  associated 
with  the  country  of  Melukhkha,  “ the  salt  ” desert,  and  in  every  text  iu  which  its 
geographical  position  is  indicated  it  is  placed  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
Egypt.  Thus  Assur-bani-pal,  after  stating  that  he  had  “ gone  to  the  lands  of 
Magan  and  Melukhkha,”  goes  on  to  say  that  he  “ directed  his  road  to  Egypt 
and  Kush,”  and  then  desciibes  the  first  of  his  Egyptian  campaigns.  Similar 
testimony  is  borne  by  Esar-haddon.  The  latter  king  tells  us  that  after  quitting 
Egypt  he  directed  his  road  to  the  land  of  Melukhkha,  a desert  region  in  which 
there  were  no  rivers,  and  which  extended  “ to  the  city  of  Rapikh  ” (the  modern 
Raphia)  “at  the  edge  of  the  wadi  of  Egypt”  (the  present  Wadi  El-Arish). 
After  this  he  received  camels  from  the  king  of  the  Arabs,  and  made  his  way  to 
the  land  and  city  of  Magan.  The  Tel  el-Amarna  tablets  enable  us  to  carry  the 
record  back  to  the  fifteenth  century  b.c.  In  certain  of  the  tablets  now  at  Berlin 
(Winckler  and  Abel,  42  and  45)  the  Phoenician  governor  of  the  Pharaoh 
asks  that  help  should  be  sent  him  from  Melukhkha  and  Egypt:  “The 
king  should  hear  the  words  of  his  servant,  and  send  ten  men  of  the  country  of 
Melukhkha  and  twenty  men  of  the  country  of  Egypt  to  defend  the  city  [of 
Gebal]  for  the  king.”  And  again,  “ I have  sent  [to]  Pharaoh  ” (literally,  “ the 
great  house  ”)  “ for  a garrison  of  men  from  the  country  of  Melukhkha,  and  . . . 
the  king  has  just  despatched  a garrison  [from]  the  country  of  Melukhkha.”  At 
a still  earlier  date  we  have  indications  that  Melukhkha  and  Magan  denoted 
the  same  region  of  the  world.  In  an  old  Babylonian  geographical  list  which 
belongs  to  the  early  days  of  Chaldaean  history  Magan  is  described  as  “the 
country  of  bronze,”  and  Melukhkha  as  “the  country  of  the  samdu ,”  or 
“ malachite.”  It  was  this  list  which  originally  led  Oppert,  Lenormant,  and 
myself  independently  to  the  conviction  that  Magan  was  to  be  looked  for  in  the 
Sinaitic  Peninsula.  Magan  included,  however,  the  Midian  of  Scripture,  and 
the  city  of  Magan,  called  Makkan  in  Semitic  Assyrian,  is  probably  the  Makna 
of  classical  geography,  now  represented  by  the  ruins  of  Mukna. 


VI 


EDITOR'S  PREFA  CE. 


As  I have  always  maintained  the  historical  character  of  the  annals  of 
Sargon  of  Accad,  long  before  recent  discoveries  led  Professor  Hilprecht  and 
others  to  adopt  the  same  view,  it  is  as  well  to  state  why  I consider  them  worthy 
of  credit.  In  themselves  the  annals  contain  nothing  improbable  ; indeed,  what 
might  seem  the  most  unlikely  portion  of  them — that  which  describes  the 
extension  of  Sargon’s  empire  to  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean — has  been 
confirmed  by  the  progress  of  research.  Ammi-satana,  a king  of  the  first  dynasty 
of  Babylon  (about  2200  B.C.),  calls  himself  “king  of  the  country  of  the 
Ainorites,”  and  the  Tel  el-Amarna  tablets  have  revealed  to  us  how  deep  and 
long-lasting  Babylonian  influence  must  have  been  throughout  Western  Asia. 
Moreover,  the  vase  described  by  Professor  Maspero  on  p.  GOO  of  the  present 
work  proves  that  the  expedition  of  Naram-Sin  against  Magan  was  an  historical 
reality,  and  such  an  expedition  was  only  possible  if  “ the  land  of  the  Ainorites,” 
the  Syria  and  Palestine  of  later  days,  had  been  secured  in  the  rear.  But  what 
chiefly  led  me  to  the  belief  that  the  annals  are  a document  contemporaneous 
with  the  events  narrated  in  them,  are  two  facts  which  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  sufficiently  considered.  On  the  one  side,  while  the  annals  of  Sargon  are 
given  in  full,  those  of  his  son  Naram-Sin  break  off  abruptly  in  the  early  part 
of  his  reign.  I see  no  explanation  of  this,  except  that  they  were  composed 
while  Naram-Sin  was  still  on  the  throne.  On  the  other  side,  the  campaigns 
of  the  two  monarchs  are  coupled  with  the  astrological  phenomena  on  which 
the  success  of  the  campaigns  was  supposed  to  depend.  We  know  that  the 
Babylonians  were  given  to  the  practice  and  study  of  astrology  from  the  earliest 
days  of  their  history  ; we  know  also  that  even  in  the  time  of  the  later  Assyrian 
monarchy  it  was  still  customary  for  the  general  in  the  field  to  be  accompanied 
by  the  asipu,  or  “ prophet,”  the  ashshdjoh  of  Dan.  ii.  10,  on  whose  interpretation 
of  the  signs  of  heaven  the  movements  of  the  army  depended  ; and  in  the 
infancy  of  Chaldtean  history  we  should  accordingly  expect  to  find  the  astrolo- 
gical sign  recorded  along  with  the  event  with  which  it  was  bound  up.  At  a 
subsequent  period  the  sign  and  the  event  were  separated  from  one  another  in 
literature,  and  had  the  annals  of  Sargon  been  a later  compilation,  in  their  case 
also  the  separation  would  assuredly  have  been  made.  That,  on  the  contrary, 
the  annals  have  the  form  which  they  could  have  assumed  and  ought  to  have 
assumed  only  at  the  beginning  of  contemporaneous  Babylonian  history,  is  to 
me  a strong  testimony  in  favour  of  their  genuineness. 

It  may  be  added  that  Babylonian  seal-cylinders  have  been  found  in  Cyprus, 
one  of  which  is  of  the  age  of  Sargon  of  Accad,  its  style  and  workmanship  being 
the  same  as  that  of  the  cylinder  figured  on  p.  601  of  this  volume,  while  the 
other,  though  of  later  date,  belonged  to  a person  who  describes  himself  as  “ the 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


Vl  l 

servant  of  tlie  deified  Naram-Sin.”  Such  cylinders  may,  of  course,  have  been 
brought  to  the  island  in  later  times ; but  when  we  remember  that  a characteristic 
object  of  prehistoric  Cypriote  art  is  an  imitation  of  the  seal-cylinder  of  Chaldrea, 
their  discovery  cannot  be  wholly  an  accident. 

Professor  Maspero  has  brought  his  facts  up  to  so  recent  a date  that  there  is 
very  little  to  add  to  what  he  has  written.  Since  his  manuscript  was  in  type, 
however,  a few  additions  have  been  made  to  our  Assyriological  knowledge. 
A fresh  examination  of  the  Babylonian  dynastic  tablet  has  led  Professor 
Delitzsch  to  make  some  alterations  in  the  published  account  of  what  Professor 
Maspero  calls  the  ninth  dynasty.  According  to  Professor  Delitzsch,  the 
number  of  kings  composing  the  dynasty  is  stated  on  the  tablet  to  be  twenty- 
one,  and  not  thirty-one  as  was  formerly  read,  and  the  number  of  lost  lines 
exactly  corresponds  with  this  figure.  The  first  of  the  kings  reigned  thirty- 
six  years,  and  he  had  a predecessor  belonging  to  the  previous  dynasty  whose 
name  has  been  lost.  There  would  consequently  have  been  two  Elamite 
usurpers  instead  of  one. 

I would  further  draw  attention  to  an  interesting  text,  published  by 
Mr.  Strong  in  the  Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record  for  July,  1892,  which 
I believe  to  contain  the  name  of  a ■ king  who  belonged  to  the  legendary 
dynasties  of  Chaldsea.  This  is  Samas-natsir,  who  is  coupled  with  Sargon  of 
Accad  and  other  early  monarchs  in  one  of  the  lists.  The  legend,  if  I interpret 
it  rightly,  states  that  “Elam  shall  be  altogether  given  to  Samas-natsir;” 
and  the  same  prince  is  further  described  as  building  Nippur  and  Dur-ilu,  as 
King  of  Babylon  and  as  conqueror  both  of  a certain  Baldakha  and  of 
Khumba-sitir,  “ tho  king  of  the  cedar-forest.”  It  will  be  remembered  that 
in  the  Epic  of  Gilgames,  Khumbaba  also  is  stated  to  have  been  the  lord 
of  the  “ cedar-forest.” 

But  of  new  discoveries  and  facts  there  is  a constant  supply,  and  it  is 
impossible  for  the  historian  to  keep  pace  with  them.  Even  while  the  sheets 
of  his  work  are  passing  through  the  press,  the  excavator,  the  explorer,  and  the 
decipherer  are  adding  to  our  previous  stores  of  knowledge.  The  past  year  has 
not  fallen  behind  its  predecessors  in  this  respect.  In  Egypt,  Mr.  de  Morgan’s 
unwearied  energy  has  raised  as  it  were  out  of  the  ground,  at  Kom  Ombo, 
a vast  and  splendidly  preserved  temple,  of  whose  existence  we  had  hardly 
dreamed ; has  discovered  twelfth-dynasty  jewellery  at  Dahshur  of  the  most 
exquisite  workmanship,  and  at  Meir  and  Assiut  has  found  in  tombs  of  the 
sixth  dynasty  painted  models  of  the  trades  and  professions  of  the  day,  as  well 
as  fighting  battalions  of  soldiers,  which,  for  freshness  and  lifelike  reality, 
contrast  favourably  with  the  models  which  come  from  India  to-day.  In 


VU1 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


Babylonia,  the  American  Expedition,  under  Mr.  Haines,  has  at  Niffer  unearthed 
monuments  of  older  date  than  those  of  Saigon  of  Accad.  Nor  must  I,  in 
conclusion,  forget  to  mention  the  lotiform  column  found  by  Mr.  de  Morgan 
in  a tomb  of  the  Old  Empire  at  Abusir,  or  the  interesting  discovery  made  by 
Mr.  Arthur  Evans  of  seals  and  other  objects  from  the  prehistoric  sites  of  Krete 
and  other  parts  of  the  AEgean,  inscribed  with  hieroglyphic  characters  which 
reveal  a new  system  of  writing  that  must  at  one  time  have  existed  by  the  side 
of  the  Hittite  hieroglyphs,  and  may  have  had  its  origin  in  the  influence 
exercised  by  Egypt  on  the  peoples  of  the  Mediterranean  in  the  age  of  the 
twelfth  dynasty. 


A.  H.  SAYCE. 


TRANSLATOR’S  PREFACE. 


In  completing  the  translation  of  so  great  a work  as  “ Les  Origines,”  I have  to 
thank  Professor  Maspero  for  kindly  permitting  me  to  appeal  to  him  on  various 
questions  which  arose  while  preparing  the  volume  for  English  readers.  His 
patience  and  courtesy  have  alike  been  unfailing  in  every  matter  submitted  for 
his  decision. 

I am  indebted  to  Miss  Bradbury  for  kindly  supplying,  in  the  midst  of 
much  other  literary  work  for  the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund,  the  translation 
of  the  chapter  on  the  gods,  and  also  of  the  earlier  parts  of  Chapters  I.,  III., 
and  VI.  She  has,  moreover,  helped  me  in  my  own  share  of  the  work  with 
many  suggestions  and  hints,  which  her  intimate  connection  with  the  late 
Miss  Amelia  B.  Edwards  fully  qualified  her  to  give. 

As  in  the  original  there  is  a lack  of  uniformity  in  the  transcription  and 
accentuation  of  Arabic  names,  I have  ventured  to  alter  them  in  several  cases 
to  the  form  most  familiar  to  English  readers. 

The  spelling  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  words  has,  at  Professor  Maspero’s 
request,  been  retained  throughout,  with  the  exception  that  the  French  on  has 
been  invariably  represented  by  u,  e.g.  Khnoumou  by  Khnumu.  In  the  copious 
index,  however,  which  has  been  added  to  the  English  edition,  the  forms  of 
Egyptian  names  familiar  to  readers  in  this  country  will  he  found,  together  with 
Professor  Maspero’s  equivalents. 

The  translation  is  further  distinguished  from  the  French  original  by  the 
addition  of  a general  map,  which  combines  the  important  geographical 
information  given  in  the  various  separate  maps  scattered  throughout  the  work. 

By  an  act  of  international  courtesy,  the  director  of  the  Imprimerie  Nationale 
has  allowed  the  beautifully  cut  hieroglyphic  and  cuneiform  type  used  in  the 
original  to  be  employed  in  the  English  edition,  and  I take  advantage  of  this 
opportunity  to  express  to  him  our  thanks  and  appreciation  of  his  graceful  act. 

M.  L.  McClure. 


London, 

October  11,  1894. 


EGYPTIAN  VULTURE  HOLDING  TWO  FLABELLA. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 

PAGE 

The  River  and  its  Influence  upon  the  Formation  of  the  Country — The 

Oldest  Inhabitants  of  the  Valley  and  its  First  Political  Organization  8 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 

Their  Number  and  their  Nature — The  Feudal  Gods,  Living  and  Dead — 

The  Triads — Temples  and  Priests — The  Cosmogonies  of  the  Delta — 

The  Enneads  of  Heliopolis  and  of  Hermopolis  ...  ...  ...  81 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 

The  Divine  Dynasties  : Ra,  Sbiu,  Osiris,  Sit,  Horus — Tiiot,  and  the  Inven- 
tion of  Sciences  and  Writing— Menes,  and  the  Three  First  Human 
Dynasties  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  155 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 

The  King,  the  Queen,  and  the  Royal  Princes — Administration  under  the 
Pharaohs — Feudalism  and  the  Egyptian  Priesthood,  the  Military — 

The  Citizens  and  Country  Peotle  ...  . ...  ...  247 


CONTENTS. 


xii 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 

TAG  K 

The  Royal  Pyramid  Builders:  Kheops,  Khephren,  Mykerinos — Memphite 
Literature  and  Art —Extension  of  Egypt  towards  the  South,  and 
the  Conquest  of  Nubia  by  the  Pharaohs  ...  ...  ...  347 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 

The  Two  Heracleopolitan  Dynasties  and  the  Twelfth  Dynasty— The 
Conquest  of  ^Ethiopia,  and  the  making  of  Greater  Egypt  by  the 
Theban  Kings  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  445 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ANCIENT  CHALDEE  A. 

The  Creation,  the  Deluge,  the  History  of  the  Gods — The  Country,  its 

Cities,  its  Inhabitants,  its  Early  Dynasties  ...  ...  ...  537 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CHALD/EA, 

The  Construction  and  Revenues  of  the  Temples — Popular  Gods  and  Theo- 
logical Triads — The  Dead  and  Hades  ...  ...  ...  ...  623 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CHALDEAN  CIVILIZATION. 

Royalty — The  Constitution  of  the  Family  and  its  Property- - Chaulean 

Commerce  and  Industry  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  703 


APPENDIX. 

The  Pharaohs  of  the  Ancient  and  Middle  Empires  ...  ...  ...  785 


Index 


791 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT 


THE  RIVER  AND  ITS  INFLUENCE  UPON  THE  FORMATION  AND  CHARACTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY 

THE  OLDEST  INHABITANTS  OF  THE  LAND THE  FIRST  POLITICAL  ORGANIZATION  OF 

THE  VALLEY. 


The  Delta:  its  gradual  formation , its  structure , its  canals — The  valley  of  Egypt — The  two 
arms  of  the  river — The  Eastern  Nile — The  appearance  of  its  hanks — The  hills — The  gorge  of 
Gebel  Silsileh — The  cataracts:  the  falls  of  Aswan- — Nubia — The  rapids  of  Wacly  Halfah — The 
Takcizze — The  Blue  Nile  and  the  White  Nile. 

The  sources  of  the  Nile — The  Egyptian  cosmography — The  four  pillars  and  the  four 
upholding  mountains — The  celestial  Nile  the  source  of  the  terrestrial  Nile — The  Southern  Sea 
and  the  islands  of  Spirits — The  tears  of  Isis — The  rise  of  the  Nile — The  Green  Nile  and  the 
Red  Nile — The  opening  of  the  dykes — The  fall  of  the  Nile — The  river  at  its  lo  west  ebh. 

The  alluvial  deposits  and  the  effects  of  the  inundation  upon  the  soil  of  Egypt — Paucity  of 
the  flora : agnatic  plants,  the  papyrus  and  the  lotus ; the  sycamore  and  the  date-palm,  the 
acacias,  the  clom-palms — The  fauna:  the  domestic  and  wild  animals;  serpents,  the  warns;  the 
hippopotamus  and  the  crocodile;  birds;  fish,  the  fahaka. 

The  Nile  god:  his  form  and  its  varieties — The  goddess  Mirit — The  supposed  sources  of  the 
Nile,  at  Elephantine— The  festivals  of  Gebel  Silsileh — Hymn  to  the  Nile  from  papyri  in  the 
British  Museum. 


B 


( 2 ) 

The  names  of  the  Nile  and  Egypt:  Romitit  and  Qbnit — Antiquity  of  the  Egyptian  people 
— Their  first  horizon — The  hypothesis  of  their  Asiatic  origin — The  probability  of  their  African 
origin — The  language  and  its  Semitic  affinities — The  race  and  its  principal  types. 

The  primitive  civilization  of  Egypt — Its  survival  into  historic  times — The  women  of  Anion — 
Marriage — Bights  of  women  and  children — Houses — Furniture — Dress — Jewels — Wooden  and 
metal  arms — Primitive  life — Fishing  and  hunting — The  lasso  and  “bolas” — The  domestication 
of  animals — Plants  used  for  food — The  lotus — Cereals — The  hoe  and  the  plough. 

The  conquest  of  the  valley — -Dylces — Basins — Irrigation — The  princes — The  nomes — The 
first  local  principalities — Late  organization  of  the  Delta — Character  of  its  inhabitants — Gradual 
division  of  the  principalities  and  changes  of  their  areas — The  god  of  the  city. 


MAP  TO  ILLUSTRATE  'THE  DAWN  OE  CIVILIZATION”  BY  PROP  MASPERO. 


THE  BANKS  OF  THE  NILE  NEAR  BENI-SUEF.' 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 

The  river  and  its  influence  upon  the  formation  of  the  country — The  oldest  inhabitants  of  the 
valley  and  its  first  political  organization. 


LONG,  low,  level  shore,  scarcely  rising  above  the  sea, 
a chain  of  vaguely  defined  and  ever-shifting  lakes  and 
marshes,  then  the  triangular  plain  beyond,  whose  apex 
is  thrust  thirty  leagues  into  the  land — this,  the  Delta 
of  Egypt,  has  gradually  been  acquired  from  the 
sea,  and  is  as  it  were  the  gift  of  the  Nile.2  The 
Mediterranean  once  reached  to  the  foot  of  the  sandy 
plateau  on  which  stand  the  Pyramids,  and  formed 
a wide  gulf  where  now  stretches  plain  beyond  plain 
of  the  Delta.  The  last  undulations  of  the  Arabian 
hills,  from  Gebel  Mokattam  to  Gebel  Genefifeh,  were 
its  boundaries  on  the  east,  while  a sinuous  and  shallow 
channel  running  between  Africa  and  Asia  united  the 


1 From  a drawing  by  Boudier,  after  a photograph  by  the  Dutch  traveller  Insinger,  taken  in  1884. 

2 Herodotus,  ii.  5 : e'er!  Alyvirrloiai  enlicTTiTifs  T€  yrj  /cal  Supov  tov  tot apiov.  The  same  expression 
has  been  attributed  to  Hecatseus  of  Miletus  (Muller-Didot,  Fragmenta  Historicorum  Grxcorum,  vol. 
i.  p.  19,  fragm.  279 ; cf.  Diels,  Hermes,  vol.  xxii.  p.  423).  It  has  often  been  observed  that  this  phrase 
seems  Egyptian  on  the  face  of  it,  and  it  certainly  recalls  such  forms  of  expression  as  the  following, 
taken  from  a formula  frequently  found  on  funerary  stelae:  “All  things  created  by  heaven,  given  by 
earth,  brought  by  the  Nile  from  its  mysterious  sources.”  Nevertheless,  up  to  the  present  time,  the 


4 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


Mediterranean  to  the  Red  Sea.1  Westward,  the  littoral  followed  closely  the 
contour  of  the  Libyan  plateau  ; but  a long  limestone  spur  broke  away  from  it 
at  about  31°  N.,  and  terminated  in  Cape  Abukir.2  The  alluvial  deposits  first 
filled  up  the  depths  of  the  bay,  and  then,  under  the  influence  of  the  currents 
which  swept  along  its  eastern  coasts,  accumulated  behind  that  rampart  of  sand- 
hills whose  remains  are  still  to  be  seen  near  Benha.  Thus  was  formed  a minia- 
ture Delta,  whose  structure  pretty  accurately  corresponded  with  that  of  the 
great  Delta  of  to-day.  Here  the  Nile  divided  into  three  divergent  streams, 
roughly  coinciding  with  the  southern  courses  of  the  Rosetta  and  Damietta 
branches,  and  with  the  modern  canal  of  Abu  Meneggeh.  The  ceaseless  accu- 
mulation of  mud  brought  down  by  the  river  soon  overpassed  the  first  limits, 
and  steadily  encroached  upon  the  sea  until  it  was  carried  beyond  the  shelter 
furnished  by  Cape  Abukir.  Thence  it  was  gathered  into  the  great  littoral 
current  flowing  from  Africa  to  Asia,  and  formed  an  incurvated  coast-line  ending 
in  the  headland  of  Casios,  on  the  Syrian  frontier.  From  that  time  Egypt  made 
no  further  increase  towards  the  north,  and  her  coast  remains  practically  such 
as  it  was  thousands  of  years  ago:3  the  interior  alone  has  suffered  change,  having 
been  dried  up,  hardened,  and  gradually  raised.  Its  inhabitants  thought  they 
could  measure  the  exact  length  of  time  in  which  this  work  of  creation  had  been 
accomplished.  According  to  the  Egyptians,  Menes,  the  first  of  their  mortal 
kings,  had  found,  so  they  said,  the  valley  under  water.  The  sea  came  in  almost 
as  far  as  the  Fayum,  and,  excepting  the  province  of  Thebes,  the  whole  country 
was  a pestilential  swamp.4  Hence,  the  necessary  period  for  the  physical  for- 
mation of  Egypt  would  cover  some  centuries  after  Menes.  This  is  no  longer 
considered  a sufficient  length  of  time,  and  some  modern  geologists  declare  that 
the  Nile  must  have  worked  at  the  formation  of  its  own  estuary  for  at  least 
seventy-four  thousand  years.5  This  figure  is  certainly  exaggerated,  for  the 

hieroglyphic  texts  have  yielded  nothing  altogether  corresponding  to  the  exact  terms  of  the  Greek 
historians — gift  (fiupov)  of  the  Nile,  or  its  natural  product  (fpyov)  (Aristotle,  Meteorologica,  i. 
14,  11). 

1 The  formation  of  the  Delta  was  studied  and  explained  at  length,  more  than  forty  years 
ago,  by  Elie  de  Beaumont,  in  his  Lemons  de  Gdologie,  vol.  i.  pp.  405-492.  It  is  from  this  hook  that 
the  theories  set  forth  in  the  latest  works  on  Egypt  are  still  taken,  and  generally  without  any 
important  modification. 

2 See  Elie  de  Beaumont,  Lemons  de  Gdnlogie,  vol.  i.  p.  4S3,  et  seq.,  as  to  the  part  played  in  the 
formation  of  the  coast-line  by  the  limestone  ridge  of  Abukir ; its  composition  was  last  described  by 
Oscar  Fraas,  Aus  dem  Orient,  vol.  i.  pp.  175,  176. 

3 Elie  de  Beaumont,  Lefons  de  Gdologie,  vol.  i.  p.  460  : “ The  great  distinction  of  the  Nile  Delta 
lies  in  the  almost  uniform  persistence  of  its  coast-line.  . . . The  present  sea-coast  of  Egypt  is  little 
altered  from  that  of  three  thousand  years  ago.”  The  latest  observations  prove  it  to  be  sinking 
and  shrinking  near  Alexandria  to  rise  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Port  Said. 

4 Herodotus,  ii.  4 ; cf.  xcix. 

5 Others,  as  for  example  Schweinfurth  ( Bulletin  de  VInstitut  Egijptien,  lrc  se'rie,  vol.  xii.  p.  206), 
are  more  moderate  in  their  views,  and  think  “ that  it  must  have  taken  about  twenty  thousand  years 
fur  that  alluvial  deposit  which  now  forms  the  arable  soil  of  Egypt  to  have  attained  to  its  present 
depth  and  fertility.” 


THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  DELTA , 


0 


alluvium  would  gain  on  the  shallows  of  the  ancient  gulf  far  more  rapidly 
than  it  gains  upon  the  depths  of  the  Mediterranean.  But  even  though  we 
reduce  the  period,  we  must  still  admit  that  the  Egyptians  little  suspected  the 
true  age  of  their  country.  Not  only  did  the  Delta  long  precede  the  coming 
of  Menes,  but  its  plan  was  entirely  completed  before  the  first  arrival  of 
the  Egyptians.  The  Greeks,  full  of  the  mysterious  virtues  which  they 


attributed  to  numbers,  discovered  that  there  were  seven  principal  branches, 
and  seven  mouths  of  the  Nile,  and,  compared  with  these,  that  the  rest 
veie  but  false  mouths.1  As  a matter  of  fact,  there  were  only  three  chief 
outlets.  The  Canopic  branch  flowed  westward,  and  fell  into  the  Mediterranean 
near  Cape  Abukir,  at  the  western  extremity  of  the  arc  described  by  the 
coast-line.-  The  Pelusiac  branch  followed  the  length  of  the  Arabian  chain, 
and  flowed  forth  at  the  other  extremity;  and  the  Sebennytic  stream  almost 
bisected  the  triangle  contained  between  the  Canopic  and  Pelusiac  channels. 
Two  thousand  years  ago,  these  branches  separated  from  the  main  river  at 

'VeuSocTTonaTa  was  tlie  word  used  by  the  Alexandrian  geographers  and  retained  by  Strabo 
(xvi.  pp.  788,  801);  cf.  Pliny,  H.  Nat.,v.  10:  “ Duodecim  enim  repperiuntur,  superque  quattuor,  qua? 
ipsi  falsa  ora  appellant.” 

Lancret  retraced  the  course  of  this  branch,  but  death  prevented  him  from  publishing  his 
discovery  and  an  account  of  all  which  it  involved  (Lancket,  Notice  sur  la  Branche  Canopique,  with 
an  Addition  by  Joiiard,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  viii.  pp.  19-26). 


<; 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


the  city  of  Cerkasoros,1  nearly  four  miles  north  of  the  site  where  Cairo 
now  stands.  But  after  the  Pelusiac  branch  had  ceased  to  exist,  the  fork 
of  the  river  gradually  wore  away  the  land  from  age  to  age,  and  is  now 
some  nine  miles  lower  down.2  These  three  great  waterways  are  united  by  a 
network  of  artificial  rivers  and  canals,  and  by  ditches — some  natural,  others 
dug  by  the  hand  of  man.  They  silt  up,  close,  open  again,  are  constantly 
replacing  each  other,  and  ramify  in  innumerable  branches  over  the  surface 
of  the  soil,  spreading  life  and  fertility  on  all  sides.  As  the  land  rises 
towards  the  south,  this  web  contracts  and  is  less  confused,  while  black  mould 
and  cultivation  alike  dwindle,  and  the  fawn-coloured  line  of  the  desert  comes 
into  sight.  The  Libyan  and  Arabian  hills  appear  above  the  plain,  draw 
nearer  to  each  other,  and  gradually  shut  in  the  horizon  until  it  seems  as 
though  they  would  unite.  And  there  the  Delta  ends,  and  Egypt  proper  has 
begun. 

It  is  only  a strip  of  vegetable  mould  stretching  north  and  south  between 
regions  of  drought  and  desolation,  a prolonged  oasis  on  the  banks  of  the 
river,  made  by  the  Nile,  and  sustained  by  the  Nile.  The  whole  length  of  the 
land  is  shut  in  between  two  ranges  of  hills,  roughly  parallel  at  a mean 
distance  of  about  twelve  miles.3  During  the  earlier  ages,  the  river  filled  all 
this  intermediate  space,  and  the  sides  of  the  hills,  polished,  worn,  blackened 
to  their  very  summits,  still  bear  unmistakable  traces  of  its  action.  Wasted, 
and  shrunken  within  the  deeps  of  its  ancient  bed,  the  stream  now  makes  a way 
through  its  own  thick  deposits  of  mud.  The  bulk  of  its  waters  keeps  to  the  east, 
and  constitutes  the  true  Nile,  the  “Great  River”  of  the  hieroglyphic  inscriptions.4 


1 According  to  Brugsch  ( Geogr . Ins.,  vol.  i.  pp.  244,  296),  tlie  name  of  Kerkasoros  (Herodotus, 
ii.  15,  17,  97),  or  Kerkesoura  (Strabo,  xvii.  p.  806),  has  its  Egyptian  origin  in  Kerlc-osiri.  But  the 
Greek  trauscription  of  Kerlc-osiri  would  have  been  Kerlcosiris,  of  which  Herr  Wilcken  lias  found  the 
variant  Kerlceusiris  among  names  from  the  Fayurn  (Wilcken,  JEgyptische  Eigennamen  in  Grie- 
chisclien  Texten,  in  the  Zeitscliri/t  fur  ZEgyptisclie  Spraclie,  1S83,  p.  162).  Herr  Wilcken  proposes 
to  correct  the  text  of  Herodotus  and  Strabo,  and  to  introduce  the  reading  Kerlieusiris  in  place 
of  Kerkasoros  or  Kerkesoura.  Professor  Erman  cousiders  that  Kerkeusiris  means  The  Habitation  of 
Osiris,  and  contains  the  radical  Korku,  Kerku,  which  is  found  in  Kerkesukhos,  Kerke'ramsisu- 
Miamun,  and  in  the  modern  name  of  Girgeli.  The  site  of  El-Akhsas,  which  D’Anville  identified 
with  that  of  Kerkasoros  (MPmoires  gdograplnques  sur  V Egypte,  p.  73),  is  too  far  north.  The  ancient 
city  must  have  been  situate  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  present  town  of  Embabeh. 

2 By  the  end  of  the  Byzantine  period,  the  fork  of  the  river  lay  at  some  distance  south  of 
Shetnufi,  the  present  Shatanuf,  which  is  the  spot  where  it  now  is  (Champollion,  L’Egypte  sous  les 
1‘haraons,  vol.  ii.  pp.  28,  147-151).  The  Arab  geographers  call  the  head  of  the  Delta  Batn-el - 
Bagarah,  the  Cow's  Belly.  Ampere,  in  his  Voyage  en  Egypte  et  en  Nuhie,  p.  120,  says,  “May  it  not 
be  that  this  name,  denoting  the  place  where  the  most  fertile  part  of  Egypt  begins,  is  a reminiscence 
of  the  Cow  Goddess,  of  Isis,  the  symbol  of  fecundity,  and  the  personification  of  Egypt?’’ 

3 De  Roziere  estimated  the  mean  breadth  as  being  only  a little  over  nine  miles  (De  la  constitution 
physique  de  V Egypte  et  de  ses  rapports  avec  les  anciennes  institutions  de  cette  contrde,  in  the  Description 
de  V Egypte,  vol.  xx.  p.  270). 

4 latur-du,  Iaur-au,  which  becomes  Iar-o,  lal-o  in  the  Coptic  (Brugsch,  Geogr.  Ins.,  vol.  i.  pp. 
78,  79;  and  Dictionnaire  Gdograpliique,  pp.  84-88).  The  word  Bhiala,  by  which  Timseus  the  mathe- 
matician designated  the  sources  of  the  Nile  (Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.,\.  9 ; cf.  Solinus,  Folyliist.,  ch.  xxxv.), 


THE  APPEABANCE  OF  THE  BANKS. 


i 


A LINE  OF  LADEN  CAMELS  EMERGES  FROM  A HOLLOW  OF  THE  UNDULATING  ROAD.1 


A second  arm  flows  close  to  the  Libyan  desert,  here  and  there  formed  into 
canals,  in  other  places  left  to  follow  its  own  course.  From  the  head 
of  the  Delta  to  the  village  of  Derht  it  is  called  the  Bahr-Yusuf;  beyond 
Derut — up  to  Gebel  Silsileh — it  is  the  Ibrabimiyeh,  the  Sohagiyeh,  the  Kaian. 
But  the  ancient  names  are  unknown  to  us.  This  Western  Nile  dries  up 
in  winter  throughout  all  its  upper  courses : where  it  continues  to  flow,  it 
is  by  scanty  accessions  from  the  main  Nile.  It  also  divides  north  of 
Henassieh,  and  by  the  gorge  of  Illahun  sends  out  a branch  which  passes 
beyond  the  hills  into  the  basin  of  the  Fajitm.  The  true  Nile,  the  Eastern 
Nile,  is  less  a river  than  a sinuous  lake  encumbered  with  islets  and  sandbanks, 
and  its  navigable  channel  winds  capriciously  between  them,  flowing  with  a 
strong  and  steady  current  below  the  steep,  black  banks  cut  sheer  through  the 
alluvial  earth.  There  are  light  groves  of  the  date-palm,  groups  of  acacia 
trees  and  sycamores,  square  patches  of  barley  or  of  wheat,  fields  of  beans  or  of 
bersim ,2  and  here  and  there  a long  bank  of  sand  which  the  least  breeze  raises 
into  whirling  clouds.  And  over  all  there  broods  a great  silence,  scarcely 
broken  by  the  cry  of  birds,  or  the  song  of  rowers  in  a passing  boat.  Some1 
thing  of  human  life  may  stir  on  the  banks,  but  it  is  softened  into  poetry  by 
distance.  A half-veiled  woman,  bearing  a bundle  of  herbs  upon  her  head,  is 
driving  her  goats  before  her.  An  irregular  line  of  asses  or  of  laden  camels 
emerges  from  one  hollow  of  the  undulating  read  only  to  disappear  within 
another.  A group  of  peasants,  crouched  upon  the  shore,  in  the  ancient  posture 

is  only  this  name  Ialo  preceded  by  the  masculine  article  phi,  pli.  Ptolemy  the  geographer  translated 
the  native  name  by  an  exact  equivalent,  6 peyas  irorapos,  the  great  river  (Brugsch,  op.  eit.,  pp.  78,  79). 

1 From  a drawing  by  Boudier,  after  a photograph  by  Insinger,  taken  in  1884. 

Bersim  is  a kind  of  trefoil,  the  Trifolium  Alexandrinum  of  LinnJsus.^  It  is  very  common  ill 
an(t  tlie  only  plant  of  the  kind  generally  cultivated  for  fodder  (Baffeneau-Delile,  Histoire 
des  plantes  cultiv&es  en  Egyple,  in  the  Description  de  V Egypte,  vol.  xix.  p.  59,  sqq.). 


GEBEL  ABUFEDA,  DREADED  BY  THE  SAILORS.2 

a few  old  men,  each  seated  peacefully  at  his  own  door ; a confusion  of  fowls, 
children,  goats,  and  sheep;  half  a dozen  boats  made  fast  ashore.  But,  as  we 

1-2  From  drawings  by  Boudier,  after  photographs  by  Insinger,  taken  in  1886. 


filth  and  ugliness  : a cluster  of  low  grey  huts  built  of  mud  and  laths ; two  or 
three  taller  houses,  whitewashed  ; an  enclosed  square  shaded  by  sycamores ; 


8 THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 

of  knees  to  chin,  patiently  awaits  the  return  of  the  ferry-boat.  A dainty  village 
looks  forth  smiling  from  beneath  its  palm  trees.  Near  at  hand  it  is  all  naked 


A DAINTY  VILLAGE  LOOKS  FORTH  SMILING  FROM  BENEATH  ITS  PALM  TREES.1 


THE  HILLS. 


9 


pass  on,  the  wretchedness  all  fades  away ; meanness  of  detail  is  lost  in 
light,  and  long  before  it  disappears  at  a bend  of  the  river,  the  village  is  again 
clothed  with  gaiety  and  serene  beauty.  Day  by  day,  the  landscape  repeats 


PART  OF  GEBEL  SHEKH  HERXDI.1 


itself.  The  same  groups  of  trees  alternate  with  the  same  fields,  growing  green 
or  dusty  in  the  sunlight  according  to  the  season  of  the  year.  With  the 
same  measured  flow,  the  Nile  winds  beneath  its  steep  banks  and  about  its 


THE  HILL  OF  KASR  ES-SAYYID.2 


scattered  islands.  One  village  succeeds  another,  each  alike  smiling  and  sordid 
under  its  crown  of  foliage.  The  terraces  of  the  Libyan  hills,  away  beyond 
the  Western  Nile,  scarcely  rise  above  the  horizon,  and  lie  like  a white 
edging  between  the  green  of  the  plain  and  the  blue  of  the  sky.  The 


1 2 From  drawings  by  Boudier,  after  photographs  by  Insiuger,  taken  in  1882. 


10 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


Arabian  hills  do  not  continue  in  one  unbroken  line,  but  form  a series  of 
mountain  masses  with  their  spurs,  now  approaching  the  river,  and  now  with- 
drawing to  the  desert  at  almost  regular  intervals.  At  the  entrance  to  the 
valley,  rise  Gebel  Mokattam  and  Gebel  el-Ahmar.  Gebel  Hemur-Skemul  and 
Gebel  Shekh  Embarak  next  stretch  in  echelon  from  north  to  south,  and  are 
succeeded  by  Gebel  et-Ter,  where,  according  to  an  old  legend,  all  the  birds  of 
the  world  are  annually  assembled.1  Then  follows  Gebel  Abufeda,  dreaded  by 
the  sailors  for  its  sudden  gusts.2  Limestone  predominates  throughout,  white 
or  yellowish,  broken  by  veins  of  alabaster,  or  of  red  and  grey  sandstones.  Its 
horizontal  strata  are  so  symmetrically  laid  one  above  another  as  to  seem 
more  like  the  walls  of  a town  than  the  side  of  a mountain.  But  time  has 
often  dismantled  their  summits  and  loosened  their  foundations.  Man  has 
broken  into  their  fagades  to  cut  his  quarries  and  his  tombs ; while  the  current 
is  secretly  undermining  the  base,  wherein  it  has  made  many  a breach.  As 
soon  as  any  margin  of  mud  has  collected  between  cliffs  and  river,  kalfah  and 
wild  plants  take  hold  upon  it,  and  date-palms  grow  there — whence  their  seed, 
no  one  knows.  Presently  a hamlet  rises  at  the  mouth  of  the  ravine,  among 
clusters  of  trees  and  fields  in  miniature.  Beyond  Siut,  the  light  becomes 
more  glowing,  the  air  drier  and  more  vibrating,  and  the  green  of  cultivation 
loses  its  brightness.  The  angular  outline  of  the  dom-palm  mingles  more  and 
more  with  that  of  the  common  palm  and  of  the  heavy  sycamore,  and  the 
castor-oil  plant  increasingly  abounds.  But  all  these  changes  come  about  so 
gradually  that  they  are  effected  before  we  notice  them.  The  plain  continues 
to  contract.  At  Thebes  it  is  still  ten  miles  wide.  At  the  gorge  of  Gebelen 
it  has  almost  disappeared,  and  at  Gebel  Silsileh  it  has  completely  vanished. 
There,  it  was  crossed  by  a natural  dyke  of  sandstone,  through  which  the 
waters  have  with  difficulty  scooped  for  themselves  a passage.  From  this 
point,  Egypt  is  nothing  but  the  bed  of  the  Nile  between  two  escarpments 
of  naked  rock.3 

1 In  Makrizi’s  Description  of  Egypt,  Boulak  Edition,  vol.  i.  p.  31,  we  read:  “Every  year,  upon  a 
certain  day,  all  the  herons  (Boukir,  Ardea  lubulcus  of  Cuvier)  assemble  at  this  mountain.  One  after 
another,  each  puts  his  beak  into  a cleft  of  the  hill  until  the  cleft  closes  upon  one  of  them.  And 
then  forthwith  all  the  others  fly  away.  But  the  bird  which  has  been  caught  struggles  until  he  dies, 
and  there  his  body  remains  until  it  has  fallen  into  dust.”  The  same  tale  is  told  by  other  Arab  writers, 
of  which  a list  may  be  seen  in  Etienne  Quatiiemere,  Me'moires  historiques  et  geographiques  sur 
V Egypt e et  quelques  contrives  voisines,  vol.  i.  pp.  31-33).  It  faintly  recalls  that  ancient  tradition  of  the 
Cleft  at  Abydos,  whereby  souls  must  pass,  as  human-headed  birds,  in  order  to  reach  the  other  world 
(Lefebure,  Etude  sur  Abydos,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arclixology , vol.  xv.  pp. 
149,  150). 

2 Ebers,  Cicerone  durch  das  alte-  und  neu-AEgypten,  vol.  ii.  pp.  157,  158. 

3 The  gorge  of  Gebel  Silsileh  is  about  3910  feet  in  length  (P.  S.  Girard,  Observations  sur  la  valle'e 
de  l’ Egypte  et  sur  l’ exhaussement  seculaire  du  sol  qui  la  recouvre,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte, 
vol.  xx.  p.  35);  its  width  at  the  narrowest  point  is  1640  feet  (Isambert,  Egypte,  p.  590).  See  De 
ItoziERE,  De  la  Constitution  physique  de  VEgypte,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  xxi.  p.  26,  et  seq., 


TEE  FALLS  OF  ASWAN. 


11 

Further  on  the  country  reappears,  but  diminished,  and  almost  unre- 
cognizable. Hills,  hewn  out  of  solid  sandstone,  succeed  each  other  at  dis- 
tances of  about  two  miles,1  low,  crushed,  sombre,  and  formless.  Presently  a 
forest  of  palm  trees,  the  last  on  that  side,  announces  Aswan  and  Nubia.  Five 
banks  of  granite,  ranged  in  lines  between  latitude  24°  and  18°  N.,  cross  Nubia 
from  east  to  west,  and  from  north-east  to  south-west,  like  so  many  ramparts 
thrown  up  between  the  Mediterranean  and  the  heart  of  Africa.  The  Nile 
has  attacked  them  from  behind,  and  made  its  way  over  them  one  after 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  FIRST  CATARACT.2 

another  in  rapids  which  have  been  glorified  by  the  name  of  cataracts.  Classic 
writers  were  pleased  to  describe  the  river  as  hurled  into  the  gulfs  of  Syene 
with  so  great  a roar  that  the  people  of  the  neighbourhood  were  deafened  by 
it.3  Even  a colony  of  Persians,  sent  thither  by  Cambyses,  could  not  bear  the 
noise  of  the  falls,  and  went  forth  to  seek  a quieter  situation.4  The  first  cataract 
is  a kind  of  sloping  and  sinuous  passage  six  and  a quarter  miles  in  length, 
descending  from  the  island  of  Pi  like  to  the  port  of  Aswan.  Its  approach 
is  pleasantly  brightened  by  the  ever  green  groves  of  Elephantine.  Beyond 

and  .the  recent  work  of  Cheui,  Le  Nil,  le  Soudan,  VEgypte,  pp.  77,78,  with  regard  to  the  primeval 
barrier  at  Gebel  Silsileh.  Chela  considers  that  it  was  broken  through  before  the  advent  of  man  in 
Egypt,  whereas  Wilkinson  (in  Eawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  p.  29S),  followed  by  A.  Wiedemann 
{Ahgyptischc  Geschiclite,  vol.  ii.  p.  255),  maintains  that  it  lasted  until  near  the  Hyksos  or  Shepherd  times. 

P.  S.  Girard,  Observations  sur  la  valle'e  de  VEgypte,  in  the  Description  de  V Egypte,  vol.  xx.  pp. 
34,  35.  With  regard  to  the  nature  and  aspect  of  the  country  between  Gebel  Silsileh  and  Aswan, 
see  also  De  BoziIire,  De  la  Constitution  physique  de  VEgypte,  in  the  Description,  vol.  xxi.  pp.  4-58. 

2 View  taken  from  the  hills  opposite  Elephantine,  by  Insinger,  in  1884. 

3 Jomard  made  a collection  of  such  passages  from  ancient  writers  as  refer  to  the  cataracts 
( Description , vol.  i.  pp.  154-174).  We  can  judge  of  the  confidence  with  which  their  statements  were 
still  received  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  by  looking  through  that  curious  little  work  De 
hominibus  ad  catadupas  Nili  obscurdescentibus,  Consentiente  Amplissimo  Philosopliorum  Crdine,  Publice 
disputabunt  Presses  M.  J.  Leonhardus  Lenzius,  et  respondens  Jo.  Bartholomieos  Lenzids,  Marco- 
breitha-Franci,  d.  24  Decembr.,  hdcxcix.  In  auditorio  Minori.  Wittebergse,  Typis  Christiani 
Schrsedteri,  Acad.  Typis. 

4 Seneca,  Quxst.  Natural,  ii.  § 2. 


12 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


Elephantine,  there  are  only  cliffs  and  sandy  beaches,  chains  of  blackened 
“ roches  moutonnees  ” marking  out  the  beds  of  the  currents,  and  fantastic  reefs, 
sometimes  bare,  and  sometimes  veiled  by  long  grasses  and  climbing  plants,  in 
which  thousands  of  birds  have  made  their  nests.  There  are  islets,  too,  occasion- 
ally large  enough  to  have  once  supported  something  of  a population,  such  as 
Amerade,  Salug,  Sehel.  The  granite  threshold  of  Nubia  is  broken  beyond 
Sehel,  but  its  debris,  massed  in  disorder  against  the  right  bank,  still  seem  to 
dispute  the  passage  of  the  waters,  dashing  turbulently  and  roaring  as  they  flow 
along  through  tortuous  channels,  where  every  streamlet  is  broken  up  into 
small  cascades.  The  channel  running  by  the  left  bank  is  always  navigable. 


ENTRANCE  TO  NUBIA.1 


During  the  inundation,  the  rocks  and  sandbanks  of  the  right  side  are  com- 
pletely under  water,  and  their  presence  is  only  betrayed  by  eddies.  But  on 
the  river’s  reaching  its  lowest  point  a fall  of  some  six  feet  is  established, 
and  there  big  boats,  hugging  the  shore,  are  hauled  up  by  means  of  ropes, 
or  easily  drift  down  with  the  current.1 2  All  kinds  of  granite  are  found 
together  in  this  corner  of  Africa.  There  are  the  pink  and  red  Syenites, 
porphyritic  granite,  yellow  granite,  grey  granite,  both  black  granite  and 
white,  and  granites  veined  with  black  and  veined  with  white.3  As  soon  as 
these  disappear  behind  us,  various  sandstones  begin  to  crop  up,  allied  to  the 
coarsest  calcaire  grassier.  The  hills  bristle  with  small  split  blocks,  with 
peaks  half  overturned,  with  rough  and  denuded  mounds.  League  beyond 

1 View  taken  from  the  southern  point  of  the  island  of  Philai.  From  a photograph  by  Emil 
Brugsch-Bev. 

2 For  a detailed  description  of  the  first  cataract,  see  Jomard,  Description  de  Syene  et  des  cataracles, 
in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  i.  pp.  144-154. 

3 De  Roziere  has  scheduled  and  analyzed  the  Syene  granites  {De  la  Constitution  physique  de 
VEgypte,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  xxi.  pp.  59-93). 


Til E FiliST  cataract:  entrance  of  the  great  rapids. 


14 


TEE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


league,  they  stretch  in  low  ignoble  outline.  Here  and  there  a valley  opens 
sharply  into  the  desert,  revealing  an  infinite  perspective  of  summits  and 
escarpments  in  echelon  one  behind  another  to  the  furthest  plane  of  the 
horizon,  like  motionless  caravans.  The  now  confined  river  rushes  on  with 
a low,  deep  murmur,  accompanied  night  and  day  by  the  croaking  of  frogs 
and  the  rhythmic  creak  of  the  sakieh.1 2 3 * * * *  Jetties  of  rough  stone-work,  made 
in  unknown  times  by  an  unknown  people,  run  out  like  breakwaters  into  mid- 


LEAGUE  BEYOND  LEAGUE,  THE  HILLS  STRETCH  ON  IN  LOW  IGNOBLE  OUTLINE.2 


stream.8  From  time  to  time  waves  of  sand  are  borne  over,  and  drown  the 
narrow  fields  of  durra  and  of  barley.  Scraps  of  close,  aromatic  pasturage, 
acacias,  date-palms,  and  dom-palms,  together  with  a few  shrivelled  sycamores, 
are  scattered  along  both  banks.  The  ruins  of  a crumbling  pylon  mark  the 
site  of  some  ancient  city,  and,  overhanging  the  water,  is  a vertical  wall  of 
rock  honeycombed  with  tombs.  Amid  these  relics  of  another  age,  miserable 
huts,  scattered  hamlets,  a town  or  two  surrounded  wdth  little  gardens,  are 
the  only  evidence  that  there  is  yet  life  in  Nubia.  South  of  Wady  Halfah, 


1 The  sakieli  is  made  of  a notch-wheel  fixed  vertically  on  a horizontal  axle,  and  is  actuated  by 
various  cog-wheels  set  in  continuous  motion  by  oxen  or  asses.  A long  chain  of  earthenware  vessels 
brings  up  the  water  either  from  the  river  itself,  or  from  some  little  branch  canal,  and  empties  it  into 
a system  of  troughs  and  reservoirs.  Thence,  it  flows  forth  to  be  distributed  over  all  the  neighbouring 
land.  Various  elevators  of  the  same  type  are  drawn  and  described  in  the  Description  de  I’Egypte 
vol.  xii.  pp.  408-415,  Atlas,  Etat  moderne,  vol.  ii.,  Arts  et  Metiers,  pis.  iii.-v. 

2 From  a drawing  by  Boudier,  after  a photograph  by  Insinger,  taken  in  1881. 

3 “ Our  progress  was  often  stopped  by  jetties  of  rough  stone  stretching  out  into  the  middle  of  the 

river.  Were  they  intended  for  raising  the  level  of  the  Nile  at  the  inundations?  . . . They  produce 

very  rapid  currents.  Sometimes,  when  the  boat  has  been  heavily  dragged  as  far  as  the  projecting 

point,  it  cannot  cross  it.  The  men  then  turn  aside,  drawing  the  ropes  after  them,  and  take  the  boat 
back  again  a few  hundred  yards  down  the  river”  (H.  Cammas  and  A.  LefIivre,  La  Valhfe  du  Nil, 

p.  104).  The  positions  of  a few  of  these  jetties  are  indicated  on  Prokesch’s  map  ( Land  zwischen  den 

Jdeinen  und  grossen  Kataralden  des  Nil.  Astronomiscli  bestimmt  und  aufgenommen  im  Jahre  1827 
diirch.  ...  A.  von  Prokesch,  Vienna,  C.  Gerold). 


NUBIA. 


15 


the  second  granite  bank  is  broken  through,  and  the  second  cataract  spreads 
its  rapids  over  a length  of  four  leagues : the  archipelago  numbers  more 
than  350  islets,  of  which  some  sixty  have  houses  upon  them  and  yield  harvests 
to  their  inhabitants.1  The  main  characteristics  of  the  first  two  cataracts  are 
repeated  with  slight  vari- 
ations in  the  cases  of  the 
three  which  follow,  — at 
Hannek,  at  Guerendid, 
aud  El-Hu-mar.a  It  is 
still  Egypt,  but  an  Egypt 
that  is  without  brightness 
and  without  joy ; im- 
poverished, disfigured,  and 
almost  desolate.  There 
is  the  same  double  wall 
of  hills,  now  closely  con- 
fining the  valley,  and 
again  withdrawing  from 
each  other  as  though 
to  flee  into  the  desert. 

Everywhere  there  are  the 
moving  sheets  of  sand, 
the  steep  black  banks 
with  their  narrow  strips 
of  cultivation,  the  vil- 
lages which  are  scarcely 
visible  on  account  of  the  entrance  to  the  second  cataract.3 

lowness  of  their  huts. 

The  sycamore  ceases  at  Gebel-Barkal,  date-palms  become  fewer  and  finally 
disappear.  The  Nile  alone  has  not  changed.  As  it  was  at  Philae,  so  it  is 
at  Berber.  Here,  however,  on  the  right  bank,  600  leagues  from  the  sea,  is 
its  first  affluent,  the  Takazze,  which  intermittently  brings  to  it  the  waters 
of  Northern  Ethiopia.  At  Khartum,  the  single  channel  in  which  the  river 
flowed  divides;  and  two  other  streams  are  opened  up  in  a southerly  direction, 

1 A list  of  the  Nubian  names  of  these  rocks  and  islets  has  been  somewhat  incorrectly  drawn  up  by 
J.  J.  Rifaud,  Tableau  de  VEgypte,  de  la  Nubie  et  des  lieux  circonvoisins,  pp.  55-60  (towards  the  end 
of  the  volume,  after  the  Vocabulaires).  R:faud  only  counted  forty-four  cultivated  islands  at  the 
beginning  of  this  century. 

- The  cataract  system  has  been  studied, and  its  plan  published  by  E.  de  Gottberg  (Des  cataractes 
du  Nil  et  speeialement  de  celles  de  Hannek  et  de  Kaybar , 1S67,  Paris,  Ito),  and  later  again  by  Chelu 
(Le  Nil,  le  Soudan,  VEgypte,  pp.  29-73). 

3 View  taken  from  the  top  of  the  rocks  of  Abusir,  after  a photograph  by  Insinger,  in  1881. 


IG 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


each  of’  them  apparently  equal  in  volume  to  the  main  stream.  Which 
is  the  true  Nile  ? Is  it  the  Blue  Nile,  which  seems  to  come  down  from 
the  distant  mountains?  Or  is  it  the  White  Nile,  which  has  traversed  the 
immense  plains  of  equatorial  Africa  ? The  old  Egyptians  never  knew.  The 
river  kept  the  secret  of  its  source  from  them  as  obstinately  as  it  withheld 
it  from  us  until  a few  years  ago.  Vainly  did  their  victorious  armies 
follow  the  Nile  for  months  together  as  they  pursued  the  tribes  who  dwelt 
upon  its  banks.  It  always  appeared  as  wide,  as  full,  as  irresistible  in  its 
progress  as  ever.  It  was  a fresh-water  sea,  and  sea — iauma,  ioma — was  the 
name  by  which  they  called  it.1 

They  therefore  never  sought  its  source.  They  imagined  the  whole  universe 
to  be  a large  box,  nearly  rectangular  in  form,  whose  greatest  diameter  was  from 
south  to  north,  and  its  least  from  east  to  west.2  The  earth,  with  its  alternate 
continents  and  seas,  formed  the  bottom  of  the  box ; it  was  a narrow,  oblong, 
and  slightly  concave  floor,  with  Egypt  in  its  centre.3  The  sky  stretched  over 
it  like  an  iron  ceiling,  flat  according  to  some,4  vaulted  according  to  others.5 
Its  earthward  face  was  capriciously  sprinkled  with  lamps  hung  from  strong 
cables,6  and  which,  extinguished  or  unperceived  by  day,  were  lighted,  or 
became  visible  to  our  eyes,  at  night.7  Since  this  ceiling  could  not  remain 
in  mid-air  without  support,  they  invented  four  columns,  or  rather  four  forked 

1 Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires  de  VEgypte  ancienne,  2nd  edition,  pp.  20,  177.  With  regard  to 
the  ancient  comparison  of  the  Nile  to  a sea,  see  Letronne,  Eecherclies  gdographiques  et  critiques  sur 
le  livre  “ De  Mensura  Orbis  Terrae,”  compose  en  Islande  au  commencement  du  ix1'  siecle  par  Dicuil; 
text,  p.  25,  § 8.  For  Arab  authorities  on  the  same  subject,  see  S.  de  Sacy,  Chrestomatliie  arabe,  2nd 
edition,  vol.  i.  pp.  13-15. 

2 Maspero,  Etudes  de  3Iythologie  et  d'A rcheologie  egyptiennes , vol.  i.  pp.  159-162,  330,  et  seq.,  and 
vol.  ii.  pp.  205-208  (cf.  Bulletin  de  I’Institut  dgyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  vi.  pp.  19,  20,  and  Bevue  de 
VHistoire  des  Beligions,  vol.  xviii.  pp.  266-270).  For  analogous  ideas,  even  in  Byzantine  times,  see 
Letronne’s  memoir  on  the  Opinions  cosmographiques  des  Peres  de  VEglise  ( GEuvres  choisies,  2nd 
series,  vol.  i.  p.  382,  et  seq.). 

3 HORAPOLLO,  Hieroglypllica  (LEEMAN’S  edition),  i.  xxi.  p.  31  : y Aiyvnriuv  yy,  eVei  picry  iris 
olKovpivrts  vndpx*t.  Compare  a fragment  by  Homer  Trismegistes,  in  Stob.eus,  Eclog.,  i.  52:  Ewei 
5e  iv  rtf  piaai  rys  yys  y tuv  irpoyovuv  ypuu  Upordry  xuP°-  ■ • • A late  hieroglyphic  group  is  so 
arranged  as  to  express  the  same  idea,  and  can  be  read  the  middle  land. 

* To  my  knowledge,  Deveria  was  the  first  to  prove  that  “ the  Egyptians  believed  that  the  sky  was 
of  iron  or  steel”  (Th.  Deveria,  Le  Fer  et  VAimant,  leur  nom  et  leur  usage  dans  V Ancienne  Egypte, 
in  the  Melanges  d’archeologie,  vol.  i.  pp.  9,  10).  So  well  established  was  the  belief  in  a sky-ceiling 
of  iron,  that  it  was  preserved  in  common  speech  by  means  of  the  name  given  to  the  metal  itself,  viz. 
Bai-ni-pit  (in  the  Coptic  Benipi,  benipe ) — metal  of  heaven  (Chabas,  V Antiquite  historique,  1st  edition, 
pp.  61-67). 

5 This  is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  mere  form  of  the  character  ■— *,  used  iu  the  hieroglyphs  for 
heaven,  or  the  heavenly  deities. 

6 Certain  arched  stelse  are  surmounted  by  the  hieroglyph  given  in  the  preceding  note,  only  in 
these  cases  it  is  curved  to  represent  the  vaulted  sky.  Brugsch  has  given  several  good  examples  of 
this  conception  of  the  firmament  in  his  Beligion  und  Mythologie  der  alten  JEgijpter , p.  203,  et  seq. 

7 The  variants  of  the  sign  for  night — — al'e  most  significant.  The  end  of  the  rope  to 

which  the  star  is  attached  passes  over  the  sky,  and  falls  free,  as  though  arranged  for  drawing  a 
lamp  up  and  down  when  lighting  or  extinguishing  it.  And  furthermore,  the  name  of  the  stars — 
Ichabisu — is  the  same  word  as  that  used  to  designate  an  ordinary  lamp. 


THE  FOUR  PILLARS  AND  THE  FOUR  MOUNTAINS. 


17 


trunks  of  trees  to  uphold  it,  similar  to  those  which  maintained  the  primitive 
house.1  But  it  was  doubtless  feared  lest  some  tempest2 3  should  overturn  them, 
for  they  were  superseded  by  four  lofty  peaks,  rising  at  the  four  cardinal 


AN  ATTEMPT  TO  REPRESENT  THE  EGYPTIAN  UNIVERSE.3 

points,  and  connected  by  a continuous  chain  of  mountains.  The  Egyptians 
knew  little  of  the  northern  peak:  the  Mediterranean,  the  “Very  Green,”4  inter- 
posed between  it  and  Egypt,  and  prevented  their  coming  near  enough  to  see 

1 Isolated,  these  pillars  are  represented  under  the  form  J,  but  they  are  often  found  together  as 
supporting  the  sky  yyyy . Brugsch,  who  was  the  first  to  study  their  function,  thought  that 
all  four  were  placed  to  the  north,  and  that  they  denoted  to  the  Egyptians  the  mountains  of 
Armenia  ( Geographische  Inschriften,  vol.  i.  pp.  35-39).  He  afterwards  recognized  that  they  were 
set  up  at  each  of  the  four  cardinal  points,  hut  thought  that  this  conception  of  their  use  was  not  older 
than  Ptolemaic  times  (<?.  Ins.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  53-55).  Like  all  Egyptologists,  he  now  admits  that 
these  pillars  were  always  placed  at  the  four  cardinal  points  ( Religion  und  Mythologic,  pp.  201-202). 

2 The  words  designating  hurricaues,  storms,  or  any  cataclysm  whatsoever,  are  followed  by  the 
sign  dftK  which  represents  the  sky  as  detached  and  falling  from  its  four  supporting  pillars.  Ma- 
gicians sometimes  threatened  to  overthrow  the  four  pillars  if  the  gods  would  not  obey  their  orders. 

3 Section  taken  at  Hermopolis.  To  the  left,  is  the  bark  of  the  sun  on  the  celestial  river. 

1 The  name  of  Uaz-oirit,  the  Very  Green,  was  first  recognized  by  Birch  (The  Annals  of  Thotmes 
III.,  in  Arcliseologia,  vol.  xxxv.  p.  162,  and  p.  46  of  the  reprint);  E.  de  Rouge  ( Notice  de  quelques 
textes  hitrogly phiqu.es  recerrtment  public's  par  M.  Green  dans  V Atlifnseum  Francois,  1855,  pp.  12-14 
of  the  reprint);  and  especially  Brugsch  ( Geog . Insch.,  vol.  i.  pp.  37-40)  completed  this  demonstration. 
The  Red  Sea  is  called  Qim-Oirit,  the  Very  Blacli. 

C 


18 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


it.  The  southern  peak  was  named  Apit-to,1  the  Horn  of  the  Eartli ; that  on 
the  east  was  called  Bakhu,  the  Mountain  of  Birth  ; and  the  western  peak  was 
known  as  Mann,  sometimes  as  Onkhit,  the  Eegion  of  Life.2  Bakhu  was  not 
a fictitious  mountain,  but  the  highest  of  those  distant  summits  seen  from 
the  Nile  in  looking  towards  the  Red  Sea.  In  the  same  way,  Manu  answered 
to  some  hill  of  the  Libyan  desert,  whose  summit  closed  the  horizon.6  When 
it  was  discovered  that  neither  Bakhu  nor  Manu  were  the  limits  of  the  world, 
the  notion  of  upholding  the  celestial  roof  was  not  on  that  account  giveu 
up.  It  was  only  necessary  to  withdraw  the  pillars  from  sight,  and  imagine 
fabulous  peaks,  invested  with  familiar  names.  These  were  not  supposed 
to  form  the  actual  boundary  of  the  universe ; a great  river — analogous 
to  the  Ocean-stream  of  the  Greeks — lay  between  them  and  its  utmost  limits. 
This  river  circulated  upon  a kind  of  ledge  projecting  along  the  sides  of  the 
box  a little  below  the  continuous  mountain  chain  upon  which  the  starry 
heavens  were  sustained.  On  the  north  of  the  ellipse,  the  river  was  bordered  by 
a steep  and  abrupt  bank,  which  took  its  rise  at  the  peak  of  Manu  on  the  west, 
and  soon  rose  high  enough  to  form  a screen  between  the  river  and  the  earth. 
The  narrow  valley  which  it  hid  from  view  was  known  as  Dait  from  remotest 
times.4  Eternal  night  enfolded  that  valley  in  thick  darkness,  and  filled  it 
with  dense  air  such  as  no  living  thing  could  breathe.5  Towards  the  east  the 
steep  bank  rapidly  declined,  and  ceased  altogether  a little  beyond  Bakhu, 
while  the  river  flowed  on  between  low  and  almost  level  shores  from  east  to 
south,  and  then  from  south  to  west.6  The  sun  was  a disc  of  fire  placed  upon 
a boat.7  At  the  same  equable  rate,  the  river  carried  it  round  the  ramparts 

1 Compare  the  expressions,  Nc!tou  uipas,  'Eo-rrcpov  uepas,  of  the  Greek  geographers.  Brugsch 
was  the  first  to  note  that  Apit-to  is  placed  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  world  ((?.  Ins.,  vol.  i. 
pp.  35,  36 ; vol.  iii.  p.  52).  He  has  hypothetically  identified  the  Horn  of  the  Earth  with  the 
Mountains  of  the  Moon  of  the  Arab  geographers.  I believe  that  the  Egyptians  of  the  great 
Theban  period  (eighteenth  to  twentieth  dynasties)  indicated  by  that  name  the  mountain  ranges  of 
Abyssinia.  In  the  course  of  their  raids  along  the  Blue  Nile  and  its  affluents,  they  saw  this  group 
of  summits  from  afar,  but  they  never  reached  it. 

- With  regard  to  Balchu  and  Manu,  see  an  article  by  Brugsch  ( Ueber  den  Ost-  und  Westpunht 
des  Sonnenlaufes  nach  den  altcigyptischen  Vorstellungen,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1864,  pp.  73-76),  which  is 
a digest  of  indications  furnished  by  DI'michen.  See  also  Brugsch,  Die  alt'dgyptische  VSlkertafel  (in 
the  Verhandlung  des  5"  Orientalisten  Congresses,  vol.  ii. , Afrikanische  Sektion,  pp.  62,  63),  and  Maspero, 
Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’  ArcliEologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  6-8  (cf.  Bevue  de  VHistoire  des  Beligions , 
vol.  xv.  pp.  270-272).  Brugsch  places  the  mountain  of  Bakhti  at  Gebel  ZmurCtd,  a little  too  far  south. 

3 In  Ptolemaic  lists,  Manu  is  localized  in  the  Libyan  nome  of  Lower  Egypt,  and  ought  to  be 
found  somewhere  on  the  road  leading  through  the  desert  to  the  Wady  Natruu  (Brugsch,  Dictionnaire 
geograpliique , p.  250). 

4 The  name  of  Dait,  and  the  epithet  Daiti,  “ dweller  in  Dai't,”  which  is  derived  from  it,  are 
frequently  met  with  in  Pyramid  texts.  Hence  they  must  belong  to  the  older  strata  of  the  language. 

5 Kokin  samui,  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ ArchEologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  31  (cf. 
Revue  de  VHistoire  des  Religions , vol.  xvii.  p.  274). 

6 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’  Arclieologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  16-18  (cf.  la  Revue  de  VHis- 
toire des  Religions,  vol.  xviii.  pp.  266-268,  where  all  these  conceptions  are  indicated  for  the  first  time). 

7 So  the  native  artists  represented  it ; as,  for  example,  in  several  vignettes  of  the  Book  of  the 
Dead  (Navili.e’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  xxx  , exliv.). 


THE  CELESTIAL  NILE. 


19 


of  the  world.  From  evening  until  morning  it  disappeared  within  the  gorges 
of  Dai't ; its  light  did  not  then  reach  us,  and  it  was  night.  From  morning 
until  evening  its  rays,  being  no  longer  intercepted  by  any  obstacle,  were 
freely  shed  abroad  from  one  end  of  the  box  to  the  other,  and  it  was  day.  The 
Nile  branched  off  from  the  celestial  river  at  its  southern  bend  ; 1 hence  the 
south  was  the  chief  cardinal  point  to  the  Egyptians,  and  by  that  they  oriented 
themselves,  placing  sunrise  to  their  left,  and  sunset  to  their  right.2  Before 
they  passed  beyond  the  defiles  of  Gebel  Silsileh,  they  thought  that  the 
spot  whence  the  celestial  waters  left  the  sky  was  situate  between  Elephantine 
and  Philae,  and  that  they  descended  in  an  immense  waterfall  whose  last 
leaps  were  at  Syene.  It  may  be  that  the  tales  about  the  first  cataract  told 
by  classic  writers  are  but  a far-off  echo  of  this  tradition  of  a barbarous 
age.3  Conquests  carried  into  the  heart  of  Africa  forced  the  Egyptians  to 
recognize  their  error,  but  did  not  weaken  their  faith  in  the  supernatural 
origin  of  the  river.  They  only  placed  its  source  further  south,4  and  sur- 
rounded it  with  greater  marvels.  They  told  how,  by  going  on  up  the 
stream,  sailors  at  length  reached  an  undetermined  country,  a kind  of 
borderland  between  this  world  and  the  next,  a “ Land  of  Shades,”  whose 
inhabitants  were  dwarfs,  monsters,  or  spirits.5  Thence  they  passed  into 
a sea  sprinkled  with  mysterious  islands,  like  those  enchanted  archi- 
pelagoes which  Portuguese  and  Breton  mariners  were  wont  to  see  at  times 
when  on  their  voyages,  and  which  vanished  at  their  approach.  These 
islands  were  inhabited  by  serpents  with  human  voices,  sometimes  friendly 
and  sometimes  cruel  to  the  shipwrecked.  He  who  went  forth  from  the 
islands  could  never  more  re-enter  them:  they  were  resolved  into  the 
waters  and  lost  within  the  bosom  of  the  waves.6  A modern  geographer 


1 The  classic  writers  themselves  knew  that,  according  to  Egyptian  belief,  the  Nile  flowed  down 
from  heaven:  * 0<rtp( r icrri v & N A\os,  ov  ovpavov  KiiratpepeaSai  otovrai  (PORPHYRY,  in  Eusebius,  Frsep. 
Evang.,  iii.  11,  54,  et  seq.).  The  legend  of  the  Nile  having  its  source  in  the  ocean  stream  was  but 
a Greek  transposition  of  the  Egyptian  doctrine,  which  represented  it  ns  an  arm  of  the  celestial  river 
whereon  the  sun  sailed  round  the  earth  (Herodotus,  ii.  21 ; Diodorus,  i.  37). 

2 This  Egyptian  method  of  orientation  was  discovered  by  Chabas,  Lcs  Inscriptions  des  Mines  d'or, 
1862,  p.  32,  et  seq. 

3 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Nythologie  et  d' Arclufologie  e'gyptiennes , vol.  ii.  pp.  17,  18  (cf.  Revue  dc 
IHistoire  des  Religions,  vol.  xviii.  pp.  269,  270);  cf.  p.  11  of  the  present  volume. 

4 It  was  perhaps  a recollection  of  some  such  legend  as  this  which  led  the  Nubians  speaking  to 
Burckhardt,  to  describe  the  second  cataract  “as  though  falling  from  heaven”  (Burckiiardt,  Travels 
in  Nubia,  p.  78,  note  2).  There  must  have  been  a time  when  the  sources  of  the  Nile  stopped  near 
Wady  Halfah,  or  Semneh,  before  receding  further  towards  Central  Africa. 

5 In  the  time  of  the  sixth  dynasty,  in  the  account  of  the  voyages  of  Hirkhuf,  mention  is  made 
of  The  Land  of  Spirits  (Schiaparelli,  Una  Tomba'.Egiziana  inedita  della  VI"  Dinastia  con  iscrizioni 
storiche  e geografiche,  pp.  21,  33,  34 ; cf.  Maspero,  Revue  Critique,  1892,  vol.  ii.  pp.  362,  366).  The 
Land  of  Spirits  was  vaguely  placed  near  the  Land  of  Puauit — that  is  to  say,  towards  the  Aromatifera 
Regio  of  the  Gneco-Koman  geographers. 

6 This  is  the  subject  of  a tale  which  was  discovered  and  published  by  M.  Golenischeff,  in  1881 


20 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


can  hardly  comprehend  such  fancies;  nevertheless,  we  have  only  to  glance 
over  certain  maps  of  the  sixteentli  and  seventeentli  centuries,  to  see  clearly 
drawn  what  the  Egyptians  had  imagined — the  centre  of  Africa  as  a great 
lake,  whence  issued  the  Congo,  the  Zambesi,  and  the  Nile.1  Arab  mer- 
chants of  the  Middle  Ages  believed  that  a resolute  man  could  pass  from 
Alexandria  or  Cairo  to  the  land  of  the  Zindjes  and  the  Indian  Ocean 
by  mounting  from  river  to  river.2  Many  of  the  legends  relating  to  this 
subject  are  lost,  while  others  have  been  collected  and  embellished  with 
fresh  features  by  Jewish  and  Christian  theologians.  The  Nile  was  said  to 
have  its  source  in  Paradise,  to  traverse  burning  regions  inaccessible  to 
man,  and  afterwards  to  fall  into  a sea  whence  it  made  its  way  to  Egypt. 
Sometimes  it  carried  down  from  its  celestial  sources  branches  and  fruits 
unlike  any  to  be  found  on  earth.3  The  sea  mentioned  in  all  these  tales 
is  perhaps  a less  extravagant  invention  than  we  are  at  first  inclined  to 
think.  A lake,  nearly  as  large  as  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  once  covered  the 
marshy  plain  where  the  Balir  el-Abiad  unites  with  the  Sobat,  and  with  the 
Bahr  el-Ghazal.  Alluvial  deposits  have  filled  up  all  but  its  deepest  depres- 
sion, which  is  known  as  Birket  Nu,  but,  in  ages  preceding  our  era,  it  must 
still  have  been  vast  enough  to  suggest  to  Egyptian  soldiers  and  boatmen 
the  idea  of  an  actual  sea,  opening  into  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  mountains, 
whose  outline  was  vaguely  seen  far  to  southward  on  the  further  shores, 
doubtless  contained  within  them  its  mysterious  source.4  There  the  inunda- 
tion was  made  ready,  and  there  it  began  upon  a fixed  day.  The  celestial 
Nile  had  its  periodic  rise  and  fall,  on  which  those  of  the  earthly  Nile  depended. 


(Sur  un  ancien  conte  egyptien,  1881,  Berlin),  and  in  the  Abhandlungen  of  the  Oriental  Congress  at 
Berlin,  African  Section,  pp.  100-122).  See  also  Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires  de  VAncienne  Egypte, 
2nd  edit.,  pp.  131-146. 

1 In  Mfmoires  historiques  et  g&ograpliiques  sur  VEgypte,  vol.  ii.  pp.  22,  23,  181,  et  seq.,  Etienne 
Quatremere  has  collected  various  passages  bearing  on  this  subject,  from  the  works  of  Arab  writers. 
Even  in  1859,  Figari  Bey  admitted  that  the  great  equatorial  lakes  might  send  out  “ two  streams, 
of  which  the  one  would  flow  westward,  follow  the  northern  valley,  and  rush  down  the  great  cataract 
of  Gebel  Regef”  to  form  the  Nile  and  run  into  the  Mediterranean.  “The  second  would  turn  in 
the  opposite  direction,  form  the  river  of  Melindus,  which  is  some  seventy-five  leagues  north  of  the 
equator,”  and  open  into  the  Indian  Ocean  (Figari  Bey,  Apergu  tliforique  de  la  Gdograpliie  geognos- 
tique  de  V Afrique  centrale,  in  the  M&moires  de  VInstitut  Egyptien,  vol.  i.  p.  108,  and  the  map  to 
p.  114). 

2 A.  Kircher,  Qddipus  Mgyptiacus,  vol.  i.  p.  52 ; Letronne,  Sur  la  situation  du  Paradis  terrestre, 
in  CEuvres  clioisies,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  415-422.  Joinville  has  given  a special  chapter  to  the 
description  of  the  sources  and  wonders  of  the  Nile,  in  which  he  believed  as  firmly  as  in  an  article 
of  his  creed  ( Histoire  de  Saint  Louis,  ch.  xl.).  As  late  as  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
Wendelinus  devoted  part  of  his  Admiranda  Nili  (§  iii.  pp.  27-31)  to  proving  that  the  river  did  not 
rise  in  the  earthly  Paradise.  At  Gurnah,  forty  years  ago,  the  Scotch  traveller  Rhind  picked  up 
a Mohammedan  legend  which  stated  that  the  Nile  flows  down  from  the  sky  ( Thebes , its  Tombs  and 
tlieir  Tenants,  pp.  301-304). 

3 Elisee  Reci.us,  Nouvelle  Geographic  universelle,  vol.  x.  p.  67,  et  seq. 

4 As  to  the  Egyptian  conception  of  the  sources  of  the  Nile,  and  the  outcome  of  their  ideas  on 
the  subject,  see  Maspero’s  remarks  in  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  xciii.,  et  seq. 


THE  TEABS  OF  ISIS. 


21 


Every  year,  towards  the  middle  of  June,  Isis,  mourning  for  Osiris,  let  fall  into 


it  one  of  the  tears  which  she  shed  over  her  brother,  and  thereupon  the  river 
swelled  and  descended  upon  earth.1 2  Isis  has  had  no  devotees  for  centuries, 

1 Facsimile  of  the  map  published  by  Kircher  in  CEdipus  AUgyptiacus,  vol.  i.  ( Iconismus  II.), 
p.  53. 

2 The  legend  of  the  tears  of  Isis  is  certainly  a very  ancient  one.  During  the  embalmment,  and 
then  throughout  all  the  funerary  rites  of  Osiris,  Isis  and  Nephthys  had  been  the  wailing  women, 
and  their  tears  had  helped  to  bring  back  the  god  to  life.  Now,  Osiris  was  a Nile  god.  “The 
night  of  the  great  flood  of  tears  issuing  from  the  Great  Goddess”  is  an  expression  found  in 
Pyramid  texts  (Unas,  line  395),  and  is  in  all  probability  a reference  to  the  Night  of  the  Drop 
(Lepage-Renouf,  Nile  Mythology,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  xiii. 
p.  9).  Our  earliest  authentic  form  of  the  tradition  comes  to  us  through  Patjsaxias  (x.  32,  § 10): 
’EoiK<Sra  Si  auSpbs  tficovaa  &oivu<os  ayeiv  ry',lo'iSi  Aiyvirrlovs  rijv  iopr^v,  ore  avrijv  rbv ''Otriptr  irivOeiv 
Aeyova'i.  TriviKavra  Si  Kal  6 NeiA os  avafialveiv  trtpiiriv  &PX€Ta<>  sal  tHiv  iirixwplwv  ttoAAois  iariv  hpijuiva. 
is  to.  av^ov to.  rbv  w oTdfibv  Kal  apSe iv  ris  apovpas  noiovura  SaKpvd  iirn  tt}s  ‘Ta’iSos.  The  date  of  the 
phenomenon  is  fixed  for  us  by  the  modern  tradition  which  places  the  Night  of  the  Drop  in  June 
(Brugsch,  Mate'riaux  pour  servir  a la  construction  du  calendrier  des  anciens  Egyptians,  p.  11,  et  seq.). 


22 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


and  her  very  name  is  unknown  to  the  descendants  of  her  worshippers  ; but  the 
tradition  of  her  fertilizing  tears  lias  survived  her  memory.  Even  to  this  day, 
every  one  in  Egypt,  Mussulman  or  Christian,  knows  that  a divine  drop  falls 
from  heaven  during  the  night  between  the  17th  and  18th  of  June,  and  forth- 
with brings  about  the  rise  of  the  Nile.1 

Swollen  by  the  rains  which  fall  in  February  over  the  region  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  the  White  Nile  rushes  northward,  sweeping  before  it  the  stagnant 
sheets  of  water  left  by  the  inundation  of  the  previous  year.  On  the  left, 
the  Bahr  el-Ghazal  brings  it  the  overflow  of  the  ill-defined  basin  stretching 
between  Darfur  and  the  Congo  ; and  the  Sobat  pours  in  on  the  right  a tribute 
from  the  rivers  which  furrow  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Abyssinian  mountains. 
The  first  swell  passes  Khartum  by  the  end  of  April,  and  raises  the  water-level 
there  by  about  a foot,  then  it  slowly  makes  its  way  through  Nubia,  and  dies 
away  in  Egypt  at  the  beginning  of  June.  Its  waters,  infected  by  half-putrid 
organic  matter  from  the  equatorial  swamps,  are  not  completely  purified  even 
in  the  course  of  this  long  journey,  but  keep  a greenish  tint  as  far  as  the 
Delta.  They  are  said  to  be  poisonous,  and  to  give  intolerable  pains  in  the 
bladder  to  any  who  may  drink  them.  Happily,  this  Green  Nile  does  not  last 
long,  but  generally  flows  away  in  three  or  four  days,  and  is  only  the  forerunner 
of  the  real  flood.2  The  melting  of  the  snows  and  the  excessive  spring  rains 
having  suddenly  swollen  the  torrents  which  rise  in  the  central  plateau  of 
Abyssinia,  the  Blue  Nile,  into  which  they  flow,  rolls  so  impetuously  towards 
the  plain  that,  when  its  waters  reach  Khartum  in  the  middle  of  May,  they 
refuse  to  mingle  with  those  of  the  White  Nile,  and  do  not  lose  their  peculiar 
colour  before  reaching  the  neighbourhood  of  Abu  Hamed,  three  hundred 
miles  below.  From  that  time  the  height  of  the  Nile  increases  rapidly  day 
by  day.  The  river,  constantly  reinforced  by  floods  following  one  upon  another 
from  the  Great  Lakes  and  from  Abyssinia,  rises  in  furious  bounds,  and  would 
become  a devastating  torrent  were  its  rage  not  checked  by  the  Nubian 
cataracts.  Here  six  basins,  one  above  another,  in  which  the  water  collects, 
check  its  course,  and  permit  it  only  to  flow  thence  as  a partially  filtered  and 
moderated  stream.3  It  is  signalled  at  Syene  towards  the  8th  of  June,  at  Cairo 


1 Lane,  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Modern  Egyptians , 4th  edit.,  vol.  ii.  p.  224.  The  date  varies, 
and  the  Fall  of  the  Drop  may  take  place  either  during  the  night  of  the  17th  to  18th,  of  the  18th  to 
19th,  or  of  the  19th  to  20th  of  June,  according  to  the  year. 

2 Sylvestre  de  Sacy  has  collected  the  principal  Arabic  and  European  texts  bearing  upon  the 
Green  Nile,  in  his  Relation  de  VEgypte  par  Abd-Allatif,  pp.  332-338,  344-34G.  I am  bound  to  say 
that  every  June,  for  five  years,  I drank  this  green  water  from  the  Nile  itself,  without  taking  any  other 
precaution  than  the  usual  one  of  filtering  it  through  a porous  jar.  Neither  I,  nor  the  many  people 
living  with  me,  ever  felt  the  slightest  inconvenience  from  it. 

3 The  moderating  effect  of  the  cataracts  has  been  judicially  defined  by  E.  de  Cotberg  in 
Pes  Cataractes  du  Nil,  pp,  10,  11 . 


THE  GREEN  NILE  AND  THE  RED  NILE. 


23 


by  the  17th  to  the  20th,  and  there  its  birth  is  officially  celebrated  during  the 
“Night  of  the  Drop.”1  Two  days  later  it  reaches  the  Delta,  just  in  time 
to  save  the  country  from  drought  and  sterility.  Egypt,  burnt  up  by  the 
Khamsin,  that  west  wind  which  blows  continuously  for  fifty  days,  seems 
nothin"  more  than  an  extension  of  the  desert.  The  trees  are  covered  and 

O 

choked  by  a layer  of  grey  dust.  About  the  villages,  meagre  and  laboriously 
watered  patches  of  vegetables  struggle  for  life,  while  some  show  of  green 
still  lingers  along  the  canals  and  in  hollows  whence  all  moisture  has  not  yet 

evaporated.  The  plain  lies  panting  in  the  sun — naked,  dusty,  and  ashen — 

scored  with  intersecting  cracks  as  far  as  eye  can  see.  The  Nile  is  only  half 
its  usual  width,  and  holds  not  more  than  a twentieth  of  the  volume  of 
water  which  is  borne  down  in  October.  It  has  at  first  hard  work  to  recover 
its  former  bed,  and  attains  it  by  such  subtle  gradations  that  the  rise  is 
scarcely  noted.  It  is,  however,  continually  gaining  ground;  here  a sandbank 
is  covered,  there  an  empty  channel  is  filled,  islets  are  outlined  where  there 
was  a continuous  beach,  a new  stream  detaches  itself  and  gains  the  old  shore. 
The  first  contact  is  disastrous  to  the  banks;  their  steep  sides,  disintegrated 
and  cracked  by  the  heat,  no  longer  offer  any  resistance  to  the  current, 

and  fall  with  a crash,  in  lengths  of  a hundred  yards  and  more.  As  the 

successive  floods  grow  stronger  and  are  more  heavily  charged  with  mud,  the 
whole  mass  of  water  becomes  turbid  and  changes  colour.  In  eight  or  ten 
days  it  has  turned  from  greyish  blue  to  dark  red,  occasionally  of  so  intense 
a colour  as  to  look  like  newly  shed  blood.  The  “Red  Nile”  is  not 
unwholesome  like  the  “Green  Nile,”  and  the  suspended  mud  to  which  it  owes 
its  doubtful  appearance  deprives  the  water  of  none  of  its  freshness  and 
lightness.  It  reaches  its  full  height  towards  the  15th  of  July;  but  the  dykes 
which  confine  it,  and  the  barriers  constructed  across  the  mouths  of  canals, 
still  prevent  it  from  overflowing.  The  Nile  must  be  considered  high  enough 
to  submerge  the  land  adequately  before  it  is  set  free.2  The  ancient  Egyptians 


1 See  the  description  of  festivals  and  superstitious  rites  pertaining  to  The  Drop,  in  Lane,  Manner* 
and  Customs  of  the  Modern  Egyptians,  4th  edit.,  vol.  ii.  p.  224. 

! There  are  few  documents  to  show  what  the  Egyptians  considered  the  proper  height  of  a good 
inundation.  However,  we  are  told  in  a Ptolemaic  inscription  that  at  the  moment  when  “in  its  own 
season  the  Nile  comes  forth  from  its  sources,  if  it  readies  to  the  height  of  twenty-four  cubits  (42  ft. 
G in.)  at  Elephantine,  then  there  is  no  scarcity ; the  measure  is  not  defective,  and  it  comes  to 
inundate  the  fields”  (Bkugsch,  Angabe  einer  NilhSlie  nach  Ellen  in  einem  Hieroglyphischen  Texte, 
in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1865,  pp.  43,  44).  Another  text  (Brugsch,  Die  Biblischen  sieben  Jahre  der 
Hungersnoth,  p.  153)  fixes  the  height  to  be  registered  by  the  nilometer  at  Elephantine  at  twenty-eight 
cubits,  and  at  seven,  by  the  nilometer  of  Diospolis,  in  the  Delta.  The  height  of  twenty-four  cubits, 
taken  from  the  nilometer  at  Elephantine,  is  confirmed  by  various  passages  from  ancient  and  modern 
writers.  The  indications  given  in  my  text  are  drawn  from  the  nilometer  of  Roda,  as  being  that 
from  which  quotations  are  usually  made.  In  computing  the  ancient  levels  of  the  rising  Nile  at 
Memphis,  I have  adopted  the  results  of  the  calculations  undertaken  by  A,  he  RozrfcRF,  De  la 


24 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


measured  its  height  by  cubits  of  twenty-one  and  a quarter  inches.  At 
fourteen  cubits,  they  pronounced  it  an  excellent  Nile ; below  thirteen,  or 
above  fifteen,  it  was  accounted  insufficient  or  excessive,  and  in  either  case 
meant  famine,  and  perhaps  pestilence  at  hand.  To  this  day  the  natives 
watch  its  advance  with  the  same  anxious  eagerness ; and  from  the  3rd  of 
July,  public  criers,  walking  the  streets  of  Cairo,  announce  each  morning 
what  progress  it  has  made  since  evening.1  More  or  less  authentic  traditions 
assert  that  the  prelude  to  the  opening  of  the  canals,  in  the  time  of  the 
Pharaohs,  was  the  solemn  casting  to  the  waters  of  a young  girl  decked  as  for 
her  bridal — the  “Bride  of  the  Nile.”2  Even  after  the  Arab  conquest,  the 
irruption  of  the  river  into  the  bosom  of  the  land  was  still  considered  as  an 
actual  marriage ; the  contract  was  drawn  up  by  a cadi,  and  witnesses  con- 
firmed its  consummation  with  the  most  fantastic  formalities  of  Oriental 
ceremonial.3  It  is  generally  between  the  1st  and  lGth  of  July  that  it  is 
decided  to  break  through  the  dykes.  When  that  proceeding  has  been 
solemnly  accomplished  iu  state,  the  flood  still  takes  several  days  to  fill  the 
canals,  and  afterwards  spreads  over  the  low  lands,  advancing  little  by  little 
to  the  very  edge  of  the  desert.  Egypt  is  then  one  sheet  of  turbid  water 
spreading  between  two  lines  of  rock  and  sand,  flecked  with  green  and  black 
spots  where  there  are  towns  or  where  the  ground  rises,  and  divided  into 
irregular  compartments  by  raised  roads  connecting  the  villages.  In  Nubia 
the  river  attains  its  greatest  height  towards  the  end  of  August ; at  Cairo  and 
in  the  Delta  not  until  three  weeks  or  a month  later.  For  about  eight  days  it 
remains  stationary,  and  then  begins  to  fall  imperceptibly.  Sometimes  there 
is  a new  freshet  in  October,  and  the  river  again  increases  in  height.  But  the 
rise  is  unsustained;  once  more  it  falls  as  rapidly  as  it  rose,  and  by  December 
the  river  has  completely  retired  to  the  limits  of  its  bed.  One  after  another, 
the  streams  which  fed  it  fail  or  dwindle.  The  Tacazze  is  lost  among  the 
sands  before  it  can  rejoin  it,  and  the  Blue  Nile,  well-nigh  deprived  of 


constitution  'physique  de  VEgypte,  iu  the  Description , vol.  xs.  pp.  351-381.  He  shows  from  Le  Perk 
( Mdmoire  sur  la  vallee  du  Nil  et  sur  le  nilometre  de  Vile  de  Roudali,  in  the  Description,  vol.  xviii. 
p.  555,  et  seq.)  that  the  increase  iu  the  number  of  cubits  is  only  apparent,  and  that  the  actual  rise 
is  almost  invariable,  although  the  registers  of  the  nilometers  advance  from  age  to  age.  A table  of 
most  of  the  known  rises,  both  ancient  and  modern,  is  to  be  found  iu  the  recent  work  of  Chelu,  Le 
Nil,  le  Soudan,  VEgypte,  pp.  81-93. 

1 In  his  Manners  and  Customs,  4th  edit.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  225-236,  Lane  described  the  criers  of  the 
Nile.  Their  proclamations  have  scarcely  changed  since  his  time,  excepting  that  the  introduction  of 
steam-power  has  supplied  them  with  new  images  for  indicating  the  rapidity  of  the  rise. 

2 G.  Lembroso  has  collected  the  principal  passages  in  ancient  and  modern  writers  relating  to 
The  Bride  of  the  Nile,  in  L’Egitto  al  tempo  dei  Greci  e dei  Romani,  pp.  6-10.  This  tradition 
furnished  G.  Ebers  with  material  for  a romance  called  Die  Nilbraut,  wherein  he  depicts  Coptic  life 
during  the  first  years  of  Arab  rule  with  much  truth  and  vivacity. 

3 Sylvestre  de  Sac  y,  Le  Livre  des  Etoiles  errantes,  par  le  Scheilch  Schemseddin  Mohammed  bin 
Abilsorur  al-Balieri  al-Sadiki,  in  the  Notices  et  Extraits  des  Manuscrits,  vol.  i.  p.  275. 


From  a photograph  by  Beato. 


26 


TEE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


tributaries,  is  but  scantily  maintained  by  Abyssinian  snows.  The  White  Nile  is 
indebted  to  the  Great  Lakes  for  the  greater  persistence  of  its  waters,  which 
feed  the  river  as  far  as  the  Mediterranean,  and  save  the  valley  from  utter 
drought  in  winter.  But,  even  with  this  resource,  the  level  of  the  water  falls 
daily,  and  its  volume  is  diminished.  Long-hidden  sandbanks  reappear,  and 
are  again  linked  into  continuous  line.  Islands  expand  by  the  rise  of  shingly 
beaches,  which  gradually  reconnect  them  with  each  other  and  with  the  shore. 
Smaller  branches  of  the  river  cease  to  flow,  and  form  a mere  network  of  stag- 
nant pools  and  muddy  ponds,  which  fast  dry  up.  The  main  channel  itself  is 
only  intermittently  navigable;  after  March  boats  run  aground  in  it,  and  are 
forced  to  await  the  return  of  the  inundation  for  their  release.  From  the 
middle  of  April  to  the  middle  of  June,  Egypt  is  only  half  alive,  awaiting 
the  new  Nile.1 

Those  ruddy  and  heavily  charged  waters,  rising  and  retiring  with  almost 
mathematical  regularity,  bring  and  leave  behind  the  spoils  of  the  countries 
they  have  traversed:  sand  from  Nubia,  whitish  clay  from  the  regions  of  the 
Lakes,  ferruginous  mud,  and  the  various  rock-formations  of  Abyssinia.2  These 
materials  are  not  uniformly  disseminated  in  the  deposits ; their  precipitation 
being  regulated  both  by  their  specific  gravity  and  the  velocity  of  the  current. 
Flattened  stones  and  rounded  pebbles  are  left  behind  at  the  cataract  between 
Syene  and  Iveneh,  while  coarser  particles  of  sand  are  suspended  in  the 
undercurrents  and  serve  to  raise  the  bed  of  the  river,  or  are  carried  out  to 
sea  and  form  the  sandbanks  which  are  slowly  rising  at  the  Damietta  and 
Bosetta  mouths  of  the  Nile.  The  mud  and  finer  particles  rise  towards  the 
surface,  and  are  deposited  upon  the  land  after  the  opening  of  the  dykes.3 
Soil  which  is  entirely  dependent  on  the  deposit  of  a river,  and  periodically 
invaded  by  it,  necessarily  maintains  but  a scanty  flora;  and  though  it  is  well 
known  that,  as  a general  rule,  a flora  is  rich  in  proportion  to  its  distance  from 
the  poles  and  its  approach  to  the  equator,  it  is  also  admitted  that  Egypt  offers 
an  exception  to  this  rule.  At  the  most,  she  has  not  more  than  a thousand 


1 The  main  phases  of  the  rise  are  chiefly  described  from  the  very  full  account  of  Le  Pere, 
Memoire  sur  la  valine  du  Nil  et  le  nilometre  de  Visle  de  Poudah,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol. 
xviii.  pp.  555-645. 

2 All  manner  of  marvels  were  related  by  the  ancients  as  to  the  nature  and  fertilizing  properties 
of  the  waters  of  the  Nile.  A scientific  analysis  of  these  waters  was  first  made  by  Regnaut,  Analyse 
de  Veau  du  Nil  et  de  quelques  eaux  salees,  in  tho  Decade  dgyptienne , vol.  i.  pp.  261-271.  The  result 
of  the  most  recent  examination  is  to  be  found,  in  great  detail,  iu  Chelu’s  work,  Le  Nil,  le  Soudan, 
VEgypte,  pp.  177-179. 

3 On  the  nature  and  movements  of  the  alluvial  deposits,  see  P.  S.  Girard,  Observations  sur  la 
valine  d'Egypte  et  sur  Vexhaussement  tCculaire  du  sol  qui  la  recouvre,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte, 
vol  xix.  p.  140,  sqq. ; and  E.  de  Roziere,  De  la  constitution  physique  de  VEgypte  et  de  ses  rap- 
ports avec  les  anciennes  institutions  de  cette  contrite,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  xx.  p.  328, 
et  seq. 


SCANTINESS  OF  TEE  EGYPTIAN  FLORA. 


27 


species,  while,  with  equal  area,  England,  for  instance,  possesses  more  tlian  fifteen 
hundred ; 1 and  of  this  thousand,  the  greater  number  are  not  indigenous. 
Many  of  them  have  been  brought  from  Central  Africa  by  the  river;  birds 
and  winds  have  continued  the  work,  and  man  himself  has  contributed  his  part 
in  making  it  more  complete.2  From  Asia  he  has  at  different  times  brought 
wheat,  barley,  the  olive,  the  apple,  the  white  or  rose  almond,  and  some  twenty 
other  species  now  acclimatized  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  Marsh  plants  pre- 
dominate in  the  Delta ; but  the  papyrus,  and  the  three  varieties  of  blue, 
white,  and  rose  lotus  which  once  flourished  there,  being  no  longer  cultivated, 
have  now  almost  entirely  disappeared,  and  reverted  to  their  original  habitats.3 
The  sycamore  and  the  date-palm,  both  importations  from  Central  Africa, 
have  better  adapted  themselves  to  their  exile,  and  are  now  fully  natural- 
ized on  Egyptian  soil.  The  sycamore4  grows  in  sand  on  the  edge  of  the 
desert  as  vigorously  as  in  the  midst  of  a well- watered  country.  Its  roots 
go  deep  in  search  of  the  water,  which  infiltrates  as  far  as  the  gorges 
of  the  hills,  and  they  absorb  it  freely,  even  where  drought  seems  to  reign 
supreme.  The  heavy,  squat,  gnarled  trunk  occasionally  attains  to  colossal 
dimensions,  without  ever  growing  very  high.  Its  rounded  masses  of  com- 
pact foliage  are  so  wide-spreading  that  a single  tree  in  the  distance  may 
give  the  impression  of  several  grouped  together;  and  its  shade  is  dense,  and 
impenetrable  to  the  sun.  A striking  contrast  to  the  sycamore  is  presented 


1 Gay-Lussac,  Du  sol  dgyptien,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  e'gyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  221. 
Raffeneau-Delile  ( Flora:  Mgyptiacst  lllustratio,  in  tlia  Description  de  V Egypt e,  vol.  xix.  pp.  69- 1 14) 
enumerates  1030  spr  cies.  Wilkinson  ( Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  ii.  p.  103)  counts  about  1300, 
of  which  250  are  only  to  be  found  in  the  desert,  thus  bringing  down  the  number  belonging  to  Egypt 
proper  to  the  figures  given  by  Delile  and  Gay-Lussac.  Ascherson  and  Schweinfurth  ( Illustration 
de  la  Flore  d’Egypte,  in  the  Mdmoires  de  VInstitut  e'gyptien,  vol.  ii.  pp.  25-260)  have  lately  raised  the 
list  to  1260,  and  since  then  fresh  researches  have  brought  it  up  to  1313  (Schweinfurth,  Sur  la  Flore 
des  anciens  jardins  arabes,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  Egyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  viii.  p.  331).  Coque- 
bert  had  already  been  struck  by  the  poverty  of  the  Egyptian  flora  as  compared  with  that  of  France 
(Reflexions  sur  quelques  points  de  comparaison  a e'tablir  entre  les  plantes  d’Egypte  et  cellts  de  France, 
in  the  Description  de  V Egypte,  vol.  xix.  pp.  8,  9). 

2 A.  Raffenau-Delile,  MPmoire  sur  les  plantes  qui  croissent  spontandment  en  Egypte,  in  the 
Description  de  V Egypte,  vol.  xix.  p.  23,  et  seq.  Schweinfurth,  Vegetaux  cult  ire's  en  Egypte  et  qui  se 
retrouvent  a Vdtat  spontane  dans  le  Soudan  et  dans  Vinterieur  de  VAfrique,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut 
Egyptien,  1st  series,  vol.  xii.  p.  200,  et  seq. 

2 For  the  lotus  in  general,  see  Raffenau-Delile,  Flore  d’ Egypte  (in  the  Description,  vol.  xix.  pp. 
415-135),  and  F.  Wcenig,  Die  Pflanzen  im  Allen  JEgypten,  pp.  17-71.  The  white  lotus,  Nymplixu 
lotus,  was  called  soshini  in  Egyptian  (Loret,  Sur  les  noms  dgyptiens  du  lotus,  in  the  Recueil  de  Tra- 
vaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  191,  192,  and  La  Flore  pharaonique  d’apres  les  documents  hieroglyphiques  et  les  speci- 
mens dtcouverts  dans  les  tombes,  No.  129,  pp.  53-55).  The  blue  lotus,  Nymplixa  cxrulea,  the  most 
frequent  in  tomb  scenes  (Schw'einfurth,  De  la  Flore  pharaonique,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut 
Egyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  iii.  p.  60,  et  seq.),  was  called  sarpedu  (Loret,  Sur  les  noms  dgypliens,  in 
the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  p.  191).  The  rose  lotus  was  called  nakhabu,  nahbu  ( ibid  , pp.  192, 
193).  Pleyte  (De  Egyptische  Lotus,  p.  9)  thinks  that  this  last  kind  was  introduced  into  Egypt 
somewhat  late,  towards  the  time  of  Darius  and  Xerxes. 

4 F.  Wcenig,  in  Die  Pflanzen  im  Alten  JEgypten,  pp.  280-292,  has  made  a fairly  exhaustive 
collection  of  ancient  and  modern  material  referring  to  the  Egyptian  sycamore  (nuhit,  nuke). 


28 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


by  the  date-palm.1 2  Its  round  and  slender  stem  rises  uninterruptedly  to 
a height  of  thirteen  to  sixteen  yards;  its  head  is  crowned  with  a cluster 
of  flexible  leaves  arranged  in  two  or  three  tiers,  but  so  scanty,  so  pitilessly 
slit,  that  they  fail  to  keep  off  the  light,  and  cast  but  a slight  and 
unrefreshing  shadow.  Few  trees  have  so  elegant  an  appearance,  yet 


SYCAMORES  AT  THE  ENTRANCE  OP  THE  MUDIR1YEH  OF  ASYET.2 


few  are  so  monotonously  elegant.  There  are  palm  trees  to  be  seen  on 
every  hand ; isolated,  clustered  by  twos  and  threes  at  the  mouths  of 
ravines  and  about  the  villages,  planted  in  regular  file  along  the  banks  of 
the  river  like  rows  of  columns,  symmetrically  arranged  in  plantations, 
— these  are  the  invariable  background  against  which  other  trees  are 
grouped,  diversifying  the  landscape.  The  feathery  tamarisk3  and  the 

1 A.  Raffenau-Delile,  Flore  d’Egypte,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  xx.  pp.  435-4-18.  The 
Egyptians  called  the  date-palm  baunirit,  baunit  (Loret,  Etude  sur  quelques  arbres  e'gyptiens,  in  the 
Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  ii.  pp.  21-26). 

2 From  a drawing  by  Boudier,  after  a photograph  by  Insinger,  taken  in  1881. 

3 The  Egyptian  name  for  the  tamarisk,  asari,  asri,  is  identical  with  that  given  to  it  in  Semitic 
languages,  both  ancient  and  modern  (Loret,  La  Flore  pharaonique,  No.  88,  p.  88).  This  would 
suggest  the  question  whether  the  tamarisk  did  not  originally  come  from  Asia.  In  that  case  it  must 
have  been  brought  to  Egypt  from  remote  antiquity,  for  it  figures  in  the  Pyramid  texts.  Bricks  of 
Nile  mud,  and  Memphite  and  Theban  tombs,  have  yielded  us  leaves,  twigs,  and  even  whole  branches 
of  the  tamarisk  (Schweinferth,  Les  dernieres  D&couvertes  botaniques  dans  les  anciens  tombeaux  de 
VEgypte,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  egyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  vi.  p.  283). 


THE  FOREST  OF  DATE-PALMS  AT  BEDRESHEN. 


30 


THE  NILE  ANT)  EGYPT. 


nabk,1  the  moringa,2  the  carob,3  or  locust  tree,  several  varieties  of  acacia 
and  mimosa — the  sont,4  the  mimosa  habbas,5  the  white  acacia,3  the  Acacia 
Farnesiana7 — and  the  pomegranate  Iree,8  increase  in  number  with  the  distance 
from  the  Mediterranean.  The  dry  air  of  the  valley  is  marvellously  suited 
to  them,  but  makes  the  tissue  of  their  foliage  bard  and  fibrous,  imparting  an 
aerial  aspect,  and  such  faded  tints  as  are  unknown  to  their  growth  in  other 
climates.9  The  greater  number  of  these  trees  do  not  reproduce  themselves 
spontaneously,  and  tend  to  disappear  when  neglected.  The  Acacia  Seyal,lu 
formerly  abundant  by  the  banks  of  the  river,  is  now  almost  entirely  con- 
fined to  certain  valleys  of  the  Theban  desert,  along  with  a variety  of  the 
kernelled  dom-palm,11  of  which  a poetical  description  has  come  down  to 

1 The  nabe'ea,  or  nabk,  Zizyphus  Spina  Christi,  Desf.,  is  the  nubsu  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  lists 
(Loret,  La  Flore  pharaonique,  No.  112,  pp.  44,  45;  Dumichen,  in  Moldenke,  Ueber  die  in  alt- 
Mgyptischen  Texten  erwdlmten  Baume,  pp.  108,  109,  note;  Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 12,  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  1890-91,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  496-501).  The  fruit  and 
wood  of  the  tree  has  been  found  in  tombs,  more  especially  in  those  of  the  twentieth  dynasty  (Schwein- 
furth,  Les  dernieres  Decouvertes,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  dgyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  vi.  p.  260. 

2 The  Moringa  aptera,  from  which  Ben  oil  is  obtained,  the  myrobalanum  of  the  ancients,  was 
called  balchu,  and  its  oil  is  mentioned  in  very  early  texts  (Loret,  Recherches  sur  plusieurs  plantes 
connues  des  anciens  Egyptiens,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  vii.  pp.  103-106;  and  La  Flore 
pharaonique,  No.  95,  pp.  39,  40).  For  its  presence  in  Theban  tombs,  see  Schweinfurth,  Les 
dernieres  Decouvertes,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  fgyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  vi.  p.  270. 

3 The  carob  tree,  Ceratonia  siliqua,  was  called  dunraga,  tenralca  (Loret,  La  Flore  pharaonique, 
No.  96,  p.  40 ; and  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  pp.  120-130).  Unger  thought  that  he  had  found  some 
remains  of  it  in  Egyptiau  tombs  ( Die  Fjlanzen  des  Alten  Mgyptens,  p.  132),  but  Schweinfurth  ( Sur 
la  Flore  des  anciens  jardins  arabes  d’Egypte,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  egyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  viii. 
pp.  306,  334,  335)  does  not  admit  his  testimony. 

4 The  sont  tree,  in  ancient  Egyptian,  shondu,  slionti,  has  long  been  identified  with  the  Acacia 
Nilotica,  Dee.  Its  history  may  be  found  in  Schweinfurth’s  memoir,  Aufzdhlung  und  Beschreibung 
der  Acacia-Arten  des  Nil-Gebiets,  in  Linnxa,  xxxv.  (new  series,  i.)  pp.  333,  334. 

5 Mimosa  habbas,  A.  Raffenau-Delile,  Florae  /Egyptiacx  Illustratio,  iu  the  Description  de  VEgypte, 
vol.  xix.  p.  111. 

6 The  Acacia  albida  is  still  not  uncommon  on  the  ancient  site  of  Thebes,  near  Medinet  HabO 
(Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  ii.  p.  405,  note  2). 

7 This  is  the  acacia  bearing  bunches  of  feathery  and  fragrant  yellow  flowers,  and  known  in  the 
South  of  France  as  the  cassia  tree.  It  is  common  throughout  the  Nile  valley.  Loret  thinks  that 
its  hairy  seeds  were  called  pirslionu  and  sennaru  ( Le  Kyphi,  parfum  saertf  des  anciens  Egyptiens,  pp. 
52-54;  and  La  Flore  pharaonique,  No.  94,  p.  39).  But  did  the  tree  exist  in  Egypt  in  Pharaonic  times? 

8 The  pomegranate  tree  does  not  appear  on  Egyptian  monuments  before  the  time  of  the  eighteenth 
dynasty;  perhaps  it  was  first  introduced  into  Egypt  about  that  time.  It  is  occasionally  represented 
((Jhamfollion,  Monuments,  pi.  clxxiv. ; Lefsius,  Denlcm.,  iii.  48),  and  the  flowers  have  been  found 
in  several  Theban  tombs  (Schweinfurth,  Les  Dernieres  Decouvertes  botaniques,  in  the  Bulletin  de 
VInstitut  Egyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  vi.  p.  268).  Both  Loret  ( Becherches  sur  plusieurs  plantes  connues 
des  anciens  Egyptiens,  in  the  Becueil,  v oh  vii.  pp.  108-111)  and  Moldenke  {Anrhemen,  Pomegranate 
Tree,  in  Etudes  arcMologiques  dediees  a M.  Leemans,  pp.  17,  18,  and  Ueber  die  in  den  allagyptischen 
Texten  erudhnten  Baume, pp.  114, 115)  have  recovered  its  ancient  Egyptian  name  of  anhrama,  anhramon. 

3 A.  Raffenau-Delile,  Memoire  sur  les  plantes  qui  croissent  spontan&ment  en  Egypte,  in  the 
Description,  vol.  xix.  pp.  35,  36. 

10  The  Acacia  Seyal  is  probably  the  dsliu  of  ancient  texts  (Loret,  Les  arbres  ash,  sib,  et  slient,  iu 
the  Becueil,  vol.  ii.  p.  60,  et  seq.,  and  La  Flore  pharaonique,  No.  93,  p.  39;  Moldenke,  Ueber  die  in 
allagyptischen  Texten  erwdlmten  Bailme,  pp.  87-92). 

11  This  is  the  Hyphxne  Argun , Mart.,  or  the  Medemia  Argun,  Hooker,  called  by  the  ancients 
Mama  ni  hhanini,  or  kernelled  dom-palm  (Loret,  Etude  sur  quelques  arbres  Egyptiens,  in  the  Becueil, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  21-26,  and  La  Flore  pharaonique,  No.  29,  p.  16;  Moldenke,  Ueber  die  in  altagyptischen 
Texten  erwahnten  Baume,  pp.  71-73).  Its  fruit  is  occasionally  found  in  Theban  tombs  (Unger,  Die 


31 


AC  AO  I AS,  THE  DOM- PALM. 

us  from  the  Ancient  Egyptians.1  The  common  dom-palm 2 bifurcates  at 
eight  or  ten  yards  from  the  ground ; these  branches  are  subdivided,  and 
terminate  in  bunches  of  twenty  to  thirty  palmate  and  fibrous  leaves,  six  to 


ACACIAS  AT  THE  ENTRANCE  TO  A GARDEN  OUTSIDE  EKHMIM.3 


eight  feet  long.  At  the  beginning  of  this  century  the  tree  was  common  in 
Upper  Egypt,  but  it  is  now  becoming  scarce,  and  we  are  within  measurable 
distance  of  the  time  when  its  presence  will  be  an  exception  north  of  the  first 
cataract.  Willows4  are  decreasing  in  number,  and  the  persea,5  one  of  the 
sacred  trees  of  Ancient  Egypt,  is  now  only  to  be  found  in  gardens.  None  of 
the  remaining  tree  species  are  common  enough  to  grow  in  large  clusters ; and 
Egypt,  reduced  to  her  lofty  groves  of  date-palms,  presents  the  singular 

PJlanzen  ties  Alien  JEgyptens,  p.  107;  Schweinfurth,  Ueber  Pjianzenreste  aus  altagyptischen  Giabern. 
iu  the  Berichte  des  Deulschen  Botanischen  Geselhchaft,  1884,  p.  369). 

1 First  Sallier  Papyrus,  pi.  viii.  lines  4,  5. 

2 Mama  is  the  Egyptian  name  for  the  dom-palm  {Hyplixne  Thebaica  of  Mart.),  and  its  fruit  was 
called  qilqft  (Loret,  Etude  sur  quelques  arbres  egyptiens,  in  the  Becueil,  vol.  ii.  pp.  21-26)  The 
tree  itself  has  been  fully  described  by  Raffenau-Delile,  Description  du  palmier-douin  de  la  Haute 
Egypte  ou  Cucifera  Thebaica,  in  the  Description  de  I’Egypte,  vol.  xx.  p.  11,  et  seq. 

3 From  a drawing  by  Boudier,  alter  a photograph  by  Insinger,  taken  in  1884. 

4 Known  to-day  as  the  Salix  safsaf,  Forsk.  In  Aucient  Egyptian,  it  was  called  tarit,  tore  (Loret, 
La  Flore  pharaonique,  No.  42,  p.  20).  Its  leaves  were  used  for  making  the  funerary  garlauds  so 
common  in  Theban  tombs  of  the  eighteenth  to  twentieth  dynasties  (Schweinfurth,  Ueber  Pjianzen- 
reste aus  altagyptischen  Grdbern,  in  the  Berichte  der  D.  Bot.  Ges.,  1884,  p.  369). 

5 Raffenau-Delile,  Flore  d’Egyple,  in  the  Description  de  I’Egypte,  vol.  xix.  pp.  263-280,  identified 
the  persea,  or  Ancient  Egyptian  shauaba,  with  the  Balanites  TEgyptiaca,  Del.,  the  lebahh  of  mediaeval 
Arab  writings.  Schweinfurth  has  shown  that  it  was  the  Mimusops  Schimeperi,  Hochst.  ( Ueber 
Pjianzenreste,  p.  364). 


32 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


spectacle  of  a country  where  there  is  no  lack  of  trees,  but  an  almost  entire 
absence  of  shade.1 

^ Egypt  ls  a land  of  imported  flora,  it  is  also  a land  of  imported  fauna, 

and  all  its  animal  species  have 
been  brought  from  neighbouring 
countries.  Some  of  these — as,  for 
example,  the  horse 2 and  the  camel3 
— were  only  introduced  at  a com- 
paratively recent  period,  two  thou- 
sand to  eighteen  hundred  years 
before  our  era;  the  camel  still  later. 
The  animals — such  as  the  long  and 
short-horned  oxen,  together  with 
varieties  of  goats  and  dogs — are, 
like  the  plants,  generally  of  African 
origin,5  and  the  ass  of  Egypt  pre- 
serves an  original  purity  of  form  and  a vigour  to  which  the  European  donkey 
has  long  been  a stranger.6  The  pig  and  the  wild  boar,7  the  long-eared  hare, 
the  hedgehog,  the  ichneumon,8  the  moufflon,  or  maned  sheep,  innumerable 

1 E.  de  Koziere,  De  la  constitution  physique  de  V Egypte,  in  the  Description  de  V Egypte,  vol.  xx. 
pp.  280,  281. 

2 To  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  Prisse  d’Avennes  was  the  first  to  publish  facts  relating  to  the 
history  of  the  horse  in  Egypt,  Des  Chevaux  chez  les  anciens  Egyptiens,  in  Perron’s  Abou-Bekr  ibn-Bedr 
le  Nageri,  la  Perfection  des  deux  arts,  ou  Trait?  d'hippiatrique,  1852,  vol.  i.  p.  128,  et  seq.  They  were 
republished  by  Fr.  Lenorhant,  Notes  sur  un  voyage  en  Egypte,  1870,  pp.  2-4,  and  unsuccessfully 
contested  by  Chabas,  Etudes  sur  V Antiquit?  historique,  2nd  edit.,  p.  421,  et  seq.  M.  Lefebure  (Sur 
V Anciennet?  du  cheval  en  Egypte,  in  L’Annuaire  de  la  Facult?  des  lettres  de  Lyon,  2nd  year,  pp.  1-11, 
and  again  Le  Nom  du  cheval,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  1889-90, 
vol.  xii.  pp.  449-456)  has  since  endeavoured  to  show,  but  without  success,  that  the  horse  was  known 
in  Egypt  under  the  twelfth  dynasty,  and  even  earlier.  The  most  complete  information  with  regard 
to  the  history  of  the  horse  in  Egypt  is  to  be  found  in  the  ivork  of  C.-A.  Pietrement,  Les  Chevaux 
dans  les  temps  prehistoriques  et  historiques,  1883,  p.  459,  et  seq. 

3 The  camel  is  never  found  on  Egyptian  monuments  before  the  Saite  period,  aud  was  certainly 
unknowm  in  Egypt  throughout  preceding  ages.  The  texts  in  which  M.  Chabas  thought  that  he  had 
found  its  name  are  incorrectly  translated,  or  else  they  refer  to  other  animals,  perhaps  to  mules 
(Chabas,  Etudes  sur  Vantiquit?  historique,  2nd  edit.,  p.  397,  et  seq.;  compare  also  W.  Hodghton, 
Was  the  Camel  known  to  the  Ancient  Egyptians  ? in  the  Proceedings  Soc.  Bib.  Arch.,  1889-90,  vol. 
xii.  pp.  81-84). 

4 Scene  from  the  tomb  of  Ti,  drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  after  a photograph  by  Dumichen, 
Resultate  der  Photographisch-Archseologischen  Expedition,  vol.  ii.  pi.  x. 

5 Fr.  Lenormant,  Sur  les  animaux  employ?s  par  les  anciens  Egyptiens  a la  chasse  et  a la  guerre, 
1870,  first  and  second  notes,  as  republished  in  the  first  volume  of  his  Premieres  civilisations. 

6 Fr.  Lenormant,  Sur  Vantiquit?  de  Vane  et  du  cheval,  in  the  Notes  sur  un  voyage  en  Egypte,  pp. 
2-4.  The  African  origin  of  the  donkey  was  first  brought  to  light  by  H.  Milne-Edwards,  in  the 
Comptes  rendus  de  V Acad?mie  des  sciences,  1869,  vol.  lxix.  p.  1259. 

7 The  pig  is  rarely  represented  on  Egyptian  monuments.  Fr.  Lenormant  ( Sur  Vintroduction  et 
la  domesticit?  du  pore  chez  les  anciens  Egyptiens,  p.  2)  thought  it  unknown  under  the  first  dynasties. 
Nevertheless  there  are  instances  of  its  occurrence  under  the  fourth  dynasty  (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  5 ; 
aud  Petrie,  Medurn,  p.  39,  and  pi.  xxi.). 

8 The  ichneumon  was  called  khaturu,  khalul,  shatul,  in  Egyptian  (Lefebure,  Le  Nom  Egyptien 


SERPENTS,  THE  UR  NWS. 


33 


gazelles,  including  the  Egyptian  gazelles,  and  antelopes  with  lyre-shaped  horns, 
are  as  much  West  Asian  as  African,  like  the  carnivorae  of  all  sizes,  whose 
prey  they  are — the  wild  cat,  the  wolf,  the  jackal,  the 
striped  and  spotted  hyenas,  the  leopard,  the  panther,  the 
hunting-leopard,  and  the  lion.1  On  the  other  hand,  most 
of  the  serpents,  large  and  small,  are  indigenous.  Some 
are  harmless,  like  the  colubers;  others  are  venomous,  such 
as  the  scytale,  the  cerastes,  the  haje  viper,  and  the  asp. 

The  asp  was  worshipped  by 
the  Egyptians  under  the 
name  of  uraus.2  It  occa- 
sionally attains  to  a length 
of  six  and  a half  feet,  and 
when  approached  will  erect 
its  head  and  inflate  its  throat 
in  readiness  for  darting  for- 
ward. The  bite  is  fatal,  like 
that  of  the  cerastes ; birds 
are  literally  struck  down  by 
the  strength  of  the  poison, 
while  the  great  mammals, 
and  man  himself,  almost  in- 
variably succumb  to  it  after  a longer  or  shorter  death-struggle.4  The  uraus 
is  rarely  found  except  in  the  desert  or  in  the  fields  ; the  scorpion  crawls  every- 
where, in  desert  and  city  alike,  and  if  its  sting  is  not  always  followed  by  death ; 
it  invariably  causes  intolerable  pain.  Probably  there  were  once  several  kinds 
of  gigantic  serpent  in  Egypt,  analogous  to  the  pythons  of  equatorial  Africa. 
They  are  still  to  be  seen  in  representations  of  funerary  scenes,  but  not  elsewhere ;,r’ 

de  I’ichneumon,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arcluxology,  1881-85,  vol.  vii.  pp. 
193-194). 

1 Only  two  complete  memoirs  in  which  the  ancient  and  modern  Egyptian  fauna  are  compared 
together  are  known  to  me.  One  is  by  Rosellini  ( Monumenti  civili,  vol.  i.  pp.  202-220),  and  the  other 
is  by  It.  Hartmann  (Versuch  einer  systematischen  Aufzahlung  der  von  der  alten  JEgyptern  bildlich 
dargestellten  Tliiere,  mit  Ruchsicht  auf  die  heutige  Fauna  des  Nilgebietes,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1864,  pp. 
7-12,  19-28).  There  is  also  a too  brief  note  by  Maiuetie,  in  the  Bulletin  de  V Institut  egyptien,  1st 
series,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  57-66). 

z Await,  urdit,  transcribed  in  Greek  as  Ovpdios  (Horapollo,  Hieroglyphica,  book  i.  § 1,  Lceman’s 
edition,  p.  2). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  pi.  iii.  of  the  Reptiles-Supplement  to  the  Description  de  I'Egypte. 

4 The  venomous  serpents  of  Egypt  have  been  described  by  Isidore  Geoffroy  Saist-Hilaire  in 
the  Description,  vol.  xxiv.  pp.  77-96.  The  effects  of  their  poisons  have  been  studied  by  Du. 
Pancieri  (Esperienze  intorno  agli  effetti  del  veleno  della  Naja  Egiziana  e delle  Ceraste,  Naples,  1873  ; 
and  Bulletin  de  I’Institut  Egyptien,  1st  series,  vol.  xii.  pp.  187-193 ; vol.  xiii.  pp.  S9-92). 

5 As,  for  example,  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Naville,  Todtenbucli,  vol.  i.  pi.  liv.,  and  p.  188 
of  the  Introduction),  and  in  composite  mythological  scents  from  royal  Theban  tombs  (Lefebure, 
Tombeau  de  Se'ti  Ier,  in  the  Memoires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  ii.,  2nd  part,  pis.  x.,  xl.,  xli.,  xliii.,  etc.). 

D 


THE  IJRiEUS  OF  EGYPT.3 


34 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


for,  like  the  elephant,  the  giraffe,1  and  other  animals  which  now  only  thrive 
far  south,  they  had  disappeared  at  the  beginning  of  historic  times.  The 
hippopotamus  long  maintained  its  ground  before  returning  to  those  equatorial 
regions  whence  it  had  been  brought  by  the  Nile.  Common  under  the  first 
dynasties,  but  afterwards  withdrawing  to  the  marshes  of  the  Delta,  it  there 
continued  to  flourish  up  to  the  thirteenth  century  of  our  era.2  The  crocodile, 
which  came  with  it,  has,  like  it  also,  been  compelled  to  beat  a retreat.  Lord 
of  the  river  throughout  all  ancient  times,  worshipped  and  protected  in  some 
provinces,  execrated  and  proscribed  in  others,  it  might  still  be  seen  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Cairo  towards  the  beginning  of  our  century.3  In  1840,  it  no 
longer  passed  beyond  the  neighbourhood  of  Gebel  et-Ter,4  nor  beyond  that 
of  Manfalut  in  1849.5  Thirty  years  later,  Mariette  asserted  that  it  was 
steadily  retreating  before  the  guns  of  tourists,  and  the  disturbance  which  the 
regular  passing  of  steamboats  produced  in  the  deep  waters.6  To-day,  no  one 
knows  of  a single  specimen  as  existing  below  Aswan,  but  it  continues  to  infest 
Nubia,  and  the  rocks  of  the  first  cataract : 7 occasionally  one  of  them  is  carried 
down  by  the  current  into  Egypt,  where  it  is  speedily  despatched  by  the 
fellahin,  or  by  some  traveller  in  quest  of  adventure.  The  fertility  of  the  soil,8 

The  exactitude  with  which  the  characteristic  details  of  certain  kinds  are  drawn,  shows  that  the 
Egyptians  had  themselves  seen  the  originals  of  the  monstrous  serpents  which  they  depicted 
(Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  egyptienne,  vol.  i.  p.  32,  No.  3;  cf.  the  Eevue  de  VHistoire  des 
Religions,  vol.  xv.  p.  296). 

1 In  texts  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  dynasties,  the  sign  of  the  elephant  is  used  in  writing  Abu,  the 
name  of  the  town  and  island  of  Elephantine  ( Inscription  d’Uni,  1.  38,  in  Mariette’s  Abydos,  vol.  ii. 
pi.  48;  cf.  Schiaparelli,  Una  Tomba  Egiziana  inedita  della  VI"  Dinastia,  p.  23, 1.5);  from  that  time 
onward,  it  is  so  clumsily  drawn  as  to  justify  the  idea  that  the  people  of  Aswan  henceforth  saw  the 
beast  itself  but  rarely.  The  sign  of  the  giraffe  appears  as  a syllabic,  or  as  a determinative,  in 
several  words  containing  the  sound  saru,  soru. 

2 Sii.vestre  de  Sacv,  Relation  de  VEgypte  par  Abd-Allatif,  pp.  143-145,  165,  166.  The  French 
consul,  Du  Maillet,  noticed  one  of  these  animals  near  Damietta,  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century  (Le  Mascrier,  Description  de  VEgypte,  p.  31).  Burckhardt  ( Travels  in  Nubia,  p.  62)  relates 
that  in  1812  a troop  of  hippopotami  passed  the  second  cataract,  and  descended  to  Wady  Halfah  and 
Derr.  One  of  them  was  carried  along  by  the  current,  came  down  the  rapids  at,  Aswan,  and  was 
seen  at  Derau,  a day’s  march  north  of  the  first  cataract. 

3 Shortly  afterwards,  Isidore  Geoffroy  Saint-Hii.aire  stated  that  “they  are  now  no  longer 
to  be  found  in  all  the  hundred  leagues  of  the  Lower  Nile,  and  can  only  be  seen  as  high  up  the 
river  as  Thebes”  ( Description  des  crocodiles  d’Egypte  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  xxiv.  p.  408). 
He  was  mistaken,  as  is  proved  by  the  evidence  of  half  a dozen  later  travellers. 

4 Marjiont  mentioned  them  as  being  still  there,  near  to  the  Convent  of  the  Pulley  ( Voyages  du 
due  de  Raguse,  vol.  iv.  p.  44). 

5 Bayle  St.-John,  Village  Life  in  Egypt,  with  Sketches  of  the  Said,  vol.  i.  p.  268.  In  Le  Nil, 
by  Maxime  Ddcamp,  p.  108,  there  is  an  Arab  legend  (about  1849)  professing  to  explain  why  crocodiles 
cannot  pass  below  Sliekh  Abadeh.  The  legend  cited  by  Bayle  St.-John  was  intended  to  show  why 
they  remained  between  Manfalut  and  Asyut. 

0 jMarieite,  ItinCraire  des  invite’s  aux  fetes  de  V inauguration  du  canal  de  Suez,  1869,  p.  175. 

7 In  1883,  I saw  several  stretched  out  on  a sandbank,  a few  hundred  yards  from  the  southern 
point  of  the  island  of  Elephantine.  The  same  year,  two  had  been  taken  alive  by  the  Arabs  of  the 
cataract,  who  offered  them  for  sale  to  travellers. 

8 The  birds  of  modern  Egypt  have  been  described  by  J.-C.  Savigny,  Systeme  des  oiseauxde  VEgypte 
el  de  la  Syrie,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  xxiii.  p.  221,  et  seq.  In  pis.  vii.-xiv.  of  his 
Monumenti  civili , Rosellini  has  collected  a fair  number  of  drawings  of  birds,  copied  from  the  tombs 


BIRDS. 


35 


and  the  vastness  of  the  lakes  and  marshes,  attract  many  migratory  birds ; 
passerinae  and  palmipedes  flock  thither  from  all  points  of  the  Mediterranean. 
Our  European  swallows,  our  quails,  our  geese  and  wild  ducks,  our  herons — to 
mention  only  the  most  familiar — 
come  here  to  winter,  sheltered  from 
cold  and  inclement  weather.  Even 
the  non-migratory  birds  are  really, 
for  the  most  part,  strangers  acclima- 
tized by  long  sojourn.  Some  of  them — the 
turtledove,  the  magpie,  the  kingfisher,  the 
partridge,  and  the  sparrow — may  be  classed 
with  our  European  species,  while  others  be- 
tray their  equatorial  origin  in  the  brightness 
of  their  colours.  White  and  black  ibises,1 
rose  flamingoes,  pelicans,  and  cormorants 
enliven  the  waters  of  the  river,  and  animate 
the  reedy  swamps  of  the  Delta  in  infinite 
variety.  They  are  to  be  seen  ranged  in 
long  files  upon  the  sand-banks,  fishing 
and  basking  in  the  sun ; suddenly  the  flock 
is  seized  with  panic,  rises  heavily,  and 
settles  away  further  off.  In  hollows  of 
the  hills,  eagle  and  falcon,  the  merlin,  the  bald-headed  vulture,  the  kestrel, 
the  golden  sparrow-hawk,  find  inaccessible  retreats,  whence  they  descend  upon 
the  plains  like  so  many  pillaging  and  well-armed  barons.  A thousand  little 
chattering  birds  come  at  eventide  to  perch  in  flocks  upon  the  frail  boughs 
of  tamarisk  and  acacia.  Many  sea-fish  make  their  way  upstream  to  swim 
in  fresh  waters — shad,  mullet,  perch,  and  the  labrus — and  carry  their  excur- 
sions far  into  the  Said.3  Those  species  which  are  not  Mediterranean  came 
originally,  and  still  come  annually,  from  the  heart  of  Ethiopia  with  the 
rise  of  the  Nile,  such  as  two  kinds  of  Alestes,  the  soft-shelled  turtle,  the  Bagrus 


of  Thebes  and  Beni  Hasan  (cf.  the  text  in  vol.  i.  of  the  Monumenti  civili,  pp.  146-190).  Loret  has 
offered  some  most  ingenious  identifications  of  names  inscribed  upon  the  ancient  monuments  with 
various  modern  species  ( Notes  sur  la  Faune  pharaonique,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxx.  pp.  24-30). 

1 Facts  relating  to  the  ibis  have  been  collected  by  Cuvier,  Mfmoire  sur  Vibis  des  anciens  Egyptiens, 
in  the  Annales  du  Museum  d’liistoire  naturelle,  1804,  vol.  iv.  p.  116,  et  seq. ; and  by  J.  C.  Savigny, 
Histoire  naturelle  et  mythologique  de  Vibis.  An  extract  from  the  latter  is  reprinted  in  the  Description 
de  I’Dgypte,  vol.  xxiii.  p.  435,  et  scq.  One  ancient  species  of  ibis  is  believed  to  have  disappeared 
from  Egypt,  and  is  now  only  to  be  met  with  towards  the  regions  of  the  Upper  Nile.  But  it  may  still 
be  represented  by  a few  families  in  the  great  reedy  growths  encumbering  the  western  part  of  Lake 
Menzaleh. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Oiseaux,  pi.  vii.  1,  iu  the  Commission  d’Egypte. 

3 Herodotus,  ii.  93.  His  mistakes  on  this  head  are  corrected  by  Isidore  Geoffroy  Saixt- 
Hjlaire  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  xxiv.  p.  255. 


36 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


docmac,  and  the  mormyrus.1  Some  attain  to  a gigantic  si/e,  the  Bagrus  bayad 
and  the  turtle  2 to  about  one  yard,  the  latus  to  three  and  a half  yards  in  length,2 


THE  SIORMYRTJS  OXYRIIYNCHUS. 


while  others,  such  as  the  silurus4  (cat-fish),  are  noted  for  their  electric  pro- 
perties. Nature  seems  to  have  made  the  fahaka  (the  globe-fish)  in  a fit  of 

playfulness.  It  is  a long 
fish  from  beyond  the  cata- 
racts, and  it  is  carried  by 
the  Nile  the  more  easily  on 
account  of  the  faculty  it  has 
of  filling  itself  with  air,  and 
inflating  its  body  at  will. 
„ When  swelled  out  immode- 

THE  FAHAKA. 

rately,  the  fahaka  over- 
balances, and  drifts  along  upside  down,  its  belly  to  the  wind,  covered  with 
spikes  so  that  it  looks  like  a hedgehog.  During  the  inundation,  it  floats  from 
one  canal  to  another,  at  the  mercy  of  the  current,  and  the  retreating  waters 
cast  it  upon  the  muddy  fields,  where  it  becomes  the  prey  of  birds  or  of  jackals, 
or  serves  as  a plaything  for  children.5 

Everything  depends  upon  the  river: — the  soil,  the  produce  of  the  soil,  the 
species  of  animals  it  bears,  the  birds  which  it  feeds.  The  Egyptians,  therefore, 
placed  the  river  among  their  gods.0  They  gave  it  the  face  of  a man  with  regular 


1 Isidore  Geoffroy  Saint-Hilaire,  Histoire  naturelle  des  poissons  du  Nil,  in  the  Description  de 
l’  Egypte,  vol.  xxiv.  pp.  181,  335,  et  seq. 

2 Trionyx  JEyyptiacus ; cf.  Loret,  Notes  sur  la  Faune  pharaonique,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxx.  p.  25. 

3 Isidore  Geoffroy  Saint-Hilaire,  Histoire  naturelle  des  poissons  du  Nil,  in  the  Description  de 
V Egypte,  vol.  xxiv.  pp.  279,  326,  327.  In  Egyptian,  the  Latus  niloticus  was  called  ahu,  the  warrior 
(Petrie,  Medum,  pi.  xii.,  and  p 38).  The  illustration  on  p.  37  represents  a particularly  fine  specimen. 

4 The  naru  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  75,  note  4),  described 
by  Isidore  Geoffroy  Saint-Hilaire  ( Histoire  naturelle  des  poissons  du  Nil,  in  the  Description  de 
V Egypte,  vol.  xxiv.  pp.  299-307). 

5 Geoffroy  Saint-Hilaire,  Histoire  naturelle  des  poissons  du  Nil,  in  the  Description  de  V Egypte, 
vol.  xxiv.  pp.  176-217.  The  most  complete  list  of  the  fishes  of  the  Nile  known  to  me  is  that  of  A.  B. 
Clot-Bey,  Aperfu  g&ie'rale  sur  l’ Egypte,  vol.  i.  pp.  231-234;  but  the  Arab  names  as  given  in  that 
list  are  very  incorrect. 

6 In  his  Pantheon  ZEgyptiorum,  vol.  ii.  pp.  139-176,  214-230,  231-258,  Jablonski  has  collected  all 


THE  NILE- GOD. 


37 


features,  and  a vigorous  and  portly  body,  such  as  befits  a rich  man  of  high 
lineage.  His  breasts,  fully  developed  like  those  of  a woman,  though  less  firm, 
hang  heavily  upon  a wide  bosom  where  the  fat  lies  in  folds.  A narrow  girdle, 
whose  ends  fall  free  about  the 
thighs,  supports  his  spacious 
abdomen,  and  his  attire  is  com- 
pleted by  sandals,  and  a close- 
fitting  head-dress,  generally  sur- 
mounted with  a crown  of  water- 
plants.  Sometimes  water  springs 
from  his  breast;  sometimes  he 
presents  a frog,  or  libation 
vases;1  or  holds  a bundle  of  the 
cruces  ansatse ,2  as  symbols  of 
life ; or  bears  a flat  tray,  full  of 
offerings — bunches  of  flowers, 
ears  of  corn,  heaps  of  fish,  and 
geese  tied  together  by  the  feet.  The  inscriptions  call  him,  “ Hapi,  father  of 
the  gods,  lord  of  sustenance,  who  maketh  food  to  be,  and  covereth  the  two 
lands  of  Egypt  with  his  products ; who  giveth  life,  banisheth  want,  and  filleth 
the  granaries  to  overflowing.” 4 He  is  evolved  into  two  personages,  one  being 
sometimes  coloured  red,  and  the  other  blue.  The  former,  who  wears  a cluster 
of  lotus-flowers  upon  his  head,  presides  over  the  Egypt  of  the  south ; the 
latter  has  a bunch  of  papyrus  for  his  head-dress,  and  watches  over  the 
Delta.5  Two  goddesses  corresponding  to  the  two  Htipis — Mirit  Qimait  for 
Upper,  and  Mirit  Mihit  for  Lower  Egypt — personified  the  banks  of  the  river. 

the  data  to  be  obtained  from  classic  writers  concerning  the  Nile-god.  The  principal  hieroglyphic 
texts  referring  to  this  deity  are  to  be  found  in  Arundale-Bonomi-Birch,  Gallery  of  Antiquities 
selected  from  the  British  Museum,  pp.  25-26,  pi.  xiii. ; Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit., 
vol.  iii.  pi.  xliv.  pp.  206-210;  Brcgsch,  Geogr.  lnscliriften,  vol.  i.  pp.  77-79,  and  Religion  und 
Mythologie  der  alten  JEgypter,  pp.  638-641 ; Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia  Egizia,  pp.  514-525. 
pis.  cxeviii.,  exeix. 

1 Ciiami'ollion,  Monuments  de  VEgypte,  pL  exxxiii.  1;  Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto,  pis. 
xxv.,  xxvii. 

2 Wilkinson,  Materia,  ser.  11,  pi.  xlii.,  No.  3 ; and  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii. 
pi.  xliv.,  No.  3. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a Medfim  painting.  Petrie,  Medum,  pi.  xii. 

* Arundale-Bonomi-Birch,  Gallery  of  Antiquities,  pi.  xiii. ; Lepsios,  Austcahl  der  wichtigsten 
Urlcunden  des  AEgyptischen  Altherthums,  pi.  xv.  c. 

5 Cuamtollion,  Monuments,  pi.  ccc. ; Rosellini,  Monumenti  Storici,  pi.  xxxix. ; Lepsius,  Denkm., 
iii.  7.  Wilkinson  ( Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  p.  209)  was  the  first  who  suggested 
that  this  god,  when  painted  red,  was  the  Red  (that  is  the  High)  Nile,  and,  when  painted  blue, 
was  to  be  identified  with  the  Low  Nile.  This  opinion  has  since  been  generally  adopted  (Rosellini, 
Mon  Stor.,  part  i.  p.  229,  note  2;  Arundale-Bonomi-Birch,  Gallery,  p.  25);  but  to  me  it  does  not 
appear  so  incontrovertible  as  it  has  been  considered.  Here,  as  in  other  cases,  the  difference  in  colour 
is  ouly  a means  of  making  the  distinction  between  two  personages  obvious  to  sight. 


two  fishermen  carrying  a latus  which  they  have 

JUST  CAUGHT.3 


38 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


They  are  often  represented  as  standing  with  outstretched  arms,  as  though 
begging  for  the  water  which  should  make  them  fertile.1  In  every  pro- 
vince, the  Nile-god  had  his  chapel  and  his  priests,  whose 
right  it  was  to  bury  all  bodies  of  men  or  beasts  cast  up  by  the 
river ; for  the  god  had  claimed  them,  and  to  his  servants  they 
belonged.2  Several  towns  were  dedicated  to  him  : Hathapi, 

Nuit-Hapi,  Nilopolis.3  It 
was  told  in  the  Thebaid  how 
the  god  dwelt  within  a grotto, 
or  shrine  ( topliit ),  in  the  island 
of  Biggeh,  whence  he  issued 
at  the  inundation.  This  tra- 
dition dates  from  a time  when 
the  cataract  was  believed  to 
be  at  the  end  of  the  world, 
and  to  bring  downthe  heavenly 
river  upon  earth.4 5  Two  yawn- 
ing gnlfs  ( qoriti ),  at  the  foot 
of  the  two  granite  cliffs 
(moniti)  between  which  it 
ran,  gave  access  to  this 
mysterious  retreat.6  A bas- 
IILAD'  relief  from  Philao  represents  blocks  of  stone  piled  one 

above  another,  the  vulture  of  the  south  and  the  hawk  of  the  north,  each  perched 
on  a summit,  and  the  circular  chamber  wherein  Hapi  hides  himself,  crouched, 
and  clasping  a libation  vase  in  either  hand.  A single  coil  of  a serpent  outlines 
the  contour  of  this  chamber,  and  leaves  a narrow  passage  between  its  over- 


THE  GODDESS  MIRJT,  BEARING  A 
BUNCH  OE  PAPYRUS  ON  HER 


THE  NILE-GOD.5 


1 These  goddesses  are  represented  in  Wilkinson,  Materia  Ilieroglypliica,  ser.  12,  pi.  xlvii.,  part  i , 
and  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  230-232,  pi.  liii.  2;  and  in  Lanzone , Dizionario 
di  Mitologia,  pp.  317,  318,  pis.  xv.,  cxxx.  The  functions  ascribed  to  them  in  the  text  were  recognized 
by  Maspero,  Fragment  d’un  commentaire  sur  le  Livre  II.  d’ ILfrodote,  ii.  28,  p.  5 (cf.  Annates  de  la 
Faculty  des  lettres  de  Bordeaux,  vol.  ii.,  1880). 

2 Herodotus,  ii.  90 ; cf.  Wiedemann’s  Ilerodots  Zweites  Buck,  pp.  361,  365. 

3 Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  geograpliique,  pp.  483-488,  1338.  Nilopolis  is  mentioned  by  Stephanus 
oe  Byzantium  (s. v.  NeiAos),  quoting  from  Hecat.eus  of  Miletus  (fragment  277  in  Muller-Didot’s 
Fragm.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  i.  p.  19). 

4 See  above,  p.  19,  for  an  account  of  this  tradition. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  after  a statue  in  the  British  Museum.  The  dedication  of  this  statue 
took  place  about  880  b.c.  The  giver  was  Sheshonqft,  high-priest  of  Amon  in  Thebes,  afterwards 
King  of  Egypt  under  the  name  of  Sheshhonqd  II.,  and  he  is  represented  as  standing  behind  the  leg  of 
the  god,  wearing  a panther  skin,  with  both  arms  upheld  in  adoration.  The  statue  is  mutilated:  the 
end  of  the  nose,  the  beard,  and  part  of  the  tray  have  disappeared,  but  are  restored  in  the  illustration. 
The  two  little  birds  hanging  alongside  the  geese,  together  with  a bunch  of  ears  of  corn,  are  fat  quails. 

6 The  most  important  passage  in  this  connection  is  to  be  found  in  Maspero,  Me'moire  sur  quelques 
papyrus  du  Louvre,  pp.  99, 100 ; reproduced  by  Brugsch  in  the  Dictionnaire  geograpliique,  pp.  860,  861, 


THE  FESTIVALS  OF  OEBEL  SILS1LEH. 


39 


lapping  head  and  tail  through  which  the  rising  waters  overflow  at  the  time 
appointed,  bringing  to  Egypt  “all  things  good,  and  sweet,  and  pure,”  whereby 
gods  and  men  are  fed.  Towards  the 
summer  solstice,  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  sacred  water  from  the  gulfs 
of  Syene  reached  Silsileh,  the  priests 
of  the  place,  sometimes  the  reigning 
sovereign,  or  one  of  his  sons,  sacrificed 
a bull  and  geese,  and  then  cast  into 
the  waters  a sealed  roll  of  papyrus. 

This  was  a written  order  to  do  all 
that  might  insure  to  Egypt  the  bene- 
fits of  a normal  inundation.1  When 
Pharaoh  himself  deigned  to  officiate, 
the  memory  of  the  event  was  pre- 
served by  a stela  engraved  upon  the 
rocks.2  Even  in  his  absence,  the 
festivals  of  the  Nile  were  among  the 
most  solemn  and  joyous  of  the  land.3 
According  to  a tradition  transmitted 
from  age  to  age,  the  prosperity  or 
adversity  of  the  year  was  dependent 
upon  the  splendour  and  fervour  with 
which  they  were  celebrated.  Had 
the  faithful  shown  the  slightest  lukewarmness,  the  Nile  might  have  refused 

1 Questions  relating  to  the  flowing  of  the  first  waters  of  the  rising  Nile  past  Silsileh  have  been 
treated  of  by  Brugsch,  Materiaux  pour  servir  a la  reconstruction  du  calendrier  des  anciens  Egyptians, 
p.  37,  et  seq.,  and  especially  by  E.  de  Rouge,  Sur  le  nouveau  systeme  propose  par  M.  Brugsch  pour 
V interpretation  du  calendrier  Cgyptien,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1866,  pp.  3-7.  It  was  probably  sonic 
tradition  of  this  custom  which  gave  birth  to  the  legend  telling  how  the  Khalif  Omar  commanded  the 
river  in  writing  that  it  should  bring  about  a propitious  inundation  for  the  land  of  Egypt  (Mourtadi. 
Les  Mervilles  de  VEgypte,  translation  by  Pierre  Vattier,  pp.  165-167). 

Of  these  official  stelae,  the  three  hitherto  kuown  belong  to  the  three  Pharaohs:  Ramses  II. 
(Champollion,  Notices,  vol.  i.  p.  641,  et  seq. ; Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  iii.  175  a),  Minephtah  (Champollion, 
Monuments,  pi.  cxiv. ; Rosellini,  Monum.  Storici.,  pp.  302-304,  and  pi.  cxx.  1 ; Lepsius,  Denlcm. , iii. 
200  d ; Brugsch,  Recueil  de  monuments,  vol.  ii.  pi.  lxxiv.  5,  6,  and  pp.  83,  84),  and  Ramses  III. 
(Champollion,  Monuments,  pi.  civ. ; Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  iii.  217  d).  They  have  been  translated  by 
L.  Stern,  Die  Nilstele  von  Gebel  Silsileh,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1873,  pp.  125-135. 

3 The  Nile  festivals  of  the  Graeco-Roman  period  have  been  described  by  Heliodorus,  the  romance 
writer,  Mthiopica,  book  ix.  § 9.  His  description  is  probably  based  upon  the  lost  works  of  some 
Ptolemaic  author. 

* Tim  shrine  of  the  Nile  is  reproduced  from  a bas-relief  in  the  small  temple  of  Pliilae,  built  by  Trajan 
and  his  successors  (Wilkinson,  Materia  Hieroglyphica,  ser.  11,  pi.  xlii.  fig.  4 ; Champollion,  Monuments, 
pi.  xciii.  1 ; Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto,  pi.  xxvii.  3 ; Dumichen,  Geogr.  Ins.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  lxxix.).  The 
window  or  door  of  this  temple  opened  upon  Biggeli,  and  by  comparing  the  drawing  of  the  Egyptian  artist 
with  the  view  from  the  end  of  the  chamber,  it  is  easy  to  recognize  the  original  of  his  cliflf  silhouette  in 
the  piled-up  rocks  of  the  island.  By  a mistake  of  the  modern  copyist’s,  his  drawing  faces  the  wrong  way 


THE  SHRINE  OF  THE  NILE  AT  BIGGEH.4 


40 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


to  obey  the  command  and  failed  to  spread  freely  over  the  surface  of  the 
country.  Peasants  from  a distance,  each  bringing  his  own  provisions,  ate 
their  meals  together  for  days,  and  lived  in  a state  of  brutal  intoxication  as 
long  as  this  kind  of  fair  lasted.  When  the  great  day  had  arrived,  the  priests 
came  forth  in  procession  from  the  sanctuary,  bearing  the  statue  of  the  god 
along  the  banks,  to  the  sound  of  instruments  and  the  chanting  of  hymns.1 

“ I. — Hail  to  thee,  Hapi ! — who  appearest  in  the  land  and  comest — to  give 
life  to  Egypt ; — thou  who  dost  hide  thy  coming  in  darkness — in  this  very  day 
whereon  thy  coming  is  sung,2 — wave,  which  spreadest  over  the  orchards  created 
by  Ea — to  give  life  to  all  them  that  are  athirst — who  refusest  to  give  drink 
unto  the  desert — of  the  overflow  of  the  waters  of  heaven ; 3 as  soon  as  thou 
descendest, — Sibu,  the  earth-god,  is  enamoured  of  bread, — Napri,  the  god 
of  grain,  presents  his  offering,—  Phtah  maketh  every  workshop  to  prosper.4 

“ II. — Lord  of  the  fish  ! as  soon  as  he  passeth  the  cataract — the  birds  no 
longer  descend  upon  the  fields; — creator  of  corn,  maker  of  barley, — he  pro- 
longed the  existence  of  temples. — Do  his  fingers  cease  from  their  labours, 
or  doth  he  suffer? — then  are  all  the  millions  of  beings  in  misery; — doth  he 
wane  in  heaven  ? then  the  gods — themselves,  and  all  men  perish  ; 

“ III. — The  cattle  are  driven  mad,  and  all  the  world — both  great  and  small, 
are  in  torment ! — But  if,  on  the  contrary,  the  prayers  of  men  are  heard  at  his 
rising — and  (for  them)  he  maketh  himself  Khnumu,5 — when  he  ariseth,  then 
the  earth  shouts  for  joy, — then  are  all  bellies  joyful, — each  back  is  shaken 
with  laughter, — and  every  tooth  grindetb. 

“ IV. — Bringing  food,  rich  in  sustenance, — creator  of  all  good  things, — lord 


1 The  text  of  this  hymn  has  been  preserved  in  two  papyri  in  the  British  Museum ; the  second  Sallier 
papyrus  (Select  Papyri,  vol.  i.  pi.  xxi.  1.  6,  pi.  xxiii.)  and  the  seventh  Anastasi  papyrus  (ibid.,  pi.  cxxxiv. 
1,  7,  pi.  cxxxix.).  It  has  been  translated  in  full  by  Maspero  (llymne  au  Nil,  1868;  cf . Histoire 
ancienne  des  peuples  de  V Orient,  4tli  edit.,  pp.  11-13);  by  Fr.  Cook  (Records  of  the  Past,  1st  series, 
vol.  iv.  p.  105,  et  seq.);  by  Amelineau  (Bibliotheque  de  VEcole  des  hautes  dtudes,  Section  des  sciences 
religieuscs,  vol.  i.  pp.  341-371)  ; and  by  Guieysse  (Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  1-26).  Some 
few  strophes  have  been  turned  into  German  by  Brugsch  (Religion  und  Mytliologie,  pp.  639-641). 

2 Literally,  “Concealing  the  passage  through  darkness — on  the  day  of  the  songs  of  passing.” 
The  text  alludes  to  the  passage  of  the  celestial  river  giving  issue  to  the  Nile  through  the  dim  regions 
of  the  West.  The  origin  of  the  god  is  never  revealed,  nor  yet  the  day  on  which  he  will  reach  Egypt 
to  inundate  the  soil,  and  when  his  wave  is  greeted  with  the  song  of  hymns. 

3 Literally,  “ To  let  the  desert  drink  of  the  overflow  of  heaven,  is  his  abhorrence  ! ” The  orchards 
created  by  Ba  are  naturally  favoured  of  the  Nilc-god;  but  hill  and  desert,  which  are  Set’s,  are 
abhorrent  to  the  water  which  comes  down  from  heaven,  and  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  flowing 
of  Osiris.  Cf.  p.  21,  note  3. 

4 Freed  from  mythological  allusions,  the  end  of  this  phrase  signifies  that  at  the  coming  of  the 
waters  the  earth  returns  to  life  and  brings  forth  bread ; the  corn  sprouts,  and  all  crafts  flourish 
under  the  auspices  of  Pbtah,  the  artificer  and  mason-god. 

5 Literally,  “Answered  are  men  when  he  sends  forth  (his  waters),  being  in  the  form  of  Khnumu.” 
Khnumft,  lord  of  Elephantine  and  of  the  cataract,  is  a Nile-god,  and  inasmuch  as  he  is  a supreme 
deity,  he  has  formed  the  world  of  alluvial  earth  mingled  with  his  waters.  In  order  to  comprise 
within  one  image  all  that  the  Nile  can  do  when  rising  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  men,  the  Egyptian 
poet  states  that  the  god  takes  upon  himself  the  form  of  Khnhrah;  that  is  to  say,  he  becomes  a 
creator-god  for  the  faithful,  and  works  to  make  for  them  all  good  things  out  of  his  alluvial  earth. 


HYMN  TO  THE  NILE. 


41 


of  all  seeds  of  life,  pleasant  unto  his  elect if  his  friendship  is  secured— he 
produceth  fodder  for  the  cattle,— and  he  provideth  for  the  sacrifices  of  all  the 


NILE-GODS  FliOM  THE  TEMPLE  OF  SET!  I.  AT  ABYDOS  BRINGING  FOOL>  TO  EVERY  NOME  OF  EGYPT.1 


gods, — finer  than  any  other  is  the  incense  which  cometh  from  him  ; — he  taketh 
possession  of  the  two  lands — and  the  granaries  are  filled,  the  storehouses  are 
prosperous, — and  the  goods  of  the  poor  are  multiplied. 

“ V. — He  is  at  the  service  of  all  prayers  to  answer  them, — withholding 
nothing.  To  make  boats  to  be  that  is  his  strength.2 — Stones  are  not  sculptured 
for  him — nor  statues  whereon  the  double  crown  is  placed; — he  is  unseen  ; — no 
tribute  is  paid  unto  him  and  no  offerings  are  brought  unto  him, — he  is  not 
charmed  by  words  of  mystery  ; — the  place  of  his  dwelling  is  unknown, — nor 
can  his  shrine  be  found  by  virtue  of  magic  writings  ; 

“ VI.  — There  is  no  house  large  enough  for  thee, — nor  any  who  may  penetrate 
within  thy  heart ! — Nevertheless,  the  generations  of  thy  children  rejoice  in  thee 
— for  thou  dost  rule  as  a king — whose  decrees  are  established  for  the  whole  earth, 
— who  is  manifest  in  presence  of  the  people  of  the  South  and  of  the  North, — 
by  whom  the  tears  are  washed  from  every  eye, — and  who  is  lavish  of  his  bounties. 

“VII.— Where  sorrow  was,  there  doth  break  forth  joy — and  every  heart 
lvjoiceth.  Sovkti,  the  crocodile,  the  child  of  Nit,  leaps  for  gladness;2 — for 
the  Nine  gods  who  accompany  thee  have  ordered  all  things, — the  overflow 

1 From  a drawing  by  Faucher-Gudin,  after  a photograph  by  Be'ato. 

2 Literally,  “He  makes  prosperity  ( suriid ) at  the  baton  ( er  MU)  of  all  wishes,  withholding 
nothing:  to  cause  boats  ( ammu ) to  be,  that  is  his  strength.”  It  was  said  of  a man  or  a tiling  which 
depended  on  some  high  personage — as,  for  example,  on  the  Pharaoh  or  high  priest  of  Arneu, 
that  he  or  it  was  at  the  baton  (er  Ichtt)  of  the  Pharaoh  or  high  priest.  Our  author  represents  the 
Nile  as  putting  itself  at  the  baton  of  all  wishes  to  make  Egypt  prosperous.  And  since  the  traffic  of 
the  country  is  almost  entirely  carried  on  by  water,  he  immediately  adds  that  the  forte  of  the  Nile, 
that  in  which  it  best  succeeds,  lies  in  supplying  such  abundance  of  riches  as  to  oblige  the  dwellers 
by  the  river  to  build  boats  enough  for  the  freight  to  be  transported. 

3 The  goddess  Nit,  the  heifer  born  from  the  midst  of  the  primordial  waters,  had  two  crocodiles 
as  her  children,  which  are  sometimes  represented  on  the  monuments  as  hanging  from  her  bosom. 
Both  the  part  played  by  these  animals,  and  the  reason  for  connecting  them  with  the  goddess, 
are  still  imperfectly  understood. 


42 


THE  NILE  ANT)  EGYPT. 


givetli  drink  unto  the  fields — and  maketh  all  men  valiant; — one  man  taketh 
to  drink  of  the  labour  of  another, — without  charge  being  brought  against 
him.1 

“ IX. — If  thou  dost  enter  in  the  midst  of  songs  to  go  forth  in  the  midst  of 
gladness,2 — if  they  dance  with  joy  when  thou  comest  forth  out  of  the  unknown, 
— it  is  that  thy  heaviness  3 is  death  and  corruption. — And  when  thou  art 
implored  to  give  the  water  of  the  year, — the  people  of  the  Thebaid  and 
of  the  North  are  seen  side  by  side, — each  man  with  the  tools  of  his  trade, — 
none  tarrieth  behind  his  neighbour ; — of  all  those  who  clothed  themselves, 
no  man  clotheth  himself  (with  festive  garments) — the  children  of  Thot,  the 
god  of  riches,  no  longer  adorn  themselves  with  jewels,4 — nor  the  Nine  gods, 
but  they  are  in  the  night ! — As  soon  as  thou  hast  answered  by  the  rising, — 
each  one  useth  sweet  perfumes. 

“ X. — Establisher  of  true  riches,  desire  of  men, — here  are  seductive  words 5 
in  order  that  thou  mayest  reply  ; — if  thou  dost  answer  humanity  by  waves  of 
the  heavenly  Ocean, — Napri,  the  grain-god,  presents  his  offering, — all  the  gods 
adore  (thee), — the  birds  no  longer  descend  upon  the  hills ; — though  that  which 
thy  hand  formeth  were  of  gold — or  in  the  shape  of  a brick  of  silver, — it  is  not 
lapis-lazuli  that  we  eat, — but  wheat  is  of  more  worth  than  precious  stones. 

“ XI. — They  have  begun  to  sing  unto  thee  upon  the  harp, — they  sing  unto 
thee  keeping  time  with  their  hands, — and  the  generations  of  thy  children 
rejoice  in  thee,  and  they  have  filled  thee  with  salutations  of  praise ; — for  it  is 
the  god  of  Riches  who  adorneth  the  earth, — who  maketh  barks  to  prosper  in 
the  sight  of  man — who  rejoiceth  the  heart  of  women  with  child — who  loveth 
the  increase  of  the  flocks. 

“XII. — When  thou  art  risen  in  the  city  of  the  Prince, — then  is  the  rich 
man  filled — the  small  man  (the  poor)  disdaineth  the  lotus, — all  is  solid  and  of 
good  quality, — all  herbage  is  for  his  children. — Doth  he  forget  to  give  food? — 
prosperity  forsaketh  the  dwellings, — and  earth  falleth  into  a wasting  sickness.” 

1 This  is  an  allusion  to  the  quarrels  and  lawsuits  resulting  from  the  distribution  of  the  water  in 
years  when  the  Nile  was  poor  or  had.  If  the  inundation  is  abundant,  disputes  are  at  au  end. 

2 Here  again  the  text  is  corrupt.  I have  corrected  it  by  taking  as  a model  phrases  in  which  it 
is  said  of  some  high  personage  that  he  comes  before  the  king  amid  words  of  praise,  and  goes  forth  in 
the  midst  of  songs, — aqu  khir  muditu  pirlt  khir  hositu  (c.  26  of  the  Louvre,  in  Pierret,  Recueil 
des  inscriptions  in&lites,  vol.  ii.  p.  25,  1.  5).  The  court  of  Egypt,  like  that  of  Byzantium,  had  its 
formulae  of  songs  and  graduated  recitatives  to  marie  the  entrance  and  departure  of  great  person- 
ages; and  the  Nile,  which  brings  the  inundation,  and  comes  forth  from  unknown  sources,  is  compared 
with  one  of  these  great  personages,  and  hailed  as  such  according  to  the  rules  of  etiquette. 

3 The  heaviness  of  the  god  here  means  the  heaviness  of  his  waters,  the  slowness  and  difficulty 
with  which  they  rise  and  spread  over  the  soil. 

4 See  Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie,  p.  441,  on  the  identity  of  Shopsfi,  the  god  of  riches, 
with  Thot,  the  ibis  or  cynocephalus,  lord  of  letters  and  of  song. 

5 Literally,  “ delusive  words.”  The  gods  were  cajoled  with  promises  which  obviously  could  never 
be  kept;  aud  in  this  case  the  god  allowed  himself  to  be  taken  in  all  the  same,  and  answered  them 
by  the  inundation. 


THEIR  NAMES. 


43 


The  word  Nile  is  of  uncertain  origin.1  We  have  it  from  the  Greeks,  and 
they  took  it  from  a people  foreign  to  Egypt,  either  from  the  Phoenicians  or  the 
Khiti,  from  people  of  Libya,  or  of  Asia  Minor.  When  the  Egyptians  themselves 
did  not  care  to  treat  their  river  as  the  god  Hapi,  they  called  it  the  sea,  or  the 
great  river.2  They  had  twenty  terms  or  more  by  which  to  designate  the  different 
phases  which  it  assumed  according  to  the  seasons,3  but  they  would  not  have 
understood  what  was  meant  had  one  talked  to  them  of  the  Nile.  The  name 
Egypt  also  is  part  of  the  Hellenic  tradition ; 4 perhaps  it  was  taken  from  the 
temple-name  of  Memphis,  Haikuphtah,5  which  barbarian  coast  tribes  of  the 
Mediterranean  must  long  have  had  ringing  in  their  ears  as  that  of  the  most 
important  and  wealthiest  town  to  be  found  upon  the  shores  of  their  sea. 
The  Egyptians  called  themselves  Romitu,  Rotu,6  and  their  country  Qimit, 
the  black  land.7  Whence  came  they?  How  far  off  in  time  are  we  to  carry 

1 The  least  uulikely  etymology  is  still  that  which  derives  Neilos  from  the  Hebrew  nahr,  a 
river,  or  nakhal,  a torrent  (Lefsius,  Einleilung,  zur  Chronologie  der  PEgypter,  p.  275).  It  is  also  derived 
from  Ne-ialu,  the  branches  of  the  Nile  in  the  Delta  ( Bulletin  de  V Inetitut  Egyptien,  3rd  scries, 
vol.  iii.  pp.  165-175). 

2 See  above,  p.  15,  for  what  is  said  on  this  subject;  cf.  also  p.  6,  note  4. 

3 They  may  be  found  partially  enumerated  in  the  Hood  Papyrus  of  the  British  Museum  (Bhugsch, 
Dictionnaire  gfographique,  pp.  1282,  1283 ; Maspero,  Etudes  fgyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  5,  6). 

4 It  is  first  met  with  in  the  Homeric  poems,  where  it  is  applied  to  the  river  (Odyssey,  ix.  355, 
xiv.  258)  as  well  as  to  the  country  (Odyssey,  iv.  351,  xiv.  257). 

5 Haikuphtah,  Hakuphtah,  means  the  mansion  of  the  doubles  of  the  god  Phtah.  This  is  the 
etymology  proposed  by  Brcgsch  (Geogr.  Ins.,  vol.  i.  p.  83).  Even  in  the  last  century  a similar 
derivation  had  occurred  to  Forster,  viz.  Ai-go-phtasli,  which  he  translated  the  earthly  house  of  Phtah 
(Jablonski,  Opuscula,  Te  Water  edition,  vol.  i.  pp.  426,  427).  Confirmation  of  this  conjecture  might 
be  found  in  the  name  Hephsestia,  which  was  sometimes  applied  to  the  country.  As  a matter  of  fact, 
Hepbaestos  was  the  god  with  whom  the  Greeks  identified  Phtah.  Another  hypothesis,  first  proposed 
by  Reinisch  (Ueber  die  Namen  JEgyptens  bei  den  Semiten  und  Griechen,  in  the  Sitzungsberichte  of  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  in  Vienna,  1889),  and  adopted  with  slight  modifications  by  Ebers  (PEgypten  und 
die  Pitcher  Moses,  p.  132,  et  seq.),  derives  iEgyptos  from  Ai-Kaplitor,  the  island  of  Kaphtor.  In  that 
case,  the  Caphtor  of  the  Bible  would  be  the  Delta,  not  Crete.  Gutschmid  (Kleine  Schriften,  vol.  i. 
pp.  382,  383),  followed  by  Wiedemann  (Herodots  Zweites  Buch,  p.  47,  note  1),  considers  it  an  archaic, 
but  purely  Greek  form,  taken  from  yhty,  a vulture,  like  alyvmis.  “The  impetuous  river,  with  its 
many  arms,  suggested  to  the  Hellenes  the  idea  of  a bird  of  prey  of  powerful  bearing.  The  namo 
eagle,  herds,  which  is  occasionally,  though  rarely,  applied  to  the  river,  is  incontestably  in  favour  of 
this  etymology.” 

6 Bomitu  is  the  more  ancient  form,  and  is  currently  used  in  the  Pyramid  texts.  By  elision  of 
the  final  t,  it  has  become  the  Coptic  romi,  rome',  the  Pi-romi-s  of  Hecat^ds  of  Miletus  and  of 
Herodotus  (ii.  143).  Bomi  is  one  of  the  words  which  have  inspired  Prof.  Lieblein  with  the  idea 
of  seeking  traces  of  the  Ancient  Egyptian  in  the  Gypsy  tongue  (Oin  Ziguenerne,  in  his  PEgyptologiske 
Studier,  pp.  26,  27 ; cf.  Vidensle.  Selsk.  Forhandlinger,  Christiania,  1870).  Botu,  lotu,  is  the  same 
word  as  romitu,  without  the  intermediate  nasal.  Its  ethnic  significance  was  recognized  by  Cham- 
pollion  (Leitres  Rentes  d’Egypte,  2nd  edit.,  p.  259).  E.  de  Rouge  connected  it  with  the  name 
Ludim,  which  is  given  in  Genesis  (x.  13)  to  the  eldest  son  of  Mizrnim  (Becherches  sur  les  monuments 
qu’on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties  de  Mantthon,  p.  6).  Rochemonteix  (Sur  les  noms  des 
fils  de  Mizraim,  in  the  Journal  asiatique,  1888,  Sth  series,  vol.  xii,  pp.  199-201 ; cf.  CEuvres  diverses , 
pp.  86-89)  takes  it  for  the  name  of  the  fellahin,  and  the  poorer  classes,  in  distinction  to  the  term 
Anamim,  which  would  stau.l  for  the  wealthy  classes,  the  zaual  of  Mohammedan  times. 

’ A digest  of  ancient  discussions  on  this  name  is  to  be  found  in  Champollion  (L'Egypte  sous  les 
Pharaons,  vol.  i.  pp.  73,  74),  and  the  like  service  has  been  done  for  modern  research  on  the  subject 
by  Brugsch  I Geogr.  Ins.,  vol.  i.  pp.  73,  74).  The  name  was  known  to  the  Greeks  under  the  form 
Kliemia,  Khimia  (De  lside  et  Osiride,  § 33.  Parthey  edition,  p.  58.  7) ; but  it  was  rarely  used,  at 
least  for  literary  purposes. 


44 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


back  the  date  of  their  arrival?  The  oldest  monuments  hitherto  known 
scarcely  transport  us  further  than  six  thousand  years,  yet  they  are  of  an  art 
so  fine,  so  well  determined  in  its  main  outlines,  and  reveal  so  ingeniously 
combined  a system  of  administration,  government,  and  religion,  that  we  infer 
a long  past  of  accumulated  centuries  behind  them.  It  must  always  be  difficult 
to  estimate  exactly  the  length  of  time  needful  for  a race  as  gifted  as  were  the 
Ancient  Egyptians  to  rise  from  barbarism  into  a high  degree  of  culture. 
Nevertheless,  I do  not  think  that  we  shall  be  misled  in  granting  them  forty  or 
fifty  centuries  wherein  to  bring  so  complicated  ail  achievement  to  a successful 
issue,  and  in  placing  their  first  appearance  at  eight  or  ten  thousand  years 
before  our  era.1  Their  earliest  horizon  was  a very  limited  one.  Their  gaze 
might  wander  westward  over  the  ravine-furrowed  plains  of  the  Libyan  desert 
without  reaching  that  fabled  land  of  Manu  where  the  sun  set  every  evening ; * 
but  looking  eastward  from  the  valley,  they  could  see  the  peak  of  Bakhu,  which 
marked  the  limit  of  regions  accessible  to  man.3 

Beyond  these  regions  lay  the  beginnings  of  To-nutri,  the  land  of  tbe  gods, 
and  the  breezes  passing  over  it  were  laden  with  its  perfumes,  and  sometimes 
wafted  them  to  mortals  lest  in  the  desert.4  Northward,  the  world  came  to  an 
end  towards  the  lagoons  of  the  Delta,  whose  inaccessible  islands  were  believed 
to  be  the  sojourning-place  of  souls  after  death.5  As  regards  the  south,  precise 
knowledge  of  it  scarcely  went  beyond  the  defiles  of  Gebel  Silsileh,  where  the 
last  remains  of  the  granite  threshold  bad  perhaps  not  altogether  disappeared. 
The  district  beyond  Gebel  Silsileh,  the  province  of  Ivonusit,  was  still  a foreign 
and  almost  mythic  country,  directly  connected  with  heaven  by  means  of  the 
cataract.6  Long  after  the  Egyptians  had  broken  through  this  restricted  circle, 

1 This  is  the  date  admitted  by  Ciiabas,  of  all  savants  the  least  disposed  to  attribute  exaggerated 
autiquily  to  laces  of  men  ( Etudes  sur  V antiquity historique,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  6-10). 

2 Sec  what  is  said  above  on  the  mountain  of  Manu,  p.  18. 

3 Brfgscii  (Die  altagyptisclie  Vollcertafel,  iu  the  Verltandlungen  cies  5ten  Orientalisten-Congresses, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  62-61)  identifies  the  mountain  of  Bakhu  with  the  Emerald  Mountain  of  classic  geography, 
known  to-day  as  Gebel  Zabarah.  The  name  of  Bakhri  does  not  seem  to  have  been  restricted  to  an 
insignificant  chain  of  hills.  The  texts  prove  that  it  was  applied  to  several  mountains  situate  north 
of  Gebel  Zabarah,  especially  to  Gebel  ed-Dukhan.  Gebel  Ghrtrib,  one  of  the  peaks  of  this  region, 
attains  a height  of  6180  feet,  and  is  visible  from  afar  (Schweinferth,  La  terra  incognita  dell’  Egiito 
propiamente  detto,  in  V Esploratore,  1878). 

4 Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  g&ograpliique,  pp.  382-385,  396-398,  1231,  1231-1236.  The  perfumes  and 
the  odoriferous  woods  of  the  Divine  Land  were  celebrated  in  Egypt.  A traveller  or  hunter,  crossing 
the  desert,  “could  not  but  be  vividly  impressed  by  suddenly  becoming  aware,  in  the  very  midst 
of  the  desert,  of  the  penetrating  scent  of  the  robul  (Pulicliaria  undulata,  Scitweinf.),  which  once 
followed  us  throughout  a day  and  two  nights,  in  some  places  without  our  being  able  to  distinguish 
whence  it  came ; as,  for  instance,  when  we  were  crossing  tracts  of  country  without  any  traces  of 
vegetation  whatever”  (Golenischeff,  TJnc  excursion  a Berenice,  in  the  Becueil,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  93,  94). 

5 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’ Archdologie  dgyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  12-14  (cf.  the  Bevue  de 
VHistoire  des  Eeligions,  vol.  xvii.  pp.  259-261).  Prof.  Lauth  (Aus  AEgyptens  Vorzeit,  p.  53,  et  seq.) 
was  the  first  to  show  that  the  sojourning-place  of  the  Egyptian  dead,  Sohliit  laru,  was  localized  in 
one  of  the  nomes  of  the  Delta. 

6 MAsrERO,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’ Archeologie  dgyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  17,  18  (cf.  the  Bevue  de 
VHistoire  des  Eeligions,  vol.  xviii.  pp.  260,  270). 


PROBABLE  AFRICAN  ORIGIN  OF  TIIE  EGYPTIANS. 


45 


the  names  of  those  places  which  had  as  it  were  marked  out  their  frontiers, 
continued  to  be  associated  in  their  minds  with  the  idea  of  the  four  cardinal 
points.  Bakhu  and  Manu  were  still  the  most  frequent  expressions  for  the 
extreme  East  and  West.1  Nekhabit  and  Buto,  the  most  populous  towns  in 
the  neighbourhoods  of  Gebel  Silsileh  and  the  ponds  of  the  Delta,  were  set 
over  against  each  other  to  designate  South  and  North.'2  It  was  within  these 
narrow  limits  that  Egyptian  civilization  struck  root  and  ripened,  as  in  a 
closed  vessel.  What  were  the  people  by  whom  it  was  developed,  the  country 
whence  they  came,  the  races  to  which  they  belonged,  is  to-day  unknown. 
The  majority  would  place  their  cradle-land  in  Asia,3  but  cannot  agree  in 
determining  the  route  which  was  followed  in  the  emigration  to  Africa.  Some 
think  that  the  people  took  the  shortest  road  across  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,4 
others  give  them  longer  peregrinations  and  a more  complicated  itinerary. 
They  would  have  them  cross  the  Straits  of  Bab  el-Mandeb,  and  then  the 
Abyssiniau  mountains,  and,  spreading  northward  and  keeping  along  the 
Nile,  finally  settle  in  the  Egypt  of  to-day.5  A more  minute  examination 
compels  us  to  recognize  that  the  hypothesis  of  an  Asiatic  origin,  however 
attractive  it  may  seem,  is  somewhat  difficult  to  maintain.  The  bulk  of  the 
Egyptian  population  presents  the  characteristics  of  those  white  races  which 
have  been  found  established  from  all  antiquity  on  the  Mediterranean  slope 
of  the  Libyan  continent ; this  population  is  of  African  origin,  and  came  to 
Egypt  from  the  W^est  or  South-West.6  In  the  valley,  perhaps,  it  may  have 


1 Brugsch,  Ueber  den  O&t-und  Westpunkt  des  Sonnenlcuifes  nnch  den  altiigyptischen  Vorstellungen, 
in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1864,  pp.  73-76. 

- Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  gdbgrapliique,  pp.  213-215,  351-353. 

3 The  greater  number  of  contemporary  Egyptologists,  Brugscii,  Ebers,  Lautii,  LiEBi.Erx.  have 
rallied  to  this  opinion,  in  the  train  of  E.  de  Rouge  (Reclierclies  sur  lea  monuments,  pp.  1-11);  but  the 
most  extreme  position  has  beeu  taken  up  by  IIommel,  the  Assyriologist,  who  is  inclined  to  derive 
Egyptian  civilization  entirely  from  the  Babylonian.  After  having  summaiily  announced  this  thesis 
in  his  Gescliiclite  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  p.  12,  et  seq.,  he  has  set  it  forth  at  length  in  a special 
treatise,  Der  Babylonische  Ursprung  der  dgyptischen  Kultur,  1892,  wherein  lie  endeavours  to  prove 
that  the  Heliopolitan  myths,  and  hence  the  whole  Egyptian  religion,  are  derived  from  the  cults  of 
Eridft,  and  would  make  the  name  of  the  Egyptian  city  Onft,  or  And,  identical  with  that  of  Nun-Id , 
Nun,  which  is  borne  by  the  Chaldean. 

4 E.  de  Rouge,  Recherclies  sur  les  monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties. 
p.  4;  Brugsch,  Gescliiclite  AEgyptens,  p.  8;  Wiedemann,  AEgyptisclie  Gescliiclite,  p.  21,  et  seq. 

5 Ebers,  JEgypten  und  die  Biiclier  Moses,  p.  41,  L'Egypte  (French  translation),  vol.  ii.  p.  230; 
Dumichen,  Gescliiclite  des  Alten  AEgyptens,  pp.  118,  119.  Brugsch  has  adopted  this  opinion  in  his 
AEgyptisclie  Beitrdge  zur  Voll.erkunde  der  altesten  Welt  ( Deutsche  Revue,  1881,  p.  48). 

0 This  is  the  theory  preferred  by  naturalists  and  ethnologists  (R.  Hartmann,  Die  Nigritier,  vol. 
i p.  180,  et  seq. ; Morton,  who  was  at  first  hostile  to  this  view,  accepted  it  in  the  Transactions 
of  the  American  Ethnological  Society,  vol.  iii.  p.  215;  cf.  Nott-Gliddon,  Types  of  Mankind,  p.  318; 
Hamy,  Aperfu  sur  les  races  liumaines  de  la  basse  valine  du  Nil,  in  the  Bulletin  de  la  Saddle'  d’antliro- 
pologie,  1886,  pp.  718-743).  A Viennese  Egyptologist,  Herr  Reinisch,  even  holds  that  not  only  arc 
the  Egyptians  of  African  origin,  but  that  “ the  human  races  of  the  ancient  world,  of  Europe,  Asia, 
and  Africa,  are  descended  from  a single  family,  whose  original  seat  was  on  the  shores  of  the  great 
lakes  of  equatorial  Africa”  (Der  einheitliclie  Ursprung  der  Spraclien  der  Alten  Welt,  nachgeiciesen 


46 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


met  with  a black  race  which  it  drove  back  or  destroyed  ; 1 and  there,  perhaps, 
too,  it  afterwards  received  an  accretion  of  Asiatic  elements,  introduced  by  way 
of  the  isthmus  and  the  marshes  of  the  Delta.  But  whatever  may  be  our 
theory  with  regard  to  the  origin  of  the  ancestors  of  the  Egyptians,  they  were 
scarcely  settled  upon  the  banks  of  the  Nile  before  the  country  conquered,  and 
assimilated  them  to  itself,  as  it  has  never  ceased  to  do  in  the  case  of  strangers 
who  have  occupied  it.  At  the  time  when  their  history  begins  for  us,  all  the 
inhabitants  had  long  formed  but  one  people,  and  had  but  one  language. 

This  language  seems  to  be  connected  with  the  Semitic  tongues  by  many 
of  its  roots.2  It  forms  its  personal  pronouns,  whether  isolated  or  suffixed, 
in  a similar  way.3  One  of  the  tenses  of  the  conjugation,  and  that  the 
simplest  and  most  archaic,  is  formed  with  identical  affixes.  Without  insisting 
upon  resemblances  which  are  open  to  doubt,  it  may  be  almost  affirmed 
that  most  of  the  grammatical  processes  used  in  Semitic  languages  are  to 
be  found  in  a rudimentary  condition  in  Egyptian.  One  would  say  that  the 
language  of  the  people  of  Egypt  and  the  languages  of  the  Semitic  races, 
having  once  belonged  to  the  same  group,  had  separated  very  early,  at  a time 
when  the  vocabulary  and  the  grammatical  system  of  the  group  had  not  as  yet 
taken  definite  shape.  Subject  to  different  influences,  the  two  families  would 
treat  in  diverse  fashion  the  elements  common  to  both.  The  Semitic  dialects 
continued  to  develop  for  centuries,  while  the  Egyptian  language,  although 
earlier  cultivated,  stopped  short  in  its  growth.  “ If  there  is  an  obvious  connec- 
tion of  origin  between  the  language  of  Egypt  and  that  of  Asia,  this  connection 


(lurch  Vergleichung  der  Afrikanisclien,  Eryirxischen  und  Indogermanischen  Spraclien,  mit  Zugrundleg- 
ung  des  Teda,  Vienna,  1873,  p.  x.). 

1 Lepsius,  Ueber  die  Annahme  eines  sogenannten  prdhistorischen  Steinalters  in  JEgypten,  in  the 
Zeitschrift,  1870,  p.  92,  et  seq. ; Lefebure,  Le  Cham  et  VAdam  tfjyptiens,  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Society  of  Biblical  Archeology,  vol.  x.  pp.  172,  173. 

2 This  is  the  opinion  which  has  generally  obtained  among  Egyptologists  since  Benfey’s  researches, 
Ueber  das  Verhaltniss  der  JEgyptisclien  Sprache  zum  Semitisclien  Sprachstamm,  1814;  cf.  Schwartze, 
Das  Alte  JEgypten,  vol.  i.  part  ii.  p.  2003,  et  seq. ; E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  monuments,  pp.  2-4  ; 
Lepsius,  Ueber  die  Annahme,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1870,  pp.  91,92;  Brugsch,  Geschichte  AEgyptens,  pp. 
8,  9 ; En.  Meyer,  Geschiclite  des  alien  JEgyptens,  p.  23.  Erman  {JEgypten,  pp.  54,  55)  is  tempted  to 
explain  the  relationships  found  between  Egyptian  and  the  idioms  of  Northern  Africa  as  the  effects 
of  a series  of  emigrations  taking  place  at  different  times,  probably  far  enough  apart,  the  first  wave 
having  passed  over  Egypt  at  a very  remote  period,  another  over  Syria  and  Arabia,  and,  finally,  a third 
over  Eastern  Africa.  Prof.  Erman  has  also  published  a very  substantial  memoir,  in  which  he  sets  forth 
with  considerable  caution  those  paints  of  contact  to  be  observed  between  the  Semitic  and  Egyptian 
languages  (A.  Erman,  Das  Verhaltniss  des  JEgyptischenzu  den  Semitisclien  Sprachen,  in  the  Zeitschrift  der 
Morgenlandischen  Gesellschaft,  vol.  xlvi.  pp.  85-129).  The  many  Semitic  words  introduced  into  classic 
Egyptian  from  the  time  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  must  be  carefully  excluded  from  the  terms  of  the 
comparison.  An  almost  complete  list  of  these  will  be  found  in  Bondi,  Dem  Hebraisch-Phonizischen 
Sprachzwdge  angehorige  Lehmciirter  in  hieroglyphischen  und  hieratischen  Texten,  Leipzig,  1886. 

3 Maspero,  Des  Pronoms  personnels  en  dgyplien  et  dans  les  langues  sefmit.iques,  in  the  Mdmoires  de 
la  SociJte  de  linguistique,  vol.  ii.  p.  1,  et  seq.  A very  forcible  exposition  of  different  conclusions  may 
be  found  in  a memoir  by  Lepage-Renouf  ( Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  1888-89, 
pp.  247-264). 


EGYPTIAN  TYPES. 


47 


is  nevertheless  sufficiently  distant  to  leave  a distinct  physiognomy  to  the 
Egyptian  race.” 1 We  know  it  from  both  sculptured  and  painted  portraits,  as 
well  as  from  thousands  of  mummied  bodies  out  of  subterranean  tombs.2  The 
highest  type  of  Egyptian  was  tall  and  slender,  with  some- 

carriage  of 
and 

full  shoulders,  well-marked  and  vigorous  pectoral 
muscles,  muscular  arms,  a long,  fine  hand,  slightly 
developed  hips,  and  sinewy  legs.  The  detail  of  the 
knee-joint  and  the  muscles  of  the  calf  are  strongly 
marked  beneath  the  skin ; the  long,  thin,  and  low- 
arched  feet  are  flattened  out  at  the  extremities 
owing  to  the  custom  of  going  barefoot.  The  head  is 
rather  short,  the  face  oval,  the  forehead  somewhat 
retreating.  The  eyes  are  wide  and  fully  opened, 
the  cheek-bones  not  too  marked,  the  nose  fairly 
prominent,  and  either  straight  or  aquiline.  The 
mouth  is  long,  the  lips  full,  and  lightly  ridged  along 
their  outline ; the  teeth  small,  even,  well-set,  and 
remarkably  sound ; the  ears  are  set  high  on  the 
head.  At  birth  the  skin  is  white,  but  darkens  in  pro- 
portion to  its  exposure  to  the  sun.3  Men  are  gene- 
rally painted  red  in  the  pictures,  though,  as  a matter 
of  fact,  there  must  already  have  been  all  the 
shades  which  we  see  among  the  present  population, 
from  a most  delicate  rose-coloured  complexion  to 
that  of  a smoke-coloured  bronze.  Women,  who 
were  less  exposed  to  the  sun,  are  generally  painted  yellow,  the  tint  paler 
in  proportion  as  they  rise  in  the  social  scale.  The  hair  was  inclined  to  be 
wavy,  and  even  to  curl  into  little  ringlets,  but  without  ever  turning  into 
the  wool  of  the  negro.  The  beard  was  scanty,  thick  only  upon  the  chin. 
Such  was  the  highest  type ; the  commoner  was  squat,  dumpy,  and  heavy. 
Chest  and  shoulders  seem  to  be  enlarged  at  the  expense  of  the  pelvis  and 

1 E.  de  Rocge,  llecherches  sur  les  monuments  qu’on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties,  p.  3. 

2 All  tlie  features  of  the  two  portraits  given  below  are  taken  either  from  the  statues,  the  bas- 
reliefs,  or  the  many  mummies  wliicli  it  fell  to  my  lot  both  to  see  and  to  study  during  the  time  I was  in 
Egypt.  They  correspond  pretty  closely  with  those  drawn  by  Hamy,  Aptrru  sar  les  races  humaines 
de  la  basse  valke  du  Nil,  p.  4,  et  seq.  (cf.  Bulletin  de  la  Socidte' d’ Anthropologic,  1S86,  p.  721,  et  seq.). 

3 \\  ith  regard  to  this  question,  see,  more  recently,  R.  Virchow,  Anthropologie  JEgyptens,  in  the 
Correspondenz-Blalt  der  d.  Anthr.  Ges.,  1888,  No.  10,  p.  107,  et  seq. 

* Statue  of  Ranofir  in  the  Gtzch  Museum  (Vth  dynasty),  after  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugseli-Bey. 


thing  that  was  both  proud  and  imperious  in  the 
his  head  and  in  his  whole  bearing.  He  had  wide 


THE  NOBLE  TYPE  OF  EGYPTIAN.4 


48 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


HEAD  OF  A THEBAN  MUMMY. 


the  hips,  to  such  an  extent  as  to  make  the  want  of  proportion  between 
the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  the  body  startling  and  ungraceful.  The  skull 
is  long,  somewhat  retreating,  and  slightly  flattened  on  the  top;  the  features 
are  coarse,  and  as  though  carved  in  flesh  by  great  strokes 
of  the  roughing  - out  chisel. 


Small  fraenated  eyes,  a short 
nose,  flanked  by  widely 
distended  nostrils,  round 
cheeks,  a square  chin,  thick, 
but  not  curling  lips — this 
unattractive  and  ludicrous 
physiognomy,  sometimes 
animated  by  an  expres- 
sion of  cunning  which 
recalls  the  shrewd  face  of 
an  old  French  peasant, 

is  often  lighted  up  by  gleams  of  gentleness  and  of 
melancholy  good-nature. 

The  external  character- 
istics of  these  two  princi- 
pal types,  whose  endless 
modifications  are  to 
be  found  on  ancient 
monuments,  may 
still  be  seen  among 
the  living.2  The 
profile  copied  from 
a Theban  mummy  taken  at  hazard  from  a necropolis 
of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty,  and  compared  with  the 
likeness  of  a modern  Luxor  peasant,  would  almost 

pass  for  a family  portrait.3  Wandering  Bisharis  have  inherited  the  type  of 


AN  EGYPTIAN  OF  THE  ORDINARY  TYPE.1 


HEAD  OF  A FELLAH  OF  UPPER 
EGYPT. 


face  of  a great  noble,  the  contemporary  of  Ivheops ; and  any  peasant  woman 


1 Statue  of  tTsiri  (VIth  dynasty)  in  the  Gizeli  Museum.  From  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch- 
Bey. 

2 According  to  Virchow  (Anthropologic  YEgyptens,  i.  1),  this  impression  is  not  borne  out  by  facts. 
Sundry  Orientalists,  especially  Birch  (Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times  to  b.c.  309-310)  and  Sayce 
(The  Ancient  Empires  of  the  East,  pp.  309,  310),  have  noted  considerable  differences  of  type  among 
the  personages  represented  upon  monuments  of  different  periods.  Virchow  (Die  Mumien  der  Eonige 
im  Museum  run  Bulaq , p.  17,  cf.  Sitzungsberichte  of  the  Academy  of  Berlin,  1888,  pp.  782,  783,  and 
Anthropolugie  JEgyptens,  i.  1)  has  endeavoured  to  show  that  the  difference  was  even  greater  than  had 
been  stated,  because  the  ancient  Egyptian  was  brachycephalie,  while  the  modern  is  dolichocephalic. 

3 Description  de  I’Egypte,  Ant.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xlix.  fig.  1,  and  Jomard’s  text  (vol.  ii.  pp.  78,  79):  “I 
once  tried  to  sketch  a Turkish  coiffure,  on  a head  copied  from  a mummy,  and  asking  some  one  to 


EARLY  CIVILIZATION. 


49 


of  the  Delta  may  bear  upon  her  shoulders  the  head  of  a twelfth-dynasty 
king.  A citizen  of  Cairo,  gazing  with  wonder  at  the  statues  of  Khafra  or 
of  Seti  I.  in  the  G-hizeh  Museum,  is  himself,  at  a distance  of  fifty  centuries, 
the  reproduction,  feature  for  feature,  of  those  ancient  Pharaohs. 

Nothing,  or  all  but  nothing,  has  come  down  to  us  from  the  primitive  races 


A FEI.LAH  WOMAN  WITH  THE  FEATURES  OF  AN  ANCIENT  KINO.' 


of  Egypt ; we  cannot  with  any  certainty  attribute  to  them  the  majority  of  the 
flint  weapons  and  implements  which  have  been  discovered  in  various  places.-2 
The  Egyptians  continued  to  use  stone  after  other  nations  had  begun  to  use 
metal.  They  made  stone  arrowheads,  hammers,  knives,  and  scrapers,  not  only 


whom  all  the  great  folks  of  Cairo  were  well  known  which  of  the  sheikhs  my  drawing  was  like,  he 
unhesitatingly  named  a sheikh  of  the  Divan,  whom,  indeed,  it  did  fairly  resemble.”  Hamy  pointed 
out  a similar  and  most  striking  resemblance  between  the  head  to  which  Jomard  refers  and  the 
portrait  of  a fellah  from  Upper  Egypt,  painted  by  Lefeburc  for  the  collections  of  the  Museum  of 
Natural  History  (Apcrgu  cles  races  humaines  de  la  Lasse  valine  du  Nil,  pp.  10-12;  cf.  Bulletin  de  la 
Socidte  d’anthropologie,  1 8SG,  pp.  727-720)  : these  are  the  two  types  reproduced  by  Faucher-Gudin, 
one  above  the  other,  on  p.  4S. 

1 The  face  of  the  woman  here  given  was  taken  separately,  and  was  subsequently  attached  to  the 
figure  of  an  Egyptian  woman  whom  Naville  had  photographed  sitting  beside  a colossal  head.  The 
nose  of  the  statue  has  been  restored. 

2 This  question,  brought  forward  for  the  first  time  by  Hamy  and  Fran5ois  Lcnormant  (D&ouvertes 
de  restes  de  Vdge  de  pierre  en  Egypte,  in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  V Acaddmie  des  Sciences,  22  nov.  1869), 
gave  rise  to  a long  controversy,  in  which  many  European  savants  took  part.  The  whole  account  of 
it  is  given  nearly  in  full  by  Salomon  Reinach,  Description  raisonndc  du  musde  de  Saint-Germain, 
Vol.  i.  pp.  87,  88.  The  examination  of  the  sites  loads  me  to  believe,  with  Marietta,  that  none  of  the 
manufactories  hitherto  pointed  out  are  anterior  to  historic  times. 


E 


50 


TIIE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


in  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs,  but  under  the  Homans,  and  during  the  whole 
period  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  manufacture  of  them  has  not  yet  entirely 
died  out.1  These  objects,  and  the  workshops  where  they  were  made,  may,  there- 
fore, be  less  ancient  than  the  greater  part  of  the  inscribed  monuments.  But 
if  we  have  no  examples  of  any  work  belonging  to  the  first  ages,  we  meet  in 
historic  times  with  certain  customs  which  are  out  of  harmony  with  the  general 
civilization  of  the  period.  A comparison  of  these  customs  with  analogous 
practices  of  barbarous  nations  throws  light  upon  the  former,  completes  their 
meaning,  and  shows  us  at  the  same  time  the  successive  stages  through  which 
the  Egyptian  people  had  to  pass  before  reaching  their  highest  civilization.  We 
know,  for  example,  that  even  as  late  as  the  Caesars,  girls  belonging  to  noble 
families  at  Thebes  were  consecrated  to  the  service  of  Amon,  and  were  thus 
licensed  to  a 1 ife  of  immorality,  which,  however,  did  not  prevent  them  from 
making  rich  marriages  when  age  obliged  them  to  retire  from  office.2  Theban 
women  were  not  the  only  people  in  the  world  to  whom  such  licence  was  granted 
or  imposed  upon  them  by  law;  wherever  in  a civilized  country  we  see  a similar 
practice,  we  may  recognize  in  it  an  ancient  custom  which  iu  the  course  of  cen- 
turies has  degenerated  into  a religious  observance.3  The  institution  of  the  women 
of  Amon  is  a legacy  from  a time  when  the  practice  of  polyandry  obtained,  and 
marriage  did  not  yet  exist.4  Age  and  maternity  relieved  them  from  this  obli- 
gation, and  preserved  them  from  those  incestuous  connections  of  which  we  find 
examples  in  other  races.5 6  A union  of  father  and  daughter,  however,  was  perhaps 
not  wholly  forbidden,0  and  that  of  brother  and  sister  seems  to  have  been  re- 


1 An  entire  collection  of  Hint  tools — axes,  adzes,  knives,  and  sickles — mostly  with  wooden 
handles,  were  found  by  Prof.  Petriein  the  ruins  of  Kahun,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Fayhm  ( lllaliun , 
Kahun  and  Gurob,  pp.  12,51-55):  these  go  back  to  the  time  of  the  twelfth  dynasty,  more  than 
three  thousand  years  before  our  era.  Mariette  had  previously  pointed  out  to  the  learned  world 
( Bulletin  de  VInstilut  dgyptien , 1809-1871,  1st  series,  vol.  xi.  p.  58;  cf.  De  I'age  de  la  pierre  en  Egypte, 
in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  vii.  p.  129)  the  fact  that  a Coptic  Reis,  Salib  of  Abydos,  in  charge  of 
the  excavations,  shaved  his  head  with  a flint  knife,  according  to  the  custom  of  his  youth  (1820-35). 
I knew  the  man,  who  died  at  over  eighty  years  of  age,  in  1887;  he  was  still  faithful  to  his  flint 
implement,  while  his  sons  and  the  whole  population  of  El  Kharbeh  were  using  nothing  but  steel 
razors.  As  his  scalp  was  scraped  nearly  raw  by  the  operation,  he  used  to  cover  his  head  with  fresh 
leaves  to  cool  the  inflamed  skin. 

2 Strabo,  book  xvii.  § 46,  p.  817 ; Diodorus  (i.  17)  speaks  only  of  the  tombs  of  these  Pallacides 
of  Amon ; his  authority,  Hecatreus  of  Abdera,  does  not  appear  to  have  known  their  manner 
of  life. 

3 LiprERT,  Kulturgeschichte  der  Menschlieit  in  ihrern  organischen  Aufbau,  vol.  ii.  p.  15. 

4 For  the  complete  development  and  proofs  of  the  theory  on  which  this  view  of  the  fact  rests,  see 
Lippert,  Kulturgeschiclite  der  Menschlieit,  vol.  ii.  p.  0,  et  seq. 

5 As,  for  instance,  among  the  Modes,  the  class  of  the  Magi,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Xanthos 
of  Lydia  (fragm.  28  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  hist,  grxc.,  vol.  i.  p.  43)  and  of  Ctesias  (fragrn.  30,  edit. 
Muller-Didot,  p.  GO). 

6 E.  de  Kouge  held  that  llameses  II.  married  at  least  two  of  his  daughters,  Bint  Anati  and 
Honitoui ; Wiedemann  ( /Egyptisclie  Geschichte,  p.  622)  admits  that  Psammetichus  I.  had  in  the  same 
way  taken  to  wife  Nitocris,  who  had  been  born  to  him  by  the  Theban  princess  Shapenuapit.  The 
Aclnemenidan  kings  did  the  same : Artaxerxes  married  two  of  his  own  daughters  (Plutarch, 
Artaxerxe s,  § 27). 


MARRIAGE. 


51 


garded  as  perfectly  right  and  natural ; 1 the  words  brother  and  sister  possessing 
in  Egyptian  love-songs  the  same  significance  as  lover  and  mistress  with  us.'2 
Paternity  was  necessarily  doubtful  in  a community  of  this  kiud,  and  hence  the 
tie  between  fathers  and  children  was  slight ; there  being  no  family,  in  the  sense 
in  which  we  understand  the  word,  except  as  it  centred  around  the  mother. 
Maternal  descent  was,  therefore,  the  only  one  openly  acknowledged,  and  the 
affiliation  of  the  child  was  indicated  by  the  name  of  the  mother  alone.3 
When  the  woman  ceased  to  belong  to  all,  and  confined  herself  to  one  husband, 
the  man  reserved  to  himself  the  privilege  of  taking  as  many  wives  as  he 
wished,  or  as  he  was  able  to  keep,  beginning  with  his  own  sisters.  All 
wives  did  not  enjoy  identical  rights : those  born  of  the  same  parents  as  the 
man,  or  those  of  equal  rank  with  himself,  preserved  their  independence.  If 
the  law  pronounced  him  the  master,  nibu,  to  whom  they  owed  obedience  and 
fidelity,4  they  were  mistresses  of  the  house,  nebit  piru,  as  well  as  wives, 
liimitu,  and  the  two  words  of  the  title  express  their  condition.5 * * 8  Each  of 
them  occupied,  in  fact,  her  own  house,  piru,  which  she  had  from  her  parents 
or  her  husband,  and  of  which  she  was  absolute  mistress,  mbit.  She  lived 
in  it  and  performed  in  it  without  constraint  all  a woman’s  duties;  feeding 
the  fire,  grinding  the  com,  occupying  herself  in  cooking  and  weaving,  making 
clothing  and  perfumes,  nursing  and  teaching  her  children.3  When  her  hus- 
band visited  her,  he  was  a guest  whom  she  received  on  an  equal  footing. 
It  appears  that  at  the  outset  these  various  wives  were  placed  under  the 
authority  of  an  older  woman,  whom  they  looked  on  as  their  mother,  and 
who  defended  their  rights  and  interests  against  the  master;  but  this  custom 


1 This  custom  had  been  noticed  in  early  times,  among  others  by  Diodorus,  i.  27,  who  justifies  it 
by  citing  the  marriage  ot'  Osiris  with  his  sister  Isis  : the  testimony  of  historians  of  the  classical  period 
is  daily  confirmed  by  the  ancient  monuments. 

! Maspero,  Etudes  tgyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  221,  228,  232,  233,  237,  239,  240,  etc. 

3 The  same  custom  existed  among  the  Lycians  (Herodotus,  i.  172 ; Nicolaus  of  Damascus, 
fragm.  129,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  hist,  gr.,  vol.  iii.  p.  461,  etc.)  and  among  many  semi-civilized 
peoples  of  ancient  and  modern  times  (J.  Lubbock,  The  Origins  of  Civilization,  p.  139,  etc.).  The  first 
writer  to  notice  its  existence  in  Egypt,  to  my  knowledge,  was  Schow,  Charta  Papyracea  grxce 
scripta  Musei  Borgiani  Velitris,  pp.  xxxiv.,  xxxv. 

* On  the  most  ancient  monuments  which  we  possess,  the  wife  says  of  herself  that  she  is  "■the 
one  devoted  to  her  master — who  does  every  day  what  her  master  loves,  and  whom,  for  that  reason,  her 
master  loves  ” (Lepsius,  Denhn.,  ii.  10  6) ; in  the  same  way  a subject  who  is  the  favourite  of  a king 
says  that  “ he  loves  his  master,  and  that  his  master  loves  him  ” (Lepsius,  Denhm.,  ii.  20). 

3 The  title  nibit  piru  is  ordinarily  interpreted  as  if  the  woman  who  bore  it  were  mistress  of  the 
house  of  her  husband.  Prof.  Petrie  (A  Season  in  Egypt,  pp.  8,  9)  considers  that  this  is  not  an  exact 
translation,  and  has  suggested  that  the  women  called  nibit  piru  are  widows.  This  explanation 
cannot  be  applied  to  passages  where  the  woman,  whether  married  or  otherwise,  says  to  her  lover, 
“My  good  friend,  my  desire  is  to  share  thy  goods  as  thy  house-mistress"  (Maspero,  Etudes 
egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  247) ; evidently  she  does  not  ask  to  become  the  widow  of  her  beloved.  The 

interpretation  proposed  here  was  suggested  to  me  by  a species  of  marriage  still  in  vogue  among 

several  tribes  of  Africa  and  America  (Lippert,  Kulturgeschichte  der  Menschheit,  vol.  ii.  p.  27,  et  seq.). 

8 Compare  the  touching  picture  which  the  author  of  the  Papyrus  moral  de  Boulaq  gives  of  the 
good  mother,  at  the  end  of  the  Theban  period  (Chabas,  V Egyptologie.  vol.  ii.  pp.  42-54). 


52 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


gradually  disappeared,  and  in  historic  times  we  read  of  it  as  existing  only 
in  the  families  of  the  gods.  The  female  singers  consecrated  to  Amon  and 
other  deities,  owed  obedience  to  several  superiors,  of  whom  the  principal 
(generally  the  widow  of  a king  or  high  priest)  was  called  chief-superior  of 
the  ladies  of  the  harem  of  Amon.1  Besides  these  wives,  there  were  concu- 
bines, slaves  purchased  or  born  in  the  house,  prisoners  of  war,  Egyptians 
of  inferior  class,  who  were  the  chattels  of  the  man  and  of  whom  he  could 
dispose  as  he  wished.'2  All  the  children  of  one  father  were  legitimate, 
whether  their  mother  were  a wife  or  merely  a concubine,  but  they  did  not 
all  enjoy  the  same  advantages ; those  among  them  who  were  born  of  a 
brother  or  sister  united  in  legitimate  marriage,  took  precedence  of  those 
whose  mother  was  a wife  of  inferior  rank  or  a slave.3  In  the  family  thus 
constituted,  the  woman,  to  all  appearances,  played  the  principal  part.  Children 
recognized  the  parental  relationship  in  the  mother  alone.  The  husband 
appears  to  have  entered  the  house  of  his  wives,  rather  than  the  wives  to  have 
entered  his,  and  this  appearance  of  inferiority  was  so  marked  that  the  Greeks 
were  deceived  by  it.  They  affirmed  that  the  woman  was  supreme  in  Egypt ; 
the  man  at  the  time  of  marriage  promised  obedience  to  her,  and  entered 
into  a contract  not  to  raise  any  objection  to  her  commands.4 

We  must,  therefore,  pronounce  the  first  Egyptians  to  have  been  semi- 
savages, like  those  still  living  in  Africa  and  America,  having  an  analogous 
organization,  and  similar  weapons  and  tools.5  A few  lived  in  the  desert, 
in  the  oasis  of  Libya  to  the  east,  or  in  the  deep  valleys  of  the  Eed  Land — 
Doshirit,  To  Doshiru — between  the  Nile  and  the  sea ; the  poverty  of  the 

1 Most  of  the  princesses  of  the  family  of  the  high  priest  of  the  Theban  Amon  had  this  title 
(Maspero,  Les  Mamies  royales  de  De'ir-el-Bahari , in  the  Memoir es  de  la  Mission  frangaise  du  Caire, 
vol.  i.  pp.  575-  580).  In  that  species  of  modern  African  marriage  with  which  I have  compared  the 
earliest  Egyptian  marriage,  the  wives  of  one  mau  are  together  subject  to  the  authority  of  an  old  woman, 
to  whom  thejr  give  the  title  of  mother;  if  the  comparison  is  exact,  the  harem  of  the  god  would  form 
a community  of  this  kind,  in  which  the  elder  would  be  the  superiors  of  the  younger  women.  Here 
again  the  divine  family  would  preserve  an  institution  which  had  long  ceased  to  exist  among  mortals. 

2 One  of  the  concubines  of  Khnumhotpu  at  Beni-Hasan,  after  having  presented  her  master  with 
a son,  was  given  by  him  in  marriage  to  an  inferior  officer,  by  whom  she  had  several  other  children 
(Champollion,  Monuments  de  VEgypte,  vol.  ii.  pp.  390,  392,  415;  Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  vol.  ii.  128, 
130,  132). 

3 This  explains  the  history  of  the  children  of  Thothmes  I.,  and  of  the  other  princes  of  the  family 
of  Aahmes,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  see  further  on. 

4 Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  80.  Here,  as  in  all  he  says  of  Egypt,  Diodorus  has  drawn  largely  from 
the  historical  and  philosophic  romance  of  Hecatseus  of  Abdera. 

5 Up  till  now  but  few  efforts  have  been  made  to  throw  light  on  these  early  times  in  Egypt ; • 

Erman  (JEgypten,  pp.  59,  GO)  and  Ed.  Meyer  ( Geschichte  lEgyptens,  pp.  24-30)  have  scarcely  devoted 
more  than  a few  pages  to  the  subject.  The  examination  of  the  hieroglyphic  signs  has  yielded  me 
much  valuable  information;  they  have  often  preserved  for  us  a representation  of  objects,  and  conse- 
quently a record  of  customs  flourishing  at  the  time  when  they  were  originally  drawn  (Maspero, 
Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 5,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archxological  Society,  1890-91,  vol.  xiii. 
pp.  310,  311  ; Petrie,  Epigraphy  in  Egyptian  Research,  in  the  Asiatic  and  Quarterly  Review,  1891, 
pp.  315-320  ; Medum,  pp.  29-34). 


HOUSES,  FURNITURE. 


53 


country  fostering  their  native  savagery.1  Others,  settled  on  the  Black 
Land,  gradually  became  civilized.  Their  houses  were  like  those  of  the  fellahs 
of  to-day,  low  huts  of  wattle 
daubed  with  puddled  clay, 
or  of  bricks  dried  in  the 
sun.  They  contained  one 
room,  either  oblong  or 
square,  the  door  being  the 
only  aperture.3  Only  those 
of  the  richer  class  were 
large  enough  to  make  it 
needful  to  support  the  roof 
by  means  of  one  or  more 
trunks  of  trees,  which  did 
duty  for  columns.4  Earthen 
pots,  turned  by  hand,5  mats  of  reeds  or  plaited  straw,  two  flat  stones  for 
grinding  corn,6  a few  pieces  of  wooden  furniture,  stools,  and  head-rests  for 
use  at  night,7  comprised  all  the  contents.  The  men  went  about  nearly  naked, 
except  the  nobles,  who  wore  a panther’s  skin,  sometimes  thrown  over  the 
shoulders,8  sometimes  drawn  round  the  waist,  and  covering  the  lower  part  of 

1 The  Egyptians,  even  in  late  times,  had  not  forgotten  the  ties  of  common  origin  which  linked 
them  to  these  still  barbarous  tribes. 

2 XIXth  dynasty;  drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  after  Roseluxi,  Monumenti  Storici,  pi.  Ixxxv. 
These  are  negroes  of  the  Upper  Nile,  prisoners  of  Eamesis  II.,  at  Abu-simbel. 

3 This  is  shown  by  the  signs  CH  [~]  and  their  variants,  which  from  the  earliest  times  have 
served  to  represent  the  idea  of  house  or  habitation  in  general  in  the  current  writing. 

4 The  signs  fP  and  their  variants  represent  a kiosk  propped  up  by  a forked  tree- 
trunk. 

5 More  or  less  authentic  fragments  of  these  have  been  found  in  various  parts  of  Egypt  (Arcei.ix, 
Industrie  primitive  en  Egypte  et  en  Syrie,  p.  22). 

6 Identical  with  those  in  the  Ghizeh  Museum,  before  which  kneel  the  women  grinding  corn 
(Mariette,  Album  photographique,  pi.  xx. ; Maspero,  Guide  du  visiteur , p.  220,  Nos.  1012, 
1013). 

7 Hajiy,  Note  sur  les  chevets  des  anciens  Egyptiens  et  sur  les  affinity's  ethniques  que  manifeste  lew 
emploi,  in  the  Etudes  dydides  a Leemans,  pp.  32-34.  The  part  played  by  the  head-rest  v^/  as  a 

determinative  to  verbs  expressing  the  idea  of  “bearing”  or  “carrying”  in  the  texts  of  the  ancient 
empire,  shows  conclusively  the  great  antiquity  of  its  use  (Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 28,  iu  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Arclueological  Society,  1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  321,  322). 

8 It  is  the  panther’s  skin  which  is  seen,  among  others,  on  the  shoulders  of  the  negro  prisoners 
under  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  (Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  259,  No.  13  c,  d); 
it  was  obligatory  for  certain  orders  of  priests,  or  for  dignitaries  performing  priestly  functions  of  a 
prescribed  nature  (Statues  A GO,  66,  72,  76,  in  the  Louvre,  E.  de  Rouge,  Notice  sommaire  des 
Monuments  de  la  Galgrie  Egyptienne,  1872,  pp.  44,  36,  38,  39;  Lursius,  Denkm.,  ii.  18,  19,  21,  22,  30, 
31  b,  32,  etc. ; cf.  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  181,  182  ; Erman,  AEgypten, 
p.  286).  The  sacerdotal  costume  is  here,  as  in  many  other  cases,  a survival  of  the  ancient  attire  of 
the  head  of  the  family,  or  of  a noble  in  full  dress.  Those  who  inherited  or  who  had  obtained  the 
right  of  wearing  the  panther’s  skin  on  certain  occasions,  bore,  under  the  ancient  empire,  the  title  of 
Oiru-busit,  “ chiefs  of  the  fur”  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  252,  253,  254,  275,  etc.). 


54 


TI1E  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


the  body,  the  animal’s  tail  touching  the  heels  behind,1  as  we  see  later  in  several 
representations  of  the  negroes  of  the  Upper  Nile.  I am  inclined  to  think  that 
at  first  they  smeared  their  limbs  with  grease  or  oil,2  and  that  they  tattooed  their 
faces  and  bodies,  at  least  in  part,  but  this  practice  was  only  retained  by  the 
lower  classes.3  On  the  other  hand,  the  custom  of  painting  the  face  was  never 
given  up.  To  complete  their  toilet,  it  was  necessary  to  accentuate  the  arch 
of  the  eyebrow  with  a line  of  kohl  (antimony  powder).  A similar  black  line 
surrounded  and  prolonged  the  oval  of  the  eye  to  the  middle  of  the  temple, 
a layer  of  green  coloured  the  under  lid,4  and  ochre  and  carmine  enlivened  the 
tints  of  the  cheeks  and  lips.5  The  hair,  plaited,  curled,  oiled,  and  plastered 
with  grease,  formed  an  erection  which  was  as  complicated  in  the  ease  of  the 
man  as  in  that  of  the  woman.  Should  the  hair  be  too  short,  a black  or 
blue  wig,  dressed  with  much  skill,6  was  substituted  for  it ; ostrich  feathers 
waved  on  the  heads  of  warriors,7  and  a large  lock,  flattened  behind  the  right 
ear,  distinguished  the  military  or  religious  chiefs  from  their  subordinates.8 
When  the  art  of  weaving  became  common,  a belt  and  loin-cloth  of  white 

1 Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  259,  No.  84,  9-13,  and  p.  272,  No.  88. 

2 The  fellaliin  of  Upper  Egypt  and  the  Nubians  still  rub  their  bodies  with  the  oil  which  they 
extract  from  the  common  castor-oil  plant;  it  protects  them  from  mosquitoes,  and  prevents  their  skin 
from  being  cracked  by  the  sun.  Castor-oil  is  the  oil  of  kiki,  mentioned  by  Herodotus  (ii.  94).  it 
was  called  saqnunu,  in  Greek  transcription  psagdas,  with  the  Egyptiau  article  p;  the  simple  form, 
without  the  article,  2ay5as,  is  found  in  Hesychius. 

3 Champollion,  Monuments,  vol.  i.  pi.  ccclxxxi.  6 is,  4 ; Rosellini,  Monuments  chili,  pi.  xli.,  text, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  21,  22,  where  the  women  are  seen  tattooed  on  the  bosom.  In  most  of  the  bas-reliefs  also 
of  the  temples  of  Philae  and  Kom  Ombo,  the  goddesses  and  queens  have  their  breasts  scored  with 
long  incisions,  which,  starting  from  the  circumference,  unite  in  the  centre  round  the  nipple.  The 
“ cartonnages”  of  Aklimim  show  that,  in  the  age  of  Severus,  tattooing  was  as  common  as  it  is  now 
among  the  provincial  middle  classes  and  the  fellaliin  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d'  Archeologie 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  218  ; cf.  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  egyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  vi.  p.  89). 

* The  green  powder  ( uar.it ) and  the  black  pulverized  vegetable  charcoal,  or  antimony  ( maszimit ), 
formed  part  of  the  offerings  considered  indispensable  to  the  deceased  ; but  from  the  age  of  the 
Pyramids  green  paint  appears  to  have  been  an  affectation  of  archaism  for  the  living,  and  we  only 
meet  with  it  on  a few  monuments,  such  as  the  statues  of  Sapi  in  the  Louvre  (E.  de  Rouge,  Notice 
sommaire,  p.  50  A,  36,  37,  28)  and  the  stela  of  Hathor-nofer-hotpu  at  Ghizeh  (Maspero,  Guide  du 
visiteur,  pp.  212,  213,  Nos.  991  et  1000).  The  use  of  black  kohl  was  in  those  times,  as  it  is  still, 
supposed  to  cure  or  even  prevent  ophthalmia,  and  the  painted  eye  was  called  uzait,  “the  healthy.” 
a term  ordinarily  applied  to  the  two  eyes  of  heaven — the  sun  and  moon  (Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le 
jour,  § 25,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society,  1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  313-316). 

5 The  two  mummies  of  Honittfii  and  Nsit-anibashru  (Maspero,  Les  Momies  royales  de  Deir 
el-Bahari,  in  the  Mfmoires  de  la  Mission  frangaise,  vol.  i.  pp.  577,  579)  had  their  hair  dressed  and 
their  faces  painted  before  burial ; the  thick  coats  of  colours  which  they  still  bear  are  composed  of 
ochre,  pounded  brick  or  carmine  mixed  with  animal  fat. 

6 Wigs  figure,  from  earliest  antiquity,  in  the  list  of  offerings.  The  use  of  them  is  common  among 
many  savage  tribes  in  Africa  at  the  present  day.  The  blue  wig  has  been  found  among  some  of  the 
tribes,  dependents  of  Abyssinia,  and  examples  were  taken  by  Jules  Borelli  to  Paris,  where  they  are 
exhibited  in  the  Ethnographical  Museum  of  the  Trocadero. 

7 These  may  be  observed  on  the  head  of  the  little  sign  representing  foot  soldiers 

in  the  current  script;  in  later  limes  they  were  confined  to  the  mercenaries  of  Libyan  origin. 

8 In  historic  times  only  children  ordinarily  wore  the  sidelock ; with  grown  men  it  was  the  mark 
of  princes  of  the  royal  family,  or  it  indicated  the  exercise  of  high  priestly  functions  (Wilkinson, 
Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  162,  163,  182). 


COSTUME. 


55 


linen 
as  to 


replaced  the  leathern  garment.1  Fastened  round  the  waist,  but  so  low 
leave  the  navel  uncovered,  the  loin-cloth  frequently  reached  to  the  knee ; 
the  hinder  part  was  frequently  drawn  between  the 
and  attached  in  front  to  the  belt,  thus 
ming  a kind  of  drawers.2  Tails  of  animals 
ind  wild  beast’s  skin  were  henceforth  only 
the  insignia  of  authority  with  which 
priests  and  princes  adorned  them- 
selves on  great  days  and  at  reli- 
gious ceremonies.3  The  skin  was 
sometimes  carelessly  thrown  over 
the  left  shoulder  and  swayed  with 
the  movement  of  the  body ; some- 
times it  was  carefully  adjusted 
over  one  shoulder  and  under  the 
other,  so  as  to  bring  the  curve  of 
the  chest  into  prominence.  The 
head  of  the  animal,  skilfully  prepared 
and  enlivened  by  large  eyes  of  enamel, 
rested  on  the  shoulder  or  fell  just 
below  the  waist  of  the  wearer ; 
the  paws,  with  the  claws 


NOTABLE  WEARING  THE  LARGE  fttt&ched,  hung  down  OV61' 
CLOAK  OVER  THE  LEFT  SHOULDER.4 5  ^ th{gh§  . the  gpots  Qf 


PRIEST  WEARING  THE  PANTHER : 
ACROSS  THE  BREAST.5 


the  skin  were  manipulated  so  as  to  form  five-pointed  stars.  On  going- 
out-of-doors,  a large  wrap  was  thrown  over  all ; this  covering  was  either 


1 The  monuments  of  the  ancient  empire  show  us  the  fellah  of  that  period  and  the  artisan  at  his 

work  still  wearing  the  belt  (Lepsius,  Denlan.,  ii.  4,  9,  12,  23,  24,  25,  28,  35,  40,  etc.). 

2 The  first  fashion  often  figures  in  Lepsius,  Benhm.,  ii.  pp.  4,  8,  22,  25,  32,  43,  etc.;  the 

latter  in  Wilkinson.  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  ii.  p.  322.  See  the  two  statues,  pp. 
47,  48. 

3 The  custom  of  wearing  a tail  made  of  straw,  hemp  fibre,  or  horsehair,  still  exists  among  several 

tribes  of  the  Upper  Nile  (Elisee  Reclus,  Geographic  universelle,  vol.  ix.  pp.  140,  15S,  165,  175. 
178,  etc.).  The  tails  worn  on  state  occasions  by  the  Egyptians  were  imitations  of  jackals’  tails,  and 

not,  as  has  been  stated,  of  those  of  lions.  The  movable  part  was  of  leather  or  plaited  horsehair, 

attached  to  a rigid  part  of  wood.  The  museum  at  Marseilles  possesses  one  of  these  wooden 
appendages  (Maspero,  Catalogue  du  Musee  Egyptien , p.  92,  No.  279).  They  formed  part  of  the 
costume  of  the  deceased,  and  we  find  two  species  of  them  in  his  wardrobe  (Visconti,  Monumenti 
Egiziani  della  racrolta  del  Signor  Bemetrio  Papandriopido,  pi.  vi. ; Lepsius,  yElteste  Texte,  pi.  7.  37  ; 
MASrERO,  Trois  Annees  de  fouilles,  in  the  Memoircs  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  i.  pp.  217,  225, 
235). 

* Wooden  statue  in  the  Ghizeh  Museum  (IVth  dynasty),  drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  a 
photograph  by  Bechard.  See  Mariette,  Album  du  Musee  de  Boulag,  pi.  20.  and  Notice  des  principally 
monuments,  4th  edit.,  p.  235,  No.  770;  Maspero,  Guide  du  Visit eur,  p.  219,  No.  1009. 

5 Statue  of  the  second  prophet  of  Amon,  Aa-nen,  in  the  Turin  Museum  (XVIIIth  dynasty). 


56 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


smooth  or  hairy,  similar  to  that  in  which  the  Nubians  and  Abyssinians  of' 


the  present  day  envelop  themselves.  It  could  be  draped 
in  various  ways;  transversely  over  the  left  shoulder 
like  the  fringed  shawl  of  the  Chaldeans,  or  hanging 
straight  from  both  shoulders  like  a mantle.1  In  fact, 
it  did  duty  as  a cloak,  sheltering  the  wearer  from 
the  sun  or  from  the  rain,  from  the  heat  or  from 
the  cold.  They  never  sought  to  transform  it 
into  a luxurious  garment  of  state,  as  was  the 
case  in  later  times  with  the  Koman  toga, 
whose  amplitude  secured  a certain  dignity  of 
carriage,  and  whose  folds,  carefully  adjusted 
beforehand,  fell  around  the  body  with 
studied  grace.  The  Egyptian  mantle,  when 
not  required,  was  thrown  aside  and  folded 
up.  The  material  being  fine  and  soft,  it 
occupied  but  a small  space,  and  was  re- 
duced to  a long  thin  roll;  the  ends  being 
then  fastened  together,  it  was  slung  over 
a dignitary  wrapped  in  his  large  cloak.2  the  shoulder  and  round  the  body  like  a 

cavalry  cloak.3  Travellers,  shepherds,  all 
those  whose  occupations  called  them  to  the  fields,  carried  it  as  a bundle 


1 This  costume,  to  which  Egyptologists  have  not  given  sufficient  attention,  is  frequently  repre- 
sented on  the  monuments.  Besides  the  two  statues  reproduced  above,  I may  cite  those  of  Uahibri 
and  of  Thoth-nofir  in  the  Louvre  (E.  de  Rouge,  Notice  cles  Monuments  de  la  GalCrie  Egyptienne,  1872, 
Nos.  55  and  91,  pp.  32,  44),  and  the  Lady  Nofrit  in  the  Gliizeh  Museum  (Maspero,  Guide  du  visiteur, 
No.  1059,  p.  221).  Thothotph  in  his  tomb  wears  this  mantle  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  134  e).  Khnum- 
hotpu  and  several  of  his  workmen  are  represented  in  it  at  Beni-Hasan  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  126,  127), 
as  also  one  of  the  princes  of  Elephantine  iu  the  recently  discovered  tombs,  besides  many  Egyptians 
of  all  classes  in  the  tombs  of  Thebes  (a  good  example  is  in  the  tomb  of  Harmhabi,  Champollion, 
Monuments  de  VEgypte,  pi.  clvi.  2 ; Rosellini,  Monument i Civili,  pi.  cxvi.  1 ; Bouriant,  Le  Tombeau 
d' Harmliabi,  in  the  Me'moires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  v.  pi.  iii.).  The  reason  why  it  does  not  figure 
more  often  is,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  Egyptian  artists  experienced  actual  difficulty  iu  representing 
the  folds  of  its  drapery,  although  these  were  simple  compared  with  the  complicated  arrangement  of  the 
Roman  toga  ; finally,  the  wall-paintings  mostly  portray  either  interior  scenes,  or  agricultural  labour,  or 
the  work  of  various  trades,  or  episodes  of  war,  or  religious  ceremonies,  in  all  of  which  the  mantle  plays  no 
part.  Every  Egyptian  peasant,  however,  possessed  his  own,  and  it  was  in  constant  use  in  his  daily  life. 

2 Statue  of  Khiti  in  the  Gliizeh  Museum  (XIIth  and  XIIIth  dynasties),  da-awn  by  Faucher- 
Gudin;  see  Mariette,  Notice  des  principaux  monuments,  4th  edit.,  p.  188,  No.  464,  Catalogue  Gt'nCrul 
des  Monuments  d’Abydos,  p.  36,  No.  361,  and  Album  pliotograpliigue  du  mue&e  de  Boulaq,  pi.  xxv.  The 
statue  was  found  at  Abydos. 

3 Many  draughtsmen,  ignorant  of  what  they  had  to  represent,  have  made  incorrect  copies  of  the 
manner  in  which  this  cloak  was  worn  ; but  examples  of  it  are  numerous,  although  until  now  attention 
has  not  been  called  to  them.  The  following  are  a few  instances  taken  at  random  of  the  way  in  which 
it  was  used  : Pepi  I.,  fighting  against  the  nomads  of  Sinai,  has  the  cloak,  but  with  the  two  ends 
passed  through  the  belt  of  his  loin-cloth  (Lepsius,  Denlcm., ii.  116  a);  at  Zowyet  el-Maiyitio,  Khunas, 
killing  birds  with  the  boomerang  from  his  boat,  wears  it,  but  simply  thrown  over  the  left  shoulder, 
with  the  two  extremities  hanging  free  (id.,  ii.  10G  ct).  Khnumhotpu  at  Beni-Hasan  (id.,  ii.  130),  the 


COSTUME. 


57 


at  the  ends  of  their  sticks;  once  arrived  at  the  scene  of  their  work,  they 
deposited  it  in  a corner  with  their  provisions  until  they  required 
it.1  The  women  were  at  first  contented  with  a loin-cloth  like 
that  of  the  men;2  it  was  enlarged  and  lengthened  till  it 
reached  the  ankle  below  and  the  bosom  above,  and  became 
a tightly  fitting  garment,  with  two  bands  over  the 
shoulders,  like  braces,  to  keep  it  in  place.3  The  feet 
were  not  always  covered ; on  certain  occasions,  how- 
ever, sandals  of  coarse  leather,  plaited  straw,  split  leed, 
or  even  painted  wood,  adorned  those  shapely  Egyptian 
feet,  which  perhaps  we  should  prefer  to  be  a little 
shorter.4  Both  men  and  women  loved  ornaments,  and 
covered  their  necks,  breasts,  arms,  wrists,  and  ankles 
with  many  rows  of  necklaces  and  bracelets.  These 
were  made  of  strings  of  pierced  shells,5  interspersed 
with  seeds  and  little  pebbles,  either  sparkling  or  of 
unusual  shapes.7  Subsequently  imitations  in  terra- 
cotta replaced  the  natural  shells,  and  precious  stones 
were  substituted  for  pebbles,  as  were  also  beads  of 
enamel,  either  round,  pear-shaped,  or  cylindrical  : 
the  necklaces  were  terminated  and  a uni- 
form distance  maintained  be.  the 

rows  of  beads,  by  several  slips  of  od, 
bone,  ivory,  porcelain,  or  terra-cotta,  pierced  costume  of  Egyptian  woman,  spinning. 

with  holes,  through  which  passed  the 


Khrihabi  (id.,  101  b),  the  overseers  (id.,  105  b,  110  a,  etc.),  or  the  peasants  (id.,  96),  all  have  it  rolled 
and  slung  round  them  ; the  Prince  of  el-Bersheh  wears  it  like  a mantle  in  folds  over  the  two  shoulders 
(id.,  134  b,  d).  If  it  is  objected  that  the  material  could  not  be  reduced  to  such  small  dimensions  as 
those  represented  in  these  drawings  of  what  I believe  to  be  the  Egyptian  cloak,  I may  cite  our  cavalry 
capes,  when  rolled  and  slung,  ns  an  instance  of  what  good  packing  will  do  in  reducing  volume. 

1 Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  ii.  p.  100,  No.  3G0,  and  p.  394,  No.  466,  where  we 
see  two  cloaks  rolled  up  and  deposited  in  a field  while  the  labourers  are  working  near  them.  A swine- 
herd, who  carries  his  cloak  in  a roll  on  the  end  of  his  stick,  is  shown  on  p.  64  of  the  present  work. 

• In  the  harvest-scenes  of  the  ancient  empire,  we  see  the  women  wearing  the  loin-cloth  tucked  up 
like  drawers,  to  enable  them  to  work  with  greater  freedom  (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.). 

3 Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  5,  S c,  11,  15,  19,  20,  21,  46,  47,  57,  58,  etc. 

* Sandals  also  figure  in  all  periods  among  the  objects  contained  in  the  wardrobe  of  the  deceased 
(Visconti,  Monumenti  Egiziani,  pi.  vii. ; Lepsius,  JElleste  Texte,  pi.  xi.  p.  xliii. ; Maspero,  Trois  Annies 
defouilles,  in  the  Me'moires  de  la  Mission  frangaise,  vol.  i.  pp.  218,  228,  237). 

3 The  burying-places  of  Abydos,  especially  the  most  ancient,  have  furnished  us  with  millions  of 
shells,  pierced  and  threaded  as  necklaces ; they  all  belong  to  the  species  of  cowries  used  as  money  in 
Africa  at  the  present  day  (Mariette,  La  Galerie  de  VEgypte  ancienne  a V exposition  retrospective  du 
Trocade'ro,  p.  112 ; Maspero,  Guide  du  visiteur,  p.  271,  No.  4130). 

0 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  one  of  the  spinning-women  at  the  Universal  Exhibition  of  1889. 
It  was  restored  from  the  paintings  in  the  tomb  of  Khnumhotpit  at  Beni-Hasan. 

7 Necklaces  of  seeds  have  been  found  in  the  tombs  of  Abydos,  Thebes,  and  Gebelen.  Of  these 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


58 


threads.1 


Weapons,  at  least  among  the  nobility,  were  an  indispensable 
part  of  costume.  Most  of  them  were  for 
hand-to-hand  fighting : sticks,  clubs,  lances 
furnished  with  a sharpened  bone  or  stone 
point,2  axes  of  flint,2  sabres  and  clubs  of 
bone  or  of  wood  in  various  shapes,  pointed 
or  rounded  at  the  end,  with  blunt  or  sharp 
blades, — inoffensive  enough  to  look  at, 
but,  wielded  by  a vigorous  hand, 
sufficient  to  break  an  arm,  crush  in 
the  ribs,  or  smash  a skull  with  all 
desirable  precision/’  The  plain  or 
triple  curved  bow  was  the  favourite 
weapon  for  attack  at  a distance/ 
but  in  addition  to  this  they  had 
the  sling,  the  javelin,  and  a missile 


MAN  WEARING  WIG  AND  NECKLACES.4 


Schweinfurth  lias  identified,  among  others,  the  Cassia  absus,  L.,  l,a  weed  of  the  Soudan  whose  seeds 
are  sold  in  the  drug  bazaar  at  Cairo  and  Alexandria  under  the  name  of  shishm,  as  a remedy,  which 
is  in  great  request  among  the  natives,  for  ophthalmia”  (Les  Dernieres  Dfcouvertes  botaniques  dans  les 
anciens  tombeaux  de  VEgypte,  in  the  Bulletin  de  V Institut  cgyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  vi.  p.  257).  For 
the  necklaces  of  pebbles,  cf.  Maspero,  Guide  du  visiteur,  pp.  270,  271,  No.  4129.  A considerable 
number  of  these  pebbles,  particularly  those  of  strange  shape,  or  presenting  a curious  combination 
of  colours,  must  have  been  regarded  as  amulets  or  fetishes  by  their  Egyptian  owners.  (Analogous 
cases,  among  other  peoples,  have  been  pointed  out  by  E.  B.  Tvi.or,  Primitive  Culture,  vol.  ii.  p. 
189,  et.  seq  , 205  et  seq.)  For  the  imitations  of  cowries  and  shells  in  blue  enamelled  terra-cotta,  cf. 
Maspero,  Guide  du  visiteur,  p.  271,  No.  4130,  p.  27(1,  No.  4100;  they  are  numerous  at  Abydos,  side 
by  side  with  the  real  cowries. 

1 The  nature  of  these  little  perforated  slips  has  not  been  understood  by  the  majority  of  savants; 
they  have  been  put  aside  as  doubtful  objects,  or  have  been  badly  described  in  our  museum 
catalogues. 

2 The  term  mabit  for  the  lance  or  javelin  is  found  in  the  most  ancient  formulas  of  the  pyramids 
( Pepi  I.,  I.  424,  in  the  Iircueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  vi.  p.  165).  The  mabit,  lance  or  javelin,  was  pointed 
with  flint,  bone,  or  metal,  after  the  fashion  of  arrowheads  (Chapas,  Etudes  sur  V antiquity  historique, 
2nd  edit.,  p.  382,  et  seq.,  395). 

3 In  several  museums,  notably  at  Leyden,  we  find  Egyptian  axes  of  stone,  particularly  of  serpentine, 
both  rough  and  polished  (Chabas,  Etudes  sur  V anti quit € historique,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  381,  382)). 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a portrait  of  Pharaoh  Seti  I.  of  the  XIX"1  dynasty  (Roselmni, 
Monument i Storied,  pi.  v.  18):  the  lower  part  of  the  necklace  has  been  completed. 

5 In  primitive  times  the  hone  of  an  animal  served  as  a club.  This  is  proved  by  the  shape  of  the 

object  held  in  the  hand  in  the  sign  V — i (Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 5,  in  the  Proceedings  of 

the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society,  1890-91,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  310,  311):  the  hieroglyph  ^ ■ V. — i,  which 

is  the  determinative  in  writing  for  all  ideas  of  violence  or  brute  force,  comes  down  to  us  from  a time 
when  the  principal  weapon  was  the  club,  or  a bone  serving  as  a club. 

0 For  the  two  principal  shapes  of  the  bow,  see  Lepsius,  Der  Bogen  in  der  Hierogl  yphil:  ( Zeitschrift , 

1872,  pp.  79-88).  From  the  earliest  times  the  sign  portrays  the  soldier  equipped  with  the  bow 
and  bundle  of  arrows;  the  quiver  was  of  Asiatic  origin,  and  was  not  adopted  until  much  later 
(Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 18,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society, 
1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  184-187).  In  the  contemporary  texts  of  the  first  dynasties,  the  idea  of 
weapons  is  conveyed  by  the  bow,  arrow,  and  club  or  axe  (E.  de  Rouge,  Tieclierches  sur  les  monuments, 

p.  101). 


AEMS  OF  WOOD  AND  METAL . 


50 


almost  forgotten  nowadays,  the  boomerang;1  we  have  no  proof,  however, 
that  the  Egyptians  handled  the  boomerang  with  the  skill  of  the  Austra- 
lians, nor  that  they  knew  how  to  throw 
it  so  as  to  bring  it  back  to  its  point 
of  departure.2  Such  was  approximately 
the  most  ancient  equipment  as  far  as 
we  can  ascertain ; but  at  a very  early 
date  copper  and  iron  were  known  in 
Egypt.3  Long  before  historic  times, 
the  majority  of  the  weapons  in  wood 
were  replaced  by  those  of  metal, — 
daggers,  sabres,  hatchets,  which  pre- 
served, however,  the  shape  of  the  old 
wooden  instruments.  Those  wooden 
weapons  which  were  retained,  were  used 
for  hunting,  or  were  only  brought  out  on 
solemn  occasions  when  tradition  had  to 
be  respected.  The  war-baton  became 
the  commander’s  wand  of  authority, 
and  at  last  degenerated  into  the  walk- 
ing-stick of  the  rich  or  noble.  The  club  at  length  represented  merely  the 

1 The  boomerang  is  still  used  by  certain  tribes  of  tbo  Nile  valley  (Eliske  Reclus,  Geographic 
universelle,  vol.  ix.  p.  352).  It  is  portrayed  in  the  most  ancient  tombs  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  12,  60, 
106,  etc.),  and  every  museum  possesses  examples,  varying  in  shape  (E.  de  Rouge,  Notice  sommaire, 
Salle  Civile,  Armoire  H.,  p.  73;  Maspero,  Guide  da  visiteur,  p.  303,  No.  4723).  Besides  the  ordinary 
boomerang,  the  Egyptians  used  one  which  ended  in  a knob  (Maspero,  Guide  du  visiteur,  p.  303, 
No.  4724),  and  another  of  semicircular  shape  (Chabas,  Etudes  sur  Vantiquite  historique,  2nd  edit., 
p.  8S  ; Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  lejour,  § 27,  iu  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society , 
vol.  xiv.,  1891-92,  pp.  320,  321) : this  latter,  reproduced  in  miniature  in  cornelian  or  in  red  jasper, 
served  as  an  amulet,  and  was  placed  on  the  mummy  to  furnish  the  deceased  in  the  other  world  with 
a fighting  or  hunting  weapon. 

• The  Australian  boomerang  is  much  larger  than  the  Egyptian  one;  it  is  about  a yard  in  length, 
two  inches  in  width,  and  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  in  thickness.  For  the  manner  of  handling  it, 
and  what  cau  be  done  with  it,  see  Lubbock,  Prehistoric  Man,  pp.  402,  403. 

3 Metals  were  introduced  into  Egypt  in  very  ancient  times,  since  the  class  of  blacksmiths  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  worship  of  Horns  of  Edfou,  and  appears  in  the  account  of  the  mythical  wars  of  that 
God  (Maspero,  Les  Forgerons  d'llorus,  in  Les  Etudes  de  Mythologie,  vol.  ii.  p.  313,  et  seq.).  The 
earliest  tools  we  possess,  in  copper  or  bronze,  date  from  the  IVth  dynasty  (Gladstone,  On  Metallic 
Copper,  Tin,  and  Antimony  from  Ancient  Egypt,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Arehxological 
Society,  1891-92,  pp.  223-226):  pieces  of  iron  have  been  found  from  time  to  time  in  the  masonry 
of  the  Great  Pyramid  (Vyse,  Pyramids  of  Gizeli,  vol.  i.  pp.  275,  276;  St.  John  Vincent  Day, 
Examination  of  the  Fragment  of  Iron  from  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Ghizeli,  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
International  Congress  of  Orientalists,  1874,  pp.  396-399;  Maspero,  Guide  du  visiteur,  p.  296,  and 
Bulletin  de  la  Socie'te’  d’anthropologie,  1883,  p.  813,  et  seq.).  Mons.  Montelius  has  again  aud  again 
contested  the  authenticity  of  these  discoveries,  and  he  thinks  that  irou  was  not  known  in  Egypt  till 
a much  later  period  (L’Age  du  bronze  en  Egypte,  in  the  Anthropologie,  vol.  i.  p.  30,  et  seq  ). 

* Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a painting  in  the  tomb  of  Khnumhotpft  at  Beni-Hnsan 
(Ch ampoi.i.ion.  Monuments  de  V Egypte,  pi.  ccc. ; Rosellini,  Monument i Civili,  pi.  exvii.  3). 


60 


TEE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


rank  ol  a chieftain.1  Finally,  the  crook  and  the  wooden-kandled  mace, 
with  its  head  of  white  stone,  the  favourite  weapons  of  princes,  continued 


to  the  last  the  most  revered 
insignia  of  royalty.''1 

Life  was  passed  in  com- 
parative ease  and  pleasure.  Of 
the  ponds  left  in  the  open  country  by  the  river  at  its  fall,  some 
dried  up  more  or  less  quickly  during  the  winter,  leaving  on  the 
soil  an  immense  quantity  of  fish,  the  possession  of  which  birds  and  wild 

beasts  disputed  with  man.4  Other  pools,  how- 
ever, remained  till  the  returning  inundation,  as 
so  many  vivaria  in  which  the  fish  were  preserved 
for  dwellers  on  the  banks.  Fishing  with  the  har- 
poon, with  the  line,  with  a net,  with  traps — all 
methods  of  fishing  were  known  and  used  by  the 
Egyptians  from  early  times.  Where  the  ponds 
failed,  the  neighbouring  Nile  furnished  them  with 
inexhaustible  supplies.  Standing  in  light  canoes, 
or  rather  supported  by  a plank  on  bundles  of 
reeds  bound  together,0  they  ventured  into  mid- 
stream, in  spite  of  the  danger  arising  from  the 
ever-present  hippopotamus ; or  they  penetrated 
up  the  canals  amid  a thicket  of  aquatic  plants, 
to  bring  down  with  the  boomerang  the  birds 
which  found  covert  there.  The  fowl  and  fish 


KING  HOLDING  THE  BATON,  THE 
WHITE  MACE,  AND  THE  CLUB.5 


which  could  not  be  eaten  fresh,  were  dried,  salted,  or  smoked,  and  kept 


1 The  wooden  club  most  commonly  represented  i,  is  the  usual  insignia  of  a nobleman.  Several 
hinds  of  clubs,  somewhat  difficult  for  us  moderns  to  distinguish,  yet  bearing  different  names,  formed 
a part  of  funereal  furniture  (Lepsius,  JElieste  Texte,  pi.  x.  26-28,  38;  Maspero,  Trots  Annfes  de 
fouilles,  in  the  Nf moires  de  la  Mission  f ran  false,  vol.  i.  pp.  24,  221,  232,  etc.). 

2 The  blade  is  of  bronze,  and  is  attached  to  the  wooden  handle  by  interlacing  thongs  of  leather 
(Ghizeli  Museum).  Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emile  Brugsch-Bey. 

3 The  crook  J is  the  sceptre  of  a prince,  a Pharaoh,  or  a god ; the  white  mace  | has  still  the  value 

apparently  of  a weapon  in  the  hands  of  the  king  who  brandishes  it  over  a group  of  prisoners,  or  over 
an  ox  which  he  is  sacrificing  to  a divinity  (Lepsius,  Denhm.,  ii.  2 a,  c,  39/,  116,  etc.).  Most  museums 
possess  specimens  of  the  stoue  heads  of  one  of  these  maces,  but  the  mode  of  using  it  was  not  known, 
f had  several  placed  in  the  Boulak  Museum  ( Extrait  de  Vinventaire,  p.  10,  Nos.  26,586,  26,587, 
in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  Egyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  vi.).  It  already  possessed  a model  of  one  entirely 
of  wood  (Map.iette,  La  Gale'rie  de  VEgypte  ancienne,  p.  104;  Maspeiio,  Guide , p.  303,  No.  4722). 

4 Cf.  the  description  of  these  pools  given  by  Geolfroy-Saint-Hilaire  in  speakiug  of  the  fahalca 
(Ilistoire  naturelle  des  poissons  du  Nil , in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  xxii.  pp.  182,  183).  Even 
at  the  present  day  the  jackals  come  down  from  the  mountains  in  the  night,  and  regale  themselves 
with  the  fish  left  on  the  ground  by  the  gradual  drying  up  of  these  ponds. 

5 Bas-relief  in  the  temple  of  Luxor,  from  a photograph  taken  by  Insiuger  in  1886. 

c The  building  of  this  kind  of  canoe  is  represented  in  the  tomb  of  Ptahhotpu  (Dcmichen, 
Besultate  der  archdologisch-photographisclien  Expedition,  vol.  i.  pi.  viii.). 


HUNTING  AND  FISHING. 


61 

for  a rainy  (lay.1 2 3  Like  the  river,  the  desert  had  its  perils  and  its 
resources.  Only  too  frequently,  the  lion,  the  leopard,  the  panther,  and  other 
large  felidce  were  met  with  there.  The  nobles,  like  the  Pharaohs  of  later 


FISHING  IN  THE  MARSHES:  TWO  FISH  SrEARED  AT  ONE  STROKE  OF  THE  HARPOON.2 

times,  regarded  as  their  privilege  or  duty  the  stalking  and  destroying 
of  these  animals,  pursuing  them  even  to  their  dens.  The  common  people 
preferred  attacking  the  gazelle,  the  oryx,  the  mouflon  sheep,  the  ibex,  the 


FISHING  IN  THE  RIVER:  LIFTING  A TRAP.3 


wild  ox,  and  the  ostrich,  and  did  not  disdain  more  humble  game,  such  as  the 
porcupine  and  long-eared  hare:  nondescript  packs,  in  which  the  jackal  and 
the  hyena  ran  side  by  side  with  the  wolf-dog  and  the  lithe  Abyssinian  grey- 

1 For  the  yearly  value  of  the  ancient  fisheries,  see  Herodotus,  ii.  140  (cf.  iii.  01);  Diodorus. 
i.  52.  On  the  system  of  farm  rents  in  use  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  cf.  Michaud,  Corrc- 
spondance  d’ Orient,  vol.  vi.  letter  156;  and  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit,  vol  ii 
pp.  124-126. 

2 Isolated  figure  from  a great  fishing  scene  in  the  tomb  of  Khnumhotph  at  Beni-Hasan;  drawn 
by  Faucher-Gudin  after  Rosellini,  Monuments  Civili,  pi.  xsv.  1. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  squeezes  from  the  tomb  of  Ti. 


G2 


THE  NILE  AND  EH  Y1‘T. 


hound,  scented  and  retrieved  for  their  master  the  prey  which  he  had  pierced 
with  his  arrows.1  At  times  a hunter,  returning  with  the  dead  body  of  the 


HUNTING  IN  Till:  MARSHES:  ENCOUNTERING  AND  SPEARING  A HIPPOPOTAMUS.2 


mother,  would  be  followed  by  one  of  her  young;  or  a gazelle,  but  slightly 
wounded,  would  be  taken  to  the  village  and  healed  of  its  hurt.  Such  animals, 


by  daily  contact  with  man,  were  gradually  tamed,  and  formed  about  his 
dwelling  a motley  flock,  kept  partly  for  his  pleasure  and  mostly  for  his  profit, 
and  becoming  in  case  of  necessity  a ready  stock  of  provisions.4  Efforts 

' On  Egyptian  dogs,  see  Rosellini,  Monumenli  Civili , vol.  i.  pp.  197-202 ; Fr.  Lenormant,  Les 
Animaux  employ * par  les  anciens  Egyptiens  a la  chasse  et  a la  guerre,  in  Premieres  Civilisations,  vol 
i.  p.  313,  et  seq. ; Birch,  The  Tablet  of  Antefaa  II.,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Arclieeology,  vol.  iv.  pp.  172-195. 

2 Tomb  of  Ti.  Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Dumichen,  Besultate,  vol.  ii.  pi.  x. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a painting  at  Beni-Hasan,  Lepsius,  Denhm.,  ii.  130. 

i In  the  same  way,  before  the  advent  of  Europeans,  the  half-civilized  tribes  of  North  America  used 
to  keep  about  their  huts  whole  flocks  of  different  animals,  which  were  tame,  but  not  domesticated 
(Etppekt,  Kulturgeschichte  Her  Menschheit,  vol.  i.  pp.  481.  48;>). 


THE  LASSO  AND  THE  BOLA. 


63 


PACK  FROM  THE  TOMB  OF  PTAHHOTPOC." 


were  therefore  made  to  enlarge  this  flock,  and  the  wish  to  procure  animals 
without  seriously  injuring  them,  caused  the  Egyptians  to  use  the  net  lor  birds 
and  the  lasso  and  the  bola  for 
quadrupeds,1 * 3 — weapons  less  brutal 
than  the  arrow  and  the  javelin. 

The  bola  was  made  by  them  of 
a single  rounded  stone,  attached 
to  a strap  about  five  yards  in 
length.  The  stone  once  thrown, 
the  cord  twisted  round  the  legs, 
muzzle,  or  neck  of  the  animal 
pursued,  and  by  the  attachment 
thus  made  the  pursuer,  using  all 

his  strength,  was  enabled  to  bring  the  beast  down  half  strangled.  The  lasso 
has  no  stone  attached  to  it,  but  a noose  prepared  beforehand,  and  the  skill  ol 
the  hunter  consists  in  throwing  it  round  the  neck  of  his 
victim  while  running.  They  caught  indifferently,  without 
distinction  of  size  or  kind,  all 
that  chance  brought  within 
their  reach.  The  daily  chase 
kept  up  these  half- tamed 
flocks  of  gazelles,  wild  goats, 
water-bucks,  storks,  and  os- 
triches, and  their  numbers 
are  reckoned  by  hundreds 
on  the  monuments  of  the 

ancient  empire.4  Experience  alone  taught  the  hunter  to  distinguish  between 


CATCHING  ANIMALS  WITH  THE  BOLA.' 


1 Hunting  with  the  bola  is  constantly  represented  in  the  paintings  both  of  the  Memphite  and 
Theban  periods.  Wilkinson  ( Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  ii.  p.  87,  f.  352,  353)  has  con- 
founded it  with  lasso-hunting,  and  his  mistake  has  been  reproduced  by  other  Egyptologists  (Erman, 
JEgypten,  p.  332).  Lasso-hunting  is  seen  in  Lepsius,  Dcnlcm.,  ii.  90,  in  Dumichen,  Besultate,  vol.  i. 
pi.  viii.,  and  particularly  in  the  numerous  sacrificial  scenes  where  the  king  is  supposed  to  be  capturing 
the  bull  of  the  north  or  south,  previous  to  offering  it  to  the  god  (Makiette,  Abydos,  vol.  i.  pi.  53). 
For  the  terms  bola  and  lasso  hunting,  ef.  Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  §§  4 and  9,  in  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society,  1890-91,  vol.  xii.  pp.  310,  and  427-429. 

- Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  of  Ptalihotpou  (Dumichen,  Ilesullate,  vol.  i. 
pi.  ix.).  The  dogs  on  the  upper  level  are  of  liyenoid  type,  those  ou  the  lower  are  Abyssiniau  grey- 
hounds. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  of  Ptalihotpou  (Dumichen,  Besultate,  vol.  i.  pi.  viii.). 
Above  are  seen  two  porcupines,  the  foremost  of  which,  emerging  from  his  hole,  has  seized  a grass- 
hopper. 

* As  the  tombs  of  the  ancient  empire  show  us  numerous  flocks  of  gazelles,  antelopes,  and  storks, 
feeding  under  the  care  of  shepherds,  Fr.  Leuormant  concluded  that  the  Egyptians  of  early  times  had 
succeeded  in  domesticating  some  species,  nowadays  rebels  to  restraint  {Les  Premieres  Civilisations, 
vol.  i.  pp.  323-328).  It  is  my  belief  that  the  animals  represented  were  tamed,  hut  not  domesticated, 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


64 

those  species  from  which  he  could  draw  profit,  and  others  whose  wildness 
made  them  impossible  to  domesticate.  The  subjection  of  the  most  useful 
kinds  had  not  been  finished  when  the  historic  period  opened.  The  ass,  the 
sheep,  and  the  goat  were  already  domesticated,  but  the  pig  was  still  out  in 
the  marshes  in  a semi-wild  state,  under  the  care  of  special  herdsmen,1  and 
the  religious  rites  preserved  the  remembrance  of  the  times  in  which  the  ox 
was  so  little  tamed,  that  in  order  to  capture  while  grazing  the  animals  needed 
for  sacrifice  or  for  slaughter,  it  was  necessary  to  use  the  lasso.2 

Europeans  are  astonished  to  meet  nowadays  whole  peoples  who  make  use 

of  herbs  and  plants  whose  flayour  and 
properties  are  nauseating  to  us : these 
are  mostly  so  many  legacies  from  a 
remote  past 

with  which  the  Berbers  rub  their 
limbs,  and  with  which  the  fellakin  of 
Port  Said  season  their  bread  and 
vegetables,  was  preferred  before  all 
others  by  the  Egyptians  of  the  Pha- 
raonic age  for  anointing  the  body 
and  for  culinary  use.4  They  had  begun  by  eating  indiscriminately  every 
kind  of  fruit  which  the  country  produced.  Many  of  these,  when  their 

therapeutic  virtues  had  been  learned  by  experience,  were  gradually  banished 
as  articles  of  food,  and  their  use  restricted  to  medicine ; others  fell  into 

aud  were  the  result  of  great  hunting  expeditious  in  the  desert.  The  facts  which  Lenormant  brought 
forward  to  support  his  theory  may  be  used  against  him.  For  instance,  the  fawn  of  the  gazelle 
nourished  by  its  mother  (Lepsius,  Denltm.,  ii.  12)  does  not  prove  that  it  was  bred  in  captivity;  the 
gazelle  may  have  been  caught  before  calving,  or  just  after  the  birth  of  its  young.  The  fashion 
of  keeping  flocks  of  animals  taken  from  the  desert  died  out  between  the  XIIth  and  XVIIIth 
dynasties.  At  the  time  of  the  new  empire,  they  had  only  one  or  two  solitary  animals  as  pets  for 
women  or  children,  the  mummies  of  which  were  sometimes  buried  by  the  side  of  their  mistresses 
(Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur  au  muege  de  Boulaq,  p.  327,  No.  5220). 

1 The  hatred  of  the  Egyptians  for  the  pig  (Herodotus,  ii.  47)  is  attributed  to  mythological 
motives  (Naville,  Le  Chapitre  CXII  du  Livre  des  Morts,  in  the  Etudes  arcligologiques  dgdides  a M.  le 
Dr.  G.  Leemans,  pp.  75-77).  Lippert  ( Kulturgeschichte , vol.  i.  p.  545,  et  seq.)  thinks  this  antipathy 
did  not  exist  in  Egypt  in  primitive  times.  At  the  outset  the  pig  would  have  been  the  principal  food 
of  the  people ; then,  like  the  dog  in  other  regions,  it  must  have  been  replaced  at  the  table  by  animals 
of  a higher  order — gazelles,  sheep,  goats,  oxen — and  would  have  thus  fallen  into  contempt.  To  the 
excellent  reasons  given  by  Lippert  could  be  added  others  drawn  from  the  study  of  the  Egyptian 
myths,  to  prove  that  the  pig  has  often  been  highly  esteemed.  Thus,  Isis  is  represented,  down  to  late 
times,  under  the  form  of  a sow,  and  a sow,  whether  followed  or  not  by  her  young,  is  one  of  the 
amulets  placed  in  the  tomb  with  the  deceased,  to  secure  for  him  the  protection  of  the  goddess 
(Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur,  p.  273,  No.  4155). 

2 Mariette,  Abydos  (vol.  i.  pi.  48  6,  53).  To  prevent  the  animal  from  evading  the  lasso  and 
escaping  during  the  sacrifice,  its  right  hind  foot  was  fastened  to  its  left  horn. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a painting  in  a Theban  tomb  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty. 

4 I have  often  been  obliged,  from  politeness,  when  dining  with  the  native  agents  appointed  by  the 
European  powers  at  Port  Sa'id,  to  eat  salads  and  mayonnaise  sauces  flavoured  with  castor-oil;  the 
taste  was  not  so  disagreeable  as  might  be  at  first  imagined. 


; for  example,  castor-oil, 


A SWINEHERD  AND  HIS  TIGS.3 


PLANTS  USED  FOR  FOOD. 


65 


disuse,  and  only  reappeared  at  sacrifices,  or  at  funeral  feasts ; several  varieties 
continue  to  be  eaten  to  the  present  time — the  acid  fruits  of  the  nabeca  and 
of  the  carob  tree,  the  astringent  figs  of  the  sycamore,  the  insipid  pulp  of  the 
dom-palm,  besides  those  which  are  pleasant  to  our  Western  palates,  such  as  the 


THE  EGYPTIAN  LOTUS.1 


common  fig  and  the 
date.  The  vine 
flourished,  at  least 
in  Middle  and  Lower  Egypt ; from  time 
immemorial  the  art  of  making  wine  from  it  was  known,  and  even  the 
most  ancient  monuments  enumerate  half  a dozen  famous  brands,  red  or  white.1 2 
Vetches,  lupins,  beans,  chick-peas,  lentils,  onions,  fenugreek,3  the  bamia,4 
the  meloukhia,5  the  arum  colocasia,6  all  grew  wild  in  the  fields,  and  the  river 
itself  supplied  its  quota  of  nourishing  plants.  Two  of  the  species  of  lotus 


1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  Histoire  Naturf.lle,  pi.  61. 

- On  the  wines  of  Egypt  under  the  Pharaohs,  cf.  Brugsch,  Reise  nach  der  Grossen  Oase  el-Kliargeh, 
pp.  90-93.  The  four  kinds  of  canonical  wine,  brought  respectively  from  the  north,  south,  east,  and 
west  of  the  country,  formed  part  of  the  official  repast  and  of  the  wine-cellar  of  the  deceased  from 
remote  antiquity. 

3 All  these  species  have  been  found  in  the  tombs  and  identified  by  savants  in  archaeological 
botany — Kunth,  Unger,  Schweinfurth  (Loret,  La  Flore  Pharaonique,  pp.  17,  40,  42,  43,  Nos.  33,  97, 
102,  104, 105,  106). 

4 The  bamia,  Hibiscus  esculentus,  L.,  is  a plant  of  the  family  of  the  Malvaccfe,  having  a fruit  of 
five  divisions,  covered  with  prickly  hairs,  and  containing  round,  white,  soft  seeds,  slightly  sweet,  but 
astringent  in  taste,  and  very  mucilaginous  (S.  de  Sacy,  Relation  de  VEgypte  par  Abd-Alhitif,  pp.  16, 
37-40).  It  figures  on  the  monuments  of  Pharaonic  times  (Rosellini,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  xxxix.  3, 
and  text,  vol.  i.  pp.  380,  381 ; cf.  Wcenig,  Die  Pflanzen  im  Alten  JEgypten,  pp.  219,  220). 

5 The  meloukhia,  Corchorus  Olitorius,  L.,  is  a plant  belonging  to  the  Tilliaceie,  which  is  chopped 
up  and  cooked  much  the  same  as  endive  is  with  us,  but  which  few  Europeans  can  eat,  owing  to  the 
mucilage  it  contains  (S.  de  Lacy,  Relation  de  VEgypte  par  Abd-Allatif,  pp.  16,  17,  40-42).  Theo- 
phrastus says  it  was  celebrated  for  its  bitterness  ( Historia  Plant.,  vii.  7);  it  was  used  as  food, 
however,  in  the  Greek  town  of  Alexandria  (Pliny,  H.  N.,  xxi.  15,  32). 

6 The  colocasia,  Arum  colocasia,  L.,  is  mentioned  in  Pliny  (IT.  N.,  xix.  5;  xxiv.  16)  among  the 
vegetables  of  Egypt : the  root,  cooked  in  water,  is  still  eaten  at  the  present  day. 


F 


6fi 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


which  grew  in  the  Nile,  the  white  and  the  blue,  have  seed-vessels  similar  to 
those  of  the  poppy  : the  capsules  contain  small  grains  of  the  size  of  millet- 
seed.  The  fruit  of  the  pink  lotus  “ grows  on  a different  stalk  from  that  of  the 
flower,  and  springs  directly  from  the  root;  it  resembles  a honeycomb  in  form,’ 
or,  to  take  a more  prosaic  simile,  the  rose  of  a watering-pot.  The  upper  part  has 
twenty  or  thirty  cavities,  “ each  containing  a seed  as  big  as  an  olive  stone,  and 
pleasant  to  eat  either  fresh  or  dried.”  1 This  is  what  the  ancients  called 
the  bean  of  Egypt.2  “ The  yearly  shoots  of  the  papyrus  are  also  gathered. 
After  pulling  them  up  in  the  marshes,  the  points  are  cut  off  and  rejected,  the 
part  remaining  being  about  a cubit  in  length.  It  is  eaten  as  a delicacy  and 
is  sold  in  the  markets,  but  those  who  are  fastidious  partake  of  it  only  after 
baking.”3  Twenty  different  kinds  of  grain  and  fruits,  prepared  by  crushing 
between  two  stones,  are  kneaded  and  baked  to  furnish  cakes  or  bread ; these 
are  often  mentioned  in  the  texts  as  cakes  of  nabeca,  date  cakes,  and  cakes  of 
figs.  Lily  loaves,  made  from  the  roots  and  seeds  of  the  lotus,  were  the  delight 
of  the  gourmand,  and  appear  on  the  tables  of  the  kings  of  the  XIXth 
dynasty  ; 4 bread  and  cakes  made  of  cereals  formed  the  habitual  food  of  the 
people.5  Durrah  is  of  African  origin;  it  is  the  “ grain  of  the  South”  of  the 
inscriptions.6  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  supposed  that  wheat  and  six-rowed 
barley  came  from  the  region  of  the  Euphrates  ; they  are  still  found  there 
growing  wild,  and  thence  they  have  spread  over  the.w'orld.7  Egypt  was 
among  the  first  to  procure  and  cultivate  them.8  The  soil  there  is  so  kind  to 

1 Herodotus,  ii.  92.  The  root  of  two  species  of  lotus  is  still  held  in  much  esteem  by  the  half- 
savage  inhabitants  of  Lake  Menzaleh,  but  they  prefer  that  of  the  Nymphxa  Cxrulea  (Savary,  Lettres 
sur  VEgypte,  vol.  i.  p.  8,  note  8;  Eaffeneau-Delile,  Flore  dEgypte,  in  the  Description,  vol.  xix. 
p.  425). 

- Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  10,  34;  Theophrastus,  Hist.  PI,  iv.  10;  Strabo,  xvii.  799. 

3 Herodotus,  ii.  92.  On  the  papyrus  of  Egypt  in  general,  and  on  its  uses,  whether  as  an  edible 
or  otherwise,  see  Fr.  Wcenig,  Die  Pflanzen  in  Alten  ASgypten,  pp.  74-129. 

4 Tin,  which  is  the  most  ancient  word  for  bread,  appears  in  early  times  to  have  been  used  for 
every  kind  of  paste,  whether  made  with  fruits  or  grain  ; the  more  modern  word  aqu  applies  specially 
to  bread  made  from  cereals.  The  lily  loaves  are  mentioneJ  in  the  Papyrus  Anastasi.,  No.  4,  p.  14, 1.  1. 

5 From  the  Ancient  Empire  downwards,  the  rations  of  the  workmen  were  distributed  in  corn 
or  in  loaves.  The  long  flat  loaf  res? i is,  moreover,  the  principal  offering  brought  for  the  dead ; another 
oval  loaf  6 with  a jar  of  water  is  the  determinative  for  the  idea  of  funeral  repast  4 which 

shows  that  its  use  dates  from  early  prehistoric  times  in  Egypt. 

6 The  African  origin  of  the  common  durrah,  Holcus  Sorghum,  L.,  is  admitted  by  E.  de  Candolle, 
Urigine  des  plantes  cultivates,  pp.  305-307.  Its  seeds  have  been  found  in  the  tombs  (Loret,  La  Flore 
Pharaonique,  p.  12,  No.  20),  and  a representation  of  it  in  the  Theban  paintings  (Rosellini,  Monu- 
mcnti  civili,  pi.  xxxvi.  2,  and  text,  vol.  i.  p.  3G1,  et  seq.).  I have  found  it  mentioned  under  the  name 
of  dirati  in  the  Papyrus  Anastasi,  No.  iv.,  p.  13,  1.  12;  p.  17, 1.  4. 

7 Wheat,  suo,  is  the  corn  of  the  north  of  the  inscriptions.  Barley  is  iati,  ioti.  On  the  Asiatic 
origin  of  wheat,  see  E.  de  Candolle,  Origine  des  plantes  cultic&es,  pp.  285-288;  his  conclusions 
appear  to  me  insufficiently  supported  by  fact.  The  Semitic  name  of  wheat  is  found  under  the  form 
kamhu  in  the  Pyramids  (Maspero,  La  Pyramidc  du  roi  TCti,  in  the  Eecueil,  vol.  v.  p.  10). 

8 The  position  which  wheat  and  barley  occupy  in  the  lists  of  offerings,  proves  the  antiquity  of 
their  existence  in  Egypt.  Mariette  found  specimens  of  barley  in  the  tombs  of  the  Ancient  Empire 


TEE  HOE  AND  TEE  PLOUGE. 


67 


THE  EGYPTIAN  IIOE.- 


man,  that  in  many  places  no  agricultural  toil  is  required.  As  soon  as  the 
water  of  the  Nile  retires,  the  ground  is 
sown  without  previous  preparation,  and  the 
grain,  falling  straight  into  the  mud,  grows 
as  vigorously  as  in  the  best-ploughed  fur- 
rows.1 Where  the  earth  is  hard  it  is  neces- 
sary to  break  it  up,  but  the  extreme  simplicity 
of  the  instruments  with  which  this  was 
done  shows  what  a feeble  resistance  it 
offered.  For  a long  time  the  hoe  sufficed  ; 
a hoe  composed  of  two  pieces  of  wood  of 
unequal  length,  united  at  one  of  their 
extremities,  and  held  together  towards  the 

middle  by  a slack  cord  : the  plough,  when  first  invented,  was  but  a slightly 
enlarged  hoe,  drawn  by  oxen.3  The  cultivation  of  cereals,  once  established 
on  the  banks  of  the  Nile, 
developed,  from  earliest  times, 
to  such  a degree  as  to  sup- 
plant all  else:  hunting,  fish- 
ing, the  rearing  of  cattle, 
occupied  but  a secondary 
place  compared  with  agri- 
culture, and  Egypt  became, 
that  which  she  still  remains, 
a vast  granary  of  wheat. 

The  part  of  the  valley 
first  cultivated  was  from  Gebel 
Silsileh  to  the  apex  of  the 

Delta.5  Between  the  Libyan  and  Arabian  ranges  it  presents  a slightly 


PLOUGHING.'' 


at  Saqqarah  (Sciiweinfurth,  Notice  stir  les  restes  de  vdgdtaux  de  VAncienne  Egypte  contenus  dans  tine 
armoire  du  musde  de  Boulaq,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  Egyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  v.  p.  4). 

1 P.-S.  Girard,  MCmoire  stir  V Agriculture,  l’ Industrie  et  le  Commerce  de  V Egypte,  in  the  Description 
de  VEgypte,  vol.  xviii.  p.  49. 

2 Bas-relief  from  the  tomb  of  Ti ; drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  a photograph  by  Emil 
Brugsch-Bey. 

3 Costaz,  Grottes  d'Ele'tliyia,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  vi.  p.  105 ; Maspero,  Etudes 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  68-71. 

4 Bas-relief  from  the  tomb  of  Ti ; drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  a photograph  by  Emil 
Brugsch-Bey. 

5 This  was  the  tradition  of  all  the  ancients.  Herodotus  related  that,  according  to  the  Egyptians, 
the  whole  of  Egypt,  with  the  exception  of  the  Theban  nome,  was  a vast  swamp  previous  to  the 
time  of  Menes  (Herodotus,  ii.  4).  Aristotle  ( Meteorolog .,  i.  xiv.)  adds  that  the  Red  Sea,  the 
Mediterranean,  and  the  area  now  occupied  by  the  Delta,  formed  one  sea.  Gf.  pp.  3-5  of  this  volume, 
on  the  formation  of  the  Delta. 


68 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


convex  surface,  furrowed  lengthways  by  a depression,  in  the  bottom  of  which 
the  Nile  is  gathered  and  enclosed  when  the  inundation  is  over.  In  the 
summer,  as  soon  as  the  river  had  risen  higher  than  the  top  of  its  banks,  the 
water  rushed  by  the  force  of  gravity  towards  the  lower  lands,  hollowing  in  its 
course  long  channels,  some  of  which  never  completely  dried  up,  even  when 
the  Nile  reached  its  lowest  level.1  Cultivation  was  easy  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  these  natural  reservoirs,  but  everywhere  else  the  movements  of  the  river 
were  rather  injurious  than  advantageous  to  man.  The  inundation  scarcely 
ever  covered  the  higher  ground  in  the  valley,  which  therefore  remained  unpro- 
ductive ; it  flowed  rapidly  over  the  lands  of  medium  elevation,  and  moved  so 
sluggishly  in  the  hollows  that  they  became  weedy  and  stagnant  pools.2  In 
any  year  the  portion  not  watered  by  the  river  was  invaded  by  the  sand  : from 
the  lush  vegetation  of  a hot  country,  there  was  but  one  step  to  absolute  aridity. 
At  the  present  day  an  ingeniously  established  system  of  irrigation  allows  the 
agriculturist  to  direct  and  distribute  the  overflow  according  to  his  needs. 
From  Gebel  Ain  to  the  sea,  the  Nile  and  its  principal  brauckes  are  bordered 
by  long  dykes,  which  closely  follow  the  windings  of  the  river  and  furnish 
sufficiently  stable  embankments.  Numerous  canals  lead  off  to  right  and 
left,  directed  more  or  less  obliquely  towards  the  confines  of  the  valley  ; they 
are  divided  at  intervals  by  fresh  dykes,  starting  at  the  one  side  from  the 
river,  and  ending  on  the  other  either  at  the  Bahr  Yusuf  or  at  the  rising  of  the 
desert.  Some  of  these  dykes  protect  one  district  only,  and  consist  merely 
of  a bank  of  earth  ; others  command  a large  extent  of  territory,  and  a breach 
in  them  would  entail  the  ruin  of  an  entire  province.  These  latter  are  some- 
times like  real  ramparts,  made  of  crude  brick  carefully  cemented ; a few, 
as  at  Qoskeisk,  have  a core  of  hewn  stones,  which  later  generations  have 
covered  with  masses  of  brickwork,  and  strengthened  with  constantly  renewed 
buttresses  of  earth.  They  wind  across  the  plain  with  many  unexpected  and 
apparently  aimless  turns;  on  closer  examination,  however,  it  may  be  seen 
that  this  irregularity  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  ignorance  or  caprice.  Experience 
had  taught  the  Egyptians  the  art  of  picking  out,  upon  the  almost  imperceptible 
relief  of  the  soil,  the  easiest  lines  to  use  against  the  inundation  : of  these  they 
have  followed  carefully  the  sinuosities,  and  if  the  course  of  the  dykes  appears 
singular,  it  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  natural  configuration  of  the  ground. 
Subsidiary  embankments  thrown  up  between  the  principal  ones,  and  parallel 


1 The  whole  description  of  the  damage  which  can  be  done  by  the  Nile  in  places  where  the 
inundation  is  not  regulated,  is  borrowed  from  Linant  de  Bellefonds,  Memo! re  sur  les  principaux 
travaux  d’utilite  publique,  p.  3. 

2 This  physical  configuration  of  the  country  explains  the  existence  at  a veiy  early  date  of  those 
gigantic  serpents  which  I have  already  mentioned  ; cf.  p.  33,  note  5,  of  this  History. 


DYKES,  BASINS,  IRRIGATION. 


69 


to  the  Nile,  separate  the  higher  ground  bordering  the  river  from  the  low 
lands  on  the  confines  of  the  valley ; they  divide  the  larger  basins  into  smaller 
divisions  of  varying  area,  in  which  the  irrigation  is  regulated  by  means  of 
special  trenches.1  As  long  as  the  Nile  is  falling,  the  dwellers  on  its  banks 
leave  their  canals  in  free  communication  with  it ; but  they  dam  them  up 
towards  the  end  of  the  winter,  just  before  the  return  of  the  inundation,  and 
do  not  reopen  them  till  early  in  August,  when  the  new  flood  is  at  its  height. 
The  waters  then  flowing  in  by  the  trenches  are  arrested  by  the  nearest  trans- 
verse dyke  and  spread  over  the  fields.  When  they  have  stood  there  long 
enough  to  saturate  the  ground,  the  dyke  is  pierced,  and  they  pour  into  the 
next  basin  until  they  are  stopped  by  a second  dyke,  which  in  its  turn  forces 
them  again  to  spread  out  on  either  side.  This  operation  is  renewed  from 
dyke  to  dyke,  till  the  valley  soon  becomes  a series  of  artificial  ponds,  ranged 
one  above  another,  and  flowing  one  into  another  from  Gebel  Silsileh  to  the 
apex  of  the  Delta.  In  autumn,  the  mouth  of  each  ditch  is  dammed  up  anew, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  mass  of  water  from  flowing  back  into  the  stream.  The 
transverse  dykes,  which  have  been  cut  in  various  places,  are  also  repaired,  and 
the  basins  become  completely  landlocked,  separated  by  narrow  causeways.  In 
some  places,  the  water  thus  imprisoned  is  so  shallow  that  it  is  soon  absorbed 
by  the  soil ; in  others,  it  is  so  deep,  that  after  it  has  been  kept  in  for  several 
weeks,  it  is  necessary  to  let  it  run  off  into  a neighbouring  depression,  or  straight 
into  the  river  itself.2 

History  has  left  us  no  account  of  the  vicissitudes  of  the  struggle  in  which 
the  Egyptians  were  engaged  with  the  Nile,  nor  of  the  time  expended  in  bring- 
ing it  to  a successful  issue.  Legend  attributes  the  idea  of  the  system  and  its 
partial  working  out  to  the  god  Osiris : 3 then  Menes,  the  first  mortal  king,  is 
said  to  have  made  the  dyke  of  Qosheish,  on  which  depends  the  prosperity  of 
the  Delta  4 and  Middle  Egypt,  and  the  fabulous  Moeris  is  supposed  to  have 
extended  the  blessings  of  the  irrigation  to  the  Fayum.5  In  reality,  the 


1 The  first  precise  information  about  the  arrangement  of  a basin,  or  a series  of  basins,  was 
collected  at  the  beginning  of  our  century  by  Martin,  Description  gdographigue  des  provinces  de  Beni- 
Soueyf  et  du  Fayoum,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  xvi.  p.  6,  et  seq.  The  regulations  to  which 
the  basins  of  Upper  Egypt  and  of  the  Delta  are  subject  has  been  well  described  by  Chelu,  Le  Nil, 
le  Soudan,  VEgypte , p.  323,  et  seq. 

s P.-S.  Girard,  Mdmoire  sur  V Agriculture,  V Industrie  et  le  Commerce  de  VEgypte,  in  the  Description 
de  VEgypte,  vol.  xvii.  pp.  10-13.  For  the  technical  details  of  the  progressive  filling  and  emptying  of 
the  basins,  see  again  Chelu,  Le  Nil,  le  Soudan,  VEgypte,  pp.  325-333. 

3 Diod.  Siculus,  i.  19,  who  borrowed  this  information  from  the  hymns  of  the  Alexandrine  period. 

4 Bunsen,  Egypt’s  Place  in  the  World’s  Story,  vol.  ii.  p.  41,  interpreting  a passage  of  Herodotus 
(ii.  91),  thinks  that  it  was  the  dyke  of  Qosheish,  the  construction  of  which  the  Egyptians  attributed 
to  Menes. 

5 Herodotus,  ii.  150,  149,  where  it  is  useless  to  seek  to  identify  an  actual  Pharaoh  with 
Moeris, 


70 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


regulation  of  the  inundation  and  the  making  of  cultivable  land  are  the  work 
of  unrecorded  generations  who  peopled  the  valley.  The  kings  of  the  historic 
period  had  only  to  maintain  and  develop  certain  points  of  what  had  already 
been  done,  and  Upper  Egypt  is  to  this  day  chequered  by  the  network  of 
waterways  with  which  its  earliest  inhabitants  covered  it.  The  work  must 
have  begun  simultaneously  at  several  points,  without  previous  agreement, 
and,  as  it  were,  instinctively.  A dyke  protecting  a village,  a canal  draining 
or  watering  some  small  province,  demanded  the  efforts  of  but  few  indi- 
viduals ; then  the  dykes  would  join  one  another,  the  canals  would  be  pro- 
longed till  they  met  others,  and  the  work  undertaken  by  chance  would  be 
improved,  and  would  spread  with  the  concurrence  of  an  ever-increasing 


BOATMEN  FIGHTING  ON  A CANAL  COMMUNICATING  WITH  THE  NILE.1 


population.  What  happened  at  the  end  of  last  century,  shows  us  that  the 
system  grew  and  was  developed  at  the  expense  of  considerable  quarrels  and 
bloodshed.  The  inhabitants  of  each  district  carried  out  the  part  of  the  work 
most  conducive  to  their  own  interest,  seizing  the  supply  of  water,  keeping  it 
and  discharging  it  at  pleasure,  without  considering  whether  they  were  injuring 
their  neighbours  by  depriving  them  of  their  supply  or  by  flooding  them ; 
hence  arose  perpetual  strife  and  fighting.  It  became  imperative  that  the 
rights  of  the  weaker  should  be  respected,  and  that  the  system  of  distribution 
should  be  co-ordinated,  for  the  country  to  accept  a beginning  at  least  of  social 
organization  analogous  to  that  which  it  acquired  later:  the  Nile  thus 
determined  the  political  as  well  as  the  physical  constitution  of  Egypt.2 

The  country  was  divided  among  communities,  whose  members  were 
supposed  to  be  descended  from  the  same  seed  (fait)  and  to  belong  to  the  same 

1 Bas-relief  from  the  tomb  of  Ti ; drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  E.  Brugsch-Bey. 

2 For  the  state  of  the  irrigation  service  at  the  beginning  of  our  century,  and  for  the  differences 
which  arose  between  the  villages  over  the  distribution  of  the  water,  and  on  the  manner  in  which  the 
supply  was  cut  off,  see  P.-S.  Girard,  Memoire  sur  V Agriculture,  V Industrie  et  le  Commerce  de  V Kgypte, 
in  the  Description  de  V JCgypte,  vol.  xvii.  p.  13,  et  seq. ; for  the  present  legislation,  see  Ghelu,  Le  Nil, 
le  Soudan,  VEgypte , pp.  308-321,  482,  et  seq. 


TEE  FRINGES  OF  TEE  NOMES. 


family  (pditu1):  the  chiefs  of  them  were  called  ropditu , the  guardians,  or 
pastors  of  the  family,  and  in  later  times  their  name  became  a title  applicable 


to  the  nobility  in  general. 
Families  combined  and  formed 
groups  of  various  importance 
under  the  authority  of  a head 
chief — ropaitu-lid .2  They  were, 
in  fact,  hereditary  lords,  dis- 
pensing justice,  levying  taxes 
in  kind  on  their  subordinates, 
reserving  to  themselves  the 
redistribution  of  land,  lead- 
ing their  men  to  battle,  and 
sacrificing  to  the  gods.3  The 
territories  over  which  they 
exercised  authority  formed 
small  states,  whose  boundaries 
even  now,  in  some  places,  can 
be  pointed  out  with  certainty. 
The  principality  of  the  Tere- 
binth 4 occupied  the  very 
heart  of  Egypt,  where  the 
valley  is  widest,  and  the  course 
of  the  Nile  most  advantage- 
ously  disposed  by  nature — a 
country  well  suited  to  be  the 
cradle  of  an  infant  civilization. 


A GREAT  EGYPTIAN  LORD,  TI,  AND  HIS  WIFE." 

Slant  (Siut),  the  capital,  is  built  almost  at 


the  foot  of  the  Libyan  range,  on  a strip  of  land  barely  a mile  in  width,  which 


1 The  word  pditu  1ms  been  interpreted  by  M.  Lepage-Benouf  ( Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archaeo- 
logical Society,  1887-88,  x.  p.  77)  to  signify  “tbe  dead,  past  generations.”  The  sense  indicated  in 
the  test  was  proposed  by  Maspero  ( Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  15,  et  seq.)  and  afterwards  adopted 
by  Brugsch  ( Die  JEgyptologie,  p.  291). 

2 These  titles  have  been  explained  by  Maspero  ( Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  15-19,  and 
Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 25,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society.  1891-92, 
vol  xiv.  p.  314;  of.  Piehl,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  p.  133,  n.  1,  and  Zeitschi  if t,  1883, 

p.  128). 

3 These  prerogatives  were  still  exercised  by  the  princes  of  the  nomes  under  tho  Middle  and  Xew 
Empires  (Maspero,  La  Grande  Inscription  de  Beni-Hassan,  in  the  Becueil,  vol.  i.  pp.  179-181);  they 
only  enjoyed  them  then  by  the  good  will  of  the  reigning  sovereign. 

4 The  Egyptian  word  for  the  tree  which  gives  its  name  to  this  principality  is  atf,  iatf,  iotf : it  is 
only  by  a process  of  elimination  that  I have  come  to  identify  it  with  the  Pistacia  Terebinthus,  L.. 
which  furnished  the  Egyptians  with  the  scented  resiu  sniitir  (Loret,  La  Flore  pharaoniqne,  p.  44. 
Xo.  110). 

3.  Drawn  by  Faueher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Dimichen,  Besultate,  vol.  ii.  pi.  vii. 


72  THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 

separates  the  river  from  the  hills.  A canal  surrounds  it  on  three  sides,  and  makes, 

as  it  were,  a natural  ditch 
about  its  walls;  during  the 
inundation  it  is  connected 
with  the  mainland  only  by 
narrow  causeways  — shaded 
with  mimosas — and  looking 
like  a raft  of  verdure  aground 
in  the  current.* 1  The  site 
is  as  happy  as  it  is  pictur- 
esque ; not  only  does  the 
town  command  the  two  arms 
of  the  river,  opening  or 
closing  the  waterway  at 
will,  but  from  time  imme- 
morial the  most  frequented 
of  the  routes  into  Central 
Africa  has  terminated  at  its 
gates,  bringing  to  it  the 
commerce  of  the  Soudan. 
It  held  sway,  at  the  out- 
set, over  both  banks,  from 
range  to  range,  northward 
as  far  as  Deyrut,  where 
the  true  Bahr  Yusuf  leaves 
the  Nile,  and  southward  to 
the  neighbourhood  of  Gebel 
Sheikh  Haridi.  The  extent 
and  original  number  of  the 
other  principalities  is  not  so 
easily  determined.  The  most 

important,  to  the  north  of 
Sint,  were  those  of  the  Hare 
and  the  Oleander.  The  principality  of  the  Hare  never  reached  the  dimen- 
sions of  that  of  its  neighbour  the  Terebinth,  but  its  chief  town  was  Khmunu, 
whose  antiquity  was  so  remote,  that  a universally  accepted  tradition  made 
it  the  scene  of  the  most  important  acts  of  creation.2  That  of  the  Oleander, 

1 Boudier’s  drawing,  reproduced  on  p.  25,  and  taken  from  a pliotograph  by  Beato,  gives  most 
faithfully  the  aspect  presented  by  the  plain  and  the  modern  town  of  Siout  during  the  inundation. 

2 Khmunu,  the  present  Ash mfinetn,  is  the  Hermopolis  of  the  Greeks,  the  town  of  the  god  Thot. 


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\%a,-Te/isu.  (AJcoris,  TeAsicA) 
ff.il>  onus  (Hfiniehf 

(Kom  cl-Ahrruu') 

no^Sazelle 
p fBenbUassan) 

( (Speas  ArtcrrUdos) 

''U  ^Abshndrhj 

'\o'Bisp  (Aniinor,  Shaikh-  A badeh. 

> w..-; —-i;  f Eermopolis  AfciprxxL  ^AisruzJzczL^J 
^ -lellazu,/ 

EaioruZ  f PsisuLulcsjEL  -Amarnaf 


Lower 
fZycopoliA.S 

'SiiWSeiTent 

b dj[i  k \r* 

X 


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> K?TI!.«  v 17 

. Ifuit  nil  BazihiL  f 11  icracnn polls} 

~%$g{  tKe 

dpii  J/ft/pscle,  dhoti} 


(ountaiiiL 
DCu-Qca! 


NOMES 

of 

MIDDLE  EGYPT 


vf 

Notti  e 


Scale 


L Thuillier.del'V 


pphTo&PoUp 

of  u rt 


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/Vashi  (PtoUmais . MeV-j- 
3lE.of  Greenwich 


THE  EARLIEST  PRINCIPALITIES. 


73 


on  the  contrary,  was  even  larger  than  that  of  the  Terebinth,  and  from 
Hininsu,  its  chief  governor  ruled  alike  over  the  marshes  of  the  Fayum  and 
the  plains  of  Beni-Suef.1 
To  the  south,  Apu  on  the 
right  bank  governed  a 
district  so  closely  shut  in 
between  a bend  of  the 
Nile  and  two  spurs  of 
the  range,  that  its  limits 
have  never  varied  much 
since  ancient  times.  Its 
inhabitants  were  divided 
in  their  employment  be- 
tween weaving  and  the 
culture  of  cereals.  From 
early  times  they  possessed 
the  privilege  of  furnish- 
ing clothing  to  a large 
part  of  Egypt,  and  their 
looms,  at  the  present  day, 
still  make  those  checked 
or  striped  “ melayahs  ” 
which  the  fellah  women 
wear  over  their  long  blue 
tunics.2  Beyond  Apu, 

Thinis,  the  Girgeh  of  the 
Arabs,  situate  on  both 
banks  of  the  river,  rivalled 
Khmunu  in  antiquity  and  Siut  in  wealth : its  plains  still  produce  the 
richest  harvests  and  feed  the  most  numerous  herds  of  sheep  and  oxen  in 
the  Said.  As  we  approach  the  cataract,  information  becomes  scarcer.  Qubti 

For  tlie  geography  of  the  nome  of  the  Hare,  of  which  it  is  the  capital,  see  Maspebo,  Notes  au 
jour  le  jour,  § 19,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archseological  Society,  1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp. 
187-204. 

1 HininsO  is  the  Heracleopolis  Magna  of  the  Greeks,  the  present  Henassich,  called  also  Ahnas-cl- 
Mcdiueb.  The  Egyptian  word  for  the  tre9  which  gives  its  name  to  this  principality,  is  Naiut 
(DijincHEN,  Geschichte  AEgyptens,  pp.  209,  210).  Loret  has  shown  that  this  tree,  Narit,  is  the  oleander 
(Sur  Varbre  Narou  des  anciens  Egyptiens,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  p.  102). 

- Apft  was  the  Panopolis  or  Chemmis  of  the  Greeks,  the  town  of  the  god  Min  or  ithyphallic  KliimO 
(Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  geographique,  pp.  575,  1380).  Its  manufactures  of  linen  are  mentioned  by 
Strabo  (xvii.  p.  813) ; the  majority  of  the  beautiful  Coptic  woven  fabrics  and  embroideries  which  have 
been  brought  to  Europe  lately,  come  from  the  necropolis  of  the  Arab  period  at  Apft. 


L.Thuiilitr,  del1 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


74 

and  Aunu  of  the  South,  the  Coptos  and  Hermonthis  of  the  Greeks,  shared 
peaceably  the  plain  occupied  later  on  by  Thebes  and  its  temples,  and  Ne- 
khabit  and  Zobu  watched  over  the  safety  of  Egypt.1  Nekhabit  soon  lost  its 
position  as  a frontier  town,  and  that  portion  of  Nubia  lying  between  Gebel 
Silsileli  and  the  rapids  of  Syene  formed  a kind  of  border  province,  of  which 
Nubit-Ombos  was  the  principal  sanctuary  aud  Abu-Elephantine  the  fortress  : 2 
beyond  this  were  the  barbarians,  and  those  inaccessible  regions  whence  the 
Nile  descended  upon  our  earth. 

The  organization  of  the  Delta,  it  would  appear,  was  more  slowly  brought 
about.  It  must  have  greatly  resembled  that  of  the  lowlands  of  Equatorial 
Africa,  towards  the  confluence  of  the  Bahr  el  Abiad  and  the  Bahr  el  Ghazal. 
Great  tracts  of  mud,  difficult  to  describe  as  either  solid  or  liquid,  marshes 
dotted  here  and  there  with  sandy  islets,  bristling  with  papyrus  reeds,  water-lilies, 
and  enormous  plants  through  which  the  arms  of  the  Nile  sluggishly  pushed 
their  ever-shifting  course,  low-lying  wastes  intersected  with  streams  and  pools, 
unfit  for  cultivation  and  scarcely  available  for  pasturing  cattle.3  The  popula- 
tion of  such  districts,  engaged  in  a ceaseless  struggle  with  nature,  always 
preserved  relatively  ruder  manners,  and  a more  rugged  and  savage  character, 
impatient  of  all  authority.  The  conquest  of  this  region  began  from  the  outer 
edge  only.  A few  principalities  were  established  at  the  apex  of  the  Delta  in 
localities  where  the  soil  had  earliest  been  won  from  the  river.  It  appears  that 
one  of  these  divisions  embraced  the  country  south  of  and  between  the  bifurca- 
tion of  the  Nile:  Aunu  of  the  North,  the  Heliopolis  of  the  Greeks,  was  its  capital. 
In  very  early  times  the  principality  was  divided,  and  formed  three  new  states, 
independent  of  each  other.  Those  of  Aunu  and  the  Haunch  were  opposite  to 
each  other,  the  first  on  the  Arabian,  the  latter  on  the  Libyan  bank  of  the  Nile. 
The  district  of  the  White  Wall  marched  with  that  of  the  Haunch  on  the 
north,  and  on  the  south  touched  the  territory  of  the  Oleander.  Further 
down  the  river,  between  the  more  important  branches,  the  governors  of  Sais 
and  of  Bubastis,  of  Athribis  and  of  Busiris,  shared  among  themselves  the 
primitive  Delta.4  Two  frontier  provinces  of  unequal  size,  the  Arabian  on 

1 Nukhabit,  Nekhabit.  the  hieroglyphic  name  of  which  was  first  correctly  read  by  M.  de  Kouge 
(Cours  profest&au  College  de  France,  1869),  is  el-Kab,  the  Eilithyia  of  the  Greeks  (Bkugsch,  Didion- 
naire  Ge'ugrapMque,  pp.  351-353),  and  Zobu,  Edlu,  Apollinopolis  Magna  (Bkugsch,  Diclionnaire 
Ge'ograpltique,  pp.  921,  922). 

2 The  nome  of  Elephantine  was  called  Khontit,  the  advanced,  the  point  of  Egypt  (Lepsius,  Der 
Bogen  in  der  IJieroglyphilc,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1872,  pp.  86-88 ; cf.  Bkugsch,  Die  Biblisclien  sieben 
Jahre  der  Hungermotli,  p.  26,  et  seq.). 

3 All  the  features  of  this  description  are  taken  from  notes  of  my  travels;  it  is  the  aspect  presented 
in  those  districts  of  the  Delta  where  the  artificial  regulation  of  the  water  has  completely  disappeared 
owing  to  the  inveterate  negligence  of  the  central  government. 

4 See  p.  4 of  this  volume  for  the  description  of  this  primitive  Delta. 


COM  PA  RATI  VEL  Y LATE  DIVISION  OF  THE  DELTA. 


75 


the  east  in  the  Wady  Tumilat,  and  the  Libyan  on  the  west  to  the  south  of  Lake 
Mareotis,  defended  the  approaches  of  the  country  from  the  attacks  of  Asiatic 
Bedawins  and  of  African  nomads.  The  marshes  of  the  interior  and  the  dunes 
of  the  littoral,  were  not  conducive  to  the  development  of  any  great  industry  or 
civilization.  They  only  comprised  tracts  of  thinly  populated  country,  like  the 
principalities  of  the  Harpoon  and  of  the  Cow,  and  others  whose  limits  varied 
from  century  to  century  with  the  changing  course  of  the  river.  The  work  of 


L Thuilliei*  del* 

rendering  the  marshes  salubrious  and  of  digging  canals,  whicli  had  been  so 
successful  in  the  Nile  Valley,  was  less  efficacious  in  the  Delta,  and  proceeded 
more  slowly.  Here  the  embankments  were  not  supported  by  a mountain  chain: 
they  were  continued  at  random  across  the  marshes,  cut  at  every  turn  to  admit 
the  waters  of  a canal  or  of  an  arm  of  the  river.  The  waters  left  their  usual 
bed  at  the  least  disturbing  influence,  and  made  a fresh  course  for  themselves 
across  country.  If  the  inundation  were  delayed,  the  soft  and  badly  drained  soil 
again  became  a slough : should  it  last  but  a few  weeks  longer  than  usual,  the 


76 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


work  of  several  generations  was  for  a long  time  undone.  The  Delta  of 
one  epoch  rarely  presented  the  same  aspect  as  that  of  previous  periods,  and 
Northern  Egypt  never  became  as  fully  mistress  of  her  soil  as  the  Egypt  of 
the  south.1 

These  first  principalities,  however  small  they  appear  to  us,  were  yet  too 
large  to  remain  undivided.  In  those  times  of  slow  communication,  the  strong 
attraction  which  a capital  exercised  over  the  provinces  under  its  authority  did 
not  extend  over  a wude  radius.  That  part  of  the  population  of  the  Terebinth, 
living  sufficiently  near  to  Siut  to  come  into  the  town  for  a few  hours  in  the 
morning,  returning  in  the  evening  to  the  villages  when  business  was  done, 
would  not  feel  any  desire  to  withdraw  from  the  rule  of  the  prince  who 
governed  there.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  lived  outside  that  restricted 
circle  were  forced  to  seek  elsewhere  some  places  of  assembly  to  attend  the 
administration  of  justice,  to  sacrifice  in  common  to  the  national  gods,  and  to 
exchange  the  produce  of  the  fields  and  of  local  manufactures.  Those  towns 
which  had  the  good  fortune  to  become  such  rallying-points  naturally  played 
the  part  of  rivals  to  the  capital,  and  their  chiefs,  with  the  district  whose 
population,  so  to  speak,  gravitated  around  them,  tended  to  become  independent 
of  the  prince.  When  they  succeeded  in  doing  this,  they  often  preserved  for 
the  new  state  thus  created,  the  old  name,  slightly  modified  by  the  addition  of 
an  epithet.  The  primitive  territory  of  Siut  was  in  this  way  divided  into 
three  distinct  communities  ; two,  which  remained  faithful  to  the  old  emblem 
of  the  tree — the  Upper  Terebinth,  with  Siut  itself  in  the  centre,  and  the 
Lower  Terebinth,  with  Kusit,  to  the  north  ; the  third,  in  the  south  and  east, 
took  as  their  totem  the  immortal  serpent  which  dwelt  in  their  mountains,  and 
called  themselves  the  Serpent  Mountain,  whose  chief  town  was  that  of  the 
Sparrow  Hawk.  The  territory  of  the  Oleander  produced  by  its  dismemberment 
the  principality  of  the  Upper  Oleander,  that  of  the  Lower  Oleander,  and  that 
of  the  Knife.  The  territory  of  the  Harpoon  in  the  Delta  divided  itself  into 
the  Western  and  Eastern  Harpoon.2  The  fission  in  most  cases  could  not  have 
been  accomplished  without  struggles ; but  it  did  take  place,  and  all  the  prin- 
cipalities having  a domain  of  any  considerable  extent  had  to  submit  to  it, 
however  they  may  have  striven  to  avoid  it.  This  parcelling  out  was  continued 
as  circumstances  afforded  opportunity,  until  the  whole  of  Egypt,  except  the 

1 For  the  geography  of  the  Delta,  consult  the  work  of  J.  de  Rouge,  Geographic  ancienne  de  la 
Basse-Bgypte,  1891,  in  which  are  brought  together,  discussed,  and  carefully  co-ordinated,  the  in- 
formation scattered  about  in  alphabetical  order  in  the  admirable  Didionnaire  Geographigue  of 
Brugsch. 

2 J.  de  Rouge,  Geographic  ancienne  de  la  Basse-Egypte,  pp.  30-56. 


THE  OOD  OF  TnE  NOME. 


77 


half  desert  districts  about  the  cataract,  became  but  an  agglomeration  of  petty 
states  nearly  equal  in  power  and  population.1 

The  Greeks  called  them  nomes,  and  we  have  borrowed  the  word  from 
them  ;2  the  natives  named  them  in  several  ways,  the  most  ancient  term  being 
“ nuit,”  which  may  be  translated  domain ,3  and  the  most  common  appellation 
in  recent  times  being  “ hospu,”  which  signifies  district .4  The  number  of  the 
nomes  varied  considerably  in  the  course  of  centuries  : the  hieroglyphic  monu- 
ments and  classical  authors  fixed  them  sometimes  at  thirty -six,  sometimes  at 
forty,  sometimes  at  forty-four,  or  even  fifty.  The  little  that  we  know  of 
their  history,  up  to  the  present  time,  explains  the  reason  of  this  variation. 
Ceaselessly  quarrelled  over  by  the  princely  families  who  possessed  them,  the 
nomes  were  alternately  humbled  and  exalted  by  civil  wars,  marriages,  and 
conquest,  which  caused  them  continually  to  pass  into  fresh  hands,  either  entire 
or  divided.  The  Egyptians,  whom  we  are  accustomed  to  consider  as  a people 
respecting  the  established  order  of  things,  and  conservative  of  ancient  tra- 
dition, showed  themselves  as  restless  and  as  prone  to  modify  or  destroy  the 
work  of  the  past,  as  the  most  inconstant  of  our  modern  nations.  The  distance 
of  time  which  separates  them  from  us,  and  the  almost  complete  absence  of 
documents,  gives  them  an  appearance  of  immobility,  by  which  we  are  liable  to 
be  unconsciously  deceived ; when  the  monuments  still  existing  shall  have  been 
unearthed,  their  history  will  present  the  same  complexity  of  incidents,  the 
same  agitations,  the  same  instability,  which  we  suspect  or  know  to  have  been 
characteristic  of  most  other  Oriental  nations.  One  thing  alone  remained  stable 
among  them  in  the  midst  of  so  many  revolutions,  and  which  prevented  them 
from  losing  their  individuality  and  from  coalescing  in  a common  unity.  This 
was  the  belief  in  and  the  worship  of  one  particular  deity.  If  the  little 
capitals  of  the  petty  states  whose  origin  is  lost  in  a remote  past — Edfu  and 
Denderah,  Nekhabit  and  Buto,  Siut,  Thinis,  Khmunu,  Sa'is,  Bubastis, 
Athribis — had  only  possessed  that  importance  which  resulted  from  the  presence 

1 Examples  of  the  subdivision  of  ancient  nomes  and  the  creation  of  fresh  nomes  are  met  with 
long  after  primitive  times.  We  find,  for  example,  the  noine  of  the  Western  Harpoon  divided  under 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  into  two  districts — that  of  the  Harpoon  proper,  of  which  the  chief  town  was 
Souti-nofir;  and  that  of  Ranftfir,  with  the  Ouhphis  of  classical  geographers  fur  its  capital  (Brugscb, 
Dictionnaire  Ge'orjraphique,  pp.  1012-1020). 

The  definition  ot  the  word  nome,  and  those  passages  in  ancient  authors  where  it  is  used,  will 
be  found  in  Jablonski,  Opuscula,  ed.  T.  Water,  vol.  i.  pp.  169-176. 

for  the  various  meanings  of  this  word,  see  Maspero,  Sur  le  sens  des  mots  Nuit  et  Ilait,  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Arclixological  Society,  1889-90,  vol.  xii.  p.  236,  et  seq. 

* Brugsch,  Geogr.  Ins.,  vol.  i.  pp.  18-21;  cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  183-186. 
Ihe  word  tosh,  which  in  the  Coptic  texts  has  replaced  hospu  and  nuit,  signified  originally  limit, 
frontier ; it  is,  properly  speaking,  the  territory  marhed  out  and  limited  by  the  stelx  which  belongs  to 
a town  or  a village. 


78 


THE  NILE  AND  EGYPT. 


of  au  ambitious  petty  prince,  or  from  the  wealth  of  their  inhabitants,  they 
would  never  have  passed  safe  and  sound  through  the  long  centuries  of 
existence  which  they  enjoyed  from  the  opening  to  the  close  of  Egyptian 
history.  Fortune  raised  their  chiefs,  some  even  to  the  rank  of  rulers  of  the 
world,  and  in  turn  abased  them : side  by  side  with  the  earthly  ruler,  whose 
glory  was  but  too  often  eclipsed,  there  was  enthroned  in  each  nome  a 
divine  ruler,  a deity,  a god  of  the  domain,  “ nutir  nuiti,”  whose  greatness 
never  perished.  The  princely  families  might  be  exiled  or  become  extinct, 
the  extent  of  the  territory  might  diminish  or  increase,  the  town  might 
be  doubled  in  size  and  population  or  fall  in  ruins : the  god  lived  on 
through  all  these  vicissitudes,  and  his  presence  alone  preserved  intact  the 
rights  of  the  state  over  which  he  reigned  as  sovereign.  If  any  disaster  befell 
his  worshippers,  his  temple  was  the  spot  where  the  survivors  of  the  catastrophe 
rallied  around  him,  their  religion  preventing  them  from  mixing  with  the 
inhabitants  of  neighbouring  towns  and  from  becoming  lost  among  them.  The 
survivors  multiplied  with  that  extraordinary  rapidity  which  is  the  cha- 
racteristic of  the  Egyptian  fellah,  and  a few  years  of  peace  sufficed  to  repair 
losses  which  apparently  were  irreparable.  Local  religion  was  the  tie  which 
bound  together  those  divers  elements  of  which  each  principality  was  composed, 
and  as  long  as  it  remained,  the  nomes  remained  ; when  it  vanished,  they  dis- 
appeared with  it. 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


THEIR  NUMBER  AND  NATURE — THE  FEUDAL  GODS,  LIVING  AND  DEAD — TRIADS— THE  TEMPLES 
AND  PRIESTHOOD — THE  COSMOGONIES  OF  THE  DELTA — THE  ENNEADS  OF  HELIOPOLIS  AND 
IIERMOPOLIS. 

Multiplicity  of  the  Egyptian  gods  : the  commonalty  of  the  gods,  its  varieties,  human,  animal, 
and  intermediate  between  man  and  beast ; gods  of  foreign  origin,  indigenous  gods,  and  the 
contradictory  forms  with  which  they  were  invested  in  accordance  with  various  conceptions  of 
their  nature. 

The  Star-gods — The  Sun-god  as  the  Eye  of  the  Sky ; as  a bird,  as  a calf,  and  as  a man  ; its 
barks,  voyages  round  the  woild,  and  encounters  with  the  serpent  Apopi — The  Moon-god  and  its 
enemies — The  Star -gods : the  Haunch  of  the  Ox,  the  Hippopotamus,  the  Lion,  the  five  Horns- 
planets ; Sothis  Sirius,  ami  Sah/1  Orion. 

The  feudal  gods  and  their  classes:  the  Nile-gods,  the  earth-gods,  the  sky-gods  and  the  sun-god , 
the  Horus-gods — The  equality  of  feudal  gods  and  goddesses;  their  persons,  alliances,  and  mar- 
riages : their  children — The  triads  and  their  various  developments. 

The  nature  of  the  gods:  the  double,  the  soul,  the  body,  death  of  men  and  gods,  and  their  fate 
after  death— The  necessity  for  preserving  the  bodg,  mummification — Dead  gods  the  gods  of  the 
dead — The  living  gods,  their  temples  and  images — The  gods  of  the  people,  trees , serpents,  family 
fetiches — The  theory  of  prayer  and  sacrifice:  the  servants  of  the  temples,  the  property  of  the 
gods,  the  sacerdotal  colleges. 


( 80  ) 

The  cosmogonies  of  the  Delta:  Sibil  and  NAit,  Osiris  and  Isis,  Sit  and  Nephthys — Heliopolis 
and  its  theological  schools:  lid,  his  identification  with  Horns,  his  dual  nature,  and  the  concep- 
tion of  AtilmA — The  Heliopolitan  Enneads ; formation  of  the  Great  Ennead — That  and  the 
Hermopolitan  Ennead:  creation  by  articulate  words  and  by  voice  alone — Diffusion  of  the 
Enneads:  their  connection  with  the  local  triads,  the  god  One  and  the  god  Eight — The  one  and 
only  gods. 


SOLEMN  SACRIFICIAL  PROCESSION  OF  THE  FATTED  BULL.1 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


Their  number  and  their  nature— Tho  feudal  gods,  living  and  dead — The  Triads— Temples  and 
priests— The  cosmogonies  of  tho  Della—1 Tho  Enneads  of  Heliopolis  and  of  T[(  rmopolis. 

mHE  incredible  number  of  religious  scenes  to  be  found 
among  the  representations  on  the  ancient  monuments 
of  Egypt  is  at  first  glance  very  striking.  Nearly 
every  illustration  in  the  works  of  Egyptologists 
brings  before  us  the  figure  of  some  deify  receiving 
with  an  impassive  countenance  the  prayers  and 
offerings  of  a worshipper.  One  would  think  that 
the  country  bad  been  inhabited  for  (be  most 
part  by  gods,  and  contained  just,  sufficient  men 
and  animals  to  satisfy  the  requirements  of  their 
worship. 

On  penetrating  into  this  mysterious  world,  we  are 
confronted  by  an  actual  rabble  of  gods,  each  one  of 
whom  has  always  possessed  but  a limited  and  almost 
unconscious  existence. 

a function,  a moment  in  the  life  of  man  or  of  the 
universe:  thus  Napiit  was  identified  with  the  ripe  ear,  or  the  grain  of  wheat;2 

1 Bas-relief  from  the  temple  of  Luxor.  Drawn  by  Eoudier,  from  a photograph  by  Bealo, 
taken  in  1890.  The  two  personages  marching  in  front,  carrying  great  bouquets,  and  each  with  an 
uplifted  hand,  are  the  last  in  a lmg  procession  of  ti  e sons  of  Ramoses  II.  The  vignette,  which 
represents  King  Seti  I.  kneeling,  is  also  diaien  by  Bind  if  r,  ar.d  is  from  a bas-relief  of  the  temple 
of  Abydos. 

■ The  word  napiit  means  grain,  the  grain  of  wheat  (Brugsch,  Did.  Hieroglyph iqne,  pp.  752,  753). 
The  grain-god  is  represented  in  the  temb  of  Seti  I.  (Lefebuee,  Le  Timhcau  de  Feli  I ",  in  the 


They  severally  represented 


G 


82 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


Maskhonit  appeared  by 


THE  GODDESS  NAPRIT,  NAPIT.3 


the  child’s  cradle  at  the  very  moment  of  its  birth  j1  and 
Raninit  presided  over  the  naming  and  the  nurture 
of  the  newly  born.2  Neither  Raninit,  the  fairy  god- 
mother, nor  Maskhonit  exercised  over  nature  as  a 
whole  that  sovereign  authority  which  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  consider  the  primary  attribute  of  deity. 
Every  day  of  every  year  was  passed  by  the  one 
in  easing  the  pangs  of  women  in  travail  ; by 
the  other,  in  choosing  for  each  baby  a name 
to  sound  auspiciously,  and  to  serve  afterwards  to 
exorcise  the  influences  of  evil  fortune.  No  sooner 
were  their  tasks  accomplished  in  one  place  than 
they  hastened  to  another,  where  approaching  birth 
demanded  their  presence  and  their  care.  From 
child-bed  to  child-bed  they  passed,  and  if  they 
fulfilled  the  single  offices  in  which  they  were  ac- 
counted adepts,  the  pious  asked  nothing  more  of 
them.  Bands  of  mysterious  cynocephali  haunting 
the  Eastern  and  the  Western  mountains  concen- 
trated the  whole  of  their  activity  on  one  passing 
moment  of  the  day.  They  danced  and  chattered 
in  the  East  for  half  an  hour,  to  salute  the  sun  at 


Mdmoires  de  la  Mission  Frangaise , vol.  ii.  part  iv.  pi.  xxix.,  2nd  row;  pi.  xxxi.,  3rd  row)  as  a man 
wearing  two  full  ears  of  wheat  or  barley  upon  his  head.  He  is  mentioned  in  the  Hymn  to  the  Nile 
(cf.  p.  40)  about  the  same  date,  and  in  two  or  three  other  texts  of  different  periods.  The  goddess 
Naprit,  or  Napit,  to  whom  reference  is  here  made,  was  his  duplicate  (Burton,  Excerpta  ILieroglyphica, 
pi.  xix. ; Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iv.  52;  Dcmichen,  Resultate,  vol.  ii.  pi.  lxi.);  her  head-dress  is  a sheaf 
of  corn  (Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  pp.  380,  381),  as  in  the  illustration. 

1 This  goddess,  whose  name  expresses  and  whose  form  personifies  the  brick  or  stone  couch,  the 
child-bed  or  -chair,  upon  which  women  in  labour  bowed  themselves,  is  sometimes  subdivided  into  two 
or  four  secondary  divinities  (Mariette,  Denddrah,  vol.  iv.  pi.  lxxiv.  a,  and  p.  288  of  the  text).  She 
is  mentioned  along  with  Shait,  destiny,  and  Raninit,  suckling  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i. 
p.  27).  Her  part  of  fairy  godmother  at  the  cradle  of  the  new-born  child  is  shown  from  the  passage  of 
the  Westcar  Papyrus  giving  a detailed  account  of  the  births  of  three  kings  of  the  fifth  dynasty 
(Erman,  Die  Mdrchen  des  Papyrus  Westcar,  pi.  ix.  part  21,  et  seq. ; cf.  Maspero,  Lcs  Contes  populaires 
de  V Egypte  Ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  70-81).  She  is  represented  in  human  form,  and  often  wears  upon 
her  head  two  long  palm-shoots,  curling  over  at  their  ends  (Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  pp.  329, 
330,  and  pi.  cxxxiv.  1,  2). 

2 Raninit  presides  over  the  child’s  suckling,  but  she  also  gives  him  his  name  (Maspero,  Lcs  Contes 
populaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  70,  note  1),  and  hence,  his  fortune  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  27). 
She  is  on  the  whole  the  nursing  goddess  (Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  pp.  472-477,  and  pis. 
clxxxviii.-clxxxi.w).  Sometimes  she  is  represented  as  a human-headed  woman  (LErsirs,  Denkm.,  iii. 
188  a ; Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  xlv.  5,  0,  and  pp.  213,  214),  or  as  lioness- 
headed (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iv.  57),  most  frequently  with  the  head  of  a serpent  (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iii. 
pi.  clxx. ; Prisse  d’Avennes,  Monuments,  pi.  i.;  Mariette,  Denderah,  vol.  iii.  pi.  lxxv.  b-c) ; she  is 
also  the  uraeus  clothed,  and  wearing  two  long  plumes  on  her  head  (Prisse  d’Avennes,  Monuments, 
frontispiece),  and  a simple  urmus,  as  represented  in  the  illustration  on  p.  120. 

3 The  goddess  Naprit,  Napit;  bas-relief  from  the  first  chamber  of  Osiris,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
great  temple  of  Denderah,  Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin, 


THE  LOWER  ORDER  OF  GODS. 


83 


his  rising,  even  as  others  in  the  West  hailed  him  on  his  entrance  into 
night.1  It  was  the  duty  of  certain  genii  to  open  gates  in  Hades,  or  to 
keep  the  paths  daily  traversed  by  the  sun.2 3  These  genii  were  always 
at  their  posts,  never  free  to  leave  them,  and  possessed  no  other  faculty 
than  that  of  punctually  fulfilling  their  appointed  offices.  Their  existence, 
generally  unperceived,  was  suddenly  revealed  at  the  very  moment  when 
the  specific  acts  of  their  lives  were  on  the  point  of  accomplishment. 
These  being  completed,  the  divinities  fell  back  into  their  state  of  inertia, 
and  were,  so  to  speak,  reabsorbed  by  their  functions  until  the  next 


SOME  FABELOVS  BEASTS  OF  THE  EGYPTIAN'  DESERT.’ 


occasion.4  Scarcely  visible  even  by  glimpses,  they  were  not  easily 
depicted;  their  real  forms  being  often  unknown,  these  were  approximately 
conjectured  from  their  occupations.  The  character  and  costume  of  an 
archer,  or  of  a spear-man,  were  ascribed  to  such  as  roamed  through  Hades, 
to  pierce  the  dead  with  arrows  or  with  javelins.  Those  who  prowled  around 
souls  to  cut  their  throats  and  hack  them  to  pieces  were  represented  as 
women  armed  with  knives,  carvers — donit — or  else  as  lacerators — nokit.5 
Some  appeared  in  human  form  ; others  as  animals — bulls  or  lions,  rams  or 
monkeys,  serpents,  fish,  ibises,  hawks ; others  dwelt  in  inanimate  things, 


1 This  is  the  subject  of  a vignette  in  the  Bool : of  the  Dead,  eh.  xvi.  (Naville’s  edition,  pi.  xxi. 
A2  and  La,  pi.  xxii.  Da),  where  the  cynoceplmli  are  placed  in  echelon  upon  the  slopes  of  the  hill  on 
the  horizon,  right  and  left  of  the  radiant  solar  disk,  to  which  they  offer  worship  by  gesticulations. 

2 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mytlwlogie  et  d’Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  31,  35. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  Cham  poll  ion’s  copies,  made  from  the  tombs  of  Beui-Hassan. 
To  the  right  is  the  sha,  one  of  the  animals  of  Sit,  and  an  exact  image  of  the  god  with  his  stiff  and 
arrow-like  tail.  Next  comes  the  safir,  the  griftiu  ; and,  lastly,  we  have  the  serpent-headed  saza. 

4 The  Egyptians  employed  a still  more  forcible  expression  than  our  word  “absorption”  to  express 
this  idea.  It  was  said  of  objects  wherein  these  genii  concealed  themselves,  and  whence  they  issued 
in  order  to  re-enter  them  immediately,  that  these  forms  ate  them,  or  that  they  ate  their  own  forms 
(Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mytlwlogie  et  d’Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  104,  105,  106,  124,  etc.). 

5 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d'  Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  34,  35.  Examples  of 
donit  and  noldt  are  incidentally  given  on  the  walls  of  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.  (Lefkbure,  Le  TomLean  de 
Stfi  ler,  in  the  Mdmoires  de  la  Mission  Franyaise,  vol.  ii.,  4th  part,  pi.  xliv.,  2nd  row. 


84 


77/ A'  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


such  as  trees,1  sistrums,2 3  stakes  stuck  in  the  ground  ; a and  lastly,  many 
betrayed  in  their  combinations  of  human  and  animal  forms  a mixed  origin. 
These  latter  would  be  regarded  by  us  as  monsters;  to  the  Egyptians,  they 
were  beings,  rarer  perhaps  than  the  rest,  but  none  the  less  real,  and 
their  like  might  be  encountered  in  the  neighbourhoo  1 of  Egypt.4  How 
could  those  who  were  surrounded  by  sphinxes  and  griffins  of  flesh  and  blood 
doubt  that  there  were  bull-headed  and  hawk-headed  divinities  with  human 
busts?  The  existence  of  such  paradoxical  creatures  was  proved  by  much 

authentic  testimony;  more  than  one  hunter  had  distinctly  seen  them  as  they 
ran  along  the  furthest  planes  of  the  horizon,  beyond  the  herds  of  gazelles  of 
which  he  was  in  chase;  and  shepherds  dreaded  them  for  their  flecks  as  truly 
as  they  dreaded  the  lions,  or  the  great  felidae  of  the  desert.5 

This  nation  of  gods,  like  nations  of  men,  contained  foreign  elements, 
the  origin  of  which  was  known  to  the  Egyptians  themselves.  They  knew 
that  Hathor,  the  milch  cow,  had  taken  up  her  abode  in  their  land  from 
very  ancient  times,  and  they  called  her  the  Lady  of  Pumit,  after  the 

name  of  her  native  country.0  Bisu  had  followed  her  in  course  of  time, 
and  claimed  his  share  of  honours  and  worship  along  with  her.  He  first 
appealed  as  a leopard;  then  he  became  a man  clothed  in  a leopard’s 

1 Tims,  the  sycamores  planted  on  the  edge  of  the  desert  were  supposed  to  be  inhabited  by  Hathor, 
Nuit,  Selkit,  Nit,  or  some  other  goddess  (Maspero,  Eludes  de  Mythologie  et  d'  Arche'ologie  Egyptienues, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  28,  29).  In  vignettes  representing  the  deceased  as  stopping  before  one  of  these  trees  and 
receiving  water  and  loaves  of  bread,  the  bust  of  the  goddess  generally  appears  from  amid  her  shelter- 
ing foliage  (Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia , pi.  cli.  2).  But  occasionally,  as  on  the  sarcophagus 
of  Petosiris  (Maspero,  Catalogue  du  Muse'e  Egyplien  de  Marseilles,  p.  52),  the  transformation  is 
complete,  and  the  trunk  from  which  the  branches  spread  is  the  actual  body  of  the  god  or  goddess  (cf. 
Roohicmonteix,  Edfuu,  pi.  xxix.  a,  Isis  and  Neplithys  in  the  sycamore).  Finally,  the  whole  body  is 
often  hidden,  anil  only  the  arm  of  the  goddess  to  be  seen  emerging  from  the  midst  of  the  tree,  with 
an  overflowing  libation  vase  in  her  hand  (Nayili.e,  Todtenbuch,  pis.  lxxiii.,  ciii.). 

2 Thus,  in  Mariette,  Vende'rah,  vol.  ii.  pi.  55  c,  we  have  the  image  of  the  great  sistrum  con- 
secrated by  Thoutmosis  III.,  which  was  the  fetish  of  the  goddess  Hathor. 

3 The  trunk  of  a tree,  disbranched,  and  then  set  up  in  the  ground,  seems  to  me  the  origin  of 
the  Osirian  emblem  called  tat  or  didu  (Maspero,  Catalogue  du  Muse’e  Egypt ien  de  Marseilles,  p.  1GI, 
No.  878).  The  symbol  was  afterwards  so  conventionalized  as  to  represent  four  columns  seen  in 
perspective,  one  capital  overtopping  another;  it  thus  became  the  image  of  the  four  pillars  which 
uphold  the  world  (Petrie,  Medum,  p.  31  ; Maspero,  Eludes  de  Mylhologie  et  d’ Arche'ologie  Egyptienues, 
vol.  ii.  p.  359,  note  3). 

4 The  belief  in  the  real  existence  of  fautastic  animals  was  first  noted  by  Maspero,  Etudes  de 
Mythologie  et  d’ Arche’ologie  Egyptienues,  vol.  i.  pp.  117,  118,  132,  and  vol.  ii.  p.  213.  Until  then, 
scholars  only  recognized  the  sphinx,  and  other  Egyptian  monsters,  as  allegorical  combinations  by 
which  the  priesthood  claimed  to  give  visible  expression  in  one  and  the  same  being  to  physical  or 
moral  qualities  belonging  to  several  different  beings.  The  later  theory  has  now  been  ailopted  by 
Wiedemann  (Le  Culle  des  animaux  en  Egypte,  pp.  14,  15),  and  by  most  contemporary  Egyptologists. 

5 At  Beiii-IIassau  and  in  Thebes  many  of  the  fantastic  animals  mentioned  in  the  text,  griffins, 
hierosphiuxes,  serpent-headed  lions,  are  placed  along  with  animals  which  might  be  encountered  by 
local  princes  bunting  in  the  desert  (Chasipoi.lion,  Monuments  de  V Egypte  et  de  la  Nnbie,  pis.  ccclxxxii. 
3,  4,  ccccxviii.  bis,  and  vol.  ii.  pp.  339,  360;  RosELi.ixr,  Monumenli  civil!,  pi.  xxxiii. ; Wilkinson, 
Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  2nel  edit.,  vol.  ii.  p.  93). 

“ On  Hathor,  Lady  of  Pilantt,  her  importation  into  Egypt,  and  the  bonds  of  kinship  connecting 
her  with  Bisu,  see  Pi.eyte,  Chapitres  supplE.neutaires  du  Licre  des  Marts,  p.  131,  et  seq. 


GOBS  OF  FOREIGN  ORIGIN. 


85 


skin,  but  one  of  strange  countenance  and  alarming  character,  a big-headed 
dwarf  with  high  cheek-bones,  and  a wide  and  open  mouth,  whence  hung  an 
enormous  tongue ; lie  was  at  once  jovial  and  martial,  the  friend  of  the  dance 
and  of  battle.1  In  historic  times  all  nations  subjugated  by  the  Pharaohs 
transferred  some  of  their  principal  divinities  to  their  conquerors,  and  the 
Libyan  Shehadidi  was  enthroned  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  in  the  same  way  as 
the  Semitic  Baalu  and  his  retinue  of  Astartes,  Anitis,  Keshephs,  and  lvadshus.2 
These  divine  colonists  fared  like  all  foreigners  who  have  sought  to  settle  on 
the  banks  of  the  Nile:  they  were  promptly  assimilated,  wrought,  moulded, 
and  made  into  Egyptian  deities  scarcely  distinguishable  from  those  of 


SOME  FABULOUS  BEASTS  OF  THE  EGYPTIAN  DESERT.3 


the  old  race.  This  mixed  pantheon  had  its  grades  of  nobles,  princes,  kings, 
and  each  of  its  members  was  representative  of  one  of  the  elements  con- 
stituting the  world,  or  of  one  of  the  forces  which  regulated  its  government. 
The  sky,  the  earth,  the  stars,  the  sun,  the  Nile,  were  so  many  breathing 
and  thinking  beings  whose  lives  were  daily  manifest  in  the  life  of  the  universe. 
They  were  worshipped  from  one  end  of  the  valley  to  the  other,  and  the 
whole  nation  agreed  in  proclaiming  their  sovereign  power.  But  when 
they  began  to  name  them,  to  define  their  powers  and  attributes,  to  par- 
ticularize their  forms,  or  the  relationships  that  subsisted  among  them, 
this  unanimity  was  at  an  end.  Each  principality,  each  nome,  each  city, 
almost  every  village,  conceived  and  represented  them  differently.  Some 

1 Bisu  lias  been  closely  studied  by  Pleyte  ( Chapitres  supply mentaires  du  Livre  dts  il Torts,  Tra- 
duction ct  Commentaire,  pp.  111-184),  and  by  Krall  ( Ueber  den  lEgyptischen  Gotl  Bee,  in  Benndorf- 
Niem Ann’s  Bas  Heroon  von  Gjolbaschi-Tnjsa,  pp.  72-96).  The  tail-piece  to  the  summary  of  this 
chapter  is  a figure  of  Bisil,  drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  an  amulet  in  blue  enamelled  pottery. 

2 The  name  of  Shehadidi  is  found  in  that  of  a certain  Feteshehadidi,  whose  statue  has  passed 
from  the  Posno  collection  (Antiquity's  Egyptiennes,  1883,  p.  15,  No.  57,  pi.  2)  into  the  Berlin  Museum  ; 
cf.  the  god  Saharuau  in  Maspero’s  Sur  deux  steles  recemment  dVcouvertes,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xv. 
p.  85.  The  Semitic  gods  introduced  into  Egypt  have  been  studied  at  length  by  M.  de  Vogui. 
(Melanges  d'Archeblogie  Orientate,  p.  41,  et  seq.,  76,  et  seq.)  and  by  Ed.  Meyer  (Ueber  einige  Semi- 
tisclie  Gutter,  § ii.,  Semitische  Gutter  in  JEgypten,  in  the  Zeitschrift  d.  Deut.  Morg.  Gesellscliaft,  vol. 
xxxi.  pp.  724-729). 

3 The  hawk-headed  monster  with  flower-tipped  tail,  represented  in  the  illustration,  was  called  the 
saga. 


8 fi 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


said  that  the  sky  was  the  Great  Horus,  Haroeris,  the  sparrow-hawk  of  mottled 
plumage  which  hovers  in  highest  air,  and  whose  gaze  embraces 
the  whole  field  of  creation.1  Owing  to  a punning  assonance 
between  his  name  and  the  word  lioru,  which  designates  the 
human  countenance,  the  two  senses  were  combined,  and  to 
the  idea  of  the  sparrow-hawk  there  was  added  that  of  a 
divine  face,  whose  two  eyes  opened  in  turn,  the  right 
eye  being  the  sun,  to  give  light  by  day,  and  the  left 
eye  the  moon,  to  illumine  the  night.2  The  face 
shone  also  with  a light  of  its  owm,  the  zodiacal 
light,  which  appeared  unexpectedly,  morning  or 
evening,  a little  before  sunrise,  and  a little 
after  sunset.  These  luminous  beams,  radiating 
from  a common  centre,  hidden  in  the  heights  of 
the  firmament,  spread  into  a wide  pyramidal  sheet 
of  liquid  blue,  whose  base  rested  upon  the  earth, 
but  whose  apex  was  slightly  inclined  towards  the 
zenith.3  The  divine  face  was  symmetiically  framed, 
and  attached  to  earth  by  four  thick  locks  of  hair; 
these  were  the  pillars  which  upbore  the  firmament 
and  prevented  its  falling  into  ruin.4  A no  less 
ancient  tradition  disregarded  as  fabulous  all  tales  told  of 
the  sparrow-hawk,  or  of  the  face,  and  taught  that  heaven 
and  earth  are  w'edded  gods,  Sibu  and  Nuif,  from  whose 
marriage  come  forth  all  that  has  been,  all  that  is,  and  all 
that  shall  be.  Most  people  invested  them  writh  human 
form,  and  represented  the  earth-god  Sibu  as  extended 
beneath  Nuit  the  Starry  One ; the  goddess  stretched  out 
her  arms,  stretched  out  her  slender  legs,  stretched  out  her 
NviT  the  sTAitRY  body  above  the  clouds,  and  her  dishevelled  head  drooped 
westward.  But  there  were  also  many  who  believed  that  Sibu 


1 It  is  generally  admitted  that  Haroeris  is  Ra,  the  sun  (Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie  dvr  alien 
sEgypter,  p.  529,  et  seq.).  Haroeris  was  worshipped  in  Upper  Egypt,  where  he  and  his  fellow,  Sit  of 
Ombos,  represented  the  heavens  and  the  earth  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d' Arch€ologie,  vol.  ii. 
p.  329,  et  seq.).  They  were  often  depicted  as  a two-headed  personage  (LErsius,  Denlcm .,  iii.  234  h). 

5 E.  Lefebure,  Les  Yenx  d’ Horus,  pp.  96-93.  The  part  played  by  the  two  eyes  of  the  celestial 
Horus,  irili,  uzaili,  was  first  recoguized  by  Brugsch  ( Geographische  Inschriften,  vol.  i.  p.  75). 

3 Brugsch,  a ou  la  lumiere  zodiacale,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Bib'ical  Archxology , 
1892-93,  vol.  xv.  p.  233,  et  seq.;  Hermann  Gruson,  Im  Reiche  des  Lichtes,  Sonnen,  Zodiahallichter, 
Kometen,  Ddmmerungslicht-Pyramiden  nach  den  altegien  segyptischen  Quellen,  1893. 

* These  locks,  and  the  gods  presiding  over  them,  are  mentioned  in  the  Fyramid  texts  ( Papi  7., 
lines  436-440,  Mirinri,  lines  649-656  ; cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Archdo’ogie,  vol.  ii. 
pp  366,  367). 

‘ Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a painted  coffin  of  the  XXIst  dynasty  in  Leyden. 


TI1E1R  CONFLICTING  FORMS. 


87 


was  concealed  under  the  form  of  a colossal  gander,  whose  mate  once  laid  the 
Sun  Egg,  and  perhaps  still  laid  it  daily.  From  the  piercing  cries  where- 
with he  congratulated  her,  and  announced  the  good  news  to  all  who  cared 
to  hear  it— after  the  manner  of  his  kind 

— he  had  received  the 

epithet  of 
oiru,  the 


flattering 
Ngcigu 


THE  GOOSE-GOD  t£te-A-t£te  WITH  THE  CAT  GODDESS,  THE  LADY  OF  HEAVEN.1 

Great  Cackler.2  Other  versions  repudiated  the  goose  in  favour  of  a vigorous 
bull,  the  father  of  gods  and  men,3  whose  companion  was  a cow,  a large-eyed 
Hathor,  of  beautiful  countenance.  The  head  of  the  good  beast  rises  into  the 
heavens,  the  mysterious  waters  which  cover  the  world  flow  along  her  spine; 
the  star-covered  underside  of  her  body,  which  we  call  the  firmament,  is 
visible  to  the  inhabitants  of  earth,  and  her  four  legs  are  the  four  pillars 
standing  at  the  four  cardinal  points  of  the  world.4 

The  planets,  and  especially  the  sun,  varied  in  form  and  nature  according 
to  the  prevailing  conception  of  the  heavens.  The  fiery  disk  Atonu,  by  which 
the  sun  revealed  himself  to  men,  was  a living  god,  called  Ra,  as  was  also  the 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a stela  in  the  museum  of  Gizeh  (Grebait,  Le  Musde  Egyptian, 
pi.  iii.).  This  is  not  the  goose  of  Sibft,  but  the  goose  of  Anion,  which  was  nurtured  in  the  temple 
of  Karnak,  and  was  called  Smonft.  Facing  it  is  the  cat  of  Maftt,  the  wife  of  Amon.  Anion, 
originally  an  earth-god,  was,  as  we  see,  confouuded  with  Sibil,  and  thus  naturally  appropriated  that 
deity’s  form  of  a goose. 

■ Boole  of  the  Dead,  ch.  liv.,  Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  lsvi. ; cf.  Lepage-Kenovf,  Seb  the  great 
Cackler,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  vii.  pp.  152-154.  On  the  egg 
of  Sibil,  and  as  to  Egyptian  ideas  in  general  concerning  the  egg,  see  Lefebure  (I’CEuf  dans  la  Reli- 
gion Egyptienne,  in  the  Revue  de  VHittoire  des  Religions,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  1 G— 25).  On  the  other  hand, 
several  Egyptologists  (Brcgsch,  Religion  tind  Mytliologie,  pp.  171-173 ; Liebleix,  Proceedings,  1S84-S5, 
pp.  99,  100)  consider  that  the  sign  of  the  goose,  currently  used  for  writing  the  god’s  name,  itself  gave 
birth  to  the  myth  ascribing  to  him  a goose’s  form. 

3 Hence  he  is  called  the  bull  of  Niiit  in  the  Pyramid  text  of  Unas  (I.  452). 

4 See  it  as  represented  in  Lefebure,  Le  Tombeau  de  StT,i  lr,  in  the  Mdmoires  de  la  Mission,  vol.  ii. 
pt.  4,  pi.  xvii. 


88 


HIE  OODS  OF  EGYPT. 


planet  itself.1  Where  the  sky  was  regarded  as  Horus,  Ra  formed  the  right  eye 


I UK  COW  11ATHOR,  TIIE  LADY  OF  HEAVEN'.5 


of  the  divine  face:2 3  when  Horus  opened 
his  eyelids  in  the  morning,  he  made 
the  dawn  and  day  ; when  he  closed 
them  in  the  evening,  the  dusk  and 
night  were  at  hand.  AVhere  the  sky 
was  looked  upon  as  the  incarnation  of  a 
goddess,  Ra  was  considered  as  her  son,11 
his  father  being  the  earth-god,  and  he 
was  born  again  with  every  new  dawn, 
wearing  a sidelock,  and  with  his  finger 
to  his  lips  as  human  children  were  con- 
ventionally represented.  He  was  also 
that  luminous  egg,  laid  and  hatched  in 
the  East  by  the  celestial  goose,  from 
which  the  sun  breaks  forth  to  fill 
the  world  with  its  rays.4 5  Neverthe- 
less, by  an  anomaly  not  uncommon 
in  religions,  the  egg  did  not  always 
contain  the  same  kind  of  bird ; a 
lapwing,  or  a heron,  might  come  out  of 
it,6  or  perhaps,  in  memory  of  Horus, 


1 The  name  of  Ra  lias  been  variously  explained.  The  commonest  etymology  is  that  deriving  the 
name  from  a verb  ra,  to  give,  to  matte  to  be  a person  or  a thing,  so  that  Ra  would  thus  be  the  great 
organizer  (Birch,  in  Wilkinson,  Manners  anl  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  p.  214),  the  author  of  all 
things  (Brcgsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie,  pp.  86,87).  Lauth  (Aus  JEgyptens  Vorzeit,  pp.  46,  68)  goes 
so  far  as  to  siy  that  “notwithstanding  its  brevity,  Ra  is  a composite  word  (r-a,  matter — to  be).”  As 
a matter  of  fact,  the  word  is  simply  the  name  of  the  planet  applied  to  the  god.  It  means  the  sun,  and 
nothing  more. 

2 The  Edfu  texts  mention  the  face  of  Horus  furnished  with  its  two  eyes  (Naville,  Texles  relatifs 
au  myttie  d' Horus,  pi.  xxii.  1.  1).  As  for  the  identification  of  the  right  eye  of  the  god  with  the  sun, 
cf.  the  unimpeachable  evidence  collected  by  Chabas  ( Lettre  a M.  te  Dr.  R.  Lcpsius  sur  tes  mots  tr jyptiens 
signifiant  la  droite  et  la  gauche,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1865,  p.  10),  and  by  Lepsius  (An  Herrn  F.  Chabas, 
iiber  reclits  und  links  in  Hieroglyphischen,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1865,  p.  13). 

3 Several  passages  from  the  Pyramid  texts  prove  that  the  two  eyes  were  very  anciently  considered 
ns  belonging  to  the  face  of  N uit  (Vapi  I.,  1.  100),  and  this  conception  persisted  to  the  last  days  of 
Egyptian  paganism.  Hence,  we  must  not  be  surprised  if  the  inscriptions  generally  represent  the  god 
Ra  as  coming  forth  from  Nuit  under  the  form  of  a disc,  or  a scarabaeus,  and  born  of  her  even  as 
human  children  are  born  (Tapi  1.,  lines  10,  32,  60,  etc.). 

1 These  are  the  very  expressions  used  in  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead 
(Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  xxv.  lines  58-61 ; Lepsius,  Todtenbuch,  pi.  ix.  11.  50,  51). 

5 Diawn  by  Boudier,  from  a XXXth-dynasty  statue  of  green  basalt  in  the  Gizeh  Museum 
(Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur,  p.  345,  No.  5243).  The  statue  was  also  published  by  Mariette,  Monu- 
ments divers,  pi.  96  A-B,  and  in  the  Album  photographique  du  Mus€:  de  Boutaq , pi.  x. 

6 The  lapwing  or  the  heron,  the  Egyptian  bom 2,  is  generally  the  Osirian  biid.  The  persistence 
with  which  it  is  associated  with  Heliopolis  and  the  gods  of  that  city  shows  that  in  this  also  we  have 
a secondary  form  of  Ra.  Cf.  the  form  taken  by  the  sun  during  the  third  hour  of  the  day,  as  given  in 
the  text  published  and  explained  by  Brugsch,  Die  Kapitel  der  Vericandlungen  (Zeitschrift,  1867,  p.  23). 


THE  SUN  AS  A MAN. 


80 


one  of  the  beautiful  golden  sparrow-hawks  of  Southern  Egypt.1  A Sun- 
Hawk,  hovering  in  high  heaven  on  outspread  wings,  at  least  presented 
a bold  and  poetic  image;  but  what  can  be  said  for  a Sun-Calf?  Yet  it  is 
under  the  innocent  aspect  of  a spotted  calf,  a “sucking  calf  of  pure  mouth,”  a 


1 J 

THE  TWELVE  STAGES  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  THE  SEN  AND  ITS  TWELVE  FORMS  THROUGHOUT  THE  DAY'.3 


that  the  Egyptians  were  pleased  to  describe  the  Sun-God  when  Sibu,  the  father, 
was  a bull,  and  Hathor  a heifer.  But  the  prevalent  conception  was  that  in 
which  the  life  of  the  sun  was  likened  to  the  life  of  man.  The  two  deities 
presiding  over  the  East  received  the  orb  upon  their  hands  at  its  birth,  just  as 
midwives  receive  a new-born  child,  and  cared  for  it  during  the  first  hour  of 
the  day  and  of  its  life.4  It  soon  left  them,  and  proceeded  “under  the  bellv 


1 Book  of  the  Dead,  ch.  Ixxvii.  (Naville’s  edition,  pi.  Ixxxviii.  1.  2,  ct  srq.),  and  cli.  Ixxviii.  (pi. 
Ix.xxix.) ; cf.  the  forms  of  (he  sun  during  the  third  and  eighth  hours  of  (lie  day,  as  given  in  (lie  (ext 
published  and  explained  by  Brugsch,  Die  KapiM  der  Verwandlungen  ( Zeitschrift , 1S67,  pp.  23,  2»). 

2 The  calf  is  represented  in  ch.  cix.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Naville's  edition,  pi.  exx.)|  where 
the  text  says  (lines  10,  11),  “ I know  that  this  calf  is  Harmakhis  the  Sun,  and  that  it  is  no  other  than 
the  Morning  Star,  daily  saluting  Ra.”  The  expression  “ sucking  calf  of  pure  mouth  ” is  taken  word 
for  word  from  a formula  preserved  in  the  Pyramid  texts  (17?ias,  1.  20). 

3 The  twelve  forms  of  the  sun  during  the  twehm  hours  of  the  day,  from  the  ceiling  of  the  Hall 
of  (he  New  Year  at  Edfft  (Rochemonteix,  Edfou,  pi.  xxxiii.  c).  Drawing  br  Faucher-Gudin. 

4 The  birtt  of  the  sun  was  represented  in  detail  at  Erment  (Champollion,  Monuments,  pi.  cxlv  • 
Kosellot,  Monumenti  del  Culto,  pis.  lii.,  liii.,  and  Texte,  p.  293,  et  seq. ; Lepsius,  Denim.,  iv’. 


00 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


of  Nuit,”  growing  .and  strengthening  from  minute  to  minute,  until  at  noon  it  had 
become  a triumphant  hero  whose  splendour  is  shed  abroad  over  all.  But  as 
night  comes  on  his  strength  forsakes  him  and  his  glory  is  obscured  ; he  is  bent 
and  broken  down,  and  heavily  drags  himself  along  like  an  old  man  leaning 
upon  his  stick.1  At  length  he  passes  away  beyond  the  horizon,  plunging 
westward  into  the  mouth  of  Nuit,  and  traversing  her  body  by  night  to  be  born 
anew  the  next  morning,  again  to  follow  the  paths  along  which  he  had  travelled 
on  the  preceding  day.2 

A first  bark,  the  salitit ,3  awaited  him  at  his  birth,  and  carried  him  from 
the  Eastern  to  the  Southern  extremity  of  the  world.  Mdzit  * the  second  bark, 
received  him  at  noon,  and  bore  him  into  the  land  of  Manu,  which  is  at 
the  entrance  into  Hades ; other  barks,  with  which  we  are  less  familiar,  con- 
veyed him  by  night,  from  his  setting  until  his  rising  at  morn.5  Sometimes 
he  was  supposed  to  enter  the  barks  alone,  and  then  they  were  magical  and 
self-directed,  having  neither  oars,  nor  sails,  nor  helm.6  Sometimes  they  were 
equipped  with  a full  crew,  like  that  of  an  Egyptian  boat — a pilot  at  the 
prow  to  take  soundings  in  the  channel  and  forecast  the  wind,  a pilot  astern 
to  steer,  a quartermaster  in  the  midst  to  transmit  the  orders  of  the  pilot 
at  the  prow  to  the  pilot  at  the  stern,  and  half  a dozen  sailors  to  handle 
poles  or  oars.7  Peacefully  the  bark  glided  along  the  celestial  river  amid  the 
acclamations  of  the  gods  who  dwelt  upon  its  shores.  But,  occasionally,  Apopi, 
a gigantic  serpent,  like  that  which  hides  within  the  earthly  Nile  and  devours 
its  banks,  came  forth  from  the  depth  of  the  waters  and  arose  in  the  path  of 
the  god.8  As  soon  as  they  caught  sight  of  it  in  the  distance,  the  crew  flew  to 

pi.  00,  a,  c,  d ),  and  in  a more  abridged  form  on  the  sarcophagus  of  one  of  the  rams  of  Mendes, 
now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  lxvi.,and  Texte,  pp.  13,  14). 

1 The  growth  and  decadence  of  the  forms  of  the  sun  are  clearly  marked  in  the  scene  first  pub- 
lished by  Brl'gsch  ( Die  Kapitel  der  Verwandlungen,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1867,  pp.  21-26,  and  plate; 
Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  ZEgyptiacarum,  pp.  55-59),  taken  from  the  coffin  of  Khaf  in  the  Gizeh 
Museum ; and  from  two  scenes,  of  which  the  one  is  at  Denderali  ( Description  de  VEgypte,  Ant.,  vol.  iv. 
pis.  16-19),  the  other  in  the  Hall  of  the  New  Year  at  Edffi  (Ciiampollion,  Monuments,  pi.  cxxiii.,  et 
seq.;  Rochemonteix,  Eilfou,  in  the  Me' moires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  ix.  pi.  xxxiii.  c). 

2 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d'  Arche'ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p,  218,  note  2. 

3 Its  most  ancient  name  was  Samktit  ( Teta , 1.  222;  Tapi  I.,  11.  570,  670,  etc.).  Brugsch  ( Diction- 
naive  lli&roglyphique,  pp.  1327,  1328)  first  determined  the  precedence  of  the  Saktit  and  Mazit  boats. 

4 In  the  oldest  texts  it  is  Marnit,  with  an  interpolated  nasal  (Teta,  11.  222,  223,  314,  etc.). 

4 In  the  formula)  of  the  Boole  of  Knotting  that  which  is  in  Hades,  the  dead  sun  remains  in  the 
bark  Saktit  during  part  of  the  night,  and  it  is  only  to  traverse  the  fourth  and  fifth  hours  that  lie 
changes  into  another  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Arche'ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  69,  et  seq.). 

6 Such  is  the  bark  of  the  sun  in  the  other  world.  Although  carrying  a complete  crew  of  gods, 
yet  for  the  most  part  it  progresses  at  its  own  will,  and  without  their  help.  The  bark  containing  the 
sun  alone  is  represented  in  many  vignettes  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Navii.le’s  edition,  pi.  xxx.,  La, 
Ag,  pi.  cxiii.,  Pe,  cxxxiii.,  Pa,  cxlv.),  and  at  the  head  of  many  stela). 

7 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  tV  Arche'ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  38,  39. 

8 In  Upper  Egypt  there  is  a widespread  belief  in  the  existence  of  a monstrous  serpent,  who 
dwells  at  the  bottom  of  the  river,  and  is  the  genius  of  the  Nile.  It  is  he  who  brings  about  those  falls 
of  earth  ( batabit ) at  the  decline  of  the  inundation  which  often  destroy  the  banks  and  eat  whole 
fields.  At  such  times,  offerings  of  dura,  fowls,  and  dates  are  made  to  him,  that  his  hunger  may  be 


THE  VOYAGES  OF  THE  SUN. 


91 


arms,  and  entered  upon  the  struggle  against  him  with  prayers  and  spear-thrusts. 
Men  in  their  cities  saw  the  sun  faint  and  fail,  and  sought  to  succour  him  in 
his  distress;  they  cried  aloud,  they  were  beside  themselves  with  excitement, 
beating  their  breasts,  sounding  t heir  instruments  of  music,  and  striking  with 
all  their  strength  upon  every  metal  vase  or  utensil  in  their  possession,  that 
their  clamour  might  rise  to  heaven  and  terrify  the  monster.  After  a time 
of  anguish,  Ka  emerged  from  the  darkness  and  again  went  on  his  way,  while 
Apopi  sank  back  into  the  abyss,1  paralysed  by  the  magic  of  the  gods,  and 
pierced  with  many  a wound.  Apart  from  these  temporary  eclipses,  which 
no  one  could  foretell,  the  Sun-King  steadily  followed  his  course  round  the 
world,  according  to  laws  which  even  his  will  could  not  change.  Day  after  day 
he  made  his  oblique  ascent  from  east  to  south,  thence  to  descend  obliquely 
towards  the  west.  During  the  summer  months  the  obliquity  of  his  course 
diminished,  and  he  came  closer  to  Egypt ; during  the  winter  it  increased,  and 
he  w'ent  farther  away.  This  double  movement  recurred  with  such  regularity 
from  equinox  to  solstice,  and  from  solstice  to  equinox,  that  the  day  of  the 
god’s  departure  and  the  day  of  his  return  could  be  confidently  predicted. 
The  Egyptians  explained  this  phenomenon  according  to  their  conceptions  of 
the  nature  of  the  world.  The  solar  b:irk  always  kept  close  to  that  bank  of 
the  celestial  river  which  was  nearest  to  men  ; and  when  the  river  overflowed 
at  the  annual  inundation,  the  sun  was  carried  along  with  it  outside  the 
regular  bed  of  the  stream,  and  brought  yet  closer  to  Egypt.  As  the  inun- 
dation abated,  the  bark  descended  and  receded,  its  greatest  distance  from  earth 
corresponding  with  the  lowest  level  of  the  waters.  It  w'as  again  brought 
back  to  us  by  the  rising  strength  of  the  next  flood ; and,  as  this  phenomenon 
was  yearly  repeated,  the  periodicity  of  the  sun’s  oblique  movements  was  the 
necessary  consequence  of  the  periodic  movements  of  the  celestial  Nile.'2 

appeased,  and  it  is  not  only  natives  who  give  themselves  up  to  these  superstitious  practices.  Part 
of  the  grounds  belonging  to  the  Karnak  hotel  at  Luxor  having  been  carried  away  during  the  autumn 
of  18S4,  the  manager,  a Greek,  made  the  customary  offerings  to  the  serpent  of  the  Nile  (Masfero, 
Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arch&ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  412,  413). 

1 The  character  of  Apopi  and  of  his  struggle  witli  the  sun  was,  from  the  first,  excellently  defined 
by  Chamfollion  as  representing  the  conflict  of  darkness  with  light  ( Lettres  (ferites  d’Egypte,  2nd  edit., 
1833,  p.  231,  et  seq.).  Occasionally,  but  very  rarely,  Apopi  seems  to  win,  and  his  triumph  over  11a 
furnishes  one  explanation  of  a solar  eclipse  (Lefebure,  Les  Yeux  d' Horns,  p.  46,  et  scq. ; Lefage- 
Renouf,  The  Eclipse  in  Egyptian  Texts , iu  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archnology, 
1884-85,  vol.  viii.  p.  163,  et  seq.).  A similar  explanation  is  common  to  many  races  (cf.  E.  Tyi.or, 
Primitive  Culture,  vol.  i.  p.  297,  et  seq.).  Iu  one  very  ancient  form  of  the  Egyptian  legend,  the  sun  is 
represented  by  a wild  ass  running  round  the  world  along  the  sides  of  the  mountains  that  uphold  the 
sky,  and  the  serpent  which  attacks  it  is  called  Haiti  ( Unas , 11.  544,  545;  Booh  of  the  Dead,  ch.  xl., 
Navilre’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  liv.). 

* This  explanation  of  Egyptian  beliefs  concerning  the  oblique  course  of  the  sun  was  proposed 
by  Masfero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  cCArrlieologie  Egyptiennes , vol.  ii.  pp.  208-210.  It  is  no  more 
strange  nor  yet  more  puerile  than  most  of  the  explanations  of  the  same  phenomenon  advanced  by 
Greek  cosmographers  (Lf.tronne,  Opinions  populaires  et  scientifques  des  Grecs  stir  la  route  oblique  du 
soleil,  in  his  CEuvres  ehoisies,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  336-359). 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


})2 

The  same  stream  also  carried  a whole  crowd  of  gods,  whose  existence  was 
revealed  only  at  night  to  the  inhabitants  of  earth.  At  an  interval  of  twelve 
hours,  and  in  its  own  bark,  the  pale  disk  of  the  moon — Yauhu  Auhu — followed 
the  disk  of  the  sun  along  the  ramparts  of  the  world.1  The  moon,  also, 
appeared  in  many  various  forms — here,  as  a man  born  of  Nuit;2  there,  as  a 
cynocephalus  or  an  ibis; 3 elsewhere,  it  was  the  left  eye  of  Horus,4  guarded  by 
the  ibis  or  cynocephalus.  Like  Ra,  it  had  its  enemies  incessantly  upon  the 


EGYPTIAN  CONCEPTION  OF  TUE  PRINCIPAL  CONSTELLATIONS  OF  THE  NORTHERN  SKY.s 


watch  for  it : the  crocodile,  the  hippopotamus,  and  the  sow.  But  it  was  when  at 
the  full,  about  the  15th  of  each  month,  that  the  lunar  eye  was  in  greatest  peril. 
The  sow  fell  upon  it,  tore  it  out  of  the  face  of  heaven,  and  cast  it,  streaming  with 
blood  and  tears,  into  the  celestial  Nile,6  where  it  was  gradually  extinguished, 

1 The  lunar  Tliot  is  represented  on  the  heads  of  stelae  as  alone  within  his  bark,  either  in  the  form 
of  the  lunar  disk,  or  seated,  as  an  ibis-headed  man  (Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitulogia  Egizia,  pis. 
xxxvii.,  xxxviii.).  We  also  read  in  De  Iside  (eh.  xxxiv.,  Parthey’s  edition,  p.  5S),  "HAiov  S'e  Kai 
XeArjvj/y  o!>x  ap/j.a<r lv  a\\a  ir\olots  6xvp.a.cri  xPutx*vovs  vtpvirXfiv  act,  The  most  striking  examples  are 
to  be  found  in  the  astronomic  ceilings  of  Esneh  and  Denderah,  often  reproduced  since  their 
publication  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  Ant.,  vol.  i.  pi.  lxxix. ; 
vol.  iv.  pi.  xviii.). 

2 He  may  be  seen  as  a child,  or  man,  bearing  the  lunar  disk  upon  his  head,  and  pressing  the  lunar 
eye  to  his  breast  (Lanzone,  Dizionario,  pi.  xxxvi.  2,  4;  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit., 
vol.  iii.  pi.  xxxvi.  3,  and  p.  170,  No.  54).  Passages  from  the  Pyramid  text  of  Unas  (lines  236,  210-252) 
indicate  the  relationship  subsisting  between  Thot,  Sibil,  and  Nfot,  making  Tliot  the  brother  of 
Isis,  Sit,  and  Nephthys.  In  later  times  he  was  considered  a son  of  Ra  (Rrugsch,  Beligion  und 
Mythologie,  p.  445). 

3 Even  as  late  as  the  Grseco-Roman  period,  the  temple  of  Tliot  at  Khmftnu  contained  a sacred  ibis, 
which  was  the  incarnation  of  the  god,  and  said  to  be  immortal  by  the  local  priesthood.  The  temple 
sacristans  showed  it  to  Apion  the  grammarian,  who  reports  the  fact,  but  is  very  sceptical  in  the  matter 
(Apion  Oasita,  frag.  11,  in  Muller-Didot,  Fragmenta  historicorum  grsecorum,  vol.  iii.  p.  512).  See  the 
drawing  of  the  cynocephalous  Thot  in  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  xxxvi.  4. 

4 The  texts  quoted  by  Chabas  and  Lepaius  (p.  88,  note  2)  to  show  that  the  sun  is  the  right  eye  of 
Horus  also  prove  that  his  left  eye  is  the  moon. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  ceiling  of  the  Ramesseum.  On  the  right,  the  female 
hippopotamus  bearing  the  crocodile,  and  leaning  on  the  Monait;  in  the  middle,  the  Haunch,  here 
represented  by  the  whole  bull ; to  the  left,  Selkit  and  the  Sparrow-hawk,  with  the  Lion,  and  the  Giant 
fighting  the  Crocodile. 

6 These  facts  are  set  forth  briefly,  but  clearly  enough,  in  chs.  cxii.  and  cxiii.  of  the  Book  of  the 


THE  STAR  GODS. 


03 


and  lost  for  clays;  but  its  twin,  the  sun,  or  its  guardian,  the  cynocephalus, 
immediately  set  forth  to  find  it  and  to  restore  it  to  Horns.  No  sooner  was  it 
replaced,  than  it  slowly  recovered,  and  renewed  its  radiance;  when  it  was 
well — uzait 1 — the  sow  again  attacked  and  mutilated  it,  and  the  gods  rescued 
and  again  revived  it.  Each  month  there  was  a fortnight  of  youth  and 
of  growing  splendour,  followed  by  a fortnight’s  agony  and  ever-increasing 


THE  LUNAR  BAliK,  SELF-PROPELLED,  UNDER  THE  PROTECTION  OF  THE  TWO  EVES. 

pallor.  It  was  born  to  die,  and  died  to  be  born  again  twelve  times  in  the 
year,  and  each  of  these  cycles  measured  a month  for  the  inhabitants  of  the 
world.  One  invariable  accident  from  time  to  time  disturbed  the  routine  of 
its  existence.  Profiting  by  some  distraction  of  the  guardians,  the  sow  greedily 
swallowed  it,  and  then  its  light  went  out  suddenly,  instead  of  fading  gradually. 
These  eclipses,  which  alarmed  mankind  at  least  as  much  as  did  those  of  the 
sun,  were  scarcely  more  than  momentary,  the  gods  compelling  the  monster 
to  cast  up  the  eye  before  it  had  been  destroyed.2  Every  evening  the  lunar 
bark  issued  out  of  Hades  by  the  door  which  Eft  had  passed  through  in 
the  morning,  and  as  it  rose  on  the  horizon,  the  star-lamps  scattered  over  the 
firmament  appeared  one  by  one,  giving  light  here  and  there  like  the  camp-fires 

Dead  (Nayili.e’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  cxxiv.,  cxxv. ; Lepsius’  edition,  pi.  xliii.).  Goodwin  (On  the 
1 1 2th  Chapter  of  the  Ritual,  in  the  Zeitsehri/h,  1871,  pp.  144-147)  pointed  out  the  importance  of  these 
chapters,  but  their  complete  explanation  came  later,  and  was  given  by  Lefebure  in  the  first  part  of 
bis  work  on  the  Mytlie  Osirien;  I.  les  Yt  u.r  d’ Horns. 

1 The  exact  sense  of  this  expression  is  pointed  out  on  p.  .14,  note  4,  and  p.  85,  note  4. 

2 Cf-  the  work  of  Lefebure,  Les  Yeux  d'  f fonts,  p.  43,  et  seq.,  for  the  explanation  of  this  little  drama. 


04 


THE  GODS  OF  EG  YET. 


of  a distant  army.  However  many  of  them  there  might  be,  there  were  as 
many  Indestructible^ — Akhimii  Soldi — or  Unchanging  Ones — Akhimu  Urdu — 
whose  charge  it  was  to  attend  upon  them  and  watch  over  their  maintenance.1 

They  were  not  scattered  at  random  by  the  hand  which  had  suspended  them, 

but  their  distribution 
had  been  ordered  in 
accordance  with  a cer- 

arranged  in  fixed  groups 
like  so  many  star  repub- 
lics, each  being  indepen- 

They  represented  the 
outlines  of  bodies  of 
men  and  animals  dimly  traced  out  upon  the  depths  of  night,  but  shining  with 
greater  brilliancy  in  certain  important  places.  The  seven  stars  which  we  liken 
to  a chariot  (Charles’s  Wain)  suggested  to  the  Egyptians  the  haunch  of 
an  ox  placed  on  the  northern  edge  of  the  horizon.3  Two  lesser  stars  con- 
nected the  Haunch — MasJchait — with  thirteen  others,  which  recalled  the 
silhouette  of  a female  hippopotamus — Pdrit — erect  upon  her  hind  legs,4  and 

1 The  Akhimu- Sokii  and  the  Akhimu-Urdu.  have  been  very  variously  defined  by  different 
Egyptologists  who  have  studied  them.  C’babas  ( Hymne  a Osiris,  in  the  llevue  A rchJologique,  1st 
series,  vol.  xiv.  p.  71,  note  1,  and  Le  Papyrus  magique  Harris,  pp.  82-84)  considered  them  to  be  gods 
or  genii  of  the  constellations  of  the  ecliptic,  which  mark  the  apparent  course  of  the  sun  through  the 
sky.  Following  the  indications  given  by  De'veria,  he  also  thought  them  to  be  the  sailors  of  the  solar 
bark,  and  perhaps  the  gods  of  the  twelve  hours,  divided  into  two  classes:  the  Akhimu-Soku  being 
those  who  are  rowing,  and  the  Akhimu-Urdu  those  who  are  resting.  But  texts  found  and  cited  by 
Brugsch  ( Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  AEgyptiacarum,  pp.  40-42;  Die  AEgyptologie,  p.  321,  et  seq.)  show 
that  the  Aklnmu-Soku  are  the  planets  accompanying  R&  in  the  northern  sky,  while  the  Akhimu- 
Urdu  arc  his  escort  in  the  south.  The  nomenclature  of  the  stars  included  in  these  two  classes  is 
furnished  by  monuments  of  widely  different  epochs  (Brugsch,  Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  AEgyptiacarum, 
p.  79,  et  seq.).  The  two  names  should  be  translated  according  to  the  meaning  of  their  component 
words:  Akhimii  Sokit,  those  who  know  not  destruction,  the  Indestructibles ; and  Akhimii  Urdu  (urzi), 
those  who  know  not  the  immobility  of  death,  the  Imperishalles. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  rectangular  zodiac  carved  upon  the  ceiling  of  the  great 
temple  of  Denderah  (Dumichen,  Besultate,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxxix.). 

3 The  forms  of  the  constellations,  and  the  number  of  stars  composing  them  in  the  astronomy 
of  different  periods,  are  known  from  the  astronomical  scenes  of  tombs  and  temples.  The  idenlity 
of  the  Haunch  with  the  Chariot,  or  Great  Bear  of  modern  astronomy,  was  discovered  by  Lepsius 
( Einleitung  zur  Chronologie  der  AEgypter,  p.  184)  and  confirmed  by  Biot  (Sw  les  restes  de  Vancienne 
Uranographie  e'gyptienne  que  Von  pourrait  rctrouver  aujourd’liui  clicz  les  Arahes  qui  lialitent  Vinte'ritur 
de  VEgypte,  p.  51,  et  seq.,  in  the  Journal  des  Savants,  1854).  Mariette  pointed  out  that  the 
Pyramid  Arabs  applied  the  name  of  the  Haunch  ( er-Rigl ) to  the  same  group  of  stars  as  that  thus 
designated  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  (ef.  Brugsch,  Die  JEgyptologie,  p.  343).  Champollion  had  noted 
the  position  of  the  Haunch  in  the  northern  sky  ( Dictionnaire  hieroglyphique,  p.  355),  but  had  not 
suggested  any  identification.  The  Haunch  appertained  to  Sit-Typhou  (De  Iside  et  Osiride ),  § 21, 
Parthey’s  edition,  p.  36). 

4 The  connection  of  Birit,  the  female  hippopotamus,  with  the  Haunch  is  made  quite  clear 
in  scenes  from  Philto  and  Edfft  (Brugsch,  Thesaurus,  pp.  126,  127),  representing  Isis  holding 
back  Typhon  by  a chain,  that  he  might  do  no  hurt  to  Sahh-Osiris  ( ibid p.  122).  Jollois  and 


dent  of  its  neighbours. 


tain  plan,  and  they  were 


the  haunch,  and  the  female  hippopotamus.2 


the  non  us  planets. 


95 


jauntily  carrying  upon  her  shoulders  a monstrous  crocodile  whose  jaws  opened 
threateningly  above  her  head.  Eighteen  luminaries  of  varying  size  and 
splendour,  forming  a group  hard  by  the  hippopotamus,  indicated  the  outline 
of  a gigantic  lion  couchant,  with  stiffened  tail,  its  head  turned  to  the  right, 
and  facing  the  Haunch.1  Most  of  the  constellations  never  left  the  sky : 


ORION,  SOTUIS,  AND  THREE  IIORUS-rLANETS  STANDING  IN  THEIR  BARKS.* 


night  after  night  they  were  to  be  found  almost  in  the  same  places, 
and  always  shining  with  the  same  even  light.  Others  borne  by  a 
slow  movement  passed  annually  beyond  the  limits  of  sight  for  months 
at  a time.  Five  at  least  of  our  planets  were  known  from  all  anti- 
quity, and  their  characteristic  colours  and  appearances  carefully  noted. 

A 

Sometimes  each  was  thought  to  be  a hawk-headed  Horns.  Uapshetatiii, 
our  Jupiter,  Kahiri-(Saturn),  Sobku-(Mercury),  steered  their  barks  straight 


Devii.liers  ( Eeclierclies  sur  les  bas-reliefs  astronomiques  des  L'gyptiens,  in  the  Description  de  I'Egypte, 
vol.  viii.  p.  451)  thought  that  the  hippopotamus  was  the  Great  Bear.  Biot  ( Becherclies  sur  plusieurs 
points  de  Vastrouomie  e'jyplienne,  pp.  S7-91)  contested  their  conclusions,  aud  while  holding  that  the 
hippopotamus  might  at  least  in  part  represent  our  constellation  of  the  Dragon,  thought  that  it  was 
probably  included  in  the  scene  only  ns  an  ornament,  or  as  an  emblem  (of.  Sur  les  restes  de  Vancienne 
uranographie  e'jyptienne,  p.  56).  The  preseut  tendency  is  to  identify  the  hippopotamus  with  the 
Dragon  and  with  certain  stars  not  included  in  the  constellations  surrounding  it  (Brugsch,  Die 
JEgyptologie,  p.  343). 

1 The  Lion,  with  its  eighteen  stars,  is  represented  on  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.  (Lekebvre,  Le  Tombeau 
de  Seti  I'r,  4th  part,  pi.  xxxvi.,  in  the  Me'inuires  de  la  Mission  franfaise,  vol.  ii.) ; on  the  e iling  of  the 
Itamesseum  (Bouton,  Excerpla  Hieroglyphica,  pi.  lviii. ; Rosellixi , Monument i del  Culto,  pi.  lxxii.  ; 
Lepsius,  Denlmiiler,  iii.  170)  ; and  on  the  sarcophagus  of  Htnri  (Brugsch,  Becueil  de  monuments,  vol.  i. 
pi.  xvii.).  The  Lion  is  sometimes  shown  as  having  a crocodile’s  tail.  According  to  Biot  ( Sur  un 
calendrier  astronomique  et  astrologique  trouvef  a Thebes  en  Egypte,  pp.  102-111)  the  Egyptian  Lion  has 
nothing  in  common  with  the  Greek  constellation  of  that  name,  nor  yet  with  our  own,  but  was  com- 
posed of  smaller  stars,  belonging  to  the  Greek  constellation  of  the  Cup  or  to  the  continuation  of  the 
Hydra,  so  that  its  head,  its  body,  aud  its  tail  would  follow  the  a of  the  Hydra,'  between  the  <p'  and  { of 
that  constellation,  or  the  y of  the  Virgin. 

2 From  the  astronomic  ceiling  in  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.  (Lefebure,  4th  part,  pi.  xxxvi.). 


06 


TIIE  GODS  OF  EGYIT. 


ahead  like  Iauliu  and  Ra ; but  Mars-Doshiri,  the  red,  sailed  backwards. 
As  a star,  Bonu  the  bird  (Venus)  had  a dual  personality;1  in  the  evening  it 

A 

was  Uati,  the  lonely  star  which  is  the  first  to  rise,  often  before  night- 
fall ; in  the  morning  it  became  Tiu-nutiri,  the  god  who 
hails  t he  sun  before  his  rising  and  proclaims  the  dawn  of 
day.2 

Sahu  and  Sopdit,  Orion  and  Sirius,  were  the  rulers  of 
this  mysterious  world.  Sahu  consisted  of  fifteen  stars,  seven 
large  and  eight  small,  so  arranged  as  to  represent  a runner 
darting  through  space,  while  the  fairest  of  them  shone  above 
his  head,  and  marked  him  out  from  afar  to  the  admiration 
of  mortals.  With  his  right  hand  he  flourished  the  crux 
ansata,  and  turning  his  head  towards  Sothis  as  he  beckoned 
her  on  with  his  left,  seemed  as  though  inviting  her  to 
follow  him.  The  goddess,  standing  sceptre  in  hand,  and 
crowned  with  a diadem  of  tall  feathers  surmounted  by  her 
most  radiant  star,  answered  the  call  of  Sahu  with  a gesture, 
and  quietly  embarked  in  pursuit  as  though  in  no  anxiety 
to  overtake  him.3 4  Sometimes  she  is  represented  as  a 
cow  lying  down  in  her  bark,  with  three  stai’3  along  her 
back,  and  Sirius  flaming  from  between  her  horns.5  Not 
content  to  shine  by  night  only,  her  bluish  rays,  suddenly 
darted  forth  in  full  daylight  and  without  any  warning, 
often  described  upon  the  sky  the  mystic  lines  of  the 

1 The  personages  representing  the  five  planets  known  to  the  ancient  Egyptians  were  first 
recognized  by  Lepsius  ( Einleitung  zur  Clironologie  der  JEgypter,  p.  84,  et  seq.).  Their  names  were 
afterwards  partly  determined  by  Brugsch  ( Nouvelles  Recherclies  sur  les  divisions  de  Vannde  chez  les 
anciens  Egypiiens,  suivies  d'un  we  moire  sur  des  observations  plandtaires,  p.  140,  et  seq.),  and  finally 
settled  by  E.  de  Rouge  (Kite  sur  les  noms  e'gyptiens  des  planetes,  in  the  Bulletin  archeulogique  de 
V Athenaeum  f ran  fa  is,  vil.  ii.  pp.  18-21,  25-28). 

2 The  connection  between  L’dti  and  Tiu-nutiri,  between  the  Evening  and  the  Morning  Star,  was 
first  noted  by  Brugsch  ( Thesaurus  Inscript  ionum,  p.  72,  et  seq.,  and  Die  Mgyptologie,  pp.  322-337). 

3 It  is  thus  that  Sahu  and  Sopdit  are  represented  in  the  Raincsseum  (Burton',  Excerpta,  pi.  lviii. ; 
Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto,  pi.  lxxi. ; Lepsius,  Deni;.,  iii.  170),  in  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.  (Lefebure, 
Le  Tcmbeau  de  Se'ti  I‘r,  part  4,  pi.  xxxvi.,  in  the  Me  moires  de  la  Mission  franfaise,  vol.  ii.),  and,  with 
slight  variations,  upon  other  mouuments  (Brugsch,  Thesaurus  Inscript  ionum,  p.  SO).  Champollion, 
who  had  recognized  Orion  in  the  astronomic  scene  at  Dcndcrah,  read  his  name  as  Keslces,  or  Kos,  on 
what  authority  I do  not  know  {Grammaire  Egyptienne,  p.  95).  Lepsius  {Einleitung  zur  Clironologie, 
p.  77)  proposed  that  it  should  be  read  Sel;,  and  E.  de  Rouge  found  the  true  reading — id  hit  {Memoir  e 
sur  V inscript ion  d’Ahmes,  p.  88,  et  seq.).  In  the  same  way,  Champollion  transcribed  the  name  of 
Sothis  by  Thof,  Tet,  without  being  under  any  misapprehension  as  to  the  identity  of  that  goddess 
{Grammaire  Egyptienne,  p.  96 ; He  moire  sur  les  signes  employs  par  les  anciens  Egypiiens  a la  notation 
des  divisions  du  temps,  p.  38);  Lepsius  was  the  first  to  decipher  it  correctly  {Einleitung  zur  Chro- 
nologic, pp.  135,  136). 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  fiom  a small  bronze  in  the  Gizeli  Museum,  published  by  Marieite, 
in  the  Album  pliotographique  du  Mwee  de  Boulaq,  pi.  9.  The  legs  are  a moehrn  restoration. 

5 The  ielentily  of  the  cow'  with  Sothis  was  discovered  by  Jollois  and  Devilliers  {Sur  les  bas- 


SAI1U-ORION.' 


ORION  AND  SO  THIS. 


07 


triangle  which  stood  for  her  name.  It  was  then  that  she  produced  those 
curious  phenomena  of  the  zodiacal  light  which  other  legends  attributed  to 
Horus  himself.1  One,  and  perhaps  the  most  ancient  of  the  innumerable 
accounts  of  this  god  and  goddess,  represented  Sahu  as  a wild  hunter.2  A 
world  as  vast  as  ours  rested  upon  the  other  side  of  the  iron  firmament ; like 
ours,  it  was  distributed  into  seas,  and  continents  divided  by  rivers  and  canals, 
but  peopled  by  races  unknown  to  men.  Sahu  traversed  it  during  the  day, 
surrounded  by  genii  who  presided  over  the  lamps  forming  his  constellation. 


ORION  AND  THE  COW  SOTHIS  SEPARATED  BY  THE  SPARROW-HAWK.3 


At  his  appearing  “ the  stars  prepared  themselves  for  battle,  the  heavenly 
archers  rushed  forward,  the  bones  of  the  gods  upon  the  horizon  trembled  at  the 
sight  of  him,”  for  it  was  no  common  game  that  he  hunted,  but  the  very  gods 
themselves.  One  attendant  secured  the  prey  with  a lasso,  as  bulls  are  caught 
in  the  pastures,  while  another  examined  each  capture  to  decide  if  it  were 
pure  and  good  for  food.  This  being  determined,  others  bound  the  divine 
victim,  cut  its  throat,  disembowelled  it,  cut  up  its  carcass,  cast  the  joints  into 
a pot,  and  superintended  their  cooking.  Sahu  did  not  devour  indifferently 
all  that  the  fortune  of  the  chase  might  bring  him,  but  classified  his  game  in 

reliefs  astronomiques,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  viii.  pp.  464,  465).  It  is  under  this  animal 
form  that  Sothis  is  represented  in  most  of  the  Graeco-Roman  temples,  at  Denderah,  Edffi,  Esneli, 
Der  el-Medineh  (Brugsch,  Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  JEgyptiacarum,  pp.  S0-S2). 

1 Brugsch,  A on  la  lumiere  zodiacale,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaology. 
1S92-93,  vol.  xv.  p.  233;  and  in  Hermann  Gruson,  Im  Reiche  des  Lichtes,  pp.  126,  127. 

2 For  this  legend,  see  tinas,  lines  496-525;  and  Teti,  lines  318-331.  Its  meaning  has  been  shown 
by  Masfero,  Et tides  de  Mythologie  et  d' Archifologie  Egypt iennes.  vol.  i.  p.  156;  vol.  ii.  p.  18,  et  seq., 
pp.  231,  232. 

3 Scene  from  the  rectangular  zodiac  of  Denderah,  drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph 
taken  with  magnesium  light  by  Dumtchen,  Resultate,  pi.  xxxvi. 


H 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


08 

accordance  with  his  wants.  He  ate  the  great  gods  at  his  breakfast  in  the 
morning,  the  lesser  gods  at  his  dinner  towards  noon,  and  the  small  ones  at 

his  supper;  the  old  were 
rendered  more  tender  by 
roasting.  As  each  god 
was  assimilated  by  him,  its 
most  precious  virtues  were 
transfused  into  himself;  by 
the  wisdom  of  the  old  was 
his  wisdom  strengthened,  the 
youth  of  the  young  repaired 
the  daily  waste  of  his  own 
youth,  and  all  their  fires, 
as  they  penetrated  his  beiDg, 
served  to  maintain  the  per- 
petual splendour  of  his  light. 

The  come  gods  who  pre- 
sided over  the  destinies  of 
Egyptian  cities,  and  formed 
a true  feudal  system  of 
divinities,  belonged  to  one 
or  other  of  these  natural  categories.1 2 3  In  vain  do  they  present  themselves 
under  the  most  shifting  aspects  and  the  most  deceptive  attributes;  in  vain 
disguise  themselves  with  the  utmost  care  ; a closer  examination  generally 
discloses  the  principal  features  of  their  original  physiognomies.  Osiris  of  the 
Delta,2  Khnumu  of  the  Cataract,4  Harshafitu  of  Heracleopolis,5  were  each  of 

1 Scene  on  the  north  wall  of  the  Hypostyle  Hall  at  Karnak;  drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph 
by  Insinger,  taken  in  18S2.  The  king,  Seti  I.,  is  presenting  bouquets  of  leaves  to  Amon-Minh. 
Behind  the  god  stands  Isis  (of  Coptos),  sceptre  and  crux  ansata  in  hand. 

2 Champollion  had  already  very  clearly  recognized  this  primordial  character  of  the  Egyptian 
religion.  “ These  gods,”  said  he,  “had  in  a manner  divided  Egypt  and  Nubia  among  themselves, 
thus  making  a kind  of  feudal  subdivision  of  the  land”  ( Lettres  Sorites  d'Egypte,  2nd  edit.,  1833, 
p.  157). 

3 J-’hc  identity  of  Osiris  and  the  Nile  was  well  known  to  the  classic  writers : oi  Se  aotpiirepoi  rwv 
leptwv  ov  pivov  tuv  NeiAon  * Otupiv  KaAovaiv,  . . . aWa  ''Oaipiu  piv  anAais  anaaav  ryv  uyponoibv  apx)]v 
icac  Svvapiv,  ain av  yeveoeois  Kal  an epparos  ovatav  vopi^ovres  . . . rbv  8 e ''Oaipiv  av  naAiv  peAuyxpouv 
ytyov4vai  pvQoAoyoiaiv  (De  Iside  et  Oriside,  § xxxiii.,  Parthev’s  edition,  p.  57 ; cf.  § xxxiii.  p.  54). 
That  was  indeed  his  original  character,  afterwards  amplified,  and  partially  obscured  by  the  various 
attributes  asoribed  to  him  when  confounded  with  other  gods. 

4 For  an  analysis  of  the  rule  attributed  to  the  god  Khnumu  of  the  cataract,  and  for  his  identity 
with  the  Nile,  see  Masvero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d'Arch&olorjie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  273, 
et  seq. 

The  position  of  fhe  god  Harshafitu,  of  Heracleopolis  Magna,  lias  not  yet  been  studied  as  it  should 
be.  Brugsch  (. Religion  und  Mythologie,  pp.  303-308)  regards  him  as  a duplication  of  Khnhmfi,  and 
this  is  the  most  commonly  received  opinion.  My  own  researches  have  led  me  to  consider  him  a 
Nile-god,  like  all  the  ram-headed  gods. 


THE  HO  BUS  GODS. 


91) 


them  incarnations  of  the  fertilizing  and  life-sustaining  Nile.  Wherever 


there  is  some  important  change  in  the  river,  there  they  are  more 
especially  installed  and  worshipped : Khnurnu  at  the  place  of 
its  entering  into  Egypt,  and  again  at  the  town  of  Haurit,  near 
the  point  where  a great  arm  branches  off  from  the  Eastern  stream 
to  flow  towards  the  Libyan  hills  and  form  the  Bahr-Yusnf;  Har- 
shafitd  at  the  gorges  of  the  Fayum,  where  the  Bahr- 
Yusuf  leaves  the  valley;  and,  finally,  Osiris  at  Mendes 
and  at  Busiris,  towards  the  mouth  of  the  middle 
branch,  which  was  held  to  be  the  true  Nile  by  the 
people  of  the  land.1  Isis  of  Buto  denoted  the  black 
vegetable  mould  of  the  valley,  the  distinctive  soil  of 
Egypt  annually  covered  and  fertilized  by  the  inundation.2  But 
the  earth  in  general,  as  distinguished  from  the  sky — the  earth 
with  its  continents,  its  seas,  its  alternation  of  barren  deserts 
and  fertile  lands — was  represented  as  a man:  Phtah  at  Memphis,3 
Amon  at  Thebes,  Minu  at  Coptos  and  at  Panopolis.4  Amon 
seems  rather  to  have  symbolized  the  productive  soil,  while 
Minu  reigned  over  the  desert.  But  these  were  fine  distinctions, 
not  invariably  insisted  upon,  and  his  worshippers  often  invested 
Amon  with  the  most  significant  attributes  of  Minu.  The  Sky- 
gods,  like  the  Earth-gods,  were  separated  into  two  group*, 
the  one  consisting  of  women  : Hathor  of  Denderah,  or  Nit 
of  Sais ; the  other  composed  of  men  identical  with  Horns, 
or  derived  from  him:  Ankuri-Shu  G of  Sebennytos  and 
Thinis;  Harmerati,  Horus  of  the  two  eyes,  at  Pharbmthos ; 7 
Har-Sapdi,  Horus  the  source  of  the  zodiacal  light,  in  the  Wady  Tumilat;8 


1 Maspero,  Eludes  de  Mythologie  et  d’  Arclnfologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  333. 

2 Even  in  the  Greek  period,  the  soil  is  sometimes  Isis  herself  (De  Iside  el  Osiride,  § xxxviii.. 
Parthey’s  edition,  p.  54,  § IviL  p.  102),  and  sometimes  the  body  of  Isis  : ,'I<ri5os  rru>/j.a  yijv  Uxovtri  «a! 
vop.i(ovcriv,  oil  ira(rav  ct\A’  ijs  6 NefAos  imfialvei  oireppaxivoiv  Kctl  piyvvpievos'  ck  5e  rrjs  ovvovo'ias  ravrits 
y*vva><ri  tov  *Clpov  (ibid.,  § xxxviii.  pp.  5G-GS).  In  the  case  of  Isis,  as  in  that  of  Osiris,  we  must  mark 
the  original  character;  and  note  her  characteristics  as  goddess  of  the  Delta  before  she  had  become 
a multiple  and  contradictory  personality  through  being  confounded  with  other  divinities. 

3 The  nature  of  Phtah  is  revealed  in  the  processes  of  creation  and  in  the  various  surnames,  Toneii , 
To-liii-nen,  by  which  some  of  his  most  ancient  forms  were  known  at  Memphis  (Brugsch,  Religion  und 
Mythologie,  pp.  509-511 ; Wiedemann,  Die  Religion  der  alien  JEgypter , pp.  74.  75). 

4 Amon  and  his  neighbour  Minft  of  Coptos  are  in  fact  both  ithy phallic,  and  occasionally  mummies. 
Each  wears  the  mortar  head-dress  surmounted  by  two  long  plumes. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucl.er-Gudin,  from  a bronze  of  the  Sa'ite  period,  in  my  own  possession. 

6 For  the  duality  of  Auhitri-Shh  and  his  primitive  nature  as  a combination  of  Sky-god  and 
Earth*god,  see  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arcltfulogie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  332.  35G.  357. 

7 Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie  der  alten  JEgypter,  p.  6G7 ; Laxzoxe,  Ditionario  di  Mitologiu 
Egizia,  pp.  GIG— 610. 

8 Brugsch,  a ou  la  lumiere  zodiacale,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology, 
1892-93,  vol.  xv.  p 235  ; cf.  Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie  der  alten  JEgypter.  pp.  5G6-571,  for  the 
feudal  role  of  Horus  Sapdi,  or  Sapditi  in  the  east  of  the  Delta. 


100 


77/ a;  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


;m<l  finally  Harhuditi  at  Edfu.1  Ra,  the  solar  disk,  was  enthroned  at  Helio- 
polis, and  sun-gods  were  numerous  among  the 
nome  deities,  hut  they  were  sun-gods  closely 
connected  with  gods  representing  the  sky, 
and  resembled  Horns  quite  as  much  as  Ha. 
Whether  under  the  name  of  Horus  or  of  Anhuri, 
the  sky  was  early  identified  with  its  most  brilliant 
luminary,  its  solar  eye,  and  its  divinity  was  as  it  were 
fused  into  that  of  the  Sun.'2  Horus  the  Sun,  and  Ha,  the 
Sun-God  of  Heliopolis,  bad  so  permeated  each  other  that 
none  could  say  where  the  one  began  and  the  other 
ended.  One  by  one  all  the  functions  of  Ha  had  been 
usurped  by  Horus,  and  all  the  designations  of  Horus  had 
been  appropriated  by  Ra.  The  sun  was  styled  Harrnak- 
liiiiti,  the  Horus  of  the  two  mountains  — that  is,  the 
Horus  who  comes  forth  from  the  mountain  of  the  east  in 
the  morning,  and  retires  at  evening  into  the  mountain  of 
the  west ; 3 or  Hartima,  Horus  the  Pikeman,  that  Horus 
whose  lance  spears  the  hippopotamus  or  the  serpent  of  the 
celestial  river ; 4 or  Harnubi,  the  Golden  Horus,  the  great 
golden  sparrow-hawk  with  mottled  plumage,  who  puts 
all  other  birds  to  flight;5  and  these  titles 
were  indifferently  applied  to  each  of  the 
feudal  gods  who  represented  the  sun.  The 
latter  were  numerous.  Sometimes,  as  in 
the  case  of  Harkhobi,  Horus  of  Khobiu,7 


THE  HAWK-HEADED  HOUUS.u 


1 The  reading  Har-Behudlti  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Lepage-Rexotjf  ( Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Biblical  Archseology,  1885-8(1,  pp.  143,  144),  and  has  been  adopted  by  most  Egyptologists.  I do  not 
think  it  so  well  founded  as  to  involve  an  alteration  of  the  old  reading  of  Ihidit  for  the  name  of  the 
city  of  Edfu  (Maspeeo,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archdologie  Egyptienr.es,  vol.  ii.  p.  313,  note  2). 

2 The  confusion  of  Horus,  the  sky,  with  Ra,  the  sun,  has  supplied  M.  Lefkbure  with  the  subject 
of  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  his  Yeux  d' Horns,  p.  94,  et  scq.,  to  which  I refer  the  reader 
for  further  details. 

3 From  the  time  of  Champollion,  Harmakhuiti  has  been  identified  with  the  Harmaehis  of  the 
Greeks,  the  great  Sphinx. 

* Har-tiwa  has  long  been  considered  as  a Horus  malting  truth  by  the  destruction  of  his  adversaries 
(Pierret,  Le  Pantheon  ggyptien,  pp.  18-21).  I gave  the  true  meaning  of  this  word  as  early  as  187G,  in 
the  course  of  my  lectures  at  the  College  de  France  (Maspeeo,  Eludes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Arrheologie 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  411). 

5 Harnubi  is  the  god  of  the  Antasopolite  nome  (J.  de  Rouge,  Textes  gdograplnques  du  temple  d'Edfou, 
in  the  Reiue  arcluTologique,  2nd  series,  vol.  xxii.  pp.  6,  7 ; cf.  Brtjgsch,  Dictionnaire  ggographique,  p.  507). 

6 A bronze  of  the  Sa'ite  period,  from  the  Posno  collection,  and  now  in  the  Louvre;  diawn  by 
Faucher-Gudiu.  The  god  is  represented  as  upholding  a libation  vase  with  both  hands,  and  pouring 
the  life-giving  water  upon  the  king,  standing,  or  prostrate,  before  him.  In  performing  this  ceremony, 
lie  was  always  assisted  by  another  god,  generally  by  Sit,  sometimes  by  Thot  or  Anubis. 

7 Harlclwbi,  Harumlchobiu  is  the  Horus  of  the  marshes  ( ltliobiu ) of  the  Delta,  the  lesser  Horus  the  son 
of  Isis  (Beugsch,  Dictionnaire  ggographique,  p.  5G8,  ct  seq),  who  was  also  made  into  the  son  of  Osiris  , 


EQUALITY  OF  GODS  AND  GODDESSES. 


101 


a geographical  qualification  was  appended  to  the  generic  term  of  Horns,  while 
specific  names,  almost  invariably  derived  from  the  parts  which  they  were  sup- 
posed to  play,  were  borne  by 
others.  The  sky-god  wor- 
shipped at  Thinis  in  Upper 
Egypt,  at  Zarit  and  at  Seben- 
nytos  in  Lower  Egypt,  was 
called  Anhuri.  When  he  as- 
sumed the  attributes  of  Ra, 
and  took  upon  himself  the 
solar  nature,  his  name  was 
interpreted  as  denoting  the 
conqueror  of  the  sky.  He 
was  essentially  combative. 

Crowned  with  a group  of  up- 
right plumes,  his  spear  raised 
and  ever  ready  to  strike  the 
foe,  he  advanced  along  the 
firmament  and  triumphantly 
traversed  it  day  by  day.1  The 
sun-god  who  at  MedamotTaud 
and  Erment  had  preceded  Amon  as  ruler  of  the  Theban  plain,  was  al&o  a warrior, 
and  his  name  of  Montu  had  reference  to  his  method  of  fighting.  He  was  de- 
picted as  brandishing  a curved  sword  and  cutting  off  the  heads  of  his  adversaries. a 

Each  of  the  feudal  gods  naturally  cherished  pretensions  to  universal  dominion, 
and  proclaimed  himself  the  suzerain,  the  father  of  all  the  gods,  as  the  local 
prince  was  the  suzerain,  the  father  of  all  men  ; but  the  effective  suzerainty 
of  god  or  prince  really  ended  where  that  of  his  peers  ruling  over  the  adjacent 
nomes  began.  The  goddesses  shared  in  the  exercise  of  supreme  power,  and  had 
the  same  right  of  inheritance  and  possession  as  regards  the  sovereignty  that 
women  had  in  human  law.3  Isis  was  entitled  lady  and  mistress  at  Bilto,  as 

.The  right  reading  of  the  name  was  given  as  far  back  as  Lepsius  ( Ueber  den  ersten  JEgyptitchen 
Gotterhreis,  p.  170,  n.  3).  The  part  played  by  the  god,  and  the  nature  of  the  link  connecting  him 
with  S-hu,  have  been  explained  by  Maspero  ( Etudes  de  Mylhologie  et  d’ArchfoIogie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  332,  356,  357).  The  Greeks  transcribed  his  name  Onouris,  and  identified  him  with  Ares  (Lee- 
mans,  Papyri  Grxci,  vol.  i.  p.  124,  1.  13,  and  p.  128). 

2 Month  preceded  Amon  as  god  of  the  land  between  Ktls  and  Gebelen,  and  he  recovered  his  old 
position  in  the  Grajco-Eoman  period  after  the  destruction  of  Thebes.  Most  Egyptologists,  and  finally 
Brugsch  ( Religion  und  Mythologie,  p.  701),  made  him  into  a secondary  form  of  Amon,  which  is  con- 
trary to  what  we  know  of  the  history  of  the  province.  Just  as  On  ft  of  the  south  (Erment)  preceded 
Thebes  as  the  most  important  town  iu  that  district,  so  Month  had  been  its  most  honoured  god. 
Herr  Wiedemann  ( Die  Religion  der  alien  AZgypten,  p.  71)  thinks  the  name  related  to  that  of  Amon 
and  derived  from  it,  with  the  addition  of  the  final  tu. 

In  attempts  at  reconstituting  Egyptian  religions,  no  adequate  weight  has  hitherto  been  given 
to  the  equality  of  gods  and  goddesses,  a fact  to  which  attention  was  first  called  by  Maspero  (Etudes 
de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archfologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  253,  et  seq.). 


102 


TIIE  GO  ns  OF  EGYPT. 


Hiithor  was  at  Denderab,  and  as  Nit  at  Sals,  “the  firstborn,  when  as  yet  there 

had  been  no  birth.”  1 They  enjoyed  in  their 
cities  the  same  honours  as  the  male  gods  in 
theirs;  as  the  latter  were  kings,  so  were  they 
queens,  and  all  bowed  down  before  them.  The 
animal  gods,  whether  entirely  in  the  form  of 
beasts,  or  having  human  bodies  attached  to 
animal  heads,  shared  omnipotence  with  those  in 
human  form.  Horus  of  Hibonu  swooped  down 
upon  the  back  of  a gazelle  like  a hunting 
hawk,2  Hathor  of  Denderab  was  a cow,  Bastit 
of  Bubastis  was  a cat  or  a tigress,  while 
Nekhabit  of  El  Kab  was  a great  bald-headed 
vulture.3  Hermopolis  worshipped  the 
ibis  and  cynocephalus  of  Thot ; Oxyr- 
rhynchus  the  mormyrus  fish  ; 4 and  Om- 
bos  and  the  Fay um  a crocodile,  under 
the  name  of  Sobku,5  sometimes  with 
the  epithet  of  Aza'i,  the  brigand.6 
We  cannot' always  understand  what  led 
the  inhabitants  of  each  nome  to  affect 

THE  CAT-HEADED  BAST.7  • ,1  .1  tttU 

one  animal  rather  than  another.  Why, 
towards  Graeco-Roman  times,  should  they  have  worshipped  the  jackal,  or  even 


1 Champollion,  Monuments  tie  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubic,  vol.  i.  p.  683  A;  cf.  the  inscription  on  the 
Naophoros  statuette  in  the  Vatican  (Biiugsch,  Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  TEgyptiacarum,  p.  637,1.8): 
“Hit  the  Great,  the  mother  of  Ra,  who  was  born  the  first,  in  the  time  when  as  yet  there  had  been  no 
birth.” 

2 J.  de  Rouge,  Textes  Gdographiques  du  Temple  d’Ed/ou,  in  the  Bevue  Archeulogique,  2nd  series, 
vol.  xxiii.  pp.  72,  73;  Brugsch,  Beligion  und  Mythologie,  pp.  664,  665. 

3 Nekhabit,  the  goddess  of  the  south,  is  the  vulture,  so  often  represented  in  scenes  of  war  or 
sacrifice,  who  hovers  over  the  head  of  the  Pharaohs.  She  is  also  shown  as  a vulture-headed 
woman  (Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia  Egizia,  p.  1020,  aud  pi.  cccxlviii.  2,  4). 

4 We  have  this  on  the  testimony  of  classic  writers,  Strabo,  book  xvii.  p.  812;  De  Iside  et  Osiride, 
§ vii , 1872,  Parthey’s  edition,  pp.  9,  30,  128;  zElianus,  Hist,  anim.,  book  x.  § 46. 

5 SobhA , Sovltii  is  the  animal’s  name,  and  the  exact  translation  of  Sovlcu  would  be  crocodile-god. 

its  Greek  transcription  is  (Strabo,  book  xvii.  p.  811;  cf.  Wilcken,  Der  Labyrintherbauer 

Petesuclios,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1884,  pp.  133-139).  On  account  of  the  assonance  of  the  names  he  was 
sometimes  confounded  with  Sivu,  Sibu  by  the  Egyptians  themselves,  and  thus  obtained  the  titles  of 
that  god  (Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto,  pi.  xx.  3;  cf.  Brugsch,  Beligion  und  Mythologie,  pp.  590, 
591.  This  was  especially  the  case  at  the  time  when  Sit  having  been  proscribed,  Sovku  the  crocodile, 
who  was  connected  with  Sit,  shared  his  evil  reputation,  and  endeavoured  to  disguise  his  name  or  true 
character  as  much  as  possible. 

6 Aza'i  is  generally  considered  to  be  the  Osiris  of  the  Fay  um  (Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  gdograpliique, 
p.  770;  Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  p.  103),  but  lie  was  only  transformed  into  Osiris,  and  that 
by  the  most  daring  process  of  assimilation.  His  full  name  defines  him  as  Osiri  Aza'i  hi-hait  To-sliit 
( Osiris  the  Brigand,  who  is  in  the  Fay  uni),  that  is  to  say,  as  Sovku  identifled  with  Osiris  (Mariette, 
Monuments  divers,  pi.  39  b). 

Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a green  enamelled  figure  in  my  possession  (Suite  period). 


THE  TRIADS. 


103 


the  dog,  at  Sint  ? 1 How  came  Sit  to  be  incarnate  in  a fennec,  or  in  an  imaginary 


quadruped  ? 2 Occasionally,  however,  we  can  follow  the  train  of  thought  that 
determined  their  choice.  The  habit  of  certain  monkeys  in 
assembling  as  it  were  in  full  court,  and  chat- 
tering noisily  a little  before  sunrise  and 
sunset,  would  almost  justify  the  as  yet 
uncivilized  Egyptians  in  enlrusting 
cynocephali  with  the  charge 
of  hailing  the  god  morning 
and  evening  as  he  appeared  in 
the  east,  or  passed  away  in  the 
west.8  If  Ha  was  held  to  be 
a grasshopper  under  the  Old 
Empire,  it  was  because  he  flew  far  up  in  the  sky  like  the  clouds  of  locusts  driven 
from  Central  Africa  ^ which  suddenly  fall 

upon  the  fields 


and  ravage  them.4 


THE  FENNEC,  SUPPOSED  PHOTOTYPE  OF  THE  TYPHONIAN  ANIMAL. 


TWO  CYNOCEPHALI  IN  ADOIiATION  BEFORE  THE  RISING  SUN.5 


Most  of  the  Nile-gods,  Khnutnu,  Osiris,  Harshafitu,  were  incarnate  in  the  form 
of  a ram  or  of  a buck.  Does  not  the  masculine  vigour  and  procreative 
rage  of  these  animals  naturally  point  them  out  as  fitting  images  of  the 
life-giving  Nile  and  the  overflowing  of  its  waters?  It  is  easy  to  understand 
how  the  neighbourhood  of  a marsh  or  of  a rock-encumbered  rapid  should 
have  suggested  the  crocodile  as  supreme  deity  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 


1 Uapuailft,  the  guide  of  the  celestial  ways,  who  must  not  be  confounded  with  Anubis  of  the 
Cynopolite  noine  of  Upper  Egypt,  was  originally  the  feudal  god  of  Sint.  He  guided  human  souls 
to  the  paradise  of  the  Oasis,  and  the  sun  upon  its  southern  path  by  day,  and  its  northern  path  by  night, 

- Champollion,  Rosellini,  Lcpsius,  have  held  that  the  Typlionian  animal  was  a purely  imaginary 
one,  and  Wilkinson  says  that  the  Egyptians  themselves  admitted  its  unreality  by  representing  it 
along  with  other  fantastic  beasts  ( Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit,  vol.  iii.  pp.  1 30,  137).  This  would 
rather  tend  to  show  that  they  believed  in  its  actual  existence  (of.  p.  SI  of  this  History).  Pi.f.YTE 
( La  Religion  des  PrC- Israelites,  p.  187)  thinks  that  it  may  be  a degenerated  form  of  the  figure  of  the 
ass  or  oryx. 

3 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Archtfologie  Egypticnnes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  31, 3.7  ; cf.  I.kpage-Ri  nouf, 
The  Booh  of  the  Dead,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  272,  273. 

1 Cf.  La  sauterelle  de  Rd  from  Papi  II.,  1.  GGO,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xii.  p.  170. 

5 Sculptured  and  painted  sceue  from  the  tympanum  of  a stela  in  the  Gizeh  Museum.  Drawn 
by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey. 


104 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


Fayum  or  of  Ombos.  The  crocodiles  there  multiplied  so  rapidly  as  to 
constitute  a serious  danger ; there  they  had  the  mastery,  and  could  be 
appeased  only  by  means  of  prayers  and  sacrifices.  When  instinctive  terror 
had  been  superseded  by  reflection,  and  some  explanation  was  offered  of  the 
origin  of  the  various  cults,  the  very  nature  of  the 
animal  seemed  to  justify  the  veneration  with  which 
it  was  regarded.  The  crocodile  is  amphibious ; and 
Sobku  was  supposed  to  be  a crocodile,  because  before 
the  creation  the  sovereign  god  plunged  thoughtlessly 
into  the  dark  waters  and  came  forth  to  form  the 
world,  as  the  crocodile  emerges  from  the  river  to  lay 
its  eggs  upon  the  bank.1 

Most  of  the  feudal  divinities  began  their  lives  in 
solitary  grandeur,  apart  from,  and  often  hostile  to, 
their  neighbours.  Families  were  assigned  to  them 
later.2  Each  appropriated  two  companions  and  formed 
a trinity,  or  as  it  is  generally  called,  a triad.  But 
there  were  several  kinds  of  triads.  In  nomes  subject 
to  a god,  the  local  deity  was  frequently  content  with 
one  wife  and  one  son ; he  was  often  united  to  two 
goddesses,  who  were  at  once  his  sisters  and  his  wives  according  to  the  national 
custom.  Thus,  Thot  of  Hermopolis  possessed  himself  of  a harem  consisting 
of  Sesliait-Safkkitabui  and  Nakmauit.3  Tumu  divided  the  homage  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Heliopolis  with  Nebthotpit  and  with  Iusasit.4  Kkuumu  seduced 

1 Champollion,  Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  vol.  i.  p.  233 : “ Sobku,  lord  of  Ombos,  the 
god  Sibil,  father  of  the  gods,  the  great  god,  lord  of  Neshit  (Ptoleraais),  crocodile  which  ariseth 
resplendent  from  the  waters  of  the  divine  Nu,  which  was  in  the  beginning,  and,  when  once  it  was, 
then  was  all  which  has  been  since  the  time  of  Ra.” 

2 The  existence  of  the  Egyptian  triads  was  discovered  and  defined  by  Champollion  ( Lettres 
(fcrites  d'Egypte,  2nd  edit.,  1833,  pp.  155-159).  These  triads  have  long  served  as  the  basis  upon 
which  modern  writers  have  sought  to  establish  their  systems  of  the  Egyptian  religion.  Brugsch  was 
the  first  who  rightly  attempted  to  replace  the  triad  by  the  Ennead,  in  his  book  Religion  und  Mythologie 
der  alien  Z Egypter . The  process  of  forming  local  triads,  as  here  set  forth,  was  first  pointed  out  by 
Maspero  ( Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  269,  et  seq.). 

3 At  Denderah,  for  example,  we  find  Thot  followed  by  his  two  wives  (Doiichen,  Bauurhunde  der 
Tempelanlagen  von  Dendera,  pp.  26,  27).  Nahmahtt,  ’Ne/xavovs,  is  a form  of  Hathor,  and  wears  the 
sistrum  upon  her  head.  Her  name  signifies  she  ivho  removes  evil;  it  was  an  epithet  of  Hathor’s,  and 
alludes  to  the  power  of  her  sistrum’s  sound  to  drive  away  evil  spirits  (Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mytho- 
logie, pp.  471,  472).  There  has,  as  yet,  been  no  satisfactory  interpretation  of  the  name  of  Safkliit- 
abui,  or  Seshait  (Lepage-Renouf,  The  Boole  of  the  Dead,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archaeology,  1892-93,  vol.  xv.  p.  378).  The  goddess  herself  is  a duplicate  of  Thot  as  the  inventor 
of  letters  and  founder  of  temples  (Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie,  pp.  473-475). 

4 Here  again  the  names  are  only  epithets  showing  the  impersonal  character  of  the  goddesses. 
The  first  may  mean  the  lady  of  the  quarry,  or  of  the  mine,  and  denote  Hathor  of  Belbei’s  or  Sinai,  as 
united  with  Tttmfl.  It  is  found  on  monuments  of  various  epochs  (Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  gtfographique, 
pp.  332,  333,  1272,  1273).  The  second  name  which  the  Greeks  transcribed  as  Saaxris  {De  Iside  et 
Osiride,  § xv.,  Parthev’s  edition,  p.  26),  seems  to  mean,  “She  comes,  she  grows,”  and  is  also  nothing 
but  a qualification  applied  to  Hathor  in  allusion  to  some  circumstance  as  yet  unknown  to  us(Ledrain, 
Le  Papyrus  de  Lvynes,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  p.  91  ; cf.  Masfero,  Eludes  de  Mythologie  et 


THE  TRIADS. 


105 


and  married  the  two  fairies  of  the  neighbouring  cataract — Anukit  the  con- 
strainer,  who  compresses  the  Nile  between  its  rocks  at  Pbilte  and  at  Syeue, 
and  Satit  the  archeress,  who  shoots  forth  the  current  straight  and  swift  as  an 
arrow.1  Where  a goddess  reigned  over  a nome,  the  triad  was  completed  by 
two  male  deities,  a divine  consort  and  a divine  son.  Nit 
of  Sais  had  taken  for  her  husband  Osiris  of  Mendes,  and 
borne  him  a lion’s  whelp,  Ari-hos-nofir.2  Hathor  of  Den- 
derah  had  completed  her  household  with  Haroeris  and  a 
younger  Horus,  with  the  epithet  of  Ahi — he  who  strikes 
the  sistrum.3  Unions  of  the  first  kind  produced  no  legiti- 
mate offspring,  and  were  therefore  unsatisfactory  to  a 
people  who  regarded  the  lack  of  progeny  as  a curse 
from  heaven ; that  in  which  the  presence  of  a son  pro- 
mised to  ensure  the  perpetuity  of  the  race  was  more 
in  keeping  with  the  idea  of  a blessed  and  prosperous 
family,  as  that  of  gods  should  be.  Triads  in  which 
there  were  two  goddesses  were  almost  everywhere  broken 
up  into  two  new  triads,  each  containing  a divine  father, 
a divine  mother,  and  a divine  son.  Two  fruitful 
households  arose  from  the  barren  union  of  Thot  with 
Safkhitabui  and  Nahmauit : one  composed  of  Thot, 

Safkhitabui,  and  Harnubi,  the  golden  sparrow-hawk  ; 4 into 
the  other  Nahmauit  and  her  nursling  Nofir  horu  entered.5 

O 


The  persons  who  were  united  with  the  old  feudal  divinities  in  order  to  form 
triads  were  not  all  of  the  same  class.  Goddesses,  especially,  were  made  to  order, 
aud  might  often  be  described  as  grammatical,  so  obvious  is  the  linguistic  device 
to  which  they  owe  their  being.  From  Ra,  Amon,  Horus,  Sobkii,  female  Has, 
Amons,  Horuses,  and  Sobkus  were  derived,  by  the  addition  of  the  regular 


d'Arche'ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  273).  In  the  Luynes  Papyrus,  for  instance,  they  are  represented 
us  standing  behind  their  husband  ( Recueil , vol.  i.,  plate  belonging  to  M.  Ledrain’s  memoir). 

1 Maspeko,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Arclufologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  273,  ct  seq. 

- Arihosnofir  means  the  lion  whose  gaze  has  a beneficent  fascination  (Brcgsch,  Religion  and  .Mytho- 
logie, pp.  349-351).  He  also  goes  under  the  name  of  Tutu,  which  seems  as  though  it  should  be 
translated  “the  bounding,” — a mere  epithet  characterizing  one  gait  of  the  lion-god’s. 

3 Brugsch  ( Religion  und  Mythologie  der  alien  JEgypter,  p.  376)  explains  the  name  of  Ahi  as 
meaning  he  who  causes  his  waters  to  rise,  and  recognizes  this  personage  as  being,  among  other  things, 
a foim  of  the  Nile.  The  interpretation  offered  by  myself  is  borne  out  by  the  many  scenes  representing 
the  child  of  Hathor  playing  upon  the  sistrum  and  the  monait  (I,  an  zone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  pi. 
si.  2,  3).  Moreover,  ahi,  ahit  is  an  invariable  title  of  the  priests  and  priestesses  whose  office  it  is. 
during  religious  ceremonies,  to  strike  the  sistrum,  and  that  other  mystic  musical  instrument,  the 
sounding  whip  called  monait  (cf.  Maspero,  in  the  Revue  Critique,  1S93,  vol.  i.  p.  289). 

4 This  somewhat  rare  triad,  noted  by  Wilkinson  ( Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  p.  230), 
is  sculptured  on  the  wall  of  a chamber  in  the  Thrall  quarries. 

5 Buugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie  der  alten  .Egypter,  pp.  483,  484. 

6 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bronze  statuette  encrusted  with  gold,  in  the  Gizeh  Museum 
(Mariette,  Album  du  Mus&e  de  Boulaq,  pi.  6).  The  seat  is  alabaster,  and  of  modern  manufacture. 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


0C> 


feminine  affix  to  the  primitive  masculine  names — Rait,  Amonit,  llorit,  Sobkit.* 1 
A In  the  same  way,  detached  cognomens  of  divine  fathers  were 

embodied  in  divine  sons.  Imhotpu,  “ he  who  comes  in  peace,” 
was  merely  one  of  the  epithets  of  Phtah  before  he  became 
incarnate  as  the  third  member  of  the  Memphite  triad.2  In  other 
cases,  alliances  were  contracted  between  divinities  of  ancient 
stock,  but  natives  of  different  nomes,  as  in  the  case  of  Isis  of  Bftto 
and  the  Mendesian  Osiris;  of  Haroeris  of  Edfu  and  Ilathor  of 
Denderah.  In  the  same  manner  Sokhit  of  Letopolis  and  Bastit 
of  Bubastis  were  appropriated  as  wives  to  Phtah  of  Memphis, 
Nofirtumti  being  represented  as  his  son  by  both  unions.3  These 
improvised  connections  were  generally  determined  by  consider- 
ations of  vicinity ; the  gods  of  conterminous  principalities  were 
married  as  the  children  of  kings  of  two  adjoining  kingdoms  are 
married,  to  form  or  to  consolidate  relations,  and  to  establish 
bonds  of  kinship  between  rival  powers  whose  unremitting  hos- 
tility would  mean  the  swift  ruin  of  entire  peoples. 

The  system  of  triads,  begun  in  primitive  times  and  continued 
unbrokenly  up  to  the  last  days  of  Egyptian  polytheism,  far  from 
in  any  way  lowering  the  prestige  of  the  feudal  gods,  was  rather 
the  means  of  enhancing  it  in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude.  Power- 
ful lords  as  the  new-comers  might  be  at  home,  it  was  only  in  the 
strength  of  an  auxiliary  title  that  they  could  enter  a strange  city, 

and  then  only  on  condition  of  submitting  to  its  religious  law. 
Hathor,  supreme  at  Denderah,  shrank  into  insignificance  before 
Haroeris  at  Edfu,  and  there  retained  only  the  somewhat  subordinate  part  of  a 
wife  in  the  house  of  her  husband.5  On  the  other  hand,  Haroeris  when  at 


NOFIRTUMU.4 


1 Maspeko,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’Archfologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  7,  8,  256. 

2 Imhotpu,  the  Imouthes  of  the  Greeks,  and  by  them  identified  with  iEsculapius,  was  discovered 
by  Salt  ( Essay  on  Dr.  Young’s  and  M.  Champollion’s  Phonetic  System  of  Hieroglyphics,  pp.  49,  50, 
pi  iii.  1),  and  his  name  was  first  translated  as  he  who  comes  with  offering  (Akundale-Boxomi-Bikch, 
Gallery  of  Antiquities  selected  from  the  British  Museum,  p.  29).  The  translation,  he  who  comes  in  peace, 
proposed  by  E.  de  Rouge,  is  now  universally  adopted  (Bhugsch,  Beligion  und  Mytliologie,  p.  526; 
I'ierget,  Le  Pantheon  Egyptien,  p.  77 ; Wiedemann,  Die  Beligion  der  alien  JEgypter,  p.  77).  Imhotpu 
did  not  take  form  until  the  time  of  the  New  Empire;  his  great  popularity  at  Memphis  and  throughout 
Egypt  dates  from  the  Sai'te  and  Greek  periods. 

°3  Originally,  Nofirtumu  appears  to  have  been  the  sou  of  cat  or  lioness-headed  goddesses,  Bastit 
and  Sokhit,  and  from  them  he  may  have  inherited  the  lion’s  head  with  which  he  is  often  represented 
(cf.  Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Milologia,  p.  385,  pi.  cxlvii.  4,  cxlviii.  1,  2).  His  name  shows  him 
to  have  been  in  the  first  place  an  incarnation  of  Atumu,  but  he  was  affiliated  to  the  god  Phtah 
of  Memphis  when  that  god  became  the  husband  of  his  mothers,  and  preceded  Imhotpu  as  the  third 
personage  in  the  oldest  Memphite  triad. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bronze  statuette  incrusted  with  gold,  in  the  Gizeh  Museum 
(Maeiette,  Album  plioiographique  du  .V usee  de  Boulaq,  pi.  5). 

5 Each  year,  and  at  a certain  time,  the  goddess  came  in  high  state  to  spend  a few  days  in  the 


TIIEIR  HUMAN  NATURE. 


107 


Denderah  descended  from  the  supreme  rank,  and  was  nothing  more  than  the 
almost  useless  consort  of  the  lady  Hathor.  His  name  came  first  in  invocations 
of  the  triad  because  of  his  position  therein  of  husband  and  father ; but  this 
was  simply  a concession  to  the  propriety  of  etiquette,  and  even 
though  named  in  second  place,  Ilathor  was  none  the  less  the  real 
chief  of  Denderah  and  of  its  divine  family.1  Thus,  the  principal 
personage  in  any  triad  was  always  the  one  who  had  been  patron  of 
the  nome  previous  to  the  introduction  of  the  triad  : in  some  places 
the  father-god,  and  iu  others  the  mother-goddess.  The  son  in  a 
divine  triad  had  of  himself  but  limited  authority.  When  Isis  and 
Osiris  were  his  parents,  he  was  generally  an  infant  Horus,  naked, 
or  simply  adorned  with  necklaces  and  bracelets  ; a thick  lock  of 
hair  depended  from  his  temple,  and  his  mother  squatting  on  her 
heels,  or  else  sitting,  nursed  him  upon  her  knees,  offering  him  a full 
breast,2  Even  in  triads  where  the  son  was  supposed  to  have 
attained  to  man’s  estate,  he  held  the  lowest  place,  and  there  was 
enjoined  upon  him  the  same  respectful  attitude  towards  his  parents 
as  is  observed  by  children  of  human  race  in  the  presence  of 
theirs.  He  took  the  lowest  place  at  all  solemn  receptions,  spoke 
only  with  his  parents’  permission,  acted  only  by  their  command  and  as 
the  agent  of  their  will.  Occasionally  he  was  vouchsafed  a character  of 
his  own,  and  tilled  a definite  position,  as  at  Memphis,  where  Imhotpu 
was  the  patron  of  science.1  But,  generally,  he  was  not  considered  as 
having  either  office  or  marked  individuality;  his  being  was  but  a feeble 
reflection  of  his  father’s,  and  possessed  neither  life  nor  power  except  as 
derived  from  him.  Two  such  contiguous  personalities  must  needs  have 


great  temple  of  Ed  fit,  with  her  husband  Haroeris  (J.  de  Rouge,  Textes  geographiques  du  temple 
d’Ed/ou,  pp.  52,  53;  Martette,  Denderah,  vol.  iii.  pi.  vii.  73,  and  Tc.de,  pp.  99,  107). 

1 The  part  played  by  Haroeris  at  Denderah  was  so  inconsiderable  that  the  triad  containing  him 
is  not  to  be  found  in  the  temple.  “ In  all  our  four  volumes  of  plates,  the  triad  is  not  once  represented, 
and  this  is  the  more  remarkable  since  at  Thebes,  at  Memphis,  at  Plain,  at  the  cataracts,  at  Elephan- 
tine, at  Edfvt,  among  all  the  data  which  one  looks  to  find  in  temples,  the  triad  is  most  readily 
distinguished  by  the  visitor.  But  we  must  not  therefore  conclude  that  there  was  no  triad  in  this 
case.  The  triad  of  Edfil  consists  of  Hor-Hut,  Hathor,  and  Hor-Sam-ta-ui.  The  triad  of  Dendi  rail 
contains  Hathor,  Hor-Hut,  and  Hor-Sam-ta-ui.  The  difference  is  obvious.  At  Edfft,  the  male  prin- 
ciple, as  represented  by  Hor-Hut,  takes  the  first  place,  whereas  the  first  person  at  Denderah  is  Hathor. 
who  represents  the  female  principle”  (Mariette,  Denderah,  Texte,  pp.  80,  81). 

2 For  representations  of  Harpocrates,  the  child  Horus,  sec  Lanzone,  THzionario  di  Mitologia  Egizia , 
pis.  ccxxvii.,  ccxxviii.,  and  particularly  pi.  cccx.  2,  where  there  is  a scene  iu  which  the  young  god, 
as  a sparrow-hawk,  is  nevertheless  sucking  the  breast  of  his  mother  Isis  with  his  beak. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a statuette  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (Mariette,  Album  du  Muter 
de  Boulaq,  pi.  4). 

4 E.  de  Rouge,  Notice  sommaire  des  Monuments  Egyptiens,  1855,  p.  106;  Brugsch,  Religion  und 
Mythologie  der  alten  JEgypler,  p.  526,  et  seq. ; Wiedemann,  Die  Religion  dcr  alten  JEgypter,  p.  77. 
Hence  he  is  generally  represented  as  seated,  or  squatting,  and  attentively  reading  a papyrus  roll, 
which  lies  open  upon  his  knees;  cf.  the  illustration  on  p.  105. 


108 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


been  confused,  and,  as  a matter  of  fact,  were  so  confused  as  to  become  at 
length  nothing  more  than  two  aspects  of  the  same  god,  who  united  in  bis 

own  person  degrees  of  relationship 
mutually  exclusive  of  each  other  in  a 
human  family.  Father,  inasmuch  as 
he  was  the  first  member  of  the  triad  ; 
son,  by  virtue  of  being  its  third 
member;  identical  with  himself  in 
both  capacities,  he  was  at  once  his 
own  father,  his  own  son,  and  the 
husband  of  his  mother.1 

Gods,  like  men,  might  be  resolved 
into  at  least  two  elements,  soul  and 
body ; 2 but,  in  Egypt,  the  concep- 
tion of  the  soul  varied  in  different  times  and  in  different  schools.  It 
might  be  an  insect— butterfly,  bee,  or  praying  mantis;4  or  a bird — the 
ordinary  sparrow-hawk,  the  human-headed  sparrow-hawk,  a heron  or  a 
crane — bi,  ba'i — whose  wings  enabled  it  to  pass  rapidly  through  space ; 5 
or  the  black  shadow — hhaibit — that  is  attached  to  every  body,6  but  which 
death  sets  free,  and  which  thenceforward  leads  an  independent  existence, 
so  that  it  can  move  about  at  will,  and  go  out  into  the  open  sunlight. 
Finally,  it  might  be  a kind  of  light  shadow,  like  a reflection  from  the 
surface  of  calm  water,  or  from  a polished  mirror,  the  living  and  coloured 
projection  of  the  human  figure,  a double — ha — reproducing  in  minutest  detail 


1 The  part  and  the  genesis  of  these  son-deities  were  first  clearly  defined  by  E.  de  Rouge  ( Expli- 
cation d’une  inscription  dgyptienne  prouvant  que  les  anciens  Egyptians  ont  connu  la  generation  eternelle 
du  Fils  de  Dieu,  p.  24,  et  seq. ; cf.  Annates  de  philosophie  chretiennc,  May,  1851 ; Etude  sur  une  stele 
< fgyplienne  appurtenant  a la  Bibliotheque  imperials,  pp.  G,  7). 

2 In  one  of  the  Pyramid  texts,  Sahu-Orion,  the  wild  hunter,  captures  the  gods,  slaughters  and 
disembowels  them,  cooks  their  joints,  their  haunches,  their  legs,  in  his  burning  caldrons,  and  feeds 
on  their  souls  as  well  as  on  their  bodies  {Unas,  lines  509-514).  A god  was  not  limited  to  a single  body 
and  a single  soul ; we  know  from  several  texts  that  Ra  had  seven  souls  and  fourteen  doubles  (Dumichen, 
Tempel-Inschriften,  I,  Edfou,  pi.  xxix. ; E.  von  Bergmann,  Hieroglyphische  Inschriften,  pi.  xxxiii. 
1.  3,  and  p.  25,  note  1,  of  the  text;  Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  Hitfroglyphique,  Supplement,  pp.  997,  1230; 
Lepage-Renouf,  On  the  true  Sense  of  an  important  Egyptian  Word,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society 
of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  vi.  pp.  504,  505). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Naville’s  Das  Thebanische  Todtenbucli,  vol.  i.  pi.  civ.  Pc. 

4 Mr.  Lepage-Rexoxjf  supposes  that  the  soul  may  have  been  considered  as  being  a butterfly  at 
times,  as  in  Greece  ( A Second  Note,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  xiv. 
p.  400) ; M.  Lefebure  thinks  that  it  must  sometimes  have  been  incarnate  as  a wasp— I should  rather 
say  a bee  or  a praying  mantis  ( Etude  sur  Abydos,  in  the  Proceedings,  vol.  xv.  pp.  142,  143). 


5 The  simple  sparrow-hawk  is  chiefly  used  to  denote  the  soul  of  a god ; the  human-headed 
sparrow-hawk  the  heron,  or  the  crane  is  used  indifferently  for  human  or  divine  souls.  It 


is  from  IIorapollo  (book  i.  § 7,  Leeman’s  edition,  pp.  8,  151,  152)  that  we  learn  this  symbolic  signifi- 
cance of  the  sparrow-hawk  and  the  pronunciation  of  the  name  of  the  soul  as  ba'i. 

6 For  the  black  Shadow,  see  Birch,  On  the  Shade  or  Shadow  of  the  Dead  ( Transactions  of  the 
Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  viii.  pp.  38G-397),  and  the  illustrations  of  his  paper. 


THEIR  BODIES. 


109 


the  complete  image  of  the  object  or  the  person  to  whom  it  belonged.1  The 
soul,  the  shadow,  the  double  of  a god,  was  in  no  way  essentially  different  from 


AVV' 


THE  AUGUST  SOULS  OF  OSIRIS  AND  HORUS  IN  ADORATION  BEFORE  THE  SOLAR  DISK.2 


the  soul,  shadow,  or  double  of  a man  ; his  body,  indeed,  was  moulded  out 
of  a more  rarefied  substance,  and  generally  invisible,  but  endowed  with  the 
same  qualities,  and  subject  to  the  same  imperfections  as  ours.  The  <;ods, 


1 The  nature  of  the  double  has  long  been  misapprehended  by  Egyptologists,  who  had  even  made 
its  name  into  a kind  of  pronominal  form  (E.  de  Rouge,  Chrettomalhie  Egypt ienne,  2nd  part.  pp. 
C1-C3).  That  nature  was  publicly  and  almost  simultaneously  announced  in  187S,  first  by  Maspf.ro 
( Etudes  de  Mylliologie  et  d’Archeblogic  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  1-34;  cf.  ibid.,  pp.  35-52),  and  directly 
afterwards  by  Lepage-Renouf  (On  the  true  Sense  of  an  important  Egyptian  Word,  in  the  Transactions 
of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archeology,  vol.  vi.  pp.  404-508).  The  idea  which  the  Egyptians  had 
formed  of  the  double,  and  the  influence  which  that  idea  exercised  upon  their  conception  of  the  life 
beyond,  have  been  mainly  studied  by  Maspero  (Etudes  de  Mylliologie  et  d’Archfohgie  Egyptiennes. 
vol.  i.  pp.  77-91,  38S-406). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Dl  jiichen  (Besultate,  vol.  ii.  pi.  1 is.),  of  a 
scene  on  the  cornice  of  the  front  room  of  Osiris  on  the  terrace  of  the  great  temple  of  Denderah.  The 
soul  on  the  left  belongs  to  Horus,  that  on  the  right  to  Osiris,  lord  of  Araentit.  Each  bears  upon  its 
head  the  group  of  tall  feathers  which  is  characteristic  of  figures  of  Anhflri  (cf.  p.  99). 


THE  GODS  OF  EG  YET. 


1 10 

therefore,  on  the  whole,  were  more  ethereal,  stronger,  more  powerful,  better 
fitted  to  command,  to  enjoy,  and  to  suffer  than  ordinary  men,  but  they  were 
still  men.  They  had  bones,1  muscles,  flesh,  blood;  they  were  hungry  and 
ate,  they  were  thirsty  and  drank;  our  passions,  griefs,  joys,  infirmities,  were 
also  theirs.  The  sa,  a mysterious  fluid,  circulated  throughout  their  members, 
and  carried  with  it  health,  vigour,  and  life.2  They  were  not  all  equally 
charged  with  it;  some  had  more,  others  less,  their  energy  being  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  which  they  contained.  The  better  supplied  willingly  gave  of 
their  superfluity  to  those  who  lacked  it,  and  all  could  readily  transmit  it  to 
mankind ; this  transfusion  being  easily  accomplished  in  the  temples.  The 
king,  or  any  ordinary  man  who  wished  to  be  thus  impregnated,  presented 
himself  before  the  statue  of  the  god,  and  squatted  at  its  feet  with  his  back 
towards  it.  The  statue  then  placed  its  right  hand  upon  the  nape  of  his  neck, 
and  by  making  passes,  caused  the  fluid  to  flow  from  it,  and  to  accumulate 
in  him  as  in  a receiver,  This  rite  was  of  temporary  efficacy  only,  and 
required  frequent  renewal  in  order  that  its  benefit  might  be  maintained. 
By  using  or  transmitting  it  the  gods  themselves  exhausted  their  sa  of  life  ; and 
the  less  vigorous  replenished  themselves  from  the  stronger,  while  the  latter 
went  to  draw  fresh  fulness  from  a mysterious  pond  in  the  northern  sky,  called 
the  “ pond  of  the  Sa.”  3 Divine  bodies,  continually  recruited  by  the  influx  of 
this  magical  fluid,  preserved  their  vigour  far  beyond  the  term  allotted  to  the 
bodies  of  men  and  beasts.  Age,  instead  of  quickly  destroying  them,  hardened 
and  transformed  them  into  precious  metals.  Their  bones  were  changed  to 
silver,  their  flesh  to  gold ; their  hair,  piled  up  and  painted  blue,  after 
the  manner  of  great  chiefs,  was  turned  into  lapis-lazuli.4  This  transfor- 
mation of  each  into  an  animated  statue  did  not  altogether  do  away  with 


1 For  example,  the  text  of  the  Destruction  of  Men  (1.  2),  and  other  documents,  teach  us  that  the 
flesh  of  the  aged  sun  had  become  gold,  and  his  bones  silver  (Lefebure,  Le  Tombc.au  de  Se'ti  I,r,  4th 
part,  pi.  xv.  1.  2,  in  vol.  ii.  of  the  Meinoires  de  la  Mission  du  Gaire ).  The  blood  of  Ea  is  mentioned 
in  the  Boole  of  the  Dead  (chap.  xvii.  1.  29,  Naville’s  edition,  pi.  xxiv.),  as  well  as  the  blood  of  Isis 
(chap.  clvi. ; cf.  Mirinri,  1.  774)  and  of  other  divinities. 

2 On  the  sa  of  life,  whose  action  had  already  been  partially  studied  by  E.  de  Rouge  ( Etude  stir  une 
stele  egyptienne  appurtenant  a la  Bibliotheque  imped  ale,  p.  110,  et  seq.),  see  Maspero,  Etudes  de 
Mythologie  et  d' Arclafologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  307-309. 

3 It  is  thus  that  in  the  Tale  of  the  Daughter  of  the  Prince  of  Bahhtan  we  find  that  one  of  the 
statues  of  the  Theban  Khonsft  supplies  itself  with  sa  from  another  statue  representing  one  of  the 
most  powerful  forms  of  the  god  (E.  de  Rouge,  Etude  sur  une  stele,  pp.  110,  111 ; Maspero,  Lcs  Contes 
populaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  221).  The  pond  of  Sa,  whither  the  gods  go  to  draw  the  magic  fluid,  is 
mentioned  in  the  Pyramid  texts. 

4 Cf.  the  text  of  the  Destruction  of  Men  (11.  1,  2)  referred  to  above,  where  age  produces  these 
transformations  in  the  body  of  the  sun.  This  changing  of  the  bodies  of  the  gods  into  gold,  silver, 
and  precious  stones,  explains  why  the  alchemists,  who  were  disciples  of  the  Egyptians,  often  com- 
pared the  transmutation  of  metals  to  the  metamorphosis  of  a genius  or  of  a divinity : they  thought 
by  their  art  to  hasten  at  will  that  which  was  the  slow  work  of  nature. 


TIIE  DEATH  OF  MEN  AND  GODS. 


the  ravages  of  time.  Decrepitude  was  no  less  irremediable  with  them  than 
with  men,  although  it  came 
to  them  more  slowly ; when 
the  sun  had  grown  old  “ his 
mouth  trembled,  his  dri- 
velling ran  down  to  earth, 
his  spittle  dropped  upon  the 
ground.”  1 

None  of  the  feudal  gods 
had  escaped  this  destiny ; 
tor  them  as  for  mankind 
the  day  came  when  they 
must  leave  the  city  and  go 
forth  to  the  tomb.2  The 
ancients  long  refused  to 
believe  that  death  was  na- 
tural and  inevitable.  They 
thought  that  life,  once 
begun,  might  go  on  inde- 
finitely : if  no  accident 
stopped  it  short,  why  should 
it  cease  of  itself?  And  so 
men  did  not  die  in  Egypt; 
they  were  assassinated.4 
The  murderer  often  be- 
longed to  this  world,  and  was  easily  recognized  as  another  man,  an  animal, 
some  inanimate  object  such  as  a stone  loosened  from  the  hillside,  a tree  which 
fell  upon  the  passer-by  and  crushed  him.  But  often  too  the  murderer  was  of 
the  unseen  world,  and  so  was  hidden,  his  presence  being  betrayed  in  his  malig- 
nant attacks  only.  He  was  a god,  an  evil  spirit,  a disembodied  soul  who  slily 

1 Plevte-Rossi,  Les  Tapyrus  Hieratiques  de  Turin , pi.  cxx.xii.  11.  1,  2;  cf.  Lefkbi're,  (In 
Chapitre  de  la  chronique  solaire,  in  the  Zeitschrijt,  1883,  p.  2S. 

2 The  idea  of  the  inevitable  death  of  the  gods  is  expressed  in  other  places  as  well  as  in  a passage 
of  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  Boole  of  the  Dead  (Nayii.i.e’s  edition,  pi.  x.  11.  6,  7),  which  has  not  to  my 
knowledge  hitherto  been  noticed:  “I  am  that  Osiris  in  the  West,  and  Osiris  knoweth  his  day  in 
which  he  shall  be  no  more;”  that  is  to  say,  the  day  of  his  death  when  he  will  cease  to  exist.  All  the 
gods,  At&mft,  Horus,  Ra,  Thot,  Phtah,  Khnunni,  are  represented  under  the  forms  of  mummies,  and 
this  implies  that  they  are  dead.  Moreover,  their  tombs  were  pointed  out  in  several  places  in  Egypt 
{De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 21,  Leemans’  edition,  p.  36). 

3 Drawn  by  Boudier  from  a photograph  by  M.  Gayet,  taken  in  18S9,  of  a scene  in  the  hypostyle 
hall  at  Luxor.  This  illustration  shows  the  relative  positions  of  prince  and  god.  Amon,  after  havin'’- 
placed  the  pschent  upon  the  head  of  the  Pharaoh  Amenothes  III.,  who  kneels  before  him,  proceeds 
to  impose  the  sa. 

4 Masfero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archtologie  Egyptiennes , vol.  ii.  p.  250. 


THE  KING  AFTER  HIS  CORONATION  RECEIVING  THE  IMPOSITION 
OF  THE  SA? 


112 


1 HE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


insinuated  itself  into  the  living  man,  or  fell  upon  him  with  irresistible  violence 
— illness  being  a struggle  between  the  one  possessed  and  the  power  which 
possessed  him.  As  soon  as  the  former  succumbed  he  was  carried  away  from  his 
own  people,  and  his  place  knew  him  no  more.  But  had  all  ended  for  him  with 
the  moment  in  which  he  had  ceased  to  breathe  ? As  to  the  body,  no  one  was 
ignorant  of  its  natural  fate.  It  quickly  fell  to  decay,  and  a few  years  sufficed 
to  reduce  it  to  a skeleton.  And  as  for  the  skeleton,  in  the  lapse  of  centuries 
that  too  was  disintegrated  and  became  a mere  train  of  dust,  to  be  blown  away 
by  the  first  breath  of  wind.  The  soul  might  have  a longer  career  and  fuller 
fortunes,  but  these  were  believed  to  be  dependent  upon  those  of  the  body,  and 
commensurate  with  them.  Every  advance  made  in  the  process  of  decomposition 
robbed  the  soul  of  some  part  of  itself;  its  consciousness  gradually  faded  until 
nothing  was  left  but  a vague  and  hollow  form  that  vanished  altogether  when 
the  corpse  had  entirely  disappeared.  When  the  body  had  been  buried  in 
earth  inundated  by  the  Nile,  there  was  soon  no  trace  of  it  left,  and  its  final 
dissolution  condemned  the  soul  to  a second  death  from  which  there  was  no 
survival.  But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  body  had  been  buried  in  the  desert, 
its  skin,  speedily  desiccated  and  hardened,  changed  into  a case  of  blackish 
parchment  beneath  which  the  flesh  slowly  wasted  away,1  and  the  whole  frame 
thus  remained  intact,  at  least  in  appearance,  while  its  integrity  insured  that  of 
the  soul.  Hence  the  custom  of  carrying  the  dead  to  the  hills,  and  entrusting 
them  to  the  conservative  action  of  the  sand.  Subsequently,  artificial  means 
were  sought  to  secure  at  will  that  incorruptibility  of  the  human  larva  without 
which  the  persistence  of  the  soul  was  but  a useless  prolongation  of  the  death- 
agony  ; and  these  a god  was  supposed  to  have  discovered — Anubis  the  jackal, 
lord  of  sepulture.  He  cleansed  the  body  of  the  viscera,  those  parts  which  most 
rapidly  decay,  saturated  it  with  salts  and  aromatic  substances,  protected  it  first 
of  all  with  the  hide  of  a beast,  and  over  this  laid  a thick  layer  of  stuffs.  His 
art,  transmitted  to  the  embalmers,  was  the  regular  means  of  transforming 
into  mummies  all  bodies  which  it  was  desired  to  preserve.  If  there  were 
hills  at  hand,  thither  the  mummied  dead  were  still  borne,  partly  from  custom, 
partly  because  the  dryness  of  the  air  and  of  the  soil  offered  them  a further 
chance  of  preservation.2  In  districts  of  the  Delta  where  the  hills  were 
so  distant  as  to  make  it  very  costly  to  reach  them,  advantage  was  taken  of 
the  smallest  sandy  islet  rising  above  the  marshes,  and  there  a cemetery  was 

1 Such  was  the  appearance  of  the  bodies  of  Coptic  monks  of  the  sixth,  eighth,  and  ninth  centuries 
which  I found  in  the  convent  cemeteries  of  Contra-Sj  ene,  Taud,  and  Akhmim,  right  in  the  midst  of 
the  desert. 

2 For  the  primitive  mode  of  burial  in  hides,  and  the  rites  which  originated  in  connection 
with  it,  cf.  Lefebtjre,  Etudes  sur  Abydos,  ii.,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology, 
1892-93,  vol.  xv.  pp.  433-435. 


FATE  AFTER  DEATH. 


113 


founded.1 2  Where  this  resource  failed,  the  mummy  was  fearlessly  entrusted  to 
the  soil  itself,  but  only  after  being  placed  within  a sarcophagus  of  hard  stone, 
whose  lid  and  trough,  hermetically  fastened  together  witli  cement,  prevented 
t he  penetration  of  any  moisture.  Reassured  on  this  point,  the  soul  followed 
the  body  to  the  tomb,  and  there  dwelt  with  it  as  in  its  eternal  house,  upon 
the  confines  of  the  visible  and  invisible  worlds. 

Here  the  soul  kept  the  distinctive  character  and  appearance  which 
pertained  to  it  “ upon  the  earth : ” as  it  had  been  a 
“ double  ” before  death,  so  it  remained  a double  after 
it,  able  to  perform  all  functions  of  animal  life 
after  its  own  fashion.  It  moved,  went,  came, 
spoke,  breathed,  accepted  pious  homage,  but 
without  pleasure,  and  as  it  were  mechanically, 
rather  from  an  instinctive  horror  of  annihilation  than 
from  any  rational  desire  for  immortality. 

Unceasing  regret  for  the  bright  world 
which  it  had  left  disturbed  its  mournful 
and  inert  existence.  “ 0 my  brother, 

withhold  not  thyself  from  drinking  and  from  eating,  from  drunkenness,  from 
love,  from  all  enjoyment,  from  following  thy  desire  by  night  and  by  day  ; put 
not  sorrow  within  thy  heart,  for  what  are  the  years  of  a man  upon  earth  ? 
The  West  is  a land  of  sleep  and  of  heavy  shadows,  a place  wherein  its 


the  jackal  ancbis.3 


inhabitants,  W'hen  once  installed,  slumber  on  in  their  mummy-forms,  never 
more  waking  to  see  their  brethren  ; never  more  to  recognize  their  fathers 
or  their  mothers;  with  hearts  forgetful  of  their  wives  and  children.  The 
living  water,  which  earth  giveth  to  all  who  dwell  upon  it,  is  for  me  but 
stagnant  and  dead;  that  water  floweth  to  all  who  are  on  earth,  while  for 
me  it  is  but  liquid  putrefaction,  this  water  that  is  mine.  Since  I came 
into  this  funereal  valley  I know  not  where  nor  what  I am.  Give  me 
to  drink  of  running  water!  . . . Let  me  be  placed  by  the  edge  of  the 
water  with  my  face  to  the  North,  that  the  breeze  may  caress  me  and 
my  heart  be  refreshed  from  its  sorrow.”3  By  day  the  double  remained 


1 As  in  the  easy  of  the  islets  forming  the  cemetery  of  the  great  city  of  Tennis,  in  the  midst  of 
Lake  Menzaleh  (Etienke  Qcatremeke,  Mtf moires  ge'ograpliiques  et  historiques  sur  VEgypte,  vol.  i. 
pp.  331,  332). 

2 Drawing  by  Faucker-Gudin  of  a stuccoed  and  painted  wooden  figure  from  Thebes,  now  in  my 
possession  (XXVI111  dynasty).  It  is  one  of  those  jackals  which  were  placed  upon  the  lids  of  little 
naos-like  sepulchral  chests,  and  which  held  the  so-called  Canopic  jars  containing  the  viscera  of  the 
dead — heart,  liver,  lungs,  and  spleen. 

3 This  text  is  published  in  Prisse  d’Avejjnes,  Monument  s,  pi.  xxvi.  bis,  ll.  15-21,  and  in  I.r.rsirs, 
Ausioalil  der  icichtigsten  Urkunden,  pi.  xvi.  It  has  been  translated  into  English  by  Birch,  On  ttco 
Egyptian  Tablets  of  the  Ptolemaic  Period  (from  Archmologia,  vol.  xxxix.\  into  German  by  Brcgscu, 


I 


TI1E  GODS  OF  EG  Y1‘T. 


114 

concealed  within  the  tomb.  If  it  went  forth  by  night,  it  was  from  no 
capricious  or  sentimental  desire  to  revisit  the  spots  where  it  had  led 
a happier  life.  Its  organs  needed  nourishment  as  formerly  did  those  of  its 
body,  and  of  itself  it  possessed  nothing  “ but  hunger  for  food,  thirst  for 
drink.”1  Want  and  misery  drove  it  from  its  retreat,  and  flung  it  back 
among  the  living.  It  prowled  like  a marauder  about  fields  and  villages, 
picking  up  and  greedily  devouring  whatever  it  might  find  on  the  ground — 
broken  meats  which  had  been  left  or  forgotten,  house  and  stable  refuse — 
and,  should  these  meagre  resources  fail,  even  the  most  revolting  dung  and 
excrement.2  This  ravenous  spectre  had  not  the  dim  and  misty  form,  the 
long  shroud  or  floating  draperies  of  our  modern  phantoms,  but  a precise 
and  definite  shape,  naked,  or  clothed  in  the  garments  which  it  had 
worn  while  yet  upon  earth,  and  emitting  a pale  light,  to  which  it 
owed  the  name  of  Luminous — Khu,  Khuu .3  The  double  did  not  allow 
its  family  to  forget  it,  but  used  all  the  means  at  its  disposal  to 
remind  them  of  its  existence.  It  entered  their  houses  and  their  bodies, 
terrified  them  waking  and  sleeping  by  its  sudden  apparitions,  struck  them 
down  with  disease  or  madness,4  and  would  even  suck  their  blood  like 


Die  AEgyptische  Grdberwelt,  pp.  39,  40,  and  into  French  by  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp. 
187-190).  As  regards  the  persistence  of  this  gloomy  Egyptian  conception  of  the  other  world,  see 
Masfero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Arche'ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  179-181. 

1 Teti,  11.  74,  75.  “ Hateful  unto  Teti  is  hunger,  and  he  eateth  it  not ; hateful  unto  Teti  is 
thirst,  nor  hath  he  drunk  it.”  We  see  that  the  Egyptians  made  hunger  and  thirst  into  two  sub- 
stances or  beings,  to  be  swallowed  as  food  is  swallowed,  but  whose  effects  were  poisonous  unless 
counteracted  by  the  immediate  absorption  of  more  satisfying  sustenance  (Maspeuo,  Etudes  de 
Mythologie  ct  dd  Ardnfulojie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  154-156). 

2 King  Teti,  when  distinguishing  his  fate  from  that  of  the  common  dead,  stated  that  he  had 
abundance  of  food,  and  lienee  was  not  reduced  to  so  pitiful  an  extremity.  “Abhorrent  unto  Teti  is 
excrement,  Teti  rejecteth  urine,  and  Teti  abhorreth  that  which  is  abominable  in  him;  abhorrent  unto 
him  is  ftecal  matter  and  he  eateth  it  not,  hateful  unto  Teti  is  liquid  filth  ” (Teti,  II.  08,  G9).  The 
same  doctrine  is  found  in  several  places  in  the  Bool:  of  the  Dead. 

3 The  name  of  luminous  was  at  firat  so  explained  as  to  make  the  light  wherewith  souls  were 
clothed,  into  a portion  of  the  divine  light  (Masfero,  Etudes  de'motiques,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  i.  p.  21, 
note  6,  and  the  Revue  critique , 1872,  vol.  ii.  p.  338 ; Deveria,  Lettre  ii  M.  Raul  Fierret  sur  le  chapitre 
l'-r  du  Todlenliuch,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1870,  pp.  62-04).  In  my  opinion  the  idea  is  a less  abstract  one, 
and  shows  that,  as  among  many  other  nations,  so  with  the  Egyptians  the  soul  was  supposed  to  appear 
as  a kind  of  pale  flame,  or  as  emitting  a glow  analogous  to  the  phosphorescent  halo  which  is  seen  by 
night  about  a piece  of  rotten  wood,  or  putrefying  fish.  This  primitive  conception  may  have  sub- 
sequently faded,  and  Ithu  the  glorious  one,  one  of  the  manes,  may  have  become  one  of  those  flattering 
names  by  which  it  was  thought  necessary  to  propitiate  the  dead  (Maspeuo,  Etudes  Egyptiennes, 
vol.  ii.  p.  12,  note  1);  it  then  came  to  have  that  significance  of  resplendent  with  light  which  is 
ordinarily  attributed  to  it. 

4 The  incantations  of  which  the  Leyden  Papyrus  published  by  Pleyte  is  full  (Etudes  Egypto- 
logiques,  vol.  i.)  are  directed  against  dead  men  or  dead  teamen  who  entered  into  one  of  the  living  to 
give  him  the  migraine,  and  violent  headaches.  Another  Leyden  Papyrus  (Leemaxs,  Monuments 
Egyptians  du  mwdi  d’antiquMs  des  Pays-Bas  a Leyde,  2nd  part,  pis.  clxxxiii.,  clxxxiv.),  briefly 
analyzed  by  Chaiias  (Notices  sommaires  des  Papyrus  dgyptiem,  p.  49),  and  translated  by  Maspeuo 
(Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  145-159),  contains  the  complaint,  or  rather  the  formal  act  of 
requisition  of  a husband  whom  the  luminous  of  his  wife  returned  to  torment  in  his  home,  without 
any  just  cause  for  such  conduct. 


TIIEIR  MUMMIFICATION. 


115 


the  modem  vampire.1  One  effectual  means  there  was,  and  one  only,  of 
escaping  or  preventing  these  visitations,  and  this  lay  in  taking  to  the 
tomb  all  the  various  pro- 
visions of  which  the  double 
stood  in  need,  and  for  which 
it  visited  their  dwellings. 

Funereal  sacrifices  and  the 
regular  cultus  of  the  dead 
originated  in  the  need  experi- 
enced for  making  provision  for 
the  sustenance  of  the  manes 
after  having  secured  their 
lasting  existence  by  the  mum- 
mification of  their  bodies.2 
Gazelles  and  oxen  were 
brought  and  sacrificed  at  the 
door  of  the  tomb  chapel ; the 
haunches,  heart,  and  breast 
of  each  victim  being  pre- 
sented and  heaped  together 
upon  the  ground,  that  there 
the  dead  might  find  them 
when  they  began  to  be 
hungry.  Vessels  of  beer  or 
wine,  great  jars  of  fresh  sacrificing  to  the  dead  in  the  tomb  chapel.3 

water,  purified  with  natron, 

or  perfumed,  were  brought  to  them  that  they  might  drink  their  fill  at 
pleasure,  and  by  such  voluntary  tribute  men  bought  their  good  will,  as  in 
daily  life  they  bought  that  of  some  neighbour  too  powerful  to  be  opposed. 


1 MAsrERO,  Notes  sur  guelques  points  de  grammaire  et  d’hittoire,  § 2,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1ST;),  p.  53, 
on  a text  of  the  Boole  of  the  Dead. 

2 Several  chapters  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  consist  of  directions  for  giving  food  to  that  part  of 
man  which  survives  his  death,  e.g.  chap,  cv.,  “ Chapter  for  providing  food  for  the  double  ” (N  avili.kV 
edition,  pi.  cxvii.),  and  chap.  cvi.,“  Chapter  for  giving  dailg  abundance  unto  the  deceased,  in  Memphis” 
(Naville’s  edition,  pi.  cxviii.). 

3 Stela  of  Anthf  I.,  Prince  of  Thebes,  drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a photograph  taken  by  Emil 
Brugsch-Bey  (cf.  Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  50  b).  Below,  servants  and  relations  are  briuging 
the  victims  and  cutting  up  the  ox  at  the  door  of  the  tomb.  In  the  middle  is  the  dead  man,  seated 
under  his  pavilion  and  receiving  the  sacrifice:  an  attendant  offers  him  drink,  another  brings  him 
the  haunch  of  an  ox,  a third  a basket  and  two  jars  ; provisions  fill  the  whole  chamber.  Behind 
Anthf  stand  two  servants,  the  one  fanning  his  master,  and  the  second  offering  him  his  staff  and 
sandals.  The  position  of  the  door,  which  is  in  the  lowest  row  of  the  scenes,  indicates  that  what  is 
represented  above  it  takes  place  within  the  tomb. 


THE  (JOBS  OF  EGYPT. 


116 

The  gods  were  spared  none  of  the  anguish  and  none  of  the  perils  which 
death  so  plentifully  bestows  upon  men.  Their  bodies  suffered  change  and 
gradually  perished  until  nothing  was  left  of  them.  Their  souls,  like  human 
souls,  were  only  the  representatives  of  their  bodies,  and  gradually  became 
extinct  if  means  of  arresting  the  natural  tendency  to  decay  were  not  found 
in  time.  Thus,  the  same  necessity  that  forced  men  to  seek  the  kind  of 
sepulture  which  gave  the  longest  term  of  existence  to  their  souls,  compelled 
the  gods  to  the  same  course.  At  first,  they  were  buried  in  the  hills,  and 
one  of  their  oldest  titles  describes  them  as  those  “ who  are  upon  their  sand,”  1 
safe  from  putrefaction ; afterwards,  when  the  art  of  embalming  had  been 
discovered,  the  gods  received  the  benefit  of  the  new  invention  and  were 
mummified.  Each  nome  possessed  the  mummy  and  the  tomb  of  its  dead 
god:  at  Thinis  there  was  the  mummy  and  the  tomb  of  Anhuri,  the  mummy 
of  Osiris  at  Mendes,  the  mummy  of  Tumu  at  Heliopolis.2  In  some  of  the 
nomes  the  gods  did  not  change  their  names  in  altering  the  mode  of  their 
existence  : the  deceased  Osiris  remained  Osiris ; Nit  and  Hathor  when  dead 
were  still  Nit  and  Hathor,  at  Sais  and  at  Denderah.  But  Phtah  of  Memphis 

A 

became  Sokaris  by  dying;3  Uapuaitu,  the  jackal  of  Siut,  was  changed  into 
Anubis ; 4 and  when  his  disk  had  disappeared  at  evening,  Anhuri,  the  sunlit 
sky  of  Thinis,  was  Khontamentit,  Lord  of  the  West,  until  the  following  day.5 
That  bliss  which  we  dream  of  enjoying  in  the  world  to  come  was  not  granted 
to  the  gods  any  more  than  to  men.  Their  bodies  were  nothing  but  inert 
larvae,  “with  unmoving  heart,”6  weak  and  shrivelled  limbs,  unable  to  stand 


1 In  the  Book  of  Knowing  that  which  is  in  Hades,  for  the  fourth  anJ  fifth  hours  of  the  night,  we 
have  the  description  of  the  sandy  realm  of  Sokaris  and  of  the  gods  Biriu  Shaitu-senu,  who  are  on 
their  sand  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d'  Arch  going  ie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  01-73).  Else- 
where in  the  same  book  we  have  a cynocephalus  upon  its  sand  (Lefebure,  Tonibeau  de  Seri  I ",  4th 
part,  pi.  xxxii.),  and  the  gods  of  the  eighth  hour  are  also  mysterious  gods  who  are  on  their  sand 
(ibid.,  pi.  xlvii.,  et  seq.).  Wherever  these  personages  are  represented  in  the  vignettes,  the  Egyptian 
artist  has  carefully  drawn  the  ellipse  painted  in  yellow  and  sprinkled  with  red,  which  is  the  con- 
ventional rendering  of  sand,  and  sandy  districts. 

■ The  sepulchres  of  Tumu,  Khopri,  Ra,  Osiris,  and  in  each  of  them  the  heap  of  sand  hiding  the 
body,  are  represented  in  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.  (Lefebure,  Tombeau  de  Sdli  I’r,  4th  part,  pis.  xliv.,  xlv.), 
as  also  the  four  rams  in  which  the  souls  of  the  god  are  incarnate  (cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie 
et  d’ Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  112).  The  tombs  of  the  gods  were  known  even  in  Roman 
times.  Ou  porov  8e  tootov  ( OaiptSos ) of  fepeTs  \eyovoiv  a\Aa  /cal  rur  Bear,  otroi  pn  aytvvr)Toi 

MT/5  atydaproi,  ra  pen  aiipara  irap’  avrois  KeitrSai  Kapivra  ncil  BepanevtaBai,  t as  Se  ipuxas  ir  oiipavtp  \dpneiu 
derTpa.  (De  lside  et  Osiride,  chap,  xxi.,  Parthey’s  edition,  p.  36). 

3 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d' Arche'olugie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  21,  22. 

4 To  my  mind,  at  least,  this  is  an  obvious  conclusion  from  the  monuments  of  Sifit,  in  which  the 
jackal  god  is  called  Tapuaitu,  as  the  living  god,  lord  of  the  city,  and  Anupil,  master  of  embalming 
or  of  the  Oasis,  lord  of  Ra-qririt,  inasmuch  as  he  is  god  of  the  dead.  Ra-qririt,  the  door  of  the 
stone,  was  the  name  which  the  people  of  Siut  gave  to  their  necropolis  and  to  the  infernal  domain 
of  their  god. 

Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  23,  24. 

Ihis  is  the  characteristic  epithet  for  the  dead  Osiris,  Urdu-hit,  he  whose  heart  is  unmoviug,  he 
v hose  heart  no  longer  beats,  and  who  has  therefore  ceased  to  live. 


DEAD  GODS  TIIE  GODS  OF  THE  DEAD. 


117 


upright  were  it  not  that  the  bandages  in  which  they  wore  swathed  stiffened 
them  into  one  rigid  block.  Their  hands  and  heads  alone  were  free,  and  were 
of  the  green  or  black  shades  of  putrid  flesh.  Their  doubles,  like  those  of 
men,  both  dreaded  and  regretted  the  light.  All  sentiment  was  extinguished 
by  the  hunger  from  which  they  suffered,  and 
gods  who  were  noted  for  their  compassionate 
kindness  when  alive,  became  pitiless  and  fero- 
cious tyrants  in  the  tomb.  When  once  men 
were  bidden  to  the  presence  of  Sokaiis,  Ivhonta- 
mentit,  or  even  of  Osiris,1  “mortals  come  terri- 
fying their  hearts  with  fear  of  the  god,  and 
none  dareth  to  look  him  in  the  face  either 
among  gods  or  men ; for  him  the  great  are 
as  the  small.  He  spareth  not  those  who  love 
him ; he  beareth  away  the  child  from  its 
mother,  and  the  old  man  who  walketh  on  his 
way ; full  of  fear,  all  creatures  make  suppli- 
cation before  him,  but  he  turneth  not  his 
face  towards  them.” 2 Only  by  the  unfailing 
payment  of  tribute,  and  by  feeding  him  as 
though  he  were  a simple  human  double,  could 
living  or  dead  escape  the  consequences  of  his 
furious  temper.  The  living  paid  him  his  dues 
in  pomps  and  solemn  sacrifices,  repeated  from 
year  to  year  at  regular  intervals;4  but  the  dead  bought  more  dearly  the 
protection  which  he  deigned  to  extend  to  them.  He  did  not  allow  them  to 
receive  directly  the  prayers,  sepulchral  meals,  or  offerings  of  kindred  on 
feast-days;  all  that  was  addressed  to  them  must  first  pass  through  his  hands. 
When  their  friends  wished  to  send  them  wine,  water,  bread,  meat,  vegetables, 
and  fruits,  he  insisted  that  these  should  first  be  offered  and  formally 
presented  to  himself;  then  he  was  humbly  prayed  to  transmit  them 
to  such  or  such  a double,  whose  name  and  parentage  were  pointed  out  to 
him.  He  took  possession  of  them,  kept  part  for  his  own  use,  and  of  his 


PHTAH  AS  A MUMMY.3 


1 On  the  baleful  character  of  Osiris,  see  Maspero,  /Andes  de  Mylhologie  et  d' Archdologie,  rol.  ii. 

pp.  11,  12. 

2 This  is  a continuation  of  the  text  cited  above,  p.  1 13. 

3 Drawing  by  Faucher-Gudin  of  a bronze  statuette  of  Saitc  period,  found  in  the  department  of 
He'rault,  at  the  end  of  a gallery  in  an  ancient  mice. 

4 The  most  solemn  of  these  sacrifices  were  celebrated  during  the  first  days  of  the  year,  at  the 
feast  Uagait,  as  is  evident  from  texts  in  the  tomb  of  Xofirhotpft  and  others  (Beneditf,  Le  Tombeau 
de  Noferhotpii,  in  the  Mfmoires  de  la  Mission  frangaise,  vol.  v.  p.  417,  et  scq.). 


118 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


bounty  gave  the  remainder  to  its  destined  recipient.1  Thus  death  made  no 
change  in  the  relative  positions  of  the  feudal  god  and  his  worshippers.  The 
worshipper  who  called  himself  the  amaTcM  of  the  god  during  life  was  the 
subject  and  vassal  of  his  mummied  god  even  in  the  tomb;2  and  the  god 
who,  while  living,  reigned  over  the  living,  after  his  death  continued  to  reign 
over  the  dead. 

He  dwelt  in  the  city  near  the  prince  and  in  the  midst  of  his  subjects  : Ra 
living  in  Heliopolis  along  with  the  prince  of  Heliopolis  ; Ilaroeris  in  Edfu 
together  with  the  prince  of  Edfu ; Nit  in  Sai's  with  the  prince  of  Sai's. 
Although  none  of  the  primitive  temples  have  come  down  to  us,  the  name 
given  to  them  in  the  language  of  the  time,  shows  what  they  originally  were. 
A temple  was  considered  as  the  feudal  mansion3 — halt, — the  house — pirn,  pi, 
— of  the  god,  better  cared  for,  and  more  respected  than  the  houses  of  men, 
but  not  otherwise  differing  from  them.  It  was  built  on  a site  slightly  raised 
above  the  level  of  the  plain,  so  as  to  be  safe  from  the  inundation,  and  where 
there  was  no  natural  mound,  the  want  was  supplied  by  raising  a rectangular 
platform  of  earth.  A layer  of  sand  spread  uniformly  on  the  sub-soil 
provided  against  settlements  or  infiltration,  and  formed  a bed  for  the 
foundations  of  the  building.4  This  was  first  of  all  a single  room,  circum- 
scribed, gloomy,  covered  in  by  a slightly  vaulted  roof,  and  having  no 
opening  but  the  doorway,  which  was  framed  by  two  tall  masts,  whence 
floated  streamers  to  attract  from  afar  the  notice  of  worshippers ; in  front 
of  its  facade5  was  a court,  fenced  in  with  palisading.  Within  the  temple 
were  pieces  of  matting,  low  tables  of  stone,  wood,  or  metal,  a few  utensils  for 
cooking  the  offerings,  a few  vessels  for  containing  the  blood,  oil,  wine,  and 

1 This  function  of  the  god  of  the  dead  was  clearly  defined  for  the  first  time  by  Maspero  in  1878 
( Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d' Arckfologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  3-6). 

2 The  word  amalchu  is  applied  to  an  individual  who  has  freely  entered  the  service  of  king  or 
baron,  and  taken  him  for  his  lord : amalchu  Icliir  nibuf  means  vassal  of  Ms  lord.  In  the  same  way,  each 
chose  for  himself  a god  who  became  his  patron,  and  to  whom  he  owed  fealty , i.e.  to  whom  he  was 
amalchu — vassal.  To  the  god  he  owed  the  service  of  a good  vassal — tribute,  sacrifices,  offerings; 
and  to  his  vassal  the  god  owed  in  return  the  service  of  a suzerain — protection,  food,  reception 
into  his  dominions  and  access  to  his  person.  A man  might  be  absolutely  nib  amakhit,  master  of 
fealty,  or,  relatively  to  a god,  amalchu  Ichir  Osiri,  the  vassal  of  Osiris,  amalchu  lchir  Plitah-Solcari,  the 
vassal  of  Phtah-Sokaris. 

3 Maspero,  Sur  le  sens  dcs  mots  Nouit  et  Halt,  pp.  22,  23 ; cf.  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archaeology,  1889-90,  vol.  xii.  pp.  256,  257.  The  further  development  of  this  idea  may  be  found  in 
M.  de  Eochemonteix’s  lecture  on  La  Grande  Salle  liypostyle  de  Karnalc,  in  his  OHuvres  diverges, 
p.  49,  et  seq. 

* This  custom  lasted  into  Grceco-Itoman  times,  and  was  part  of  the  ritual  for  laying  the  founda- 
lions  of  a temple.  After  the  king  had  dug  out  the  soil  on  the  ground  where  the  temple  was  to 
stand,  he  spread  over  the  spot  sand  mixed  with  pebbles  and  precious  stones,  and  upon  this  he  laid 
the  first  course  of  stone  (Duhichen,  Baugeschichte  des  Denderatempels,  pi.  li. ; and  Brugsch,  Thesaurus 
Inscriptionum  JEgyptiacarum,  pp.  1272,  1273). 

5 No  Egyptian  temples  of  the  first  period  have  come  down  to  our  time,  but  IIerr  Erman  ( JEgypten , 
p.  379)  has  very  justly  remarked  that  wc  have  pictures  of  them  in  several  of  the  signs  denoting  the 
word  temple  in  texts  of  the  Memphite  period. 


THEIR  TEMPLES  AND  IMAGES. 


1 19 


water  with  which  the  god  was  every  day  regaled.  As  provisions  for  sacrifice 
increased,  the  number  of  chambers  increased  with  them,  and  rooms  for  flowers, 
perfumes,  stuffs,  precious  vessels,  and  food  were  grouped  around  the  primitive 
abode ; until  that  which  had  once  constituted  the  whole  temple  became 
no  more  than  its  sanctuary.1 
There  the  god  dwelt,  not  only 
in  spirit  but  in  body,2 3  and  the 
fact  that  it  was  incumbent 
upon  him  to  live  in  several 
cities  did  not  prevent  his  being 
present  in  all  of  them  at  once. 

He  could  divide  his  double, 
imparting  it  to  as  many  sepa- 
rate bodies  as  he  pleased,  and 
these  bodies  might  be  human 
or  animal,  natural  objects  or 
things  manufactured — such  as 
statues  of  stone,  metal,  or  wood.4  Several  of  the  gods  were  incarnate  in  rams  : 
Osiris  at  Mendes,  Harshafitu  at  Heraeleopolis,  Khnumu  at  Elephantine.  Living 
rams  were  kept  in  their  temples,  and  allowed  to  gratify  any  fancy  that  came 
into  their  animal  brains.  Other  gods  entered  into  bulls  : Ra  at  Heliopolis,  and, 
subsequently,  Phtah  at  Memphis,  Minix  at  Thebes,  and  Month  at  Hermonthis. 
They  indicated  beforehand  by  certain  marks  such  beasts  as  they  intended  to 
animate  by  their  doubles,  and  he  who  had  learnt  to  recognize  these  signs  was 
at  no  loss  to  find  a living  god  when  the  time  came  for  seeking  one  and  pre- 
senting it  to  the  adoration  of  worshippers  in  the  temple.5  And  if  the  statues 

1 Maspeko,  Archeologie  Egyptienne,  pp.  65,  66,  105,  106;  English  edition,  pp.  63,  64,  104,  105; 
M.  de  Rochejionteix,  G'Juvres  diverges,  p.  10,  et  seq. 

2 Thus  at  Denderah  (Mariette,  Denderah,  vol.  i.  pi.  liv.),  it  is  said  that  the  soul  of  Hathor  likes 
to  leave  heaven  “in  the  form  of  a liuman-headed  sparrow-hawk  of  lapis-lazuli,  accompanied  by  her 
divine  cycle,  to  come  and  unite  herself  to  the  statue.”  “ Other  instances,”  adds  Mariette,  “ would 
seem  to  justify  us  in  thinking  that  the  Egyptians  accorded  a certain  kind  of  life  to  the  statues  and 
images  which  they  made,  and  believed  (especially  iu  connection  with  tombs)  that  the  spirit  haunted 
images  of  itself”  (Demltfrah,  Texte,  p.  156). 

3 A sculptor’s  model  from  Tanis,  now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (Mariette,  Notice  des  principaux 
monuments,  1876,  p.  222,  No.  666),  drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Erugsch- 
Bey.  The  sacred  marks,  as  given  in  the  illustration,  are  copied  from  those  of  similar  figures  on  stela* 
of  the  Serapeum. 

4 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d'A rchdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  77,  et  seq.;  Archdologie 
Egyptienne,  pp.  106,  107;  English  edition,  pp.  105,  106.  This  notion  of  actuated  statues 
seemed  so  strange  and  so  unworthy  of  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians  that  Egyptologists  of  the  rank 
of  M.  de  Rouge  ( Etude  sur  une  stele  dgyptienne  de  lit  Bihliothique  I m per  tale,  p.  109)  have  taken 
in  an  abstract  and  metaphorical  sense  expressions  referring  to  the  automatic  movements  of  divine 
images. 

5 The  bnlls  of  Ra  and  of  Phtah,  the  Mnevis  and  the  Hapis,  are  known  to  us  from  classic  writers 
(De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 4,  33,  etc.;  Parthey’s  edition,  pp.  7,8,58;  Herodotus,  ii.  153,  iii.  28; 


120 


TIIE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


had  not  the  same  outward  appearance  of  actual  life  as  the  animals,  they  none 
the  less  concealed  beneath  their  rigid  exteriors  an  intense  energy  of  life  which 
betrayed  itself  on  occasion  by  gestures  or  by  words.  They  thus  indicated,  in 
language  which  their  servants  could  understand,  the  will  of  the  gods,  or  their 
opinion  on  the  events  of  the  day ; they  answered  questions  put  to  them  in 

accordance  with  prescribed 
forms,  and  sometimes  they 
even  foretold  the  future. 
Each  temple  held  a fairly 
large  number  of  statues  re- 
jn-esenting  so  many  embodi- 
ments of  the  local  divinity 
and  of  the  members  of  his 
triad.  These  latter  shared, 
albeit  in  a lesser  degree,  all 
the  honours  and  all  the  pre- 
rogatives of  the  master  ; they 
accepted  sacrifices,  answered 
prayers,  and,  if  needful,  they 
prophesied.  They  occupied  either  the  sanctuary  itself,  or  one  of  the  halls 
built  about  the  principal  sanctuary,  or  one  of  the  isolated  chapels  which 
belonged  to  them,  subject  to  the  suzerainty  of  the  feudal  god.2  The  god 
had  his  divine  court  to  help  him  in  the  administration  of  his  dominions,  just 
as  a prince  is  aided  by  his  ministers  in  the  government  of  his  realm. 

This  State  religion,  so  complex  both  in  principle  and  in  its  outward  mani- 
festations, was  nevertheless  inadequate  to  express  the  exuberant  piety  of  the 
populace.  There  were  casual  divinities  in  every  nome  whom  the  people  did 
not  love  any  the  less  because  of  their  inofficial  character;  such  as  an 


OPEN-AIR  OFFERINGS  TO  THE  SERrENT.' 


Diodorus,  i.  84,  88;  vElianus,  si.  11;  Ammianus  Marcellixus,  xxii.  14,2).  The  bull  of  Minft  at 
Thebes  may  be  seen  in  the  procession  of  the  god  as  represented  on  monuments  of  Eamses  II. 
and  Eamses  III.  (Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  lx.).  Bakhfl  (called 
Ilnkis  by  the  Greeks),  the  bull  of  Hermouthis,  is  somewhat  rare,  and  mainly  represented  upon 
a few  later  stelse  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (Grebauf,  Le  Mus&e  Egyptien,  pi.  vi.,  where  it  is 
certainly  the  bull  of  Hermonthis,  although  differently  named);  it  is  chiefly  known  from  the 
texts  (cf.  Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  gfograpliique,  p.  200;  cf.  Macrobius,  Saturnales,  1.  21).  The 
particular  signs  distinguishing  each  of  these  sacred  animals  have  been  determined  both  od  the 
authority  of  ancient  writers,  and  from  examination  of  the  figured  monuments;  the  arrangement 
and  outlines  of  some  of  the  black  markings  of  the  Ilapis  are  clearly  shown  in  the  illustration  on 
p.  119. 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  a photograph  taken  in  the  tomb  of  Khopirkerisoubu  (Sciieil, 
moires  de  la  Mission  Fran  false,  vol.  v.  pi.  iv.,  wall  C of  the  tomb,  2nd  row).  The  inscription 

behind  the  mams  states  that  it  represents  Uanuit  the  August,  lady  of  the  double  granary. 

2 They  are  the  0<=ol  avwaoi  of  Greek  writers.  For  their  accommodation  in  the  temples,  cf.  M.  de 
Eoohemonteix,  (Euvres  diverges,  p.  11,  et  seq. 


TREE  AND  SERPENT  WORSHIP. 


121 


exceptionally  high  palm  tree  in  the  midst  of  the  desert,1  a rock  of  curious  out- 
line, a spring  trickling  drop  by  drop  from  the  mountain  to  which  hunters  came 
to  slake  their  thirst  in  the  hottest  hours  of  the  day,2  or  a great  serpent  believed 
to  be  immortal,  which  haunted  a field,  a grove  of  trees,  a grotto,  or  a mountain 
ravine.3  The  peasants  of  the  district  brought  it  bread,  cakes,  fruits,  and  thought 
that  they  could  call  down  the 
blessing  of  heaven  upon  their 
fields  by  gorging  the  snake  with 
offerings.  Everywhere  on  the 
confines  of  cultivated  ground, 
and  even  at  some  distance  from 
the  valley,  are  fine  single  syca- 
mores, flourishing  as  though  by 
miracle  amid  the  sand.  Their 
fresh  greenness  is  in  sharp  con- 
trast with  the  surrounding  fawn- 
coloured  landscape,  and  their 
thick  foliage  defies  the  midday 
sun  even  in  summer.  But,  on 
examining  the  ground  in  which 
they  grow,  we  soon  find  that  they  drink  from  water  which  has  infil- 
trated from  the  Nile,  and  whose  existence  is  in  nowise  betrayed  upon  the 
surface  of  the  soil.  They  stand  as  it  were  with  their  feet  in  the  river,  though 
no  one  about  them  suspects  it.  Egyptians  of  all  ranks  counted  them  divine 
and  habitually  worshipped  them,5  making  them  offering  of  figs,  grapes, 
cucumbers,  vegetables,  and  water  in  porous  jars  daily  replenished  by  good  and 

1 Such  as  the  palm  tree,  which  grows  a hundred  cubits  high,  and  belongs  to  the  species  Hyphasna 
Argun,  Mart.,  now  so  rare.  The  author  of  the  prayer  in  the  Sallier  Papyrus  I.,  pi.  viii.  11.  4,  5, 
identifies  it  with  Thot,  the  god  of  lettei'3  and  eloquence. 

2 Such  as  the  Bir-el-Ain,  the  spring  of  the  flady  Sabiln,  near  Akhmim,  where  the  hermitage  of  a 
Mussulman  deli  has  succeeded  the  chapel  of  a Christiau  saint  which  had  supplanted  the  rustic  shrine 
of  a form  of  the  god  Mind  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d' ArcMologie  Egypt ietuies,  vol.  i.  p. 
240,  et  seq.). 

3 It  was  a serpent  of  this  kind  which  gave  its  name  to  the  hill  of  Sheikh  Haridi,  and  the  adjacent 
nome  of  the  Serpent  Mountain  (Dumichen,  Gtfographie  des  Alten-2Egypten,  pp.  178,  179 ; Maspero, 
Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Arclidologie  Egyptiennes,  \ ol.  ii.  p.  412);  and  though  the  serpent  has  now 
turned  Mussulman,  he  still  haunts  the  mountain  and  preserves  his  faculty  of  coming  to  life  again 
every  time  that  he  is  killed. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a scene  in  the  tomb  of  Khopirkerisonbd  (cf.  Scheil,  Mdmoires 
de  la  Mission  frangaise,  vol.  v.  pi.  iv.,  wall  C,  top  row).  The  sacred  sycamore  here  stands  at  the  end 
of  a field  of  corn,  and  would  seem  to  extend  its  protection  to  the  harvest. 

5 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d'  Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  224-227.  They  were 
represented  as  animated  by  spirits  concealed  within  them,  but  which  could  manifest  themselves  on 
occasion.  At  such  times  the  head  or  whole  body  of  the  spirit  of  a tree  would  emerge  from  its 
trunk,  and  when  it  returned  to  its  hiding-place  the  trunk  reabsorbed  it,  or  ate  it  again,  according 
to  the  Egyptian  expression  (Maspero,  Eludes  de  Mythologie  et  d' Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
104,  10fi,  108,  etc.),  which  I have  already  had  occasion  to  quote  above;  see  p.  83,  note  4. 


122 


THE  GOES  OF  EGYPT. 


charitable  people.  Passers-by  drank  of  the  water,  and  requited  the  unexpected 
benefit  with  a short  prayer.  There  were  several  such  trees  in  the  Memphite 
norae,  and  in  the  Letopolite  nome  from  Daskur  to  Gizcb,  inhabited,  as  every 
one  knew,  by  detached  doubles  of  Nuit  and  Hathor.  These  combined  districts 
were  known  as  the  “ Land  of  the  Sycamore,”  a name  afterwards  extended  to 
the  city  of  Memphis;  and  their  sacred  trees  are  worshipped  at  the  present 
day  both  by  Mussulman  and  Christian  fellalnn.1  The  most  famous  among 
them  all,  the  Sycamore  of  the  South — nuhit  visit — was  regarded  as  the 
living  body  of  Hathor  on  earth.2  Side  by  side  with  its  human  gods  and 
prophetic  statues,  each  nome  proudly  advanced  one  or  more  sacred  animals, 
one  or  more  magical  trees.  Each  family,  and  almost  every  individual,  also 
possessed  gods  and  fetishes,  which  had  been  pointed  out  for  their  worship 
by  some  fortuitous  meeting  with  an  animal  or  an  object ; by  a dream,  or 
by  sudden  intuition.  They  had  a place  in  some  corner  of  the  house,  or  a 
niche  in  its  walls  ; lamps  were  continually  kept  burning  before  them,  and 
small  daily  offerings  were  made  to  them,  over  and  above  what  fell  to 
their  share  on  solemn  feast-days.  In  return,  they  became  the  protectors 
of  the  household,  its  guardians  and  its  counsellors.  Appeal  was  made  to 
them  in  every  exigency  of  daily  life,  and  their  decisions  were  no  less 
scrupulously  carried  out  by  their  little  circles  of  worshippers,  than  was  the 
will  of  the  feudal  god  by  the  inhabitants  of  his  principality. 

The  prince  was  the  great  high  priest.8  The  whole  religion  of  the  nome 
rested  upon  him,  and  originally  he  himself  performed  its  ceremonies.  Of  these, 
the  chief  was  sacrifice, — that  is  to  say,  a banquet  which  it  was  his  duty  to  prepare 
and  lay  before  the  god  with  his  own  hands.  He  went  out  into  the  fields  to 
lasso  the  half-wild  bull;  bound  it,  cut  its  throat,  skinned  it,  burnt  part  of 
the  carcase  in  front  of  his  idol  and  distributed  the  rest  among  his  assistants, 
together  with  plenty  of  cakes,  fruits,  vegetables,  and  wine.4  On  the  occasion, 
the  god  was  present  both  in  body  and  double,  suffering  himself  to  be  clothed  and 

1 The  tree  at  Matarieb.  commonly  called  the  Tree  of  the  Virgin,  seems  to  me  to  be  tbe  successor 
of  a sacred  tree  of  Heliopolis  in  which  a goddess,  perhaps  Hathor,  was  worshipped. 

2 Brugscii,  Dictionnaire  gtfographique,  pp.  330-332,  1244,  etc.;  cf.  Lakzone,  Dizionario  di  Milo- 
login,  p.  878.  The  Memphite  Hathor  was  called  the  Lady  of  the  Southern  Sycamore. 

3 See  the  examples  of  the  princes  of  Beni-Hasan  and  Ashmunein,  under  the  XII"1  dynasty 
(Maspero,  La  grande  Inscription  de  Beni-Uassan,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  179,  180),  and 
of  the  princes  of  Elephantine  under  the  VIth  and  VII"1  dynasties  (Bouriant,  Les  Tombeaux 
d' Assouan,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  x.  pp.  182-193).  M.  Lepage-Benouf  has  given  a very  clear 
account  of  current  ideas  on  this  subject  in  his  article  On  the  Priestly  Character  of  the  Earliest 
Egyptian  Civilization  (Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arclixology,  1889-90,  vol.  xii.  p.  355, 
et  seq.). 

4 This  appears  from  the  sacrificial  ritual  employed  in  the  temples  up  to  the  last  days  of 
Egyptian  paganism;  ef.,  for  instance,  the  illustration  on  p.  123  (Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  i.  pi.  liii.), 
where  the  king  is  represented  as  lassoing  the  bull.  That  which  in  historic  times  was  but  an  image, 
had  originally  been  a reality  (Maspero,  Lectures  historiques,  pp.  71-73). 


1 HE  THEORY  OF  PRAYER  AND  SACRIFICE. 


123 


perfumed,  eating  and  drinking  of  the  best  that  was  set  on  the  table  before  him, 
and  putting  aside  some  of  tho  provisions  for  future  use.  This  was  the  time  to 
prefer  requests  to  him,  while  he  was  gladdened  and  disposed  to  benevolence 
by  good  cheer.  IIo  was  not  without  suspicion  as  to  the  reason  why  he  was 
so  feasted,  but  he  had  laid  down  his  conditions  beforehand,  and  if  they  were 
faithfully  observed  he  willingly  yielded  to  the  means  of  seduction  brought 


THE  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  BULL. — THE  OFFICIATING  PRIEST  LASSOING  THE  VICTIM.1 


to  bear  upon  him.  Moreover,  he  himself  had  arranged  the  ceremonial  in  a 
kind  of  contract  formerly  made  with  his  worshippers  and  gradually  perfected 
from  age  to  age  by  the  piety  of  new  generations.2  Above  all  things,  he  insisted 
on  physical  cleanliness.  The  officiating  priest  must  carefully  wash — I'idbA — 
his  face,  mouth,  hands,  and  body;  and  so  necessary  was  this  preliminary 
purification  considered,  that  from  it  the  professional  priest  derived  his  name 
of  tHbti,  the  washed,  the  clean.3  His  costume  was  the  archaic  dress,  modified 

1 Bas-relief  from  the  temple  of  Seti  I.  at  Abydos ; drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  M.  Daniel 
He'ron.  Seti  I.,  second  king  of  the  XIXth  dynasty,  is  throwing  the  lasso;  his  son,  llnmscs  II., 
who  is  still  the  crown  prince,  holds  the  bull  by  the  tail  to  prevent  its  escaping  from  the  slip-knot. 

The  most  striking  example  of  the  divine  institution  of  religious  services  is  furnished  by  the 
inscription  relating  the  history  of  the  destruction  of  men  in  the  reign  of  11a  (Lefkbure,  Le  Tumbeau 
de  Seti  I",  4th  part,  pi.  xvi.  1.  31,  ct  set].,  in  vol.  ii.  of  tho  Mcinoires  de  la  Mission  Franfaise  du 
Caire),  where  the  god,  as  lie  is  about  to  make  his  final  ascension  into  heaven,  substitutes  animal  for 
human  sacrifices. 

3 The  idea  of  physical  cleanliness  comes  out  in  such  variants  ns  uibu  fotui , ‘‘clean  of  both 
hands,”  found  on  stelae  instead  of  the  simple  title  uibu.  We  also  know,  on  the  evidence  of 
ancient  writers,  the  scrupulous  daily  care  which  Egyptian  priests  took  of  their  bodies  (Herodotus, 
ii.  37;  cf.  Wiedemann,  Herodot's  Ziceites  Buch,  p.  1GG,  et  seq.).  It  was  only  as  a secondary  matter 
that  the  idea  of  moral  purity  entered  into  the  conception  of  a priest.  The  Purification  Ritual  for 
officiating  priests  is  contained  in  a papyrus  of  the  Berlin  Museum,  whose  analysis  and  table  of  chap- 
ters has  been  published  by*  Herr  Oscar  von  Lemm,  Das  Ritualbuch  des  Ammonsdieiistes. , p.  4.  ct  seq. 


124 


TIIE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


according  to  circumstances.  During  certain  services,  or  at  certain  points 
in  the  sacrifices,  it  was  incumbent  upon  him  to  wear  sandals,  the  panther- 
skin  over  his  shoulder,  and  the  thick  lock  of  hair  falling  over  his  right  ear; 1 
at  other  times  he  must  gird  himself  with  the  loin-cloth  having  a jackal’s 
tail,  and  take  the  shoes  from  off  his  feet  before  proceeding  with  his  office  ; 
or  he  must  attach  a false  beard  to  his  chin.2  The  species,  hair,  and  age 
of  the  victim,  the  way  in  which  it  was  to  be  brought  and  bound,  the  manner 
and  details  of  its  slaughter,  the  order  to  be  followed  in  opening  its  body  and 
cutting  it  up,  were  all  minutely  and  unchangeably  de3reed.3  And  these  were 
but  the  least  of  the  divine  exactions,  and  those  most  easily  satisfied.  The 
formulas  accompanying  each  act  of  the  sacrificial  priest  contained  a certain 
number  of  words  whose  due  sequence  and  harmonies  might  not  suffer  the 
slightest  modification  whatever,  even  from  the  god  himself,  under  penalty  of 
losing  their  efficacy.  They  were  always  recited  with  the  same  rhythm,  accord- 
ing to  a system  of  melody  in  which  every  tone  had  its  virtue,  combined  with 
movements  which  confirmed  the  sense  and  worked  with  irresistible  effect : one 
false  note,  a single  discord  between  the  succession  of  gestures  and  the  utterance 
of  the  sacramental  words,  any  hesitation,  any  awkwardness  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  a rite,  and  the  sacrifice  tvas  vain.4 

Worship  as  thus  conceived  became  a legal  transaction,  in  the  course  of 
which  the  god  gave  up  his  liberty  in  exchange  for  certain  compensations  whose 
kind  and  value  were  fixed  by  law.  By  a solemn  deed  of  transfer  the  wor- 
shipper handed  over  to  the  legal  representatives  of  the  contracting  divinity 
such  personal  or  real  property  as  seemed  to  him  fitting  payment  for  the  favour 
which  he  asked,  or  suitable  atonement  for  the  wrong  rvhich  he  had  done.  If 
man  scrupulously  observed  the  innumerable  conditions  with  which  the  transfer 
was  surrounded,  the  god  could  not  escape  the  obligation  of  fulfilling  his  peti- 
tion ;5  but  should  he  omit  the  least  of  them,  the  offering  remained  with  the 

1 Tims  it  was  with  the  Satnu  and  Anmautif  priests,  whatever  the  nature  and  signification  of  these 
two  sacerdotal  titles  may  he  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  IS,  10,  21,  22,  etc.;  Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  i. 
jds.  xxxi.,  xxxii.,  xxxiii.,  xxxiv.,  etc.). 

2 Mariette,  Abydos , vol.  i.  pis.  xvii.,  xxxv.,  xliii.,  xliv.,  etc.,  where  sacerdotal  functions  arc  invari- 
ably exercised  by  Seti  I.,  assisted  by  his  son. 

3 See  the  detailed  representation  of  sacrifice  in  Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  i.  pi.  xlviii.  For  the 
examination  of  the  victims  and  the  signs  by  which  the  priests  lcuew  that  they  were  good  to  sacrifice 
before  the  gods,  cf.  Herodotus,  ii.  38  (Wiedemann,  llerodot's  Zweites  Buck,  p.  180,  et  seq.). 

4 The  real  value  of  formulas  and  of  the  melopoeia  in  Egyptian  rites  was  recoguizcd  by  Maspero, 
Etude  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archeblogie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  302,  303,  373,  ct  seq. 

5 This  obligation  is  evident  from  texts  where,  as  in  the  poem  of  Pentauirit,  a king  who  is  iu 
danger  demands  from  his  favourite  god  the  equivalent  in  protection  of  the  sacrifices  which  he  has 
offered  to  that  divinity,  and  the  gifts  wherewith  he  has  enriched  him.  “ Have  I not  made  unto  thee 
many  offerings?”  says  Ramses  II.  to  Amon.  “I  have  filled  thy  temple  with  my  prisoners,  I have 
built  thee  a mansion  for  millions  of  years.  . . . Ah,  if  evil  is  the  lot  of  them  who  insult  thee,  good 
are  thy  purposes  towards  those  who  honour  thee,  O Amon ! ” (E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Le  Poeme  de 
Pentaour,  in  the  Revue  Egyptologique,  vol.  v.  p.  15,  et  seq.). 


THE  SERVANTS  AND  Pll ODER TY  OF  TEMPLES. 


125 


temple  and  went  to  increase  the  endowments  in  mortmain,  but  the  god  was 
pledged  to  nothing  in  exchange.  Hence  the  officiating  priest  assumed  a 
formidable  responsibility  as  regarded  his  fellows:  a slip  of  memory,  the 
slightest  accidental  impurity,  made  him  a bad  priest,  injurious  to  himself  and 
injurious  to  those  worshippers  who  had  entrusted  him  with  their  interests 
before  the  gods.  Since  it  was  vain  to  expect  ritualistic  perfection  from  a prince 
constantly  troubled  with  affairs  of  state,  the  custom  was  established  of  associating 
professional  priests  with  him,  personages  who  devoted  all  their  lives  to  the 
study  and  practice  of  the  thousand  formalities  whose  sum  constituted  the  local 
religion.  Each  temple  had  its  service  of  priests,  independent  of  those  belong- 
ing to  neighbouring  temples,  whose  members,  bound  to  keep  their  hands 
always  clean  and  their  voices  true,  were  ranked  according  to  the  degrees  of  a 
learned  hierarchy.1  At  their  head  was  a sovereign  pontiff  to  direct  them  in 
the  exercise  of  their  functions.  In  some  places  he  was  called  the  first  prophet, 
or  rather  the  first  servant  of  the  god — hon-nutir  topi ; at  Thebes  he  was  the 
first  prophet  of  Amon,  at  Thinis  he  was  the  first  prophet  of  Anhuri.2  But 
generally  he  bore  a title  appropriate  to  the  nature  of  the  god  whose 
servant  he  was.3  The  chief  priest  of  Ra  at  Heliopolis,  and  in  all  the 
cities  which  adopted  the  Heliopolitan  form  of  worship,  was  called  OtrA  man, 
the  master  of  visions,  and  he  alone  besides  the  sovereign  of  the  nome,  or  of 
Egypt,  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  penetrating  into  the  sanctuary,  of  “ entering 
into  heaven  and  there  beholding  the  god  ” face  to  face.4  In  the  same  way, 
the  high  priest  of  Anhuri  at  Sebennytos  was  entitled  the  wise  and  pure  warrior 
— ahuiti  saA  uibu — because  his  god  went  armed  with  a pike,  and  a soldier  god 
required  for  his  service  a pontiff  who  should  be  a soldier  like  himself.5 

These  great  personages  did  not  always  strictly  seclude  themselves  within 


1 The  first  published  attempt  at  reconstructing  the  Egyptian  hierarchy  from  the  monuments  was 
made  by  M.  A.  Baillet,  De  V Election  et  de  la  durde  des  fonctions  du  grand  pretre  d’ Ammon  a Tltebes 
(extract  from  the  Revue  Archdologique,  2nd  series,  vol.  vi.,  1S62).  Long  afterwards  Herr  Rheinisch 
endeavoured  to  show  that  the  learned  organization  of  the  Egyptian  priesthood  is  not  older  than  the 
XIIth  dynasty,  and  mainly  dates  from  the  second  Theban  empire  ( Ursprung  und  Entwickelungs - 
geschichte  des  JEgyptisclien  Priesterlums  und  Ausbildung  der  Lekre  von  der  Einheit  Gottes,  Vienna, 
1878).  The  most  complete  account  of  our  knowledge  on  this  subject,  the  catalogue  of  the  principal 
priesthoods,  the  titles  of  the  high  priests  aud  priestesses  in  each  nome,  are  to  bo  found  in  Brugscb, 
Die  JEgyptologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  275-291. 

2 This  title  of  first  prophet  belongs  to  priests  of  the  less  important  towns,  and  to  secondary  diviuities. 
If  we  find  it  employed  in  connection  with  the  Theban  worship,  it  is  because  Amon  was  originally 
a provincial  god,  and  only  rose  into  the  first  rank  with  the  rise  of  Thebes  and  the  great  conquests 
of  the  XVIIIth  and  XIXth  dynasties  (Maspeuo,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  53-55). 

3 For  a very  full  list  of  those  titles,  see  Buugsch,  Die  ASgypiologie,  pp.  280-282. 

1 The  mystic  origin  of  this  name  Oirii  mad  is  given  in  chap.  cxv.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead 
(Lepsius’  edition,  pi.  xliv. ; see  also  Ed.  Naville,  Un  Ostracon  Egyptien,  extract  from  the  Annales 
du  Musee  Guimet,  vol.  i.  p.  51,  et  seq.).  The  high  office  of  the  Oirii  mau  is  described  in  the  Piankhi 
stela  (E.  de  Rouge’s  edition  in  the  Chrestomathie,  vol.  iv.  pp.  59-G1),  where  we  find  it  discharged 
by  the  Ethiopian  king  on  his  entry  into  Heliopolis. 

5 Bkugsch,  Dictionnaire  G&ographiq ue,  p.  1368. 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


1 2f> 

the  limits  of  the  religious  domain.  The  gods  accepted,  and  even  sometimes 
solicited,  from  their  worshippers,  houses,  fields,  vineyards,  orchards,  slaves, 
and  fishponds,  the  produce  of  which  assured  their  livelihood  and  the 
support  of  their  temples.  There  was  no  Egyptian  who  did  not  cherish  the 
ambition  of  leaving  some  such  legacy  to  the  patron  god  of  his  city,  “ for  a 
monument  to  himself,”  and  as  an  endowment  for  the  priests  to  institute  prayers 
and  perpetual  sacrifices  on  his  behalf.1  In  course  of  time  these  accumulated 
gifts  at  length  formed  real  sacred  fiefs — hotpu-nutir — analogous  to  the  waJcfs  of 
Mussulman  Egypt.2  They  were  administered  by  the  high  priest,  who,  if  neces- 
sary, defended  them  by  force  against  the  greed  of  princes  or  kings.  Two, 
three,  or  even  four  classes  of  prophets  or  hieroduli  under  his  orders  assisted  him 
in  performing  the  offices  of  worship,  in  giving  religious  instruction,  aud  in  the 
conduct  of  affairs.  Women  did  not  hold  equal  rank  with  men  in  the  temples 
of  male  deities  ; they  there  formed  a kind  of  harem  whence  the  god  took  his 
mystic  spouses,  his  concubines,  his  maidservants,  the  female  musicians  and 
dancing  women  whose  duty  it  was  to  divert  him  and  to  enliven  his  feasts.3  But 
in  temples  of  goddesses  they  held  the  chief  rank,  and  were  called  hierodules,  ox- 
priestesses,  hierodules  of  Nit,  hierodules  of  Hathor,  hierodules  of  Pakhit.4  The 
lower  offices  in  the  households  of  the  gods,  as  in  princely  households,  were 
held  by  a troop  of  servants  and  artisans:  butchers  to  cut  the  throats  of 
the  victims,  cooks  and  pastrycooks,  confectioners,  weavers,  shoemakers,  florists, 
cellarers,  water-carriers  and  milk-carriers.5  In  fact,  it  was  a state  within  a state, 

1 As  regards  tlie  Saite  period,  we  are  beginning  to  accumulate  many  stelas  recording  gifts  to  a god 
of  land  or  houses,  made  either  by  the  king  or  by  private  individuals  (Revilloct,  Acte  dc  fondalion 
d’une  chapelle  a Hor-merti  dans  la  ville  de  Pharbxtus,  et  Acte  dc  fondation  d’line  chapelle  d Bast  dans 
la  ville  de  Bubastis,  in  the  Revue  Egyptologique,  vol.  ii.  pp.  32-44  ; Maspero,  Notes  sur  plusieurs  points 
de  grammaire  et  d’histoire,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1881,  p.  117,  and  1885,  p.  10 ; also  Sur  deux  steles  rtfcern- 
ment  ddcouvertes,  in  the  Eecueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  pp.  84-86). 

2 We  know  from  the  Great  Harris  Papyrus  to  what  the  fortune  of  Anion  amounted  at  the  end  of 
the  reign  of  Ramses  III. ; its  details  may  be  found  in  Brugsch,  Die  ZEgyptologie , pp.  271-274.  Cf. 
in  Naville,  Bubastis,  Eighth  Memoir  of  the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund,  p.  61,  a calculation  as  to  the 
quantities  of  precious  metals  belonging  to  one  of  the  least  of  the  temples  of  Bubastis ; its  gold  aud 
silver  were  counted  by  thousands  of  pounds. 

3 The  names  of  the  principal  priestesses  of  Egypt  are  collected  in  Brugsch,  Die  ZEgyptologie, 
pp.  262,  203;  for  their  offices  and  functions,  cf.  Erman,  ZEgypten,  pp.  393-401,  who  seems  to  me  to 
ascribe  too  modern  an  origin  to  the  conception  by  which  the  priestesses  of  a god  were  considered  as 
forming  his  earthly  harem.  Under  the  Old  Kingdom  we  find  prophetesses  of  Thot  (Mariette,  Les 
Mastabas  de  l’ Ancien  Empire,  p.  183)  aud  of  Capuaitu  (ibid.,  p.  162). 

4 See  Mariette,  Denddrah,  text,  pp.  86,  87,  on  the  priestess  of  Hathor  at  Denderah.  Mariette 
remarks  (ibid.,  pp.  83-86)  that  priests  play  but  a subordinate  part  in  the  temple  of  Hathor.  This 
fact,  which  surprised  him,  is  adequately  explained  by  remembering  that  Hathor  being  a goddess, 
women  take  precedence  over  men  in  a temple  dedicated  to  her.  At  Sa'is,  the  chief  priest  was  a man, 
the  hharp-haitu  (Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  Gdograpliique,  p.  1368);  but  the  persistence  with  which 
women  of  the  highest  rank,  and  even  queens  themselves,  took  the  title  of  prophetess  of  Nit  from  the 
times  of  the  Ancient  Empire  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  90,  162,  201,  202,  302,  303,  326,  377,  etc.) 
shows  that  in  this  city  the  priestess  of  the  goddess  was  of  equal,  if  not  superior,  rank  to  the  priest. 

3 A partial  list  of  these  may  be  found  in  the  Hood  Papyrus  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  il, 
pp.  5G-G4),  where  half  the  second  page  is  filled  with  their  titles. 


T1IE  COSMOGONIES  OF  THE  DELTA. 


127 


and  the  prince  took  care  to  keep  its  government  in  his  own  hands,  either  by 
investing  one  of  his  children  with  the  titles  and  functions  of  chief  pontiff,  or 
by  arrogating  them  to  himself.1  In  that  case,  he  provided  against  mistakes 
which  would  have  annulled  the  sacrifice  by  associating  with  himself  several 
masters  of  the  ceremonies,  who  directed  him  in  the 
orthodox  evolutions  before  the  god  and  about  the 
victim,  indicated  the  due  order  of  gestures  and  the 
necessary  changes  of  costume,  and  prompted  him 
with  the  words  of  each  invocation  from  a book  or 
tablet  which  they  held  in  their  hands.2 

In  addition  to  its  rites  and  special  hierarchy,  each 
of  the  sacerdotal  colleges  thus  constituted  had  a 
theology  in  accordance  with  the  nature  and  attributes 
of  its  god.  Its  fundamental  dogma  affirmed  the 
unity  of  the  liome  god,  his  greatness,  his  supremacy 
over  all  the  gods  of  Egypt  aud  of  foreign  lands3 — 
whose  existence  was  nevertheless  admitted,  and  none 
dreamed  of  denying  their  reality  or  contesting  their 
power.  These  gods  also  boasted  of  their  unity,  their 
greatness,  their  supremacy ; but  whatever  they  were,  the  god  of  the  nome  was 
master  of  them  all — their  prince,  their  ruler,  their  king.  It  was  he  alone 
who  governed  the  world,  he  alone  kept  it  in  good  order,  he  alone  had 
created  it.  Not  that  he  had  evoked  it  out  of  nothing  ; there  was  as  yet 
no  concept  of  nothiugness,  and  even  to  the  most  subtle  and  refined  of  primitive 
theologians  creation  was  only  a bringing  of  pre-existent  elements  into  play. 
The  latent  germs  of  things  had  always  existed,  but  they  had  slept  for  ages 
and  ages  in  the  bosom  of  the  Nit,  of  the  dark  waters.6  In  fulness  of  time 
the  god  of  each  nome  drew  them  forth,  classified  them,  marshalled  them 
according  to  the  bent  of  his  particular  nature,  and  made  his  universe  out 
of  them  by  methods  peculiarly  his  own.  Nit  of  Sals,  who  was  a weaver, 

1 As  in  the  ease  of  the  princes  of  Beni-Hassan  and  Bersheh  under  the  XII"'  dynasty  (Maspeko, 
La  Grande  Inscription  de  Be'ni-Hassan,  in  the  Eecueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  179,  180). 

2 The  title  of  such  a personage  was  ldiri-habi,  the  man  with  the  roll  or  tablet,  because  of  the 
papyrus  roll,  or  wooden  tablet  containing  the  ritual,  which  he  held  in  his  hand. 

3 In  the  inscriptions  all  local  gods  bear  the  titles  of  Nutir  tin,  only  god ; Sidon  nutir  A,  SAntirA, 
~2.ovBr)p,  king  of  the  gods;  of  Nutir  da  nib  pit,  the  great  god,  lord  of  heaven,  which  show  their  preten- 
sions to  the  sovereignty  and  to  the  position  of  creator  of  the  universe. 

4 Drawing  by  Faucher-Gudin  of  a green  enamelled  statuette  in  my  possession.  It  was  from  this 
image  that  the  Greeks  derived  their  representations,  and  perhaps  their  myth  of  Atlas. 

5 This  name  is  generally  read  Nun  (cf.  Bkugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie,  p.  107).  I have  else- 
where given  my  reasons  for  the  reading  Nu  ( Revue  critique,  1872,  vol.  i.  p.  178),  which  is  moreover 
that  of  M.  de  Rouge  ( Etudes  sur  le  rituel  fumfraire  des  anciens  Egyptiens,  p.  41).  Nil  would  seem 
to  be  nothing  more  than  a personage  mentally  evolved  by  theologians  and  derived  from  Xilit,  the 
sky-goddess  (Maspeko,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  358,  359);  he 
had  never  any  worshippers  nor  ever  possessed  a sanctuary  to  himself. 


128 


T1IE  GOBS  OF  EGYPT. 


had  made  the  world  of  warp  and  woof,  as  the  mother  of  a family 
weaves  her  children’s  linen.1  Khnumu,  the  Nile-god  of  the  cataracts,  had 
gathered  up  the  mud  of  his  waters  and  therewith  moulded  his  creatures 
upon  a potter’s  table.'2  In  the  eastern  cities  of  the  Delta  these  procedures 
were  not  so  simple.3  There  it  was  admitted  that  in  the  beginning  earth 
and  sky  were  two  lovers  lost  in  the  Nu,  fast  locked  in  each  other’s 
embrace,  the  god  lying  beneath  the  goddess.  On  the  day  of  creation  a 
new  god,  Shu,  came  forth  from  the  primaeval  waters,  slipped  between  the 
two,  and  seizing  Nuit  with  both  hands,  lifted  her  above  his  head  with 
outstretched  arms.4  Though  the  starry  body  of  the  goddess  extended  in 
space — her  head  being  to  the  west  and  her  loins  to  the  east — her  feet  and 
hands  hung  down  to  earth.  These  were  the  four  pillars  of  the  firma- 
ment under  another  form,  and  four  gods  of  four  adjacent  principalities 
were  in  charge  of  them.  Osiris,  or  Horus  the  sparrow-hawk,  presided 
over  the  southern,  and  Sit  over  the  northern  pillar;  Thot  over  that 
of  the  west,  and  Sapdi,  the  author  of  the  zodiacal  light,  over  that  of 
the  east.5  They  had  divided  the  world  among  themselves  into  four  regions, 
or  rather  into  four  “ houses,”  bounded  by  those  mountains  which  surround 
it,  and  by  the  diameters  intersecting  between  the  pillars.  Each  of  these 
houses  belonged  to  one,  and  to  one  only ; none  of  the  other  three,  nor 
even  the  sun  himself,  might  enter  it,  dwell  there,  or  even  pass  through 
it  without  having  obtained  its  master’s  permission.6  Nevertheless  Sibu  had 
not  been  satisfied  to  meet  the  irruption  of  Shu  by  mere  passive  resistance.  He 
had  tried  to  struggle,  and  he  is  drawn  in  the  posture  of  a man  who  has  just 
awakened  out  of  sleep,  and  is  half  turning  on  his  couch  before  getting  up.7 

1 D.  Mallet,  Le  Culte  de  Neith  a Sals,  pp.  185,  186. 

2 At  Pliilar  he  is  called  “ Khnumu  . . . the  father  of  the  gods,  who  is  himself,  who  moulds  (khnumu ) 
men  and  models  ( mash ) the  gods”  (Bkdgsch,  Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  JEgyptiacamm,  p.  752,  No.  11). 

3 Sibu  and  Nuit,  as  belonging  to  the  old  fundamental  conceptions  common  to  Egyptian  religions, 
especially  in  the  Delta,  must  have  been  known  at  Sebennytos  as  in  the  neighbouring  cities.  In  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge  it  is  difficult  to  decide  whether  their  separation  by  Shh  was  a con- 
ception of  the  local  theologians,  or  an  invention  of  the  priests  of  Heliopolis  at  the  time  of  the  consti- 
tution of  the  Great  Eunead  (Maspeko,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’  Archeologie  Egyptieunes,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  356,  357,  370). 

4 This  was  what  the  Egyptians  called  the  upliftings  of  Shu  (Booh  of  the  Dead , Naville’s  edition, 
pi.  xxiii.,  ch.  xvii.,  parts  26,  27;  cf.  Maspeko,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’ Archeologie  Egyptieunes,  vol.i. 
pp.  337-340).  The  event  first  took  place  at  Hermopolis,  and  certain  legends  added  that  in  order  to 
get  high  enough  the  god  had  been  obliged  to  make  use  of  a staircase  or  mound  situate  in  this  city, 
and  which  was  famous  throughout  Egypt  (Booh  of  the  Dead,  Naville’s  edition,  pi.  xxiii.  ch.  xvii. 
11.  h 5). 

5 Osiris  and  Horus  are  in  this  connection  the  feudal  gods  of  Mendes  and  the  Osirian  cities  in  tho 
east  of  the  Delta.  Sit  is  lord  of  the  districts  about  Tanis ; Thot  belongs  to  Bakhlieh,  and  Sapdi  to 
the  Arabian  nome,  to  the  tlady-Tumilat  (cf.  Maspeko,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’ Archeologie  Egyp- 
tiennes, vol.  ii.  p.  364,  et  seq.). 

6 On  the  houses  of  the  world,  and  the  meaning  to  be  attached  to  this  expression,  see  Maspero,  La 
Pyramide  du  roi  Papi  II.,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xii.  pp.  78,  79. 

1 In  Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  pis.  elv.-clviii.,  we  have  a considerable  number  of  scenes 


OSIRIS  AND  ISIS. 


12!) 


One  of  bis  legs  is  stretched  out,  the  other  is  bent  and  partly  drawn  up  as  in 
the  act  of  rising.  The  lower  part  of  the  body  is  still  unmoved,  but  he  is 
raising  himself  with  difficulty  on  his  left  elbow,  while  his  head  droops  and  his 
right  arm  is  lifted  towards  the  sky.  His  effort  was  suddenly  arrested,  and 
rendered  powerless  by  a stroke  of  the  creator.  Sibu  remained  as  if  petrified 
in  this  position,  the  obvious  irregularities  of  the  earth’s  surface  being  due  to 
the  painful  attitude  in  which  he  was  stricken.1  His  sides  have  since  been 


SHU  FORCIBLY  SEPARATING  SIBC  AND  NVIT.3 

clothed  with  verdure,  generations  of  men  and  animals  have  succeeded  each 
other  upon  his  back,3  but  without  bringing  any  relief  to  his  pain ; he  suffers 
evermore  from  the  violent  separation  of  which  he  was  the  victim  when  Niiit  was 
torn  from  him,  and  his  complaint  continues  to  rise  to  heaven  night  and  day.4 

The  aspect  of  the  inundated  plains  of  the  Delta,  of  the  river  by  which 
they  are  furrowed  and  fertilized,  and  of  the  desert  sands  by  which  they  are 
threatened,  had  suggested  to  the  theologians  of  Mendes  and  Buto  an  explana- 
tion of  the  mystery  of  creation,  in  which  the  feudal  divinities  of  these  cities 
and  of  several  others  in  their  neighbourhood,  Osiris,  Sit,  and  Isis,  played  the 

in  which  Sibil  and  Nftit  are  represented,  often  along  witli  Slid  separating  them  aud  sustaining 
Niiit.  Some  place  Sibfi  in  exceptional  postures,  on  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell;  generally 
he  is  shown  in  a similar  attitude  to  that  which  I describe,  and  as  in  the  illustration. 

1 Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mytliologie  der  alten  JEgypter,  p.  221. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a painting  on  the  mummy-case  of  Bfitehamon  in  the  Turin 
Museum  (Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  pi.  lxi.  4).  “Shit,  the  great  god,  lord  of  heaven,” 
receives  the  adoration  of  two  ram-headed  souls  placed  upon  his  right  and  left. 

3 In  several  scenes  plants  are  seen  growing  on  his  body  (Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  pi.  civ. 
1).  The  expression  upon  the  lack  of  Sibil  is  frequent  in  the  texts,  especially  in  those  belonging  to  the 
Ptolemaic  period.  Attention  was  drawn  to  its  importance  by  Dimicben,  Bauurkunde  des  Tempe- 
lanlagen  von  Edfu,  in  the  Zeitselirift,  1871,  pp.  91-93. 

* The  Greeks  knew  that  Kronos  lamented  and  wept : the  sea  was  made  of  his  tears  (De  Ride  et 
Osiride,  § 32,  Parthey’s  edition,  p.  56) : A 5e  Ka)  tI  tnrb  tuv  TTuOayopiKcby  \eydjuerov,  us  n OaXarra 

K 


130 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


principal  parts.1  Osiris  first  represented  the  wild  and  fickle 
primitive  times  ; afterwards,  as  those  who  dwelt  upon  his  banks 
learned  to  regulate  his  course,  they  emphasized  the  kindlier 
side  of  his  character  and  soon  transformed 
him  into  a benefactor  of  humanity,  the 
supremely  good  being,  Unnofriu,  Onnophris.2 
He  was  lord  of  the  principality  of  Didu,  which 
lay  along  the  Sebennytic  branch  of  the  river 
between  the  coast  marshes  and  the  entrance 
the  Wady  Tumilat,  but  his  domain  had 


Nile  of 


been  divided  ; and  the  two  nomes  thus  formed, 
namely,  the  ninth  and  sixteenth  nomes  of  the 
Delta  in  the  Pharaonic  lists,  remained  faithful  to 
him,  and  here  he  reigned  without  rival,  at  Busiris 
as  at  Mendes.3  Ilis  most  famous  idol-form  was 
the  Didu,  whether  naked  or  clothed,  the  fetish, 
formed  of  the  four  superimposed  columns,  which 
had  given  its  name  to  the  principality.6  They 
ascribed  life  to  this  Didu,  and  represented  it 
with  a somewhat  grotesque  face,  big  cheeks,  thick  lips,  a necklace  round  its 
throat,  a long  flowing  dress  which  hid  the  base  of  the  columns  beneath  its 
folds,  and  two  arms  bent  across  the  breast,  the  hands  grasping  one  a whip  and 


THE  DIDU  OF  OSIRIS.'1 


THE  DIDU  DRESSED. 


K pbvov  haKpvbv  fanv  cuViTrecOcu  t b pg  Ka.6a.pbe  prjSe  avp<pv\ov  elrai.  The  Pythagorean  belief  was 
probably  borrowed  from  Egypt,  and  in  Egyptian  writings  there  are  allusions  to  the  grief  of  Sibft 
(Brcgsch,  Beligion  und  Mythologie  der  alten  JEgypter,  p.  227). 

1 Maspero  ( Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ ArcMologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  359-304)  was  the  first  to 
point  out  that  this  cosmogony  originated  in  the  Delta,  and  in  connection  with  the  Osirian  cities. 

2 It  has  long  been  a dogma  with  Egyptologists  that  Osiris  came  from  Abydos.  Maspero  has 
shown  that  from  his  very  titles  he  is  obviously  a native  of  the  Delta  ( Eludes  de  Mythologie  ft 
d' Areheologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  9,  10),  and  more  especially  of  Busiris  and  Mendes. 

3 With  reference  to  these  two  nomes,  see  J.  de  Rouge,  Gdographie  ancienne  de  la  Basse-Egyple, — 
pp.  57-60,  for  the  Busirite  nome,  and  108-115  for  the  Mendesiau  nome, — where  the  ideas  found  in 
different  parts  of  Brugscii’s  Dictionnaire  Gdographique,  pp.  11,  166,  171,  185,  953,  977,  1144,  1149,  etc., 
are  collected  and  co-ordinated. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a specimen  in  blue  enamelled  pottery,  now  in  my  possession. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a figure  frequently  found  in  Theban  mummy-cases  of  the  XXIkt 
and  XXII"'1  dynasties  (Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  xxv.,  No.  5). 

0 The  Didft  has  been  very  variously  interpreted.  It  has  been  taken  for  a kind  of  nilometer 
(Champoi.lion),  for  a sculptor’s  or  modeller’s  stand  (Salvolini,  Analyse  grammaticale  raisonnde  de 
different*  textes  anciens  fgyptiens,  p.  41,  No.  171),  or  a painter’s  easel  (Ardndale-Bonomi-Bircii, 
Gallery  of  Antiquities  in  the  British  Museum , p.  31 ; Bunsen,  JEgyptcns  Stelle,  vol.  i.  p.  688,  No.  27), 
for  an  altar  with  four  superimposed  tables,  or  a sort  of  pedestal  bearing  four  door-lintels  (E.  de 
Rouge,  Chrestomathie  egyptienne,  vol.  i.  p.  88,  note  1),  for  a series  of  four  columns  placed  one  behind 
another,  of  which  the  capitals  only  are  visible,  one  above  the  other  (Flinders  Petrie,  Medum,  p.  31), 
etc.  The  explanation  given  in  the  text  is  that  of  Reuvens  (Lettres  a M.  Letronne,  i.  p.  69),  who  recog- 
nized the  Didfi  as  a symbolic  representation  of  the  four  regions  of  the  world;  and  of  Maspero,  Etudes 
de  Mythologie  et  d’ Areheologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  359,  note  3.  According  to  Egyptian  theologians, 
it  represented  the  spine  of  Osiris,  preserved  as  a relic  in  the  town  bearing  the  name  of  Didu,  Didit. 


OSIRIS  AND  ISIS. 


131 


the  other  a crook,  symbols  of  sovereign  authority.  This,  perhaps,  was  the  most 
ancient  form  of  Osiris ; hut  they 
also  represented  him  as  a man, 
and  supposed  him  to  assume 
the  shapes  of  rams  and  hulls,1 
or  even  those  of  water-birds, 
such  as  lapwings,  herons,  and 
cranes,  which  disported  them- 
selves about  the  lakes  of  that 
district.2  The  goddess  whom 
we  are  accustomed  to  regard 
as  inseparable  from  him,  Isis 
the  cow,  or  woman  with  cow’s 
horns,  had  not  always  belonged 
to  him.  Originally  she  was 
an  independent  deity,  dwelling 
at  Brito  in  the  midst  of  the 
ponds  of  Adlnr.  She  had 
neither  husband  nor  lover,  but 
had  spontaneously  conceived 
and  given  birth  to  a son,  whom 
she  suckled  among  the  reeds — 
a little  Homs  who  was  called 
Harsiisit,  Horus  the  son  of  Isis, 
to  distinguish  him  from  Haro- 
eris.8  At  an  early  period  she 
was  married  to  her  neighbour 
Osiris,  and  no  marriage  could 

have  been  better  suited  to  her  osiris-onnoi>hris,  whip  and  crook  in-  hand. 


1 The  ram  of  Mendes  is  sometimes  Osiris,  and  sometimes  the  soul  of  Osiris.  The  ancients  took 
it  for  a he-goat,  and  to  them  we  are  indebted  for  the  record  of  its  exploits  (Herodotus,  ii.  4(1 ; cf. 
Wiedemann,  Herodots  Ziceites  Buck,  p.  216,  et  seq.).  According  to  Manetho,  the  worship  of  the 
sacred  ram  is  not  older  than  the  time  of  King  Kaiekhos  of  the  second  dynasty  (Unger’s  editiou, 
p.  84).  A Ptolemaic  necropolis  of  sacred  rams  was  discovered  by  Mariette  at  Trnai  cl-Auadid,  in  the 
ruins  of  Thmfiis,  and  seme  of  their  sarcophagi  are  now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (Mariette,  Monument* 
diver*,  jils.  xlii.,  xlvi.,  text,  pp.  12,  13,  14). 

2 The  Bond,  the  chief  among  these  birds,  is  not  the  pheonix,  as  has  so  often  been  asserted 
(Brugsch,  NouueUes  Recherche s stir  la  division  de  V a tinge,  pp.  40,  50 ; Wiedemann,  Die  rhiinix,  Sage 
im  alten  JEgypten,  1878,  pp.  S9-10G,  and  Herodots  Ziceites  Bach,  pp.  314-316).  It  is  a kiud  of  heron, 
either  the  Arden  cinerea,  which  is  common  in  Egypt,  or  else  some  similar  species. 

3 The  origin  of  Isis,  and  the  peculiarity  of  her  spontaneous  maternity,  were  pointed  out  by 
Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mgthologie  et  d’ Archgologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  254,  255,  350-362. 

4 Drawn  by  Boudier  from  a statue  in  green  basalt  found  at  Sakkarah,  and  now  in  the  Gizeh 
Museum  (Masi  ero,  Guide  du  Visiteur,  p.  345,  Xo.  5245).  It  was  published  by  Mariette,  Monuments 
divers,  pi.  96  d,  and  Album  photographique  du  mutfe  de  Bidaq,  pi.  x.). 


L 32 


TIIF  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


nature.  For  she  personified  the  earth — not  the  earth  in  general,  like  Sibu,  with 
its  unequal  distribution  of  seas  and  mountains,  deserts  and  cultivated  land  ; 

but  the  black  and  luxu- 

— 


riant  plain  of  the  Delta, 
where  races  of  men, 
plants,  and  animals  in- 
crease and  multiply  in 
ever  - succeeding  genera- 
tions.1 2 To  whom  did  she 
owe  this  inexhaustible 
productive  energy  if  not 
to  her  neighbour  Osiris, 
to  the  Nile?  The  Nile 
rises,  overflows,  lingers 
upon  the  soil ; every  year 
it  is  wedded  to  the  earth, 
and  the  earth  comes 
forth  green  and  fruitful 
from  its  embraces.  The 
marriage  of  the  two  ele- 
ments suggested  that  of 
the  two  divinities;  Osiris 
wedded  Isis  and  adopted 
the  young  Horus. 

But  this  prolific  and 
gentle  pair  were  not  re- 
presentative of  all  the 
phenomena  of  nature. 
The  eastern  part  of  the 


'M 


ISIS,  WEARING  THE  COW-IIORN  HEAD-DRESS.2 


Delta  borders  upon  the 


solitudes  of  Arabia,  and 


although  it  contains  several  rich  and  fertile  provinces,  yet  most  of 
these  owe  their  existence  to  the  arduous  labour  of  the  inhabitants,  their 
fertility  being  dependent  on  the  daily  care  of  man,  and  on  his  regular 
distribution  of  the  water.  The  moment  he  suspends  the  struggle  or  relaxes 
his  watchfulness,  the  desert  reclaims  them  and  overwhelms  them  with 


1 Cf.  p.  99,  note  2,  for  the  evidence  of  Be  Iside  et  Osiride  as  to  the  nature  of  the  goddess. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier  from  a green  basalt  statue  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (Maspero,  Guide  du 
Visiteur,  p.  919,  No.  5216).  The  statue  has  been  published  by  Mauiette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  96  c, 
and  Album  photograpliique,  pi.  x.  It  is  here  reproduced  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brug6ch-Bey. 


SIT  ANT)  NEPHTHYS. 


133 


sterility.  Sit  was  the  spirit  of  the  mountain,  stone  and  sand,  the  red  and 
arid  ground  as  distinguished  from  the  moist  black  soil  of  the 
valley.1  On  the  body  of  a lion  or  of  a dog  he  bore  a fan- 
tastic head  with  a slender  curved  snout,  upright  and  square- 
cut  ears ; his  cloven  tail  rose  stiffly  behind  him,  springing 
from  his  loins  like  a fork.2  He  also  assumed  a 
human  form,  or  retained  the  animal  head  only 
upon  a man’s  shoulders.  He  was  felt  to  be 
cruel  and  treacherous,  always  ready  to  shrivel 
up  the  harvest  with  his  burning  breath, 
and  to  smother  Egypt  beneath  a shroud  of 
shifting  sand.  The  contrast  be- 
tween this  evil  being  and  the  bene- 
ficent couple,  Osiris  and  Isis,  was  striking. 

Nevertheless,  the  theologians  of  the  Delta 
soon  assigned  a common  origin  to  these 
rival  divinities  of  Nile  and  desert,  red  land 
and  black.  Sibu  had  begotten  them,  Nuit 
had  given  birth  to  them  one  after  another 
when  the  demiurge  had  separated  her  from 
her  husband ; and  the  days  of  their 
birth  were  the  days  of  creation.5  At 
first  each  of  them  had  kept  to  his  own 
half  of  the  world.  Moreover 
Sit,  who  had  begun  by  living 
, alone,  had  married,  in  order  that 

NEPHTHYS,  AS  A WEEPING  WOMAN.3 4  THE  GOD  SIT,  FIGHTING.1 


1 Set-Typhon,  a monograph  by  Ed.  Meyer,  may  be  consulted  as  to  Sit;  but  it  pushes  mystic 
interpretation  too  far.  The  explanation  of  Sit  as  typifying  the  desert  and  drought  lias  prevailed 
from  antiquity  (cf.  De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 33,  Parthey’s  edition,  p.  57 : . . . Tvtpava.  Se  irav  rb 
avxpripbv  ko.1  irvpwbe s Ka 1 ^pavriKbi/  oAcvs  »cal  iroAfpuov  tt)  (rypoTriTi).  His  modern  transformation  into 
a god  who  originally  represented  the  slaying  and  devouring  sun,  is  obtained  by  a mere  verbal  artifice 
(Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie,  p.  702,  et  seq.). 

2 See  the  illustration  of  the  typhonian  animal  on  p.  83.  It  is  there  shown  walking,  and  goes 
under  the  name  of  Slia. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a painted  wooden  statuette  in  my  possession,  from  a funeral 
couch  found  at  Akhmim.  On  her  head  the  goddess  bears  the  hieroglyph  for  her  name;  she  is 
kneeling  at  the  foot  of  the  funerary  couch  of  Osiris  and  weeps  for  the  dead  god. 

4 Bronze  statuette  of  the  XXth  dynasty,  encrusted  with  gold,  from  the  Hoffmann  collection; 
drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a photograph  taken  by  Legrain  in  1891.  About  the  time  when  the 
worship  of  Sit  was  proscribed,  one  of  the  Egyptian  owners  of  this  little  monument  had  endeavoured  to 
alter  its  character,  and  to  transform  it  into  a statuette  of  the  god  Khnilmh.  He  took  out  the  upright 
ears,  replacing  them  with  ram’s  horns,  but  made  no  other  chauge.  In  the  drawing  I have  had  the 
later  addition  of  the  curved  horns  removed,  and  restored  the  upright  ears,  whose  marks  may  still  be 
seen  upon  the  sides  of  the  head-dress. 

5 According  to  one  legend  which  is  comparatively  old  in  origin,  the  four  children  of  Xuit,  and 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


134 

he  might  be  inferior  to  Osiris  in  nothing.  As  a matter  of  fact,  his  companion, 
Nephthys,  did  not  manifest  any  great  activity,  and  was  scarcely  more  than 
an  artificial  counterpart  of  the  wife  of  Osiris,  a second  Isis  who  bore 
no  children  to  her  husband  ; 1 for  the  sterile  desert  brought  barrenness  to 
her  as  to  all  that  it  touched.  Yet  she  had  lost  neither  the  wish  nor  the 
power  to  bring  forth,  and  sought  fertilization  from  another  source.  Tradition 

had  it  that  she  had  made 
Osiris  drunken,  drawn  him 
to  her  arms  without  his 
knowledge,  and  borne  him 
a son ; the  child  of  this 
furtive  union  was  the  jackal 
Anubis.2  Thus  when  a 
higher  Nile  overflows  lands 
not  usually  covered  by  the 
inundation,  and  lying  unpro- 
ductive for  lack  of  moisture, 
the  soil  eagerly  absorbs  the 
water,  and  the  germs  which 
lay  concealed  in  the  ground 
burst  forth  into  life.  The 
gradual  invasion  of  the 
domain  of  Sit  by  Osiris  marks  the  beginning  of  the  strife.4  Sit  rebels 
against  the  wrong  of  which  he  is  the  victim,  involuntary  though  it  was; 
he  surprises  and  treacherously  slays  his  brother,  drives  Isis  into  temporary 
banishment  among  her  marshes,  aud  reigns  over  the  kingdom  of  Osiris  as  well 
as  over  his  own.  But  his  triumph  is  short-lived.  Horus,  having  grown  up, 
takes  arms  against  him,  defeats  him  in  many  encounters,  and  banishes  him 
in  his  turn.  The  creation  of  the  world  had  brought  the  destroying  and 

Horus  her  grandson,  were  born  one  after  another,  each  on  one  of  the  intercalary  days  of  the  year 
(Chabas,  Le  Calendrier  de  jours  fastes  et  ndfastes  de  l annde  dgyptienne,  pp.  105,  106).  This  legend 
was  still  current  in  the  Greek  period  (De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § xii.,  Parthey’s  edition,  pp.  19-21). 

1 The  impersonal  character  of  Nephthys,  her  artificial  origin,  and  her  derivation  from  Isis,  have 
been  pointed  out  by  Maspeeo  ( Etudes  de  Mytlwlogie  et  d’Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  362-364). 
The  very  name  of  the  goddess,  which  means  the  lady  ( nibit ) of  the  mansion  (ha.it),  confirms  this 
view. 

2 De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 14,  38,  Parthey’s  edition,  pp.  24,  25,  67.  Another  legend  has  it  that  Isis, 
and  not  Nephthys,  was  the  mother  of  Anubis  the  jackal  (De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 44,  Parthey’s 
edition,  p.  77 ; cf.  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  p.  157). 

3 Plan  drawn  by  Thuiller,  from  the  Description  de  VEgypte  (Atlas,  Ant.,  vol.  v.  pi.  26,  1). 

4 De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 38,  Parthey’s  edition,  p.  66 : "O rav  8e  tarepfiaXwv  ical  r kcovdcras  6 NefA os 
i-rreKetva  irknoiday  rots  iaxaredoviri,  tovto  pi(iv  ’OolpiSos  irpbs  Nctpduy  Kakovtriv,  inra  twv  dra^kaUTavivToiv 
cpvruv  e\tyxop.evr]v,  Siv  ko,\  to  pek  Ikuriv  ecrriv,  ov  <pr]<n  pvdos  air opfiverros  ku 1 dwokeupBevros  aitrOyoLV 
yei/eaBac  Tvtpwvt  ttjs  irepl  rbv  yipov  aSilads. 


PLAN  OF  THE  RUINS  OF  HELIOPOLIS.3 


HELIOPOLIS  AND  ITS  SCHOOLS  OF  THEOLOGY.  135 

the  life-sustaining  gods  face  to  face : the  history  of  the  world  is  but  the 
story  of  their  rivalries  and  warfare. 

None  of  these  conceptions  alone  sufficed  to  explain  the  whole  mechanism 
of  creation,  nor  the  part  which  the  various  gods  took  in  it.  The  priests 
of  Heliopolis  appropriated  them  all,  modified  some  of  their  details  and 
eliminated  others,  added  several  new  personages,  and  thus  finally  constructed 


1IORUS,  THE  AVENGER  OF  HISJFATHER,  AND  ANUBIS  UAPUA1T&.1 

a complete  cosmogony,  the  elements  of  which  were  learnedly  combined  so  as  to 
correspond  severally  with  the  different  operations  by  which  the  world  had  been 
evoked  out  of  chaos  and  gradually  brought  to  its  present  state.2  Heliopolis  was 
never  directly  involved  in  the  great  revolutions  of  political  history  ; but  no 
city  ever  originated  so  many  mystic  ideas  and  consequently  exercised  so  great 
an  influence  upon  the  development  of  civilization.3  It  was  a small  town  built 
on  the  plain  not  far  from  the  Nile  at  the  apex  of  the  Delta,  and  surrounded 

1 Brawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Beato  of  a bas-relief  in  the  temple  of  Seti  I. 
at  Abydos.  The  two  gods  are  conducting  King  Ramses  II.,  here  identified  with  Osiris,  towards  the 
goddess  H§,thor. 

2 Maspero  ( Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’  Archdblogie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  236,  et  seq.,  352,  et  seq.) 
first  elucidated  the  part  played  by  the  priests  of  Heliopolis  in  constructing  the  cosmogony  which 
was  adopted  by  historic  Egypt. 

3 By  its  inhabitants  it  was  accounted  older  than  any  other  city  of  Egypt  (Diodorus,  v.  56). 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


136 

by  a high  wall  of  mud  bricks  whose  remains  could  still  be  seen  at  the  beginning 

of  the  century,  but  which  have  now 
almost  completely  disappeared.  One 
obelisk  standing  in  the  midst  of  the 
open  plain,  a few  waste  mounds  of 
debris,  scattered  blocks,  and  two  or 
three  lengths  of  crumbling  wall,  alone 
mark  the  place  where  once  the  city 
stood.1  Ra  was  worshipped  there, 
and  the  Greek  name  of  Heliopolis 
is  but  the  translation  of  that  which 
was  given  to  it  by  the  priests — 
Pi-ra,  City  of  the  Sun.2  Its  prin- 
cipal temple,  the  “ Mansion  of  the 
Prince,”  8 rose  from  about  the  middle 
of  the  enclosure,  and  sheltered, 
together  with  the  god  himself,  those 
animals  in  which  he  became  incar- 
nate : the  bull  Mnevis,  and  some- 
times the  Phcenix.  According  to 
an  old  legend,  this  wondrous  bird 
appeared  in  Egypt  only  once  in  five 
hundred  years.  It  is  born  and  lives 
in  the  depths  of  Arabia,  but  when 
its  father  dies  it  covers  the  body 
with  a layer  of  myrrh,  and  flies 

THE  SUN  SPRINGING  FROM  AN  OPENING  LOTUS-FLOWER  at  UtlUOSt  Speed  tO  tile  temple  of 
IN  THE  FORM  OF  THE  CHILD  HOliUS.1 

Heliopolis,  there  to  bury  it.5  In  the 
beginning,  Ra  was  the  sun  itself,  nhose  fires  appear  to  be  lighted  every 

1 Lancret  and  Du  Boys  Abie,  in  the  Description  d' Heliopolis,  iu  the  Description  de  VEgypte , 
vol.  y.  pp.  66,  67.  The  greater  part  of  the  walls  and  ruins  then  visible  have  disappeared,  for 
the  family  of  Ibrahim-Pacha,  to  whom  the  land  belongs,  have  handed  it  over  to  cultivation. 

2 Brugsch,  Geographische  Inschriften,  vol.  i.  p.  254. 

3 Hait  Saru  (Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  Gdographique,  p.  153,  where  the  author  reads  Hat  ura,  and 
translates  Palace  of  the  Ancient  One,  Palace  of  the  Old  Mau,  and  Lefebure  agrees  with  him,  Sur  le 
Cham  et  l Adam  hgyptien,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  ix.  pp.  175, 
176).  It  was  so  called  because  it  was  supposed  to  have  been  the  dwelling-place  of  Ka  while  the  god 
abode  upon  earth  as  King  of  Egypt  (cf.  ch.  iii.  p.  ] 60,  et  seq.). 

Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin.  The  open  lotus-flower,  with  a bud  on  either  side,  stands  upon  the 
usual  sign  for  any  water-basin.  Here  the  sign  represents  the  Nu,  that  dark  watery  abyss  from 
which  the  lotus  sprang  on  the  morning  of  creation,  and  whereon  it  is  still  supposed  to  bloom. 

The  Phoenix  is  not  the  Bonn  (cf.  p.  131,  note  2),  but  a fabulous  bird  derived  from  the  golden 
spanow-hawk,  which  was  primarily  a form  of  Haroeris,  and  of  the  sun-gods  in  second  place  only.  On 
the  authority  of  his  Heliopolitan  guides,  Ilerodolus  tells  us  (ii.  83)  that  in  shape  and  size  the  phoenix 
lesembled  the  eagle,  and  this  statement  alone  should  have  suflicod  to  prevent  any  attempt  at 
identifying  it  with  the  Bonu,  which  is  either  a heron  or  a lapwing. 


BA,  HIS  IDENTIFICATION  WITH  HORUS. 


137 


morning  in  the  east  and  to  be  extinguished  at  evening  in  the  west  ;4  and  to  the 
people  such  he  always  remained.  Among  the  theologians  there  was  considerable 
difference  of  opinion  on  the  point.  Some  held  the  disk  of  the  sun  to  be  the 
body  which  the  god  assumes  when  presenting  himself  for  the  adoration  of  his 
worshippers.  Others  affirmed  that  it  rather  represented  his  active  and  radiant 
soul.  Finally,  there  were  many  who  defined  it  as  one  of  his  forms  of  being — 
Ichopriu — one  of  his  self-manifestations,  without  presuming  to  decide  whether 


THE  PLAIN  AND  MOUNDS  OF  HELIOPOLIS  FIFTY  YEAliS  AGO.2 

it  was  his  body  or  his  soul  which  he  deigned  to  reveal  to  human  eyes;  but 
whether  soul  or  body,  all  agreed  that  the  sun’s  disk  had  existed  in  the  Nu  before 
creation.3  But  how  could  it  have  lain  beneath  the  primordial  ocean  without 
either  drying  up  the  waters  or  being  extinguished  by  them  ? At  this  stage  the 
identification  of  Ba  with  Horus  and  his  right  eye  served  the  purpose  of  the 
theologians  admirably  : the  god  needed  only  to  have  closed  his  eyelid  in  order  to 
prevent  his  fires  from  coming  in  contact  with  the  water.4  He  was  also  said  to  have 
shut  up  his  disk  within  a lotus-bud  whose  folded  petals  had  safely  protected  it.5 

1 F.  de  Rouge,  Etudes  sur  le  Itituel  funtfraire  des  anciens  Egyptians,  p.  76. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucber-Gudin,  from  a water-colour  published  by  Lepsius,  Denhm.,  i.  56.  The  view  is 
taken  from  the  midst  of  the  ruins  at  the  foot  of  the  obelisk  of  Usirtaseu.  A little  stream  runs  in  the 
foreground, and  passes  through  a muddy  pool;  to  right  and  left  are  mounds  of  ruins,  which  were  then 
considerable,  but  have  since  been  partially  razed.  In  the  distance  Cairo  rises  against  the  south-west. 

3 Booh  of  the  Dead,  ch.  xvii.,  Naville’s  edition,  1.  3,  et  seq. 

1 This  is  clearly  implied  in  the  expression  so  often  used  by  the  sacred  writers  of  Ancient  Egypt 
in  reference  to  the  appearance  of  the  sun  and  his  first  act  at  the  time  of  creation : “ Thou  openest 
the  two  eyes  and  earth  is  flooded  with  rays  of  light.” 

5 Maeiette, Dende'rah, yo\. i. pl.lv. a ; BnvGSeu, Thesaurus Insariptionum Algyptiacarum, p 7 64. No. 56. 


138 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


The  flower  had  opened  on  the  morning  of  the  first  day,  and  from  it  the  god  had 
sprung  suddenly  as  a child  weaving  the  solar  disk  upon  his  head.  But  all  theories 

led  the  theologians  to  dis- 
tinguish two  periods,  and 
as  it  were  two  beings  in  the 

a pre-mundane  sun  lying 
inert  within  the  bosom  of 
the  dark  waters,  and  our 
living  and  life-giving  sun.1 

One  division  of  the  He- 
liopolitan  school  retained 
the  use  of  traditional  terms 
and  images  in  reference  to 
these  Sun-gods.  To  the 
first  it  left  the  human  form, 
and  the  title  of  Ra,  with  the 
abstract  sense  of  creator, 
deriving  the  name  from  the 
verb  ra,  which  means  to  give.3  For  the  second  it  kept  the  form  of  the  sparrow- 
hawk  and  the  name  of  Harmakhuiti — Horus  in  the  two  horizons — which 
clearly  denoted  his  function ; 4 and  it  summed  up  the  idea  of  the  sun  as  a 
whole  in  the  single  name  of  Ra-Harmakhuiti,  and  in  a single  image  in 
which  the  liawk-head  of  Horus  was  grafted  upon  the  human  body  of  Ra.  The 
other  divisions  of  the  school  invented  new  names  for  new  conceptions.  The 
sun  existing  before  the  world  they  called  Creator — Tumu,  Atumu 5 — and  our 
earthly  sun  they  called  Khopri — He  who  is.  Tumu  was  a man  crowned 

1 Maspeko,  Etudes  de  3Iythologie  et  d’  Archeologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  281,  et  seq.,  35G,  et  seq. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph,  by  Insinger  of  an  outer  wall  of  the  Hypostyle  Hall  at 
Karnak.  Harmakhis  grants  years  and  festivals  to  the  Pharaoh  Seti  I,  who  kneels  before  him,  and 
is  presented  by  the  lioness-headed  goddess  Sokhit,  here  described  as  a magician — Oirit  hikau. 

3 This  manufactured  etymology  was  accepted  by  at  least  a section  of  Egyptian  theologians,  as 
is  proved  by  their  interminable  playing  upon  the  words  Rd,  the  name  of  the  sun,  and  ra,  the  verb 
to  give , to  make.  As  regards  the  weight  to  be  attached  to  it,  see  p.  88,  note  1. 

4 Harmaklntiti  is  Horus,  the  sky  of  the  two  horizons;  i.e.  the  sky  of  the  daytime,  and  the  night 
sky.  AVben  the  celestial  Horus  was  confounded  with  Ra,  and  became  the  sun  (cf.  p.  100),  he 
naturally  also  became  the  sun  of  the  two  horizons,  the  sun  by  day,  and  the  sun  by  night. 

5 E.  de  Rouge,  Etudes  sur  le  Rituel  funeraire,  p.  76;  “His  name  may  be  connected  with  two 
radicals.  Tem  is  a negation ; it  may  be  taken  to  mean  the  Inapproachable  One,  the  Unknown  (as  in 
Thebes,  where  Amun  means  mystery).  Atum  is,  in  fact,  described  as  ‘existing  alone  in  the  abyss,’ 
before  the  appearance  of  light.  It  was  in  this  time  of  darkness  that  Atum  performed  the  first  act  of 
creation,  and  this  allows  of  our  also  connecting  his  name  with  the  Coptic  tajiio,  creare.  Atftm  was 
also  the  prototype  of  man  (in  Coptic  the,  homo),  and  becomes  a perfect  ‘turn’  after  his  resurrection.” 
Brugsch  ( Religion  und  Alythologie,  pp.  231,  232)  would  rather  explain  Tumu  as  meaning  the  Perfect  One, 
the  Complete.  M.  de  Rouge’s  philological  derivations  are  no  longer  admissible;  but  his  explanation  of  the 
name  corresponds  so  well  with  the  part  played  by  the  god  that  I fail  to  see  how  that  can  be  challenged. 


existence  of  supreme  deity  : 


ATUMU. 


139 


and  clothed  with  the  insignia  of  supreme  power,  a true  king  of  gods, 
majestic  and  impassive  as  the  Pharaohs  who  succeeded  each  other  upon 
the  throne  of  Egypt.  The  conception  of  Khopri  as  a disk  enclosing  a 
scarabaeus,  or  a man  with  a scarabaeus  upon  his  head,  or  a scarabaeus- 
headed  mummy,  was  sug- 


gested by  the  accidental 
alliteration  of  his  name 
and  that  of  Khojpirru,  the 
scarabaeus.  The  difference 
between  the  possible  forms 
of  the  god  was  so  slight  as 
to  be  eventually  lost  alto- 
gether. His  names  were 
grouped  by  twos  and  threes 
in  every  conceivable  way, 
and  the  scarabaeus  of 
Khopri  took  its  place  upon 
the  head  of  Ra,  while  the 
hawk  headpiece  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  shoulders 


KHOPRI,  THE  SCAItABiEUS  GOD,  IN  HIS  BARK. 


of  Harmakhuiti  to  those  of 

Tumu.  The  complex  beings  resulting  from  these  combinations,  Ra-Tumit, 
Atumu-Ra,  Ra-Tumu-Khoprij  Ra-Harmakhuiti-Thmu,  Tum-Harmakhuiti- 
Khopri,  never  attained  to  any  pronounced  individuality.  They  were  as  a rule 
simple  duplicates  of  the  feudal  god,  names  rather  than  persons,  and  though 
hardly  taken  for  one  another  indiscriminately,  the  distinctions  between  them 
had  reference  to  mere  details  of  their  functions  and  attributes.  Hence  arose 
the  idea  of  making  these  gods  into  embodiments  of  the  main  phases  in 
the  life  of  the  sun  during  the  day  and  throughout  the  year.  Ra  symbolized 
the  sun  of  springtime  and  before  sunrise,  Harmakhuiti  the  summer  and  the 
morning  sun,  Aturnu  the  sun  of  autumn  and  of  afternoon,  Khopri  that  of 
winter  and  of  night.1  The  people  of  Heliopolis  accepted  the  new  names  and 
the  new  forms  presented  for  their  worship,  but  always  subordinated  them 
to  their  beloved  Ra.  For  them  Ra  never  ceased  to  be  the  god  of  the 
nome  ; while  Aturnu  remained  the  god  of  the  theologians,  and  was  invoked  by 
them,  the  people  preferred  Ra.  At  Thinis  and  at  Sebennytos  Auhuri  incurred 
the  same  fate  as  befell  Ra  at  Heliopolis.  After  he  had  been  identified 

1 An  exhaustive  study  of  these  theological  combinations  has  been  made  by  Bkugsch  ( Religion 
und  Mytliolocjie,  pp.  231-280)  with  great  care  and  sagacity,  and  with  special  reference  to  inscriptions 
from  temples  of  the  Ptolemaic  and  Roman  periods.  Unfortunately  Brugsch  has  attributed  to  these 
temple  speculations  an  importance  which  they  never  held  in  popular  estimation. 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


1 40 

with  the  sun,  the  similar  identification  of  Shu  inevitably  followed.  Of  old, 
Anlmri  and  Sim  were  twin  gods,  incarnations  of  sky  and  earth.  They  were 
soon  but  one  god  in  two  persons — the  god  Anhuri-Shu,  of  which  the  one 
half  under  the  title  of  Anlmri  represented,  like  Atumu,  the  primordial 
being;  and  Shu,  the  other  half,  became,  as  his  name  indicates,  the  creative 
sun-god  who  upholds  ( shu ) the  sky.1 

Tumu  then,  rather  than  Ra,  was  placed  by  the  Iieliopolitan  priests  at 
the  head  of  their  cosmogony  as  supreme  creator  and  governor.  Several 
versions  were  current  as  to  how  he  had  passed  from  inertia  into  action,  from 
the  personage  of  Tumu  into  that  of  Ra.  According  to  the  version  most  widely 
received,  he  had  suddenly  cried  across  the  waters,  “Come  unto  me!”2  and 
immediately  the  mysterious  lotus  had  unfolded  its  petals,  and  Ra  had  appeared 
at  the  edge  of  its  open  cup  as  a disk,  a newborn  child,  or  a disk-crowned 
sparrow-hawk ; 3 this  was  probably  a refined  form  of  a ruder  and  earlier 
tradition,  according  to  which  it  was  upon  Ra  himself  that  the  office  had 
devolved  of  separating  Sibu  from  Nuit,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  the 
heavens  and  the  earth.  But  it  was  doubtless  felt  that  so  unseemly  an  act  of 
intervention  was  beneath  the  dignity  even  of  an  inferior  form  of  the  suzerain 
god;  Shu  was  therefore  borrowed  for  the  purpose  from  the  kindred  cult  of 
Anlmri,  and  at  Heliopolis,  as  at  Sebennytos,  the  office  was  entrusted  to  him 
of  seizing  the  sky-goddess  and  raising  her  with  outstretched  arms.  The 
violence  suffered  by  Nuit  at  the  hands  of  Shu  led  to  a connection  of  the  Osirian 
dogma  of  Mendes  with  the  solar  dogma  of  Sebennytos,  and  thus  the  tradition 
describing  the  creation  of  the  world  was  completed  by  another,  explaining  its 
division  into  deserts  and  fertile  lands.  Sibu,  hitherto  concealed  beneath  the 
body  of  his  wife,  was  now  exposed  to  the  sun  ; Osiris  and  Sit,  Isis  and  Nephthys, 
were  bora,  and,  falling  from  the  sky,  their  mother,  on  to  the  earth,  their  father, 
they  shared  the  surface  of  the  latter  among  themselves.  Thus  the  Heliopolitan 
doctrine  recognized  three  principal  events  in  the  creation  of  the  universe:  the 
dualization  of  the  supreme  god  and  the  breaking  forth  of  light,  the  raising 
of  the  sky  and  the  laying  bare  of  the  earth,  the  birth  of  the  Nile  and  the 
allotment  of  the  soil  of  Egypt,  all  expressed  as  the  manifestations  of  successive 
deities.4  Of  these  deities,  the  later  ones  already  constituted  a family  of 

1 MASrERO,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’  Archdologie  Egypliennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  232,  356,  357. 

2 It  was  on  this  account  that  the  Egyptians  named  the  first  day  of  the  year  the  Day  of  Come-unto- 
me!  (E.  de  Bodge,  Etudes  sur  le  Bituel  fund r air  e des  anc.iens  Egyptiens,  pp.  51,  55).  In  ch.  xvii.  of 
the  Booh  of  the  Dead , Osiris  takes  the  place  of  Tumu  as  the  creator-god. 

3 See  the  illustration  on  p.  136,  which  represents  the  infant  sun-god  springing  from  the  opening 
1 utus. 

4 On  the  formation  of  the  Heliopolitan  Ennead,  see  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archdologie 
Egypliennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  211,  et  seq.,  352,  et  seq.  Brdgsch’s  solution  and  version  of  the  composition, 
derivation,  and  history  of  this  Ennead  is  entirely  different  from  mine  (Religion  und  Mythologie  der 
alten  AEgypter,  p.  183,  et  seq.). 


THE  HELI0P0L1TAN  VERSION  OF  THE  CREATION. 


141 


lather,  mother,  and  children,  like  human  families.  Learned  theologians 
availed  themselves  of  this  example  to  effect  analogous  relationships  between 
the  rest  of  the  gods,  combining  them  all  into  one  line  of  descent.  As  Atumu- 
Ba  could  have  no  fellow,  he  stood  apart  in  the  first  rank,  and  it  was  decided 
that  Shu  should  be  his  son,  whom  he  had  formed  out  of  himself  alone,  on  the 
first  day  of  creation,  by  the 
simple  intensity  of  his  own 
virile  energy.  Shu,  reduced 
to  the  position  of  divine  son, 
had  in  his  turn  begotten  Sibu 
and  Nuit,  the  two  deities 
which  he  separated.  Until 
then  he  had  not  been  sup- 
posed to  have  any  wife,  and 
he  also  might  have  himself 
brought  his  own  progeny  into 
being;  but  lest  a power  of 
spontaneous  generation  equal  to  that  of  the  demiurge  should  be  ascribed  to 
him,  he  was  married,  and  the  wife  found  for  him  was  Tafnuit,  his  twin  sister, 
born  in  the  same  way  as  he  was  born.  This  goddess,  invented  for  the  occasion, 
was  never  fully  alive,  and  remained,  like  Nephthys,  a theological  entity  rather 
than  a real  person.  The  texts  describe  her  as  the  pale  reflex,  of  her  husband. 
Together  with  him  she  upholds  the  sky,  and  every  morning  receives  the 
newborn  sun  as  it  emerges  from  the  mountain  of  the  east ; she  is  a lioness 
when  Shu  is  a lion,  a woman  when  he  is  a man,  a lioness-headed  woman  if 
he  is  a lion-headed  man ; she  is  angry  when  he  is  angry,  appeased  when  he 
is  appeased ; she  has  no  sanctuary  wherein  he  is  not  worshipped.  In  short, 
the  pair  made  one  being  in  two  bodies,  or,  to  use  the  Egyptian  expression, 
“ one  soul  in  its  two  twin  bodies.”2 

Hence  we  see  that  the  Heliopolitans  proclaimed  the  creation  to  be  the  work 
of  the  sun-god,  Atumu-Ea,  and  of  the  four  pairs  of  deities  who  were  descended 
from  him.  It  was  really  a learned  variant  of  the  old  doctrine 3 that  the 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a vignette  in  the  papyrus  of  Ani  in  the  British  Museum, 
published  by  Lepage-Renouf  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archeology,  vol.  xi., 
1SS9-90,  pp.  26-28.  The  inscription  above  the  lion  on  the  right  reads  tofu,  “yesterday;”  the  other, 
duaii,  “ this  morning.” 

- Boole  of  the  Bead,  ch.  xvii.  1.  154,  et  seq.  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  xxiv.).  For  the  part 
played  by  Tafnit  or  Tafuuit  with  regard  to  Slid,  see  Masi-euo,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archeologie 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  247,  248,  357;  and  Bkugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie,  pp.  571-575.  In 
M.  Lepage-Renocf,  Shu  and  Tafnuit  are  the  Dawn-god,  or,  more  exactly,  two,  the  god  and  the 
goddess  of  the  Dawn  ( Egyptian  Mythology,  particularly  icith  reference  to  Mist  and  Cloud,  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  viii.  p.  206,  et  seq.). 

3 See  pp.  86,  87, 128, 129,  for  some  ancient  variants  of  this  doctrine. 


142 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


universe  was  composed  of  a sky-god,  Horus,  supported  by  his  four  children 
and  their  four  pillars:  in  fact,  the  four  sons  of  the  Heliopolitan  cosmogony, 
Shu  and  Sibu,  Osiris  and  Sit,  were  occasionally  substituted  for  the  four  older 
gods  of  the  “ houses  ” of  the  world.  This  being  premised,  attention  must  be 
given  to  the  important  differences  between  the  two  systems.  At  the  outset, 
instead  of  appearing  contemporaneously  upon  the  scene,  like  the  four  children 
of  Horus,  the  four  Heliopolitan  gods  were  deduced  one  from  another,  and 
succeeded  each  other  in  the  order  of  their  birth.  They  had  not  that 
uniform  attribute  of  supporter,  associating  them  always  with  one  definite 
function,  but  each  of  them  felt  himself  endowed  with  faculties  and  armed 
with  special  powers  required  by  his  condition.  Ultimately  they  took  to 
themselves  goddesses,  and  thus  the  total  number  of  beings  working  in 
different  ways  at  the  organization  of.  the  universe  was  brought  up  to  nine. 
Hence  they  were  called  by  the  collective  name  of  the  Ennead,  the  Nine  gods — 
pauit  nutiru} — and  the  god  at  their  head  was  entitled  Pauiti,  the  god  of  the 
Ennead.  When  creation  was  completed,  its  continued  existence  was  ensured  by 
countless  agencies  with  whose  operation  the  persons  of  the  Ennead  were  not  at 
leisure  to  concern  themselves,  but  had  ordained  auxiliaries  to  preside  over  each 
of  the  functions  essential  to  the  regular  and  continued  working  of  all  things. 
The  theologians  of  Heliopolis  selected  eighteen  from  among  the  innumer- 
able divinities  of  the  feudal  cults  of  Egypt,  and  of  these  they  formed  two 
secondary  Enneads,  who  were  regarded  as  the  offspring  of  the  Ennead  of  the 
creation.  The  first  of  the  two  secondary  Enneads,  generally  known  as  the 
Minor  Ennead,  recognized  as  chief  Harsieses,  the  son  of  Osiris.  Harsiesis  was 
originally  an  earth-god  who  had  avenged  the  assassination  of  his  father  and 
the  banishment  of  his  mother  by  Sit;  that  is,  he  had  restored  fulness  to  the 
Nde  and  fertility  to  the  Delta.  When  Harsiesis  was  incorporated  into  the  solar 
religions  of  Heliopolis,  his  filiation  was  left  undisturbed  as  being  a natural  link 

1 The  first  Egyptologists  confounded  the  sign  used  in  writing  pauit  with  the  sigu  Teh,  and  the 
word  hliet,  other  (Champollion,  Grammaire  Egyptienne,  pp.  292,  320,  331,  404,  etc.).  M.  de  Rouge' 
was  the  first  to  determine  its  phonetic  value : “ it  should  be  read  Fail,  and  designates  a body  of 
gods  ” (Letter  from  M.  de  Rouge,  June,  1852,  published  by  F.  Lajakd,  Recherches  sur  le  Cypres 
Pyramidal,  in  the  Memoires  de  l' Academic  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  vol.  xx.  2nd  part,  p.  176.) 
Shortly  afterwards  Brugscii  proved  that  “ the  group  of  gods  invoked  by  M.  de  Rouge  must  have  consisted 
of  nine’1- — of  an  Ennead  ( Ueber  die  Hieroglyph  des  Neumondes  und  Hire  verschiedenen  Bedeutungen,  in 
the  Zeitschrijt  der  Morg.  G.,  vol.  x.  p.  668,  et  seq.).  This  explanation  was  not  at  first  admitted  either 
by  Lepsius  ( Ueber  die  Gotter  der  Vier  Elemente  bei  den  JEgypter)  or  by  Mariette,  who  had  proposed 
a mystic  interpretation  of  the  word  in  his  M&moire  sur  la  mere  d’ Apis  (pp.  25-36),  or  by  E.  de  Rouge 
( Etudes  sur  le  Rituel  funeraire,  p.  43),  or  by  Chabas  ( Hue  Inscription  historique  du  regne  de  Sdti  Ir, 
p.  37,  and  TJn  Ifymne  a Osiris  in  the  Revue  Archtfologique,  1st  series,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  198-200).  The 
interpretation  a Nine,  an  Ennead,  wan  not  frankly  adopted  until  later  (MasPERO,  Mdmoires  sur  quelques 
Papyrus  du  Louvre,  pp.  94,  95),  and  more  especially  after  the  discovery  of  the  Pyramid  texts 
(Brugsch,  Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  JEgyptiacarum,  p.  707,  et  seq.) ; to-day,  it  is  the  only  meaning 
admitted.  Of  course  the  Egyptian  Ennead  has  no  other  connection  than  that  of  name  with  the 
Enneads  of  the  Neo-Platouists. 


TEE  EEL  1 0P0L1TA N ENNEADS. 


143 


between  the  two  Enneads,  but  his  personality  was  brought  into  conformity  with 
the  new  surroundings  into  which  he  was  transplanted.  He  was  identified  with 
Ra  through  the  intervention  of  the  older  Horus,  Haroeris-Harmakhis,  and 
the  Minor  Ennead,  like  the  Great  Ennead,  began  with  a sun-god.  This  assimi- 
lation was  not  pushed  so  far  as  to  invest  the  younger  Horus  with  the  same 
powers  as  his  fictitious  ancestor:  he  was  the  sun  of  earth,  the  everyday  sun, 
while  Atumu-Ra  was  still  the  snn  pre-mundane  and  eternal.  Our  knowledge  of 
the  eight  other  deities  of 
the  Minor  Ennead  is  very 
imperfect.  We  see  only  that 
these  were  the  gods  who 
chiefly  protected  the  sun-god 
against  its  enemies  and  helped 
it  to  follow  its  regular  course. 

Thus  Harhuditi,  the  Horus  of 
Edfii,  spear  in  hand,  pursues 
the  hippopotami  or  serpents 
which  haunt  the  celestial  waters  and  menace  the  god.  The  progress  of 
the  Sun-bark  is  controlled  by  the  incantations  of  Thot,  while  Uapuaitu, 
the  double  jackal-god  of  Siut,  guides,  and  occasionally  tows  it  along  the 
sky  from  south  to  north.  The  third  Ennead  would  seem  to  have  included 
among  its  members  Anubis  the  jackal,  and  the  four  funerary  genii,  the 
children  of  Horus — Hapi,  Amsit,  Tiumautf,  Kabhsonuf ; it  further  appears 
as  though  its  office  was  the  care  and  defence  of  the  dead  sun,  the  sun 
by  night,  as  the  second  Ennead  had  charge  of  the  living  sun.  Its  functions 
were  so  obscure  and  apparently  so  insignificant  as  compared  with  those 
exercised  by  the  other  Enneads,  that  the  theologians  did  not  take  the 
trouble  either  to  represent  it  or  to  enumerate  its  persons.  They  invoked 
it  as  a whole,  after  the  two  others,  in  those  formulas  in  which  they 
called  into  play  all  the  creative  and  preservative  forces  of  the  universe ; 
but  this  was  rather  as  a matter  of  conscience  and  from  love  of  precision 
than  out  of  any  true  deference.  At  the  initial  impulse  of  the  lord  of 
Heliopolis,  the  three  combined  Enneads  started  the  world  and  kept  it  going, 
and  gods  whom  they  had  not  incorporated  were  either  enemies  to  be  fought 
with,  or  mere  attendants.1 2 


THE  FOUR  FUNERARY  GENET,  KHABSONUF,  TIUMAUTF,  HAPI, 
AND  AMSIT.1 


1 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  Wilkinson’s  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  p.  221, 
pi.  xlviii. 

2 The  little  which  wc  know  of  the  two  secondary  Enneads  of  Heliopolis  has  been  put  together 
by  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Njtliologie  et  d’Arclufulogie  Etpjptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  280,  et  seq.,  353,  354, 
371,  372. 


144  THE  GODS  OF  EG  YET. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Heliopolitan  Ennead  acquired  an  immediate  and  a last- 
ing popularity.  It  presented  such  a clear  scheme  of  creation,  and  one  whose 
organization  was  so  thoroughly  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  tradition,  that  the 

various  sacerdotal  colleges 
adopted  it  one  after  another, 
accommodating  it  to  the 
exigencies  of  local  patriot- 
ism. Each  placed  its  own 
nome-god  at  the  head  of  the 
Ennead  as  “ god  of  the 
Nine,”  “god  of  the  first 
time,”  creator  of  heaven 
and  earth,  sovereign  ruler 
of  men,  and  lord  of  all 
action.  As  there  was  the 
Ennead  of  Atiimii  at  Helio- 
polis, so  there  was  that  of 
Anhuri  at  Thinis  and  at 
Sebennytos ; that  of  Minu 
at  Coptos  and  at  Panopolis  ; 
that  of  Haroeris  at  Edfii ; 
that  of  Sobkhu  at  Ombos ; 
and,  later,  that  of  Phtah 
at  Memphis  and  of  Amon 
at  Thebes.2  Nomes  which 
worshipped  a goddess  had  no  scruples  whatever  in  ascribing  to  her  the  part 
played  by  Atumu,  and  in  crediting  her  with  the  spontaneous  maternity  of  Shu 
and  Tafnuit.  Nit  was  the  source  and  ruler  of  the  Ennead  of  Sais,  Isis  of  that 
of  Buto,  and  Hiitbor  of  that  of  Denderah.3  Few  of  the  sacerdotal  colleges 
went  beyond  the  substitution  of  their  own  feudal  gods  for  Atunni.  Provided 
that  the  god  of  each  nome  held  the  rank  of  supreme  lord,  the  rest  mattered 
little,  and  the  local  theologians  made  no  change  in  the  order  of  the  other 
agents  of  creation,  their  vanity  being  unhurt  even  by  the  lower  offices  assigned 
by  the  Heliopolitan  tradition  to  such  powers  as  Osiris,  Sibu,  and  Sit,  who  were 

1 Plan  drawn  by  Thuilliev,  from  the  Description  de  V Egypte,  Ant.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  50. 

2 The  Ennead  of  Phlah,  and  that  of  Amon,  who  was  replaced  by  Montu  in  later  times,  are  the 
two  Enneads  of  which  we  have  as  yet  the  greatest  number  of  examples  (Lepsius,  Ueher  den  Ersten 
Mtjyptischen  Gotterkreis,  pis.  i.-iii. ; Brugsch,  Thesaurus  Inscriptionum,  pp.  727-730). 

3 On  the  Ennead  of  H athor  at  Denderah,  see  Mauiette,  Denderah,  p.  80,  et  seq.,  of  the  text.  The  fact 
that  Nit,  Isis,  and,  generally  speaking,  all  the  feudal  goddesses,  were  the  chiefs  of  their  local  Enneads, 
is  proved  by  the  epithets  applied  to  them,  which  represent  them  as  having  independent  creative  power 
by  virtue  of  their  own  unaided  force  and  energy,  like  the  god  at  the  head  of  the  Heliopolitan  Ennead. 


TROT  AND  IRE  RERMOFOLITAN  ENNEAD. 


145 


known  and  worshipped  throughout  the  whole  country.  The  theologians  of 
Hermopolis  alone  declined  to  borrow  the  new  system 
just  as  it  stood,  and  in  all  its  parts.  Hermopolis 
had  always  been  one  of  the  ruling  cities  of  Middle 
Egypt.  Standing  alone  in  the  midst  of  the  land 
lying  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Niles,  it 
had  established  upon  each  of  the  two  great  arms  of 
the  river  a port  and  a custom-house,  where  all 
boats  travelling  either  up  or  down  stream  paid 
toll  on  passing.  Not  only  the  corn  and  natural 
products  of  the  valley  and  of  the  Delta,  but  also  goods  from  distant  parts 
of  Africa  brought  to  Siut  by  Soudanese  caravans,2  helped 
to  fill  the  treasury  of  Hermopolis.  Thot,  the  god 
of  the  city,  represented  as  an  ibis  or  baboon,  was 
essentially  a moon-god,  who  measured  time,  counted 
the  days,  numbered  the  months,  and  recorded  the 
years.3  Lunar  divinities,  as  we  know,  are  everywhere 


THE  IBIS  THOT.’ 


supposed  to  exercise  the  most  varied  powers : they 
command  the  mysterious  forces  of  the  universe ; 
they  know  the  sounds,  words,  and  gestures  by 
which  those  forces  are  put  in  motion,  and  not 
content  with  using  them  for  their  own  benefit, 
they  also  teach  to  their  worshippers  the  art  of 
employing  them.  Thot  formed  no  exception  to 
this  rule.  He  was  lord  of  the  voice,  master  of 

words  and  of  books,  possessor  or  inventor  of  those  magic  writings  which 
nothing  in  heaven,  on  earth,  or  in  Hades  can  withstand.5  He  had  discovered 
the  incantations  which  evoke  and  control  the  gods  ; he  had  transcribed  the 


THE  CYNOCEP1IALOUS  THOT.1 


1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  an  enamelled  pottery  figure  from  Coptos,  now  in  my  possession. 
Neck,  feet,  and  tail  are  in  blue  enamel,  the  rest  in  green.  The  little  personage  represented  as 
squatting  beneath  the  beak  is  Mait,  the  goddess  of  truth,  and  the  ally  of  Thot.  The  ibis  was 
furnished  with  a ring  for  suspending  it ; this  lias  been  broken  off,  but  traces  of  it  may  still  be  seen 
at  the  back  of  the  head. 

2 On  the  custom-houses  of  Hermopolis  and  why  they  were  established,  see  Maspero,  Notes  au,  jour 
le  jour,  § 19,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  196-202. 

3 The  name  of  Thot,  Zehuti,  Teliuti,  seems  to  mean — he  who  belongs  to  the  bird  Zeliu,  Tehu;  he 
who  is  the  ibis,  or  belongs  to  the  divine  ibis  (Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie,  p.  410). 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a green  enamelled  pottery  figure  in  my  possession  (Saite  period). 

5 Cf.  in  the  tale  of  Satni  (Maspero,  Contes  populaires  de  VAncienne  Egypte,  2nd  edit.,  p.  175)  (he 
description  of  “ the  book  which  Thot  has  himself  written  with  his  own  hand,”  and  which  makes  its 
possessor  the  equal  of  the  gods.  “ The  two  formulas  which  are  written  therein,  if  thou  recitest  the 
first  thou  shalt  charm  heaven,  earth,  Hades,  the  mountains,  the  waters ; thou  shalt  know  the  birds 
of  the  sky  and  the  reptiles,  how  many  soever  they  he;  thou  shalt  see  the  fish  of  the  deep,  for  a 
divine  power  will  cause  them  to  rise  to  the  surface  of  the  water.  If  thou  readest  the  second  formula, 
even  although  thou  shouldest  be  in  the  tomb,  thou  shalt  again  take  the  form  which  was  thine  upon 

L 


THE  GODS  OF  EG  YET. 


146 

texts  and  noted  the  melodies  of  these  incantations  ; he  recited  them  with  that 
true  intonation — mot  Tchrou — which  renders  them  all-powerful,  and  every  one, 
whether  god  or  man,  to  whom  he  imparted  them,  and  whose  voice  he  made  true 
— smd  Jchroii — became  like  himself  master  of  the  universe.1  He  had  accom- 
plished the  creation  not  by  muscular  effort  to  which  the  rest  of  the  cosmogonical 
gods  primarily  owed  their  birth,  but  by  means  of  formulas,  or  even  of  the  voice 
alone,  “ the  first  time  ” when  he  awoke  in  the  Hu.  In  fact,  the  articulate 
word  and  the  voice  were  believed  to  be  the  most  potent  of  creative  forces, 
not  remaining  immaterial  on  issuing  from  the  lips,  but  thickening,  so  to  speak, 
into  tangible  substances ; into  bodies  which  were  themselves  animated  by 
creative  life  and  energy  ; into  gods  and  goddesses  who  lived  or  who  created 
in  their  turn.  Even  Tumu  had  called  forth  by  a very  short  phrase  the 
gods  who  order  all  things ; for  his  Come  unto  me  ! ” uttered  with  a loud 
voice  upon  the  day  of  creation,  had  evoked  the  sun  from  within  the  lotus.2 
Thot  had  opened  his  lips,  and  the  voice  which  proceeded  from  him  had  become 
an  entity ; sound  had  solidified  into  matter,  and  by  a simple  emission  of  voice 
the  four  gods  who  preside  over  the  four  houses  of  the  world  had  come  forth 
alive  from  his  mouth  without  bodily  effort  on  his  part,  and  without  spoken 
evocation.  Creation  by  the  voice  is  almost  as  great  a refinement  of  thought 
as  the  substitution  of  creation  by  the  word  for  creation  by  muscular  effort. 
In  fact,  sound  bears  the  same  relation  to  words  that  the  whistle  of  a quarter- 
master bears  to  orders  for  the  navigation  of  a ship  transmitted  by  a speaking 
trumpet;  it  simplifies  speech,  reducing  it  as  it  were  to  a pure  abstraction. 
At  first  it  was  believed  that  the  creator  had  made  the  world  with  a word,  then 
that  he  had  made  it  by  sound ; but  the  further  conception  of  his  having  made 
it  by  thought  does  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to  the  theologians.3  It  was 
narrated  at  Hermopolis,  and  the  legend  was  ultimately  universally  accepted, 
even  by  the  Heliopolitans,  that  the  separation  of  Nuit  and  Sibu  had  taken 
place  at  a certain  spot  on  the  site  of  the  city  where  Sibu  had  ascended  the 
mound  on  which  the  feudal  temple  was  afterwards  built,  in  order  that  he 
might  better  sustain  the  goddess  and  uphold  the  sky  at  the  proper  height.4 

earth ; thou  sbalt  even  see  the  sun  rising  in  heaven,  and  his  cycle  of  gods,  and  the  moon  in  the  form 
wherein  it  appeareth.” 

1 For  the  interpretation  of  these  expressions,  see  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arclufologie 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  93-114. 

2 See  the  account  of  this  mythological  episode  on  p.  140,  and  also  the  illustration  on  p.  137, 
which  represents  the  Sun-god  as  a child  emerging  from  the  opened  lotus. 

3 The  theory  of  creation  by  voice  was  first  set  forth  by  Maspero,  Creation  by  the  Voice  and  the 
Ennead  of  Hermopolis  (in  the  Oriental  Quarterly  Review,  2nd  series,  vol.  iii.  p.  365,  et  seq.),  and 
Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arch&ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  372,  et  seq. 

4 Boole  of  the  Dead  (Naville’s  edition,  pi.  xxiii.),  ch.  xvii.  1.  3,  et  seq.  Other  texts  also  state  that 
it  was  in  the  Hermopolite  nome  that  “ light  began  when  thy  father  Ra  rose  from  the  lotus  ; ” Dumichen, 
Geogruphische  Inschriften,  vol.  i.  (iii.  of  the  Recueil  de  Monuments),  pi.  lv.  11.  2,  3 ; cf.  pi.  xevi.  1.  21. 


THE  CREATION  BY  WORD  AND  BY  VOICE. 


147 


The  conception  of  a Creative  Council  of  five  gods  had  so  far  prevailed  at 
Hermopolis  that  from  this  fact  the  city  had  received  in  remote  antiquity  the 
name  of  the  “ House  of  the  Five  ; ” its  temple  was  called  the  “ Abode  of  the 
Five  ” down  to  a late  period  in  Egyptian  history,  and  its  prince,  who  was  the 
hereditary  high  priest  of  Thot,  reckoned  as  the  first  of  his  official  titles  that 
of  “ Great  One  of  the  House  of  the  Five.”  1 

The  four  couples  who  had  helped  Atumu  were  identified  with  the  four 
auxiliary  gods  of  Thot,  and  changed  the  council  of  Five  into  a Great 
He  rmopolitan  Ennead,  but  at  the  cost  of  strange  metamorphoses.2  However 
artificially  they  had  been  grouped  about  Atumu,  they  had  all  preserved  such 
distinctive  characteristics  as  prevented  their  being  confounded  one  with  another. 
When  the  universe  which  they  had  helped  to  build  up  was  finally  seen  to 
be  the  result  of  various  operations  demanding  a considerable  manifestation  of 
physical  energy,  each  god  was  required  to  preserve  the  individuality  neces- 
sary for  the  production  of  such  effects  as  were  expected  of  him.  They  could 
not  have  existed  and  carried  on  their  work  without  conforming  to  the 
ordinary  conditions  of  humanity  ; being  born  one  of  another,  they  were  bound 
to  have  paired  with  living  goddesses  as  capable  of  bringing  forth  their 
children  as  they  were  of  begetting  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  four 
auxiliary  gods  of  Hermopolis  exercised  but  one  means  of  action — the  voice. 
Having  themselves  come  forth  from  the  master’s  mouth,  it  was  by  voice 
that  they  created  and  perpetuated  the  world.  Apparently  they  could  have 
done  without  goddesses  had  marriage  not  been  imposed  upon  them  by  their 
identification  with  the  corresponding  gods  of  the  Heliopolitau  Ennead ; at 
any  rate,  their  wives  had  but  a show  of  life,  almost  destitute  of  reality.  As 
these  four  gods  worked  after  the  manner  of  their  master,  Thot,  so  they  also 
bore  his  form  and  reigned  along  with  him  as  so  many  baboons.  When 
associated  with  the  lord  of  Hermopolis,  the  eight  divinities  of  Heliopolis 
assumed  the  character  and  the  appearance  of  the  four  Hermopolitan  gods 
in  whom  they  were  merged.  They  were  often  represented  as  eight  baboons 
surrounding  the  supreme  baboon,3  or  as  four  pairs  of  gods  and  goddesses 

1 E.  de  Rouge,  Reelierches  sur  les  monuments  qu’on  pent  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties 
de  Mancthon,  p.  G2;  Bkugsch,  Dictionnaire  Geograpliique,  p.  962.  In  the  Harris  Magic  Papyrus 
(pi.  iii.  11.  5,  6,  Chabas’  edition,  p.  53)  they  are  called  “these  five  gods  . . . who  are  neither  in 
heaven  nor  upon  earth,  and  who  are  not  lighted  by  the  sun.”  For  the  cosmogonical  conception, 
implied  by  these  Hermopolitan  titles,  see  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’Arche'ologie 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  259-261,  3S1. 

2 The  relation  of  the  Eight  to  the  Ennead  and  the  god  One  has  been  pointed  out  by  Maspeko 
(Mtfnoire  sur  queiques  Papyrus  du  Louvre,  pp.  94,  95),  as  also  the  formation  and  character  of  the 
Hermopolitan  Ennead  (Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’  ArcMologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  257-261, 
381-383). 

3 W.  Golenicheff,  Die  Metternichstele,  pi.  i.,  where  apes  are  adoring  the  solar  disk  in  his  barb. 
This  scene  is  common  on  hvpocephali  found  under  the  heads  of  Grseco-Roman  mummies. 


148 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


without  either  characteristic  attributes  or  features  or,  finally,  as  four  pairs  of 
gods  and  goddesses,  the  gods  being  frog-headed  men,  and  the  goddesses 


THE  11EHMOPOL1TAX  OGDOAD." 


serpent-lieaded  women.3  Morning  and  evening  do  they  sing  ; and  the  mysterious 

1 Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia  Egizia,  pi.  xii. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a photograph  by  Bcato.  Cf.  Lepsius,  Denlim.,  iv.  pi.  G6  c.  In 
this  illustration  I have  combined  the  two  extremities  of  a great  scene  at  Philae,  in  which  the  Eight, 
divided  into  two  groups  of  four,  take  part  in  the  adoration  of  the  king.  According  to  a custom 
common  towards  the  Graeco-Roman  period,  the  sculptor  has  made  the  feet  of  his  gods  like  jackals’ 
heads ; it  is  a way  of  realizing  the  well-known  metaphor  which  compares  a rapid  runner  to  the 
jackal  roaming  around  Egypt. 

1 Lepsius,  Denlim.,  iv.  G6c;  Mariette,  Denderalt,  vol.  iv.  pi.  70;  Champollion,  Monuments  de 


THE  DIFFUSION  OF  THE  ENNEADS. 


149 


hymns  wherewith  they  salute  the  rising  and  the  setting  sun  ensure  the 
continuity  of  his  course.  Their  names  did  not  survive  their  metamorphoses ; 
each  pair  had  no  longer  more  than  a single  name,  the  termi- 
nation of  each  name  varying  according  as  a god  or  a goddess  was 
intended : — Nu  and  Nuit,  Helm  and  Hehit,  Kaku  and  Ivakit, 

Niuu  and  Ninit.  As  far  as  we  are  able  to  judge,  the  couple 
Nu-Nuit  answers  to  Shu-Tafnuit;  Hahu-Hehit  to  Sibu  and 
Nuit;  Kaku-Kakit  to  Osiris  and  Isis;  Ninu-Ninit  to  Sit 
and  Nephthys.  There  was  seldom  any  occasion  to  invoke 
them  separately  ; they  were  addressed  collectively  as  the  Eight 
— Khmunu 1 — and  it  was  on  their  account  that  Hermopolis 
was  named  Khmunu,  the  City  of  the  Eight.2  Ultimately 
they  were  deprived  of  the  little  individual  life  still  left  to 
them,  and  were  fused  into  a single  being  to  whom  the 
texts  refer  as  Khomninu,  the  god  Eight.  By  degrees  the 
Ennead  of  Thot  was  thus  reduced  to  two  terms:  the  god 
One  and  the  god  Eight,  the  Monad  and  the  Ogdoad.  The 
latter  had  scarcely  more  than  a theoretical  existence,  and 
was  generally  absorbed  into  the  person  of  the  former.  Thus 
the  theologians  of  Hermopolis  gradually  disengaged  the  unity 
of  their  feudal  god  from  the  multiplicity  of  the  cosmogonic 
deities.3 

As  the  sacerdotal  colleges  had  adopted  the  Heliopolitan 
doctrine  for  the  most  part,  so  they  now  adopted  that  of 
Hermopolis : Amon,  for  instance,  being  made  to  preside 

r MAUN.4 

indifferently  over  the  eight  baboons  and  over  the  four 

independent  couples  of  the  primitive  Ennead.5  In  both  cases  the  process 

of  adaptation  was  absolutely  identical,  and  would  have  been  attended  by  no 

I'Egypte,  pi.  cxxx.  Tlieir  individual  value  has  been  and  still  is  a subject  of  discussion.  Lepsivs 
first  tried  to  show  in  a special  memoir  ( [Ueber  die  Goiter  der  Vier  Elemente  bei  den  JEgyptern,  1S5G)  that 
they  were  the  gods  of  the  four  elements ; Dumichen  looks  upon  the  four  couples  as  being  severally 
Primitive  Matter,  Primitive  Space,  Primitive  Time,  Primitive  Force  ( Geschichte  JEgyptens,  p.  210,  et 
seq.). ; Brcgsch  (Religion  und  Mythologie,  p.  123,  et  seq.)  prefers  to  consider  them  as  representing 
the  primordial  Waters,  Eternity,  Darkness,  and  the  primordial  Inertia. 

1 The  name  was  long  read  Sesiinu,  after  Champollion;  Brugsch  discovered  its  true  pronunciation 
(Reise  nach  der  Grossen  Oase  el  Ehargeh,  p.  34;  cf.  Ueber  die  Ausspraehe  einiger  Zcihhcorter  im 
Alldgyptischen,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1874,  pp.  145-147). 

3  Whence  its  modern  name  of  El-Ashmune'in ; cf.  Br.ue.scH,  Dictionnaire  Gtfographique,  pp.  749-751. 

3 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Archeologie  Egyptienncs,  vol.  ii.  p.  383,  et  seq.,  where  this 
aspect  of  the  Hermopolitan  Ennead  was  first  pointed  out. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a bronze  statuette  found  at  Thebes,  and  now  in  my  possession. 

5 In  a bas-relief  at  Philre,  Amon  presides  over  the  Hermopolitan  Ennead  (Lepsius,  Denhm.,  iv. 
6G  c);  it  is  to  him  that  the  eight  baboons  address  their  hymns  in  the  Harris  Magic  Papyrus  (pi.  iii. 
1.  G,  et  seq. ; Chabas’  edition,  pp.  GO,  G9),  beseeching  him  to  come  to  the  help  of  the  magicians. 


150 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


difficulty  whatever,  had  the  divinities  to  whom  it  was  applied  only  been 
without  family ; in  that  case,  the  one  needful  change  for  each  city  would 
have  been  that  of  a single  name  in  the  Heliopolitan  list,  thus  leaving 
the  number  of  the  Ennead  unaltered.  But  since  these  deities  had  been 
turned  into  triads  they  could  no  longer  be  primarily  regarded  as  simple 
units,  to  be  combined  with  the  elements  of  some  one  or  other  of  the  Enneads 
without  preliminary  arrangement.  The  two  companions  whom  each  had 
chosen  had  to  be  adopted  also,  and  the  single  Thot,  or  single  Atumu, 
replaced  by  the  three  patrons  of  the  nome,  thus  changing  the  traditional 
nine  into  eleven.  Happily,  the  constitution  of  the  triad  lent  itself  to  all 
these  adaptations.  We  have  seen  that  the  father  and  the  son  became  one  and 
the  same  personage,  whenever  it  was  thought  desirable.  We  also  know  that 
one  of  the  two  parents  always  so  far  predominated  as  almost  to  efface  the  other. 


Sometimes  it  was  the  goddess  who  disappeared  behind  her  husband  ; sometimes 
it  was  the  god  whose  existence  merely  served  to  account  for  the  offspring  of  the 
goddess,  and  whose  only  title  to  the  position  consisted  in  the  fact  that  he  was 
her  husband.2  Two  personages  thus  closely  connected  were  not  long  in  blend- 
ing into  one,  and  were  soon  defined  as  being  two  faces,  the  masculine  aud 
feminine  aspects  of  a single  being.  On  the  one  hand,  the  father  was  one  with 
the  son,  and  on  the  other  he  was  one  with  the  mother.  Hence  the  mother 
was  one  with  the  son  as  with  the  father,  and  the  three  gods  of  the  triad  were 
resolved  into  one  god  in  three  persons.  Thanks  to  this  subterfuge,  to 
put  a triad  at  the  head  of  an  Ennead  was  nothing  more  than  a roundabout 
way  of  placing  a single  god  there:  the  three  persons  only  counted  as  one, 
and  the  eleven  names  only  amounted  to  the  nine  canonical  divinities.  Thus, 
the  Theban  Ennead  of  Amon-Maut-Khonsu,  Shu,  Tafnuit,  Sibu,  Nuit,  Osiris, 
Isis,  Sit,  and  Nephthys,  is,  in  spite  of  its  apparent  irregularity,  as  correct  as 
the  typical  Ennead  itself.  In  such  Enneads  Isis  is  duplicated  by  goddesses  of 

1 This  Ennead  consists  of  fourteen  members — Month,  duplicating  Atdmu;  the  four  usual  couples; 
then  Horus,  the  son  of  Isis  and  Osiris,  together  with  his  associate  deities,  Hathor,  Tanu,  and  Anit. 

2 See  the  explanation  of  this  fact  on  pp.  104-107. 


GODS  “ONE  AND  ONLY.” 


151 


like  nature,  such  as  Hathor,  Selkit,  Tauinit,  and  yet  remains  but  one,  while 
Osiris  brings  in  his  son  Horns,  who  gathers  about  himself  all  such  gods  as 
play  the  part  of  divine  son  in  other  triads.  The  theologians  had  various 
methods  of  procedure  for  bringing  the  number  of  persons  in  an  Ennead  up 
to  nine,  no  matter  how  many  they  might  choose  to  embrace  in  it.1  Super- 
numeraries were  thrown  in  like  the  “shadows”  at  Homan  suppers,  whom  guests 
would  bring  without  warning  to  their  host,  and  whose  presence  made  not  the 
slightest  difference  either  in  the  provision  for  the  feast,  or  in  the  arrange- 
ments for  those  who  had  been  formally  invited. 

Thus  remodelled  at  all  points,  the  Ennead  of  Heliopolis  was  readily 
adjustable  to  sacerdotal  caprices,  and  even  profited  by  the  facilities  which 
the  triad  afforded  for  its  natural  expansion.  In  time  the  Heliopolitan  version 
of  the  origin  of  Shu-Tafnuit  must  have  appeared  too  primitively  barbarous. 
Allowing  for  the  licence  of  the  Egyptians  during  Pharaonic  times,  the 
concept  of  the  spontaneous  emission  whereby  Atumu  had  produced  his  twin 
children  was  characterized  by  a superfluity  of  coarseness  which  it  was  at 
least  unnecessary  to  employ,  since  by  placing  the  god  in  a triad,  this  double 
birth  could  be  duly  explained  in  conformity  with  the  ordinary  laws  of  life. 
The  solitary  Atumu  of  the  more  ancient  dogma  gave  place  to  Atumu  the 
husband  and  father.  He  had,  indeed,  two  wives,  Iusasit  and  Nebthotpit,  but 
their  individualities  were  so  feebly  marked  that  no  one  took  the  trouble  to 
choose  between  them ; each  passed  as  the  mother  of  Sim  and  Tafnuit.1  This 
system  of  combination,  so  puerile  in  its  ingenuity,  was  fraught  with  the 
gravest  consequences  to  the  history  of  Egyptian  religions.  Shu  having  been 
transformed  into  the  divine  son  of  the  Heliopolitan  triad,  could  henceforth  be 
assimilated  with  the  divine  sons  of  all  those  triads  which  took  the  place  of 
Tumu  at  the  heads  of  provincial  Enneads.  Thus  we  find  that  Ilorus  the  son 
of  Isis  at  Buto,  Arihosnofir  the  son  of  Nit  at  Sa'is,  Khnutnu  the  son  of  Hathor 
at  Esneh,  were  each  in  turn  identified  with  Shu  the  son  of  Atumu,  and  lost 
their  individualities  in  his.  Sooner  or  later  this  was  bound  to  result  in  bringing 
all  the  triads  closer  together,  and  in  their  absorption  into  one  another.  Through 
constant  reiteration  of  the  statement  that  the  divine  sons  of  the  triads  were 
identical  with  Shu,  as  being  in  the  second  rank  of  the  Ennead,  the  idea  arose 
that  this  was  also  the  case  in  triads  unconnected  with  Enneads ; in  other  terms, 
that  the  third  person  in  any  family  of  gods  was  everywhere  and  always  Shu 

! Many  examples  of  these  irregular  Enneads  were  first  collected  by  Lepsics  (JJeber  den  Ersten 
Aigyptischen  Gotterlcreis,  pis.  i.-iv.),  and  later  by  IS  rug  sen  ( Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  JEgyptiacarum, 
pp.  724-730),  and  they  were  explained  as  they  are  here  explained  by  Maspero  ( Eludes  de  Mythologie 
et  d'  Arch  colog  ie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  245,  246).  The  best  translation  which  could  then  be  given 
of  pauit  was  cycle,  the  cycle  of  the  gods  ; but  this  did  not  specify  the  number. 


152 


THE  GODS  OF  EGYPT. 


under  a different  name.  It  having  been  finally  admitted  in  the  sacerdotal 
colleges  that  Tumu  and  Shu,  father  and  son,  were  one,  all  the  divine  sons  were, 
therefore,  identical  with  Tumu,  the  father  of  Shu,  and  as  each  divine  son  was 
one  with  his  parents,  it  inevitably  followed  that  these  parents  themselves  were 
identical  with  Tiimu.  Seasoning  in  this  way,  the  Egyptians  naturally  tended 
towards  that  conception  of  the  divine  oneness  to  which  the  theory  of  the 
Hermopolitan  Ogdoad  was  already  leading  them.  In  fact,  they  reached  it, 
and  the  monuments  show  us  that  in  comparatively  early  times  the  theologians 
were  busy  uniting  in  a single  person  the  prerogatives  which  their  ancestors 
had  ascribed  to  many  different  beings.  But  this  conception  of  deity  towards 
which  their  ideas  were  converging  has  nothing  in  common  with  the  conception 
of  the  God  of  our  modern  religions  and  philosophies.  No  god  of  the 
Egyptians  was  ever  spoken  of  simply  as  God.  Tumu  was  the  “ one  and  only 
god” — nutir  nail  Haiti — at  Heliopolis;  Anhuri-Shu  was  also  the  “one  and  only 
god”  at  Sebennytos  and  at  Thinis.  The  unity  of  Atumu  did  not  interfere 
witli  that  of  Anhuri-Shu,  but  each  of  these  gods,  although  the  “sole”  deity 
in  his  own  domain,  ceased  to  be  so  in  the  domain  of  the  other.  The  feudal 
spirit,  always  alert  and  jealous,  prevented  the  higher  dogma  which  was  dimly 
apprehended  in  the  temples  from  triumphing  over  local  religions  and  extending 
over  the  whole  land.  Egypt  had  as  many  “ sole  ” deities  as  she  had  large 
cities,  or  even  important  temples ; she  never  accepted  the  idea  of  the  sole 
God,  “ beside  whom  there  is  none  other.” 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OE 


EGYPT. 


THE  DIVINE  DYNASTIES  : RA,  SHU,  OSIRIS,  SIT,  HORUS. — TIIOT,  AND  THE  INVENTION  OF 
SCIENCES  AND  WRITING. — MENES,  AND  THE  THREE  FIRST  HUMAN  DYNASTIES. 

The  Egyptians  claim  to  be  the  most  ancient  of  peoples  : traditions  concerning  the  creation  of 
man  and  of  animals — The  Htliopolitan  Enneads  the  frameivorJc  of  the  divine  dy  nasties — lid,  the 
first  King  of  Egypt,  and  his  fabulous  history  : he  allows  himself  to  be  duped  and  robbed  by  Isisf 
destroys  rebellious  men,  and  ascends  into  heaven. 

The  legend  of  Shil  and  Sibil — The  reign  of  Osiris  Onnophris  and  of  Isis  : they  civilize  Egypt 
and.  the  world. — Osiris,  slain  by  Sit,  is  entombed  by  Isis  and  avenged  by  Homs — The  wars  of 
Typhon  and  of  Horns:  peace,  and  the  division  of  Egypt  between  the  two  gods. 

The  Osirian  embalmment : the  kingdom  of  Osiris  opened  to  the  Folloivers  of  Homs — The  Book 
of  the  Dead — The  journeying  of  the  soul  in  search  of  the  fields  of  laid — The  judgment  of  the 
soul,  the  negative  confession — The  privileges  and  duties  of  Osirian  souls — Confusion  between 
Osirian  and  Solar  ideas  as  to  the  state  of  the  dead:  the  dead  in  the  bark  of  the  Sun — The 
going  forth  by  day— The  campaigns  of  Harmakhis  against  Sit. 

Thot,  the  inventor:  he  reveals  cdl  sciences  to  men — Astronomy,  stellar  tables;  the  year,  its- 
subdivisions,  its  defects,  influence  of  the  heavenly  bodies  and  the  days  upon  human  destiny — 
Magic  arts:  incantations,  amulets — Medicine:  the  vitalizing  spirits,  diagnosis,  treatment — 
Writing  : ideographic,  syllabic,  alphabetic. 


( 154  ) 

The  history  of  Egypt  as  handed  down  by  tradition  : Manetho,  the  royal  lists,  main  divisions 
of  Egyptian  history — The  beginnings  of  its  early  history  vague  and  uncertain  : Menes,  and 
the  legend  of  Memphis — The  first  three  human  dynasties,  the  two  Thinite  and  the  Memphite — 
Character  and  origin  of  the  legends  concerning  them ■ — The  famine  stela  — The  earliest 
monuments:  the  step  pyramid  of  Saqqdrah. 


ISIS,  HAVING  FLED  TO  THE  MARSHES,  SUCKLES  HORUS  UNDER  THE  PROTECTION  OF  THE  GODS.1 


CHAPTEB  III. 

THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 

The  divine  dynasties:  Ra,  Shu,  Osiris,  Sit,  Horus — Thot,  and  the  invention  of  sciences  and  writing 
— Menes,  and  the  three  first  human  dynasties. 

THE  building  up  and  diffusion  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  Ennead,  like  the  formation  of  the  land  of 
Egypt,  demanded  centuries  of  sustained  effort,  cen- 
turies of  which  the  inhabitants  themselves  knew 
neither  the  number  nor  the  authentic  history.  When 
questioned  as  to  the  remote  past  of  their  race,  they 
proclaimed  themselves  the  most  ancient  of  mankind, 
in  comparison  with  whom  all  other  races  were  but 
a mob  of  young  children  ; and  they  looked  upon 
nations  which  denied  their  pretensions  with  such 
indulgence  and  pity  as  we  feel  for  those  who  doubt  a 
well-known  truth.  Their  forefathers  had  appeared 
upon  the  banks  of  the  Nile  even  before  the  creator 
had  completed  his  work,  so  eager  were  the  gods  to 
behold  their  birth.  No  Egyptian  disputed  the  reality  of  this  right  of  the 

1 Bas-relief  at  Phil® ; drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Bcato  (Rosei.lini,  Monu- 
menti  del  Culto,  pi.  xix.  2).  The  vignette,  also  drawn  by  Faucher-GudiD,  represents  an  ichneumon, 
or  Pharaoh’s  rat,  sitting  up  on  its  haunches,  with  paws  uplifted  in  adoration.  It  has  been  variously 
interpreted.  I take  it  to  be  the  image  of  an  animal  spontaneously  generated  out  of  the  mud,  and 
giving  thanks  to  Ra  at  the  very  moment  of  its  creation.  The  original  is  of  bronze,  and  iu  the  Gizeli 
Museum  (Mariette,  Album  photographique,  pi.  5). 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


15G 

firstborn,  which  ennobled  the  whole  race  ; but  if  they  were  asked  the  name  <t 
their  divine  father,  then  the  harmony  was  broken,  and  each  advanced  tie 
claims  of  a different  personage.1  Phtah  had  modelled  man  with  his  o.’n 
hands;2  Khnumu  had  formed  him  on  a potter’s  table.3  11a  at  his  first  risiig, 
seeing  the  earth  desert  and  bare,  had  flooded  it  with  his  rays  as  with  i 
flood  of  tears;  all  living  things,  vegetable  and  animal,  and  man  himself,  had 
sprung  pell-mell  from  his  eyes,  and  were  scattered  abroad  over  the  surface 
of  the  world  with  the  light.4  Sometimes  the  facts  were  presented  under 
a less  poetic  aspect.  The  mud  of  the  Nile,  heated  to  excess  by  the 
burning  sun,  fermented  and  brought  forth  the  various  races  of  men  and  animals 
by  spontaneous  generation,5  having  moulded  itself  into  a thousand  living 
forms.  Then  its  procreative  power  became  weakened  to  the  verge  of  exhaus- 
tion. Yet  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  in  the  height  of  summer,  smaller  animals 
might  still  be  found  whose  condition  showed  what  had  once  taken  place 
in  the  case  of  the  larger  kinds.  Some  appeared  as  already  fully  formed,  and 
struggling  to  free  themselves  from  the  oppressive  mud  ; others,  as  yet  imperfect, 
feebly  stirred  their  heads  and  fore  feet,  while  their  hind  quarters  were  completing 
their  articulation  and  taking  shape  within  the  matrix  of  earth.6  It  was  not  Ra 

Hippysof  Ehegium,  frag.  1,  in  Muller-Didot,  Fragm.  Hist.  Gr.,  vol.  ii.  p.  13 ; Aristotle,  Politics, 
vii.  9,  and  Meteorology,  i.  14;  Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  10,  22,  50,  etc.  We  know  the  words  which  Plato 
puts  into  the  mouth  of  an  Egyptian  priest : “O  Solou,  Solon,  yon  Greeks  are  always  children,  and 
there  is  no  old  man  who  is  a Greek!  You  are  all  young  in  mind  ; there  is  no  opinion  or  tradition  of 
knowledge  among  you  which  is  white  with  age”  ( Timeeus , 22  B;  Jowett’s  translation,  vol.  iii.  pp. 
349,  350).  Other  nations  disputed  their  priority — the  Phrygians  (Herodotus,  ii.  11),  the  Medes,  or 
rather  the  tribe  of  the  Magi  among  the  Medes  (Aristotle  in  Diogenes  Laertius,  pr.  6),  the  Ethi- 
opians (Diodorus,  iii.  2),  the  Scythians  (Justinus,  ii.  1 ; Ammianus  Marcellinus,  xxxi.  15,  2).  A 
cycle  of  legends  had  gathered  about  this  subject,  giving  an  account  of  the  experiments  instituted  by 
Psamtik,  or  other  sovereigns,  to  find  out  which  were  right,  Egyptians  or  foreigners  (Wiedemann, 
Herodois  Zweites  Buck,  pp.  43-46). 

2 At  Philae  (Eosellini,  Monumeuti  del  Culto,  pi.  xxi.  1)  and  at  Denderah,  Phtah  is  represented 
as  piling  upon  his  potter’s  table  the  plastic  clay  from  which  he  is  about  to  make  a human  body 
(Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  pi.  cccviii.),  and  which  is  somewhat  wrongly  called  the  egg  of  the 
world.  It  is  really  the  lump  of  earth  from  which  man  came  forth  at  his  creation. 

3 At  Philie,  Khnumu  calls  himself  “the  potter  who  fashions  men,  the  modeller  of  the  gods” 
(Champollion,  Monuments  de  VFgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi.  lxxiii.  1 ; Eosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto, 
pi.  xx.  1;  Brugsch,  Thesaurus  Inscript ionum  AEgyptiacarum,  p.  752,  No.  11).  He  there  moulds  the 
members  of  Osiris,  the  husband  of  the  local  Isis  (Eosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto,  pi.  xxii.  1),  as  at 
Erment  he  forms  the  body  of  Harsamtaui  (Eosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto,  pi.  xlviii.  3),  or  rather 
that  of  Ptolemy  Ciesarion,  the  son  of  Julius  Csesar  and  the  celebrated  Cleopatra,  identified  with 
Harsamtaui. 

4 With  reference  to  the  substances  which  proceeded  from  the  eye  of  Ea,  see  the  remarks  of  Birch, 
Sur  un  papyrus  magique  du  Muse'e  Britannique  (cf.  Revue  Archdologique,  2nd  series,  1863,  vol.  vii.) ; 
and  Maspero,  Me'moire  sur  quelques  papyrus  du  Louvre,  pp.  91,  92.  By  his  tears  ( romit ) Horus,  or 
his  eye  as  identified  with  the  sun,  had  given  birth  to  all  men,  Egyptians  (jomitu,  rotu),  Libyans,  and 
Asiatics,  excepting  oidy  the  negroes.  The  latter  were  born  from  another  part  of  his  body  by  the 
same  means  as  those  employed  by  Atumu  in  the  creation  of  Shu  and  Tafnuit  (Lefebure,  Les  Quatre 
Races  humaines  au  jugement  dernier,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  vol.  iii. 
p.  44,  et  seep,  and  Le  Cham  et  V Adam  Cgyptien,  in  the  same  pmblication,  vol.  iv.,  1887,  p.  167,  et  seq.). 

3 Diodorus  Siculus,  book  I.  i.  10. 

u Pomponius  Mela,  De  Situ  orbis,  i.  9.  “Nilus  glebis  etiam  infundit  animas,  ipsaque  humo 
vitulia  effingit:  hoc  eo  mauifestum  est,  quod,  ubi  sedavit  diluvia,  ac  se  sibi  reddidit,  per  humentes 


TRADITIONS  CONCERNING  THE  CREATION  OE  MAN  AND  ANIMALS.  157 


alone  whose  tears  were  endowed  with  vitalizing  power.  All  divinities  whether 
beneficent  or  malevolent,  Sit  as  well  as  Osiris  or  Isis,  could  give  life  by  weep- 
ing ; 1 and  the  work  of  their  eyes,  when  once  it  had  fallen  upon  earth,  flourished 
and  multiplied  as  vigorously  as 
that  which  came  from  the  eyes  of 
11a.  The  individual  character  of 
the  creator  was  not  without  bearing 
upon  the  nature  of  his  creatures ; 
good  was  the  necessary  outcome  of 
the  good  gods,  evil  of  the  evil  ones  ; 
and  herein  lay  the  explanation  of 
the  mingling  of  things  excellent 
and  things  execrable,  which  is  found 
everywhere  throughout  the  world. 

Voluntarily  or  involuntarily,  Sit 
and  his  partisans  were  the  cause 
and  origin  of  all  that  is  harmful. 

Daily  their  eyes  shed  upon  the 
world  those  juices  by  which  plants 
are  made  poisonous,  as  well  as 
malign  influences,  crime,  and  mad- 
ness. Their  saliva,  the  foam  which 
fell  from  their  mouths  during  their  khxumu  modelling  man  urox  a potter’s  table.2 
attacks  of  rage,  their  sweat,  their 

blood  itself,  were  all  no  less  to  be  feared.  When  any  drop  of  it  touched  the 


campos  quiedam  nondum  perfecta  animalia,  sed  turn  primum  accipientia  spiritum,  et  ex  parte  jam 
formata,  ex  parte  adhuc  terra  visuntur.”  The  same  story  is  told,  but  with  reference  to  rats  only,  by 
Pliny  ( U . N.,  x.  58),  by  Diodorus  (I.  i.  15),  by  aElianus  (//.  Anim.,  ii.  56;  vi.  40),  by  Macrobius 
{Saturn.,  vii.  17,  etc.),  and  by  other  Greek  or  Latin  writers.  Even  in  later  times,  and  in  Europe,  this 
pretended  phenomenon  met  with  a certain  degree  of  belief,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  curious  work  of 
Marcus  Fredericus  Wendelixus,  Archi-palatinus,  Admiranda  Nili,  Francofurti,  mdcxxiii.,  cap.  xxi.  pp. 
157-183.  Iu  Egypt  all  the  fellalun  believe  in  the  spontaneous  generation  of  rats  as  in  an  article  of 
their  creed.  They  have  spoken  to  me  of  it  at  Thebes,  at  Denderah,  and  on  the  plain  of  Abydos;  and 
Major  Brown  has  lately  noted  the  same  thing  in  the  Fayftm  (B.  H.  Brown,  The  Fayum  and  Lalce 
Mceris,  p.  26).  The  variant  which  he  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  notables  is  curious,  for  it  professes  to 
explain  why  the  rats  who  infest  the  fields  in  countless  bands  during  the  dry  season,  suddenly  dis- 
appear at  the  return  of  the  inundation : born  of  the  mud  and  putrid  water  of  the  preceding  year,  to 
mud  they  return,  and  as  it  were  dissolve  at  the  touch  of  the  new  waters. 

1 The  tears  of  Shft  and  TafnMt  are  changed  into  iucense-bearing  trees  (Birch,  Sur  nn  papyrus 
magique  du  Musde  Britannique,  p.  3).  It  was  more  especially  on  the  day  of  the  death  of  Osiris  that 
the  gods  had  shed  their  fertilizing  tears.  On  the  effects  produced  by  the  sweat  and  blood  of  the 
gods,  see  Birch,  ibid.,  pp.  3,  6 ; and  Masfero,  Mdmoire  sur  quelques  papyrus  du  Louvre,  p.  93. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Gayet.  The  scene  is  taken  from  bas-reliefs  in  the 
temple  of  Luxor,  where  the  god  llhnhmft  is  seen  completing  his  modelling  of  the  future  King 
Amenothes  IU.  and  his  double,  represented  as  two  children  wearing  the  side-lock  and  large  neck- 
lace. The  first  holds  his  finger  to  his  lips,  while  the  arms  of  the  second  swing  at  his  sides. 


158 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EG  YET. 


earth,  straightway  it  germinated,  and  produced  something  strange  and 
baleful — a serpent,  a scorpion,  a plant  of  deadly  nightshade  or  of  henbane. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  sun  was  all  goodness,  and  persons  or  things 
which  it  cast  forth  into  life  infallibly  partook  of  its  benignity.  Wine 
that  maketh  man  glad,  the  bee  who  works  for  him  in  the  flowers  secreting 
wax  and  honey,1  the  meat  and  herbs  which  are  his  food,  the  stuffs  that 
clothe  him,  all  useful  things  which  he  makes  for  himself,  not  only  emanated 
from  the  Solar  Eye  of  Horus,  but  were  indeed  nothing  more  than  the  Eye  of 
Iforus  under  different  aspects,  and  in  his  name  they  were  presented  in 
sacrifice.2  The  devout  generally  were  of  opinion  that  the  first  Egyptians, 
the  sons  and  flock  of  Ra,  came  into  the  world  happy  and  perfect;3  by 
degrees  their  descendants  had  fallen  from  that  native  felicity  into  their  present 
state.  Some,  on  the  contrary,  affirmed  that  their  ancestors  were  born  as  so 
many  brutes,  unprovided  with  the  most  essential  arts  of  gentle  life.  They 
knew  nothing  of  articulate  speech,  and  expressed  themselves  by  cries  only, 
like  other  animals,  until  the  day  when  Thot  taught  them  both  speech  and 
writing. 

These  tales  sufficed  for  popular  edification ; they  provided  but  meagre  fare 
for  the  intelligence  of  the  learned.  The  latter  did  not  confine  their  ambition 
to  the  possession  of  a few  incomplete  and  contradictory  details  concerning  the 
beginnings  of  humanity.  They  wished  to  know  the  history  of  its  consecutive 
development  from  the  very  first ; what  manner  of  life  had  been  led  by  their 
fathers;  what  chiefs  they  had  obeyed  and  the  names  or  adventures  of  those 
chiefs;  why  part  of  the  nations  had  left  the  blessed  banks  of  the  Nile  and 
gone  to  settle  in  foreign  lands ; by  what  stages  and  in  what  length  of 
time  those  who  had  not  emigrated  rose  out  of  native  barbarism  into  that 
degree  of  culture  to  which  the  most  ancient  monuments  bore  testimony. 
No  efforts  of  imagination  were  needful  for  the  satisfaction  of  their  curi- 
osity : the  old  substratum  of  indigenous  traditions  was  rich  enough,  did  they 

1 Birch,  Sur  un  papyrus  magique  du  Musee  Britannique,  p.  3 : “ When  the  Sun-god  weeps  a 
second  time,  and  lets  water  fall  from  bis  eyes,  it  is  changed  into  working  bees;  they  work  in  all 
kinds  of  flowers,  and  there  honey  and  wax  are  made  instead  of  water.”  Elsewhere  the  bees  are 
suppressed,  and  the  honey  or  wax  flows  directly  from  the  Eye  of  Ra  (Maspero,  Memoire  sur  quelques 
papyrus  du  Louvre,  pp.  21,  22,  41,  97). 

2 Brdgsch  was,  I believe,  the  first  to  recognize  different  kinds  of  wine  and  stuffs  in  expressions 
into  which  “the  Eye  of  Horus”  enters  ( Dictionnaire  Ridroglyphique,  p.  103;  cf.  Supplement,  pp. 
106-114).  The  Pyramid  texts  have  since  amply  confirmed  his  discovery,  and  shown  it  to  be  of 
general  application. 

3 In  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.,  the  words  flock  of  the  Sun,  flock  of  Ra,  are  those  by  which  the  god  Horus 
refers  to  men  (Sharpe-Bonomi,  The  Alabaster  Sarcophagus  of  Oimenephtah  I.,  King  of  Egypt,  pi.  vii.  D, 
11.  1,  2,  4).  Certain  expressions  used  by  Egyptian  writers  are  in  themselves  sufficient  to  show 
that  the  first  generations  of  men  were  supposed  to  have  lived  in  a state  of  happiness  and  perfection. 
To  the  Egyptians  the  times  of  Ra,  the  times  of  the  god — that  is  to  say,  the  centuries  immediately 
following  on  the  creation — were  the  ideal  age,  and  no  good  thing  had  appeared  upon  earth  since  then. 


THE  ENNEADS  THE  FRAMEWORK  OF  THE  DIVINE  DYNASTIES.  159 


but  take  the  trouble  to  work  it  out  systematically,  and  to  eliminate  its  most 
incongruous  elements.  The  priests  of  Heliopolis  took  this  work  in  hand, 
as  they  had  already  taken  in  hand  the  same  task  witlx  regard  to  the  myths 
referring  to  the  creation  ; find  the  Enneads  provided  them  with  a ready-made 
framework.  They  changed  the  gods  of  the  Ennead  into  so  many  kings, 
determined  with  minute  accuracy  the  lengths  of  their  reigns,  and  compiled 
their  biographies  from  popular  tales.1  The  duality  of  the  feudal  god  supplied 
an  admirable  expedient  for  connecting  the  history  of  the  world  with  that 
of  chaos.  Tumu  was  identified  with  Nu,  and  relegated  to  the  primordial 
Ocean : Ra  was  retained,  and  proclaimed  the  first  king  of  the  world.  He 
had  not  established  his  rule  without  difficulty.  The  “ Children  of  Defeat,” 
beings  hostile  to  order  and  light,  engaged  him  in  fierce  battles ; nor 
did  he  succeed  in  organizing  his  kingdom  until  he  had  conquered  them  in 
nocturnal  combat  at  Hermopolis,  and  even  at  Heliopolis  itself.2 3  Pierced  with 
wounds,  Apopi  the  sei’pent  sank  into  the  depths  of  Ocean  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  new  year  began.8  The  secondary  members  of  the  Great  Ennead, 
together  with  the  Sun,  formed  the  first  dynasty,  which  began  with  the  dawn 
of  the  first  day,  and  ended  at  the  coming  of  Horus,  the  son  of  Isis.  The 
local  schools  of  theology  welcomed  this  method  of  writing  history  as 
readily  as  they  had  welcomed  the  principle  of  the  Ennead  itself.  Some 
of  them  retained  the  Heliopolitan  demiurge,  and  hastened  to  associate  him 
with  their  own ; others  completely  eliminated  him  in  favour  of  the  feudal 
divinity, — Amon  at  Thebes,  Thot  at  Hermopolis,  Phtalx  at  Memphis, — 
keeping  the  rest  of  the  dynasty  absolutely  unchanged.4 * * *  The  gods  in  no 


1 The  identity  of  the  first  divine  dynasties  -with  the  Heliopolitan  Enneads  lias  been  ex- 
haustively demonstrated  by  Maspebo,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arche'ologie  Egypliennes,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  279-296. 

2 The  Children  of  Defeat,  in  Egyptian  Mosu  batashu,  or  Mosu  batashit,  are  often  confounded  with 
the  followers  of  Sit,  the  enemies  of  Osiris.  From  the  first  they  were  distinct,  and  represented  beings 
and  forces  hostile  to  the  sun,  with  the  dragon  Apopt  at  their  head.  Their  defeat  at  Hermopolis 
corresponded  to  the  moment  when  Slid,  raising  the  sky  above  the  sacred  mound  in  that  city  (cf.  p. 
146),  substituted  order  and  light  for  chaos  and  darkness.  This  defeat  is  mentioned  in  chap.  xvii. 
of  the  Boole  of  the  Dead  (Navili.e’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  xxiii.  1.  3,  et  seq.),  in  which  connection 
E.  de  Rouge  first  explained  its  meaning  ( Etudes  sur  le  Rituel  funAraire  des  Anciens  Egyptians, 
pp.  41,  42).  In  the  same  chapter  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  xxiv.,  xxv., 
11.  54-5S ; cf.  E.  de  Kouge,  Etudes  sur  le  Rituel  fun^raire,  pp.  56,  57),  reference  is  also  made  to  the 
battle  by  night,  in  Heliopolis,  at  the  close  of  which  Ra  appeared  in  the  form  of  a cat  or  lion,  and 
beheaded  the  great  serpent. 

3 See  Bibuh,  Inscriptions  in  the  Hieratic  and  Demotic  Character,  pi.  xxix.  11.  S,  9 ; and  Sur  une 
Stele  hiCratique  in  Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  2nd  series,  p.  334. 

4 On  Amon-Kfi,  and  on  Montfi,  first  king  of  Egypt  according  to  the  Theban  tradition,  see  Lepsius, 

Ueber  den  ersten  JEgyptischen  GStterhreis,  pp.  173,  174,  ISO-183,  ISO.  Thot  is  the  chief  of  the  Hermo- 

politan  Ennead  (see  chap.  ii.  p.  145,  et  seq.),  and  the  titles  ascribed  to  him  by  inscriptions  maintaining 

his  supremacy  (Brxjgsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie,  p.  445,  et  seq.)  show  that  he  also  was  considered 
to  have  been  the  first  king.  One  of  the  Ptolemies  said  of  himself  that  he  came  “as  the  Majesty 
of  Thot,  because  he  was  the  equal  of  Atfimti,  hence  the  equal  of  Khopri,  hence  the  equal  of  Ra.” 

Atumtt-Khopri-Ra  being  the  first  earthly  king,  it  follows  that  the  Majesty  of  Thot,  with  whom 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


160 

way  compromised  their  prestige  by  becoming  incarnate  and  descending  to 
earth.  Since  they  were  men  of  finer  nature,  and  their  qualities,  including  that 
of  miracle-working,  were  human  qualities  raised  to  the  highest  pitch  of 
intensity,  it  was  not  considered  derogatory  to  them  personally  to  have 
watched  over  the  infancy  and  childhood  of  primeval  man.  The  raillery  in 
which  the  Egyptians  occasionally  indulged  with  regard  to  them,  the  good- 
humoured  and  even  ridiculous  role  ascribed  to  them  in  certain  legends,  do 
not  prove  that  they  were  despised,  or  that  zeal  for  them  had  cooled.  The 
greater  the  respect  of  believers  for  the  objects  of  their  worship,  the  more 
easily  do  they  tolerate  such  liberties,  and  the  condescension  of  the  members 
of  the  Ennead,  far  from  lowering  them  in  the  eyes  of  generations  who 
came  too  late  to  live  with  them  upon  familiar  terms,  only  enhanced  the 
love  and  reverence  in  which  they  were  held. 

Nothing  shows  this  better  than  the  history  of  Ra.  His  world  was  ours  in 
the  rough;  for  since  Shu  was  as  yet  non-existent,  and  Nuit  still  reposed  in  the 
arms  of  Sibil,  earth  and  sky  were  but  one.1  Nevertheless  in  this  first  attempt 
at  a world  there  was  vegetable,  animal,  and  human  life.  Egypt  was  there, 
all  complete,  with  her  two  chains  of  mountains,  her  Nile,  her  cities,  the 
people  of  her  nomes,  and  the  uomes  themselves.  There  the  soil  was  more 
generous;  the  harvests,  without  the  labourer’s  toil,  were  higher  and  more 
abundant  than  ours.2  When  the  Egyptians  of  Pharaonic  times  wished  to 
mark  their  admiration  of  any  person  or  thing,  they  said  that  the  like  had 
never  been  known  since  the  time  of  Ra.  It  is  an  illusion  common  to  all 
peoples ; as  their  insatiable  thirst  for  happiness  is  never  assuaged  by  the 
present,  they  fall  back  upon  the  remotest  past  in  search  of  an  age  when 
that  supreme  felicity  which  is  only  known  to  them  as  an  ideal  was 
actually  enjoyed  by  their  ancestors.  Ra  dwelt  in  Heliopolis,  and  the  most 


Ptolemy  identifies  himself,  comparing  himself  to  the  three  forms  of  the  god  Ra,  is  also  the  first 
earthly  king.  Finally,  on  the  placing  of  Phtah  at  the  head  of  the  Memphite  dynasties,  see  remarks 
by  Lepsics,  Ueber  den  ersten  ZEgypti&chen  Gotterhreis,  pp.  168-173, 18-1, 186, 188-190 ; and  by  Maspero, 
Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arch&ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  283,  et  seq. 

1 This  conception  of  the  primitive  Egyptian  world  is  clearly  implied  in  the  very  terms  employed 
by  the  author  of  The  Destruction  of  Men.  Ndit  does  not  rise  to  form  the  sky  until  such  time  as  Ra 
thinks  of  bringing  his  reign  to  an  end;  that  is  to  say,  after  Egypt  had  already  been  in  existence  for 
many  centuries  (Lefebure,  Le  Tombeau  de  S&i  1.,  part  iv.  pi.  xvi.  1.  28,  et  seq.).  In  chap.  xvii. 
of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  xxiii.  11.  3-5)  it  is  stated  that  the  reign  of 
Ra  began  in  the  times  when  the  uplif tings  had  not  yet  taken  place;  that  is  to  say,  before  Slid  had 
separated  Nuit  from  Sibd,  and  forcibly  uplifted  her  above  the  body  of  her  husband  (Naville,  Deux 
lignes  du  Livre  des  Morts,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1874,  p.  59;  and  La  Destruction  des  homines  par  les  Dieux, 
in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arclixology , vol.  iv.  p.  3). 

2 This  is  an  ideal  in  accordance  with  the  picture  drawn  of  the  fields  of  laid  in  chap.  cx.  of  the 
Booh  of  the  Dead  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  cxxi.-cxxiii.).  As  with  the  Paradise  of  most  races, 
so  the  place  of  the  Osirian  dead  still  possessed  privileges  which  the  earth  had  enjoyed  during 
the  first  years  succeeding  the  creation;  that  is  to  say,  under  the  direct  rule  of  Ra. 


RA,  THE  FIRST  KING  OF  EGYPT. 


1G1 


ancient  portion  of  the  temple  of  the  city,  that  known  as  the  “Mansion  of  the 
Prince  ” — Hdit  Sard, — passed  for  having  been  his  palace.1  His  court  was 
mainly  composed  of  gods  and  goddesses,  and  they  as  well  as  he  were  visible  to 
men.  It  contained  also  men  who  filled  minor  offices  about  his  person,  prepared 
his  food,  received  the  offerings  of  his  subjects,  attended  to  his  linen  and  house- 
hold affairs.  It  was  said  that  the  oirti-mau — the  high  priest  of  Ra,  the 


AT  THE  FIRST  HOUR  OF  THE  DAY  THE  SUN  EMBARKS  FOR  HIS  JOURNEY  THROUGH  EGYPT.2 

hankistit — his  high  priestess,  and  generally  speaking  all  the  servants  of  the 
temple  of  Heliopolis,  were  either  directly  descended  from  members  of  this  first 
household  establishment  of  the  god,  or  had  succeeded  to  their  offices  in 
unbroken  succession.3  In  the  morning  he  went  forth  with  his  divine  train, 
and,  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  crowd,  entered  the  bark  in  which  he  made 
his  accustomed  circuit  of  the  world,  returning  to  his  home  at  the  end  of 
twelve  hours  after  the  accomplishment  of  his  journey.4  He  visited  each 

1 See  p.  136  on  the  Mansion  of  the  Prince.  It  was  also  currently  known  as  Ildit  ait,  the  Great 
Mansion  (Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  Ge'ographique,  pp.  475,  476),  the  name  given  to  the  dwellings  of 
kings  or  princes  (Maspero,  Sur  le  sens  des  mots  Niiit  et  Bait,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Biblical  Archxology,  1SS9-90,  vol.  xii.  p.  253,  et  seq.). 

2 Drawn  by  Fauoher-Gudin,  from  one  of  the  scenes  represented  upon  the  architraves  of  the 
pronaos  at  Edfil  (Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Calto,  pi.  xxxviii.  No.  1). 

3 Among  the  human  servants  of  the  Pharaoh  Ra,  the  story  of  the  Destruction  of  Men  mentions 
a miller,  and  women  to  grind  grain  for  making  beer  (Lefebure,  Le  Tombeau  de  S?ti  Ier,  part  iv. 
pi.  xv.  11.  17,  IS).  In  a passage  of  chap.  cxv.  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  (Lepsius’  edition,  11.  5,  6),  so 
obscure  as  to  have  escaped  the  first  translators,  the  mythic  origin  of  the  hankistit,  the  priestess 
with  the  plaited  hair,  is  referred  to  the  reign  of  Ra  (Goodwin,  On  Chapter  CXV.  of  the  Book  of  the 
Dead,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1873,  p.  106;  Lefebure,  Le  Chapitre  CXV.  du  Ltvre  des  Morts,  in  the 
Melanges  d’ Archeologie  Egyptienne  et  Assyrienne,  vol.  i.  pp.  161,  163,  165). 

4 Cf.  Pleyte-Rossi,  Les  Papyrus  de  Turin,  pi.  cxxxii.  11.  2,  5,  where  there  is  an  account  of  the 
going  forth  of  the  god,  according  to  his  daily  custom.  The  author  has  simply  applied  to  the  Sun 
as  Pharaoh  the  order  of  proceedings  of  the  sun  as  a heavenly  body,  rising  in  the  morning  to  make 
his  course  round  the  world  and  to  give  light  by  day. 

M 


1G2 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


province  in  turn,  and  in  each  lie  tarried  for  an  hour,  to  settle  all  disputed 
matters,  as  the  linal  judge  of  appeal.1  He  gave  audience  to  both  small 
and  great,  he  decided  their  quarrels  and  adjudged  their  lawsuits,  he  granted 
investiture  of  fiefs  from  the  royal  domains  to  those  who  had  deserved  them, 
and  allotted  or  confirmed  to  every  family  the  income  needful  for  their  main- 
tenance. He  pitied  the  sufferings  of  his  people,  and  did  his  utmost  to  alleviate 
them  ; he  taught  to  all  comers  potent  formulas  against  reptiles  and  beasts  of 
prey,  charms  to  cast  out  evil  spirits,  and  the  best  recipes  for  preventing 
illness.  His  incessant  bounties  left  him  at  length  with  only  one  of  his 
talismans : the  name  given  to  him  by  his  father  and  mother  at  his  birth,  which 
they  had  revealed  to  him  alone,  and  which  he  kept  concealed  within  his 
bosom  lest  some  sorcerer  should  get  possession  of  it  to  use  for  the  furtherance 
of  his  evil  spells.2 

But  old  age  came  on,  and  infirmities  followed ; the  body  of  Ra  grew  bent, 
“ his  mouth  trembled,  his  slaver  trickled  down  to  earth  and  his  saliva  dropped 
upon  the  ground.”  3 Isis,  who  had  hitherto  been  a mere  woman-servant  in  the 
household  of  the  Pharaoh,  conceived  the  project  of  stealing  his  secret  from 
him,  “ that  she  might  possess  the  world  and  make  herself  a goddess  by  the  name 
of  the  august  god.”  4 Force  would  have  been  unavailing;  all  enfeebled  as  he 
was  by  reason  of  his  years,  none  was  strong  enough  to  contend  successfully 
against  him.  But  Isis  “ was  a woman  more  knowing  in  her  malice  than 
millions  of  men,  clever  among  millions  of  the  gods,  equal  to  millions  of  spirits, 
to  whom  as  unto  Ra  nothing  was  unknown  either  in  heaven  or  upon  earth.”5 
She  contrived  a most  ingenious  stratagem.  When  man  or  god  was  struck  down 
by  illness,  the  only  chance  of  curing  him  lay  in  knowing  his  real  name,  and 
thereby  adjuring  the  evil  being  that  tormented  him.6  Isis  determined  to  cast 
a terrible  malady  upon  Ra,  concealing  its  cause  from  him  ; then  to  offer  her 
services  as  his  nurse,  and  by  means  of  his  sufferings  to  extract  from  him 


1 The  dead  Sun-god  pursued  the  same  course  in  the  world  of  night,  and  employed  his  time  in 
the  same  way  as  a Pharaoh  (Maspeuo,  Eludes  de  Mythologie  et  d’  Arche  Angie  Egyptiannes,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
44,  45).  So  it  was  with  the  Sun-god  King  of  Egypt  when  “he  goeth  forth  to  see  that  which  he  has 
created,  and  to  traverse  the  two  kingdoms  which  he  has  made”  (Pleyte-RossI,  Les  Papyrus  de 
Turin,  pi.  cxxxii.  1.  12). 

2 The  legend  of  the  Sun-god  robbed  of  his  heart  by  Isis  was  publishel  in  three  fragments 
by  MM.  Pleyte  and  Rossi  ( Les  Papyrus  hieraiiques  de  Turin,  pis.  xxxi.,  Ixxvii.,  cxxxi.-cxxxviii.), 
but  they  had  no  suspicion  of  its  importance.  Its  meaning  was  first  recognized  by  Lefebere  (Un 
chapitre  de  la  Chronique  solaire,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1883,  pp.  27-33),  who  made  a complete  translation 
of  the  text. 

3 Pleyte-Rossi,  Les  Papyrus  hieraiiques  de  Turin,  pi.  cxxxii.  11.  2,  3. 

* Ibid.,  ibid.,  pi.  cxxxii.  11.  1,  2.  On  pp.  110,  111,  I have  already  pointed  out  how  the  gods 
thus  grew  old. 

5 Ibid.,  ibid.,  pi.  cxxxi.  1.  14;  pi.  cxxxii.  1.  1. 

“ For  the  power  of  the  divine  names,  and  the  interest  which  magicians  had  in  exactly  knowing 
them,  cf.  Maspeuo,  Eludes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arrhdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  208,  ct  seq. 


liA  ALLOWS  HIMSELF  TO  BE  DUPED  AND  ROBBED  BY  ISIS.  1G3 


the  mysterious  word  indispensable  to  the  success  of  the  exorcism.  She 
gathered  up  mud  impregnated  with  the  divine  saliva,  and  moulded  of  it 
a sacred  serpent  which  she  hid  in  the  dust  of  the  road.  Suddenly  bitten  as  he 
was  setting  out  upon  his  daily  round,  the  god  cried  out  aloud,  “ his  voice 
ascended  into  heaven  and  his  Nine  called:  ‘What  is  it?  what  is  it?’  and 
his  gods:  ‘What  is  the  matter?  what  is  the  matter?’  but  he  could  make  them 
no  answer  so  much  did  his  lips  tremble,  his  limbs  shake,  and  the  venom  take 
hold  upon  his  flesh  as  the  Nile  seizeth  upon  the  land  which  it  invadeth.”  1 
Presently  he  came  to  himself,  and  succeeded  in  describing  his  sensations. 
“ Something  painful  hath  stung  me;  my  heart  perceiveth  it,  yet  my  two  eyes 
see  it  not;  my  hand  hath  not  wrought  it,  nothing  that  I have  made  knoweth 
it  what  it  is,  yet  have  I never  tasted  suffering  like  unto  it,  and  there  is  no 
pain  that  may  overpass  it.  . . . Fire  it  is  not,  water  it  is  not,  yet  is  my  heart 
in  flames,  my  flesh  trembleth,  all  my  members  are  full  of  shiverings  born  of 
breaths  of  magic.  Behold  ! let  there  be  brought  unto  me  children  of  the  gods 
of  beneficent  words,  who  know  the  power  of  their  mouths,  and  whose  science 
reacheth  unto  heaven.”  They  came,  these  children  of  the  gods,  all  with  their 
books  of  magic.  There  came  Isis  with  her  sorcery,  her  mouth  full  of 
life-giving  breaths,  her  recipe  for  the  destruction  of  pain,  her  words  which  pour 
life  into  breathless  throats,  and  she  said:  “What  is  it?  what  is  it,  0 
father  of  the  gods  ? May  it  not  be  that  a serpent  hath  wrought  this  suffering 
in  thee  ; that  one  of  thy  children  hath  lifted  up  his  head  against  thee  ? Surely 
he  shall  be  overthrown  by  beneficent  incantations,  and  I will  make  him  to 
retreat  at  the  sight  of  thy  rays.”  2 On  learning  the  cause  of  his  torment,  the 
Sun-god  is  terrified,  and  begins  to  lament  anew  : “ I,  then,  as  I went  along  the 
ways,  travelling  through  my  double  land  of  Egypt  and  over  my  mountains,  that 
I might  look  upon  that  which  I have  made,  I was  bitten  by  a serpent  that 
I saw  not.  Fire  it  is  not,  water  it  is  not,  yet  am  I colder  than  water,  I burn 
more  than  fire,  all  my  members  stream  with  sweat,  I tremble,  mine  eye  is  not 
steady,  no  longer  can  I discern  the  sky,  drops  roll  from  my  face  as  in  the 
season  of  summer.”3  Isis  proposes  her  remedy,  and  cautiously  asks  him 
his  ineffable  name.  But  he  divines  her  trick,  and  tries  to  evade  it  by  an 
enumeration  of  his  titles.  He  takes  the  universe  to  witness  that  he  is 
called  “ Khopri  in  the  morning,  Ra  at  noon,  Tumii  in  the  evening.”  The 
poison  did  not  recede,  but  steadily  advanced,  and  the  great  god  was  not  eased. 
Then  Isis  said  to  Ra:  “Thy  name  was  not  spoken  in  that  which  thou  hast 
said.  Tell  it  to  me  and  the  poison  will  depart;  for  he  liveth  upon  whom 

1 I’leyte-Rossi,  Les  Papyrus  hie'ratiqucs  de  Turin,  pi.  cxxxii.  11.  0-S. 

2 Ibid.,  ibid.,  pi.  cxxxii.  1.  9 ; pi.  cxxxiii.  1.  3. 

3 Ibid.,  ibid,  pi.  cxxxiii.  11.  3-3. 


1 G 4 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


a charm  is  pronounced  in  his  own  name.”  The  poison  glowed  like  fire,  it  was 
strong  as  the  burning  of  flame,  and  the  Majesty  of  Ra  said,  “ I grant  thee 
leave  that  thou  shouldest  search  within  me,  0 mother  Isis  ! and  that  my  name 
pass  from  my  bosom  into  thy  bosom.”  1 In  truth,  the  all-powerful  name  was 
hidden  within  the  body  of  the  god,  and  could  only  be  extracted  thence 
by  means  of  a surgical  operation  similar  to  that  practised  upon  a corpse 
which  is  about  to  be  mummifieJ.  Isis  undertook  it,  carried  it  through 
successfully,  drove  out  the  poison,  and  made  herself  a goddess  by  virtue 
of  the  name.  The  cunning  of  a mere  woman  had  deprived  Ra  of  his  last 
talisman. 

In  course  of  time  men  perceived  his  decrepitude.2  They  took  counsel 
against  him:  “Lo!  his  Majesty  waxeth  old,  his  bones  are  of  silver,  his  flesh 
is  of  gold,  his  hair  of  lapis-lazuli.” 3 As  soon  as  his  Majesty  perceived  that 
which  they  were  saying  to  each  other,  his  Majesty  said  to  those  who  were 
of  his  train,  “ Call  together  for  me  my  Divine  Eye,  Shu,  Tafnuit,  Sibil,  and 
Nuit,  the  father  and  the  mother  gods  who  were  with  me  when  I was  in 
the  Nu,  with  the  god  Nu.  Let  each  bring  his  cycle  along  with  him  ; then, 
when  thou  shalt  have  brought  them  in  secret,  thou  shalt  take  them  to  the 
great  mansion  that  they  may  lend  me  their  counsel  and  their  consent,  coming 
hither  from  the  Nu  into  this  place  where  I have  manifested  myself.”  4 So  the 
family  council  comes  together:  the  ancestors  of  Ra,  and  his  posterity  still 
awaiting  amid  the  primordial  waters  the  time  of  their  manifestation — his 
children  Shu  and  Tafnuit,  his  grandchildren  Sibu  and  Nuit.  They  place 
themselves,  according  to  etiquette,  on  either  side  his  throne,  prostrate,  with 
their  foreheads  to  the  ground,  and  thus  their  conference  begins : “ 0 Nu, 
thou  the  eldest  of  the  gods,  from  whom  I took  my  being,  and  ye  the  ancestor- 
gods,  behold  1 men  who  are  the  emanation  of  mine  eye  have  taken  counsel 

1 Pleyte-Rossi,  Les  Papyrus  hidratiques  de  Turin,  pi.  cxxxii.  11.  10-12. 

2 The  history  of  the  legendary  events  which  brought  the  reign  of  Ra  to  a close  was  inscribed 
upon  two  of  the  royal  tombs  in  Thebes  : that  of  Seti  I.  and  that  of  Ramses  III.  It  can  still  be  almost 
completely  restored  in  spite  of  the  many  mutilations  which  deface  both  copies.  It  was  discovered, 
translated,  and  commentated  upon  by  Naville  (La  Destruction  des  liommes  par  les  Dieux,  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1-19,  reproducing  Hay’s  copies 
made  at  the  beginning  of  this  century;  and  V Inscription  de  la  Destruction  des  homines  dans  le 
fombeau  de  Ramses  III.,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  viii.  pp.  412-420);  afterwards  published  anew 
by  Herr  von  Bergjiann  (Rierog'ypliische  Inschriften,  pis.  lxxv-lxxxii.,  and  pp.  55,  5G);  completely 
translated  by  Brtjgsch  ( Die  neue  Weltordnung  nach  Vernichtung  des  siindigen  Menschengeschlechts 
nacli  einer  AlVagyptischen  Ueberlieferung,  1881);  and  partly  translut.d  by  Lalth  ( A us  JEgyptens 
Vorzeit,  pp.  70-81)  and  by  Lefebure  (Un  chapitre  de  la  chronique  solaire,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1883, 
pp  32,  33). 

3 Naville,  La  Destruction  des  liommes  par  les  Dieux,  vol.  iv.  pi.  i.  1.  2;  and  vol.  viii.  pi-  i. 

I.  2.  This  description  of  the  old  age  of  the  Sun-god  is  found  word  for  word  in  other  texts,  and 
in  the  Fayfim  geographical  papyrus  (Mariette,  Les  Papyrus  hidratiques  de  Boulaq,  vol.  i.  pi.  ii., 
No  vi.,  11.  2,  3;  cf.  Lacth,  Aus  ZEgyplens  Vorzeit,  p.  72).  See  also  pp.  110,  111. 

4 Naville,  La  Destruction  des  homines  par  les  Dieux,  vol.  iv.  pi.  i.  11.  1-0;  and  vol.  viii.  pi.  i. 

II.  1-G. 


RA  DESTROYS  REBELLIOUS  MEN. 


165 


together  against  me ! Tell  me  what  ye  would  do,  for  I have  bidden  you  here 
before  I slay  them,  that  I may  hear  what  ye  would  say  thereto.”1 2  Nu,  as 
the  eldest,  has  the  right  to  speak  first,  and  demands  that  the  guilty  shall 
be  brought  to  judgment  and  formally  condemned.  “ My  son  Ra,  god  greater 
than  the  god  who  made  him,  older  than  the  gods  who  created  him,  sit  thou 
upon  thy  throne,  and  great  shall  be  the  terror  when  thine  eye  shall  rest  upon 
those  who  plot  together  against  thee  1 ’ But  Ra 
not  unreasonably  fears  that  when  men  see  the 
solemn  pomp  of  royal  justice,  they  may  suspect 
the  fate  that  awaits  them,  and  “ flee  into  the 
desert,  their  hearts  terrified  at  that  which  I have 
to  say  to  them.”  The  desert  was  even  then  hostile 
to  the  tutelary  gods  of  Egypt,  and  offered  an  almost 
inviolable  asylum  to  their  enemies.  The  con- 
clave admits  that  the  apprehensions  of  Ra  are 
well  founded,  and  pronounces  in  favour  of  sum- 
mary execution ; the  Divine  Eye  is  to  be  the 
executioner.  “Let  it  go  forth  that  it  may  smite 
those  who  have  devised  evil  against  thee,  for 
there  is  no  Eye  more  to  be  feared  than  thine 
when  it  attacketk  in  the  form  of  Hathor.”  So 
the  Eye  takes  the  form  of  Hathor,  suddenly  falls 
upon  men,  and  slays  them  right  and  left  with 
great  strokes  of  the  knife.  After  some  hours,  Ra, 
who  would  chasten  but  not  destroy  his  children,  commands  her  to  cease 
from  her  carnage ; but  the  goddess  has  tasted  blood,  and  refuses  to  obey 
him.  “By  thy  life,”  she  replies,  “when  I slaughter  men  then  is  my 
heart  right  joyful!”  That  is  why  she  was  afterwards  called  Sokhit  the 
slayer,3  and  represented  under  the  form  of  a fierce  lioness.  Nightfall  stayed 
her  course  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Heracleopolis ; all  the  way  from  Heli- 
opolis she  had  trampled  through  blood.4  As  soon  as  she  had  fallen 
asleep,  Ra  hastily  took  effectual  measures  to  prevent  her  from  beginning  her 

1 Navili.e,  La  Destruction  des  hommes  par  les  Dieux,  vol.  iv.  pi.  i.  11.  8-10;  and  vol.  viii.  pi.  i. 
11.  9-11. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a bronze  statuette  of  the  Sa'ite  period  in  the  Gizeh  Museum 
(Mariette,  Album  photographique  du  Musde  de  Boulaq,  pi.  6). 

3 Soldrit  may  bo  derived  from  the  verb  sokhu,  to  strike,  to  kill  with  the  blow  of  a stick. 

4 The  passage  from  the  Fay  dm  papyrus  which  I have  already  mentioned  alludes  to  this 
massacre,  but  to  another  tradition  of  it  than  we  are  following,  ar.d  one  according  to  which  men 
had  openly  resisted  the  god,  and  fought  him  in  pitched  battle  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Hera- 
cleopolis Magna  (Mariette,  Les  Tapyrus  Egyptians  du  Made  de  Boulaq,  vol.  i.  pi.  ii..  Xo.  vi., 
11.  1-6). 


SOKHIT,  THE  I.IOXESS-HEADED.2 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


166 

work  again  on  the  morrow.  “ He  said  : ‘ Call  on  my  behalf  messengers  agile 
and  swift,  who  go  like  the  wind.’  When  these  messengers  were  straightway 
brought  to  him,  the  Majesty  of  the  god  said : ‘ Let  them  run  to  Elephantine 
and  bring  me  mandragora  in  plenty.’ 1 When  they  had  brought  him  the 
mandragora,  the  Majesty  of  this  great  god  summoned  the  miller  which  is  in 
Heliopolis  that  he  might  bray  it ; and  the  woman-servants  having  crushed 
grain  for  the  beer,  the  mandragora,  and  also  human  blood,  were  mingled 
with  the  liquor,  and  thereof  was  made  in  all  seven  thousand  jars  of  beer.” 
l\a  himself  examined  this  delicious  drink,  and  finding  it  to  possess  the  wished- 
for  properties:  “‘It  is  well,’  said  he;  ‘therewith  shall  I save  men  from  the 
goddess ; ’ then,  addressing  those  of  his  train : ‘ Take  these  jars  in  your  arms, 
and  carry  them  to  the  place  where  she  has  slaughtered  men.’  Ha,  the  king, 
caused  dawn  to  break  at  midnight,  so  that  this  philtre  might  be  poured 
down  upon  the  earth  ; and  the  fields  were  flooded  with  it  to  the  depth  of  four 
palms,  according  as  it  pleased  the  souls  of  his  Majesty.”  In  the  morn- 
ing the  goddess  came,  “ that  she  might  return  to  her  carnage,  but  she 
found  that  all  was  flooded,  and  her  countenance  softened ; when  she  had 
drunken,  it  was  her  heart  that  softened ; she  went  away  drunk,  without  further 
thought  of  men.”  There  was  some  fear  lest  her  fury  might  return  when  the 
fumes  of  drunkenness  were  past,  and  to  obviate  this  danger  Ha  instituted 
a rite,  partly  with  the  object  of  instructing  future  generations  as  to  the 
chastisement  which  he  had  inflicted  upon  the  impious,  partly  to  console  Sokhit 
for  her  discomfiture.  He  decreed  that  “on  New  Year’s  Day  there  should  be 
brewed  for  her  as  many  jars  of  philtre  as  there  were  priestesses  of  the  sun. 
That  was  the  origin  of  all  those  jars  of  philtre,  in  number  equal  to  that  of  the 
priestesses,  which,  at  the  feast  of  Hathor,  all  men  make  from  that  day  forth.”2 

Peace  was  re-established,  but  could  it  last  long?  Would  not  men,  as 
soon  as  they  had  recovered  from  their  terror,  betake  themselves  again  to 
plotting  against  the  god  ? Besides,  Ha  now  felt  nothing  but  disgust  for  our 
race.  The  ingratitude  of  his  children  had  wounded  him  deeply;  he  foresaw 
ever-renewed  rebellions  as  his  feebleness  became  more  marked,  and  he  shrank 
from  having  to  order  new  massacres  in  which  mankind  would  perish  alto- 
gether. “ By  my  life,”  says  he  to  the  gods  who  accompanied  him,  “ my 
heart  is  too  weary  for  me  to  remain  with  mankind,  and  slay  them  until 

1 The  mandragora  of  Elephantine  was  used  in  the  manufacture  of  an  intoxicating  and  narcotic 
drink  employed  either  in  medicine  (Ebers,  Papyrus  Ebers,  pi.  xxxix.  1.  10)  or  in  magic.  In  a special 
article,  Bkugsch  has  collected  parliculars  preserved  by  the  texts  as  to  the  uses  of  this  plant  (Zh'e 
Alraune  ah  alldyyptisclte  Zauberpflanze,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  vol.  xxix.  pp.  31-33).  It  was  not  as  yet 
credited  with  the  human  form  and  the  peculiar  kind  of  life  ascribed  to  it  by  western  sorcerers. 

Naville,  La  Destruction  des  hommes  par  les  Dieux,  vol.  iv.  pis.  i,  ii„  11.  1-27;  vol.  viii. 
pis.  ii .,  11.  1-31, 


BA  ASCENDS  INTO  HEAVEN. 


167 

they  are  no  more  : annihilation  is  not  of  the  gifts  that  I love  to  make.” 
And  the  gods  exclaim  in  surprise : “ Breathe  not  a word  of  thy  weariness 
at  a time  when  thou  dost  triumph  at  thy  pleasure.” 1 But  Ra  does  not 
yield  to  their  representations ; he  will  leave  a kingdom  wherein  they  murmur 
against  him,  and  turning  towards  Nu  he  says:  “My  limbs  are  decrepit  for 
the  first  time ; I will  not  go  to  any  place  where  I can  be  reached.”  It  was 
no  easy  matter  to  find  him  an  inaccessible  retreat  owing  to  the  imperfect 
state  in  which  the  universe  had  been  left  by  the  first  effort  of  the  demiurge. 
Nu  saw  no  other  way  out  of  the  difficulty  than  that  of  setting  to  work  to 
complete  the  creation.  Ancient  tradition  had  imagined  the  separation  of 
earth  and  sky  as  an  act  of  violence  exercised  by  Shti  upon  Sibu  and  Nuit.2 
History  presented  facts  after  a less  brutal  fashion,  and  Shir  became  a virtuous 
son  who  devoted  his  time  and  strength  to  upholding  Nuit,  that  he  might 
thereby  do  his  father  a service.  Nuit,  for  her  part,  showed  herself  to  be  a 
devoted  daughter  whom  there  was  no  need  to  treat  roughly  in  order  to  teach 
her  her  duty ; of  herself  she  consented  to  leave  her  husband,  and  place  her 
beloved  ancestor  beyond  reach.  “ The  Majesty  of  Nu  said : £ Son  Shu,  do  as 
thy  father  Ra  shall  say;  and  thou,  daughter  Nuit,  place  him  upon  thy  back 
and  hold  him  suspended  above  the  earth  ! ’ Nuit  said : ‘ And  how  then,  my 
father  Nu?’  Thus  spake  Nuit,  and  she  did  that  which  Nil  commanded  her; 
she  changed  herself  into  a :cow,  and  placed  the  Majesty  of  Ra  upon  her  back. 
When  those  men  who  had  not  been  slain  came  to  give  thauks  to  Ra,  behold  ! 
they  found  him  no  longer  in  his  palace ; but  a cow  stood  there,  and  they 
perceived  him  upon  the  back  of  the  cow.”  They  found  him  so  resolved  to 
depart  that  they  did  not  try  to  turn  him  from  his  purpose,  but  only  desired 
to  give  him  such  a proof  of  their  repentance  as  should  assure  them  of 
the  complete  pardon  of  their  crime.  “They  said  unto  him:  ‘Wait  until 
the  morning,  0 Ra!  our  lord,  and  we  will  strike  down  thine  enemies  who 
have  taken  counsel  against  thee.’  So  his  Majesty  returned  to  his  mansion, 
descended  from  the  cow,  went  in  along  with  them,  and  earth  was  plunged  into 
darkness.  But  when  there  was  light  upon  earth  the  next  morning,  the  men 
went  forth  with  their  bows  and  their  arrows,  and  began  to  shoot  at  the  enemy. 
Whereupon  the  Majesty  of  this  god  said  unto  them : ‘ Your  sins  are  remitted 
unto  you,  for  sacrifice  precludes  the  execution  of  the  guilty.’  And  this  was 
the  origin  upon  earth  of  sacrifices  in  which  blood  was  shed.”3 

1 Naville,  La  Destruction  des  liommes  par  les  Dieux,  vol.  iv.  pi.  ii.  11.  27-29;  viii.  pi.  ii. 
11.  34-37. 

2 See  what  is  said  in  chap.  ii.  pp.  128,  129,  as  to  the  wresting  of  Nftit  from  the  arms  of  Sibil. 

3 Naville,  La  Destruction  des  hommes  par  les  Dieux,  vol.  iv.  pi.  ii.  11.  27-36.  Many  lacume 
occur  in  this  part  of  the  text  and  make  its  reading  difficult  in  both  cofics.  The  geueral  sense  is 
certain,  apart  from  some  comparatively  unimportant  shades  of  meaning. 


168 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


Thus  it  was  that  when  on  the  point  of  separating  for  ever,  the  god  and  men 
came  to  an  understanding  as  to  the  terms  of  their  future  relationship.  Men 
offered  to  the  god  the  life  of  those  who  had  offended  him.  Human  sacrifice 
was  in  their  eyes  the  obligatory  sacrifice,  the  only  one  which  could  completely 
atone  for  the  wrongs  committed  against  the  godhead ; man  alone  was  worthy 
to  wash  away  with  his  blood  the  sins  of  men.1  For  this  one  time  the  god 
accepted  the  expiation  just  as  it  was  offered  to  him ; then  the  repugnance 
which  he  felt  to  killing  his  children  overcame  him,  he  substituted  beast  for 
man,  and  decided  that  oxen,  gazelles,  birds,  should  henceforth  furnish  the 
material  for  sacrifice.2  This  point  settled,  he  again  mounted  the  cow,  who  rose, 
supported  on  her  four  legs  as  on  so  many  pillars  ; and  her  belly,  stretched 
out  above  the  earth  like  a ceiling,  formed  the  sky.  He  busied  himself 
with  organizing  the  new  world  which  he  found  on  her  back  ; he  peopled  it 
with  many  beings,  chose  two  districts  in  which  to  establish  his  abode,  the 
Field  of  Heeds — Sohhit  lain — and  the  Field  of  liest — SoTiliit  Ilotpit — and  sus- 
pended the  stars  which  were  to  give  light  by  night.  All  this  is  related  with 
many  plays  upon  words,  intended,  according  to  Oriental  custom,  as  explana- 
tions of  the  names  which  the  legend  assigned  to  the  different  regions  of  heaven. 
At  sight  of  a plain  whose  situation  pleased  him,  he  cried : “ The  Field  rests  in 
the  distance ! ” — and  that  was  the  origin  of  the  Field  of  Kest.  He  added : 
“ There  will  I gather  plants ! ” — and  from  this  the  Field  of  Eeeds  took  its 
name.  While  he  gave  himself  up  to  this  philological  pastime,  Nuit,  suddenly 
transported  to  unaccustomed  heights,  grew  frightened,  and  cried  for  help : 
"For  pity’s  sake  give  me  supports  to  sustain  me!”  This  was  the  origin  of 
the  support-gods.  They  came  and  stationed  themselves  by  each  of  her  four 
legs,  steadying  these  with  their  hands,  and  keeping  constant  watch  over 


1 This  legend,  which  seeks  to  explain  the  discontinuance  of  human  sacrifices  among  the  Egyp- 
tians, affords  direct  proof  of  their  existence  in  primitive  times  (Naville,  La  Destruction  des  homines 
par  les  Dieux,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  iv.  pp.  17,  18).  This 
is  confirmed  by  many  facts.  We  shall  see  that  uaslibiti  laid  in  graves  were  in  place  of  the  male 
or  female  slaves  who  were  originally  slaughtered  at  the  tombs  of  the  rich  and  noble  that  they  might 
go  to  serve  their  masters  in  the  next  world  (cf.  p.  193).  Even  in  Thebes,  under  the  XIXth 
dynasty,  certain  rock-cut  tombs  contain  scenes  which  might  lead  us  to  believe  that  occasionally  at 
least  human  victims  were  sent  to  doubles  of  distinction  (Maspero,  Le  Tombeau  de  Montuhihhopshouf, 
in  the  Menroires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  v.  p.  452,  et  seq.).  During  this  same  period,  moreover, 
the  most  distinguished  hostile  chiefs  taken  in  war  were  still  put  to  death  before  the  gods.  Jn 
several  towns,  as  at  Eilithyia  (De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 73,  Parthey’s  edition,  pp.  129,  130)  and  at 
Heliopolis  (Porphyrius,  De  Abstinentia,  ii.  55,  cf.  Eusebius,  Prseper.  Evang.,  iv.  16),  or  before  certain 
gods,  such  as  Osiris  (Diodorus,  i.  88)  or  Kronos-Sibu  (Sextus  Empiricus,  iii.  24,  221),  human 
sacrifice  lasted  until  near  Roman  times.  But  generally  speaking  it  was  very  rare.  Almost  every- 
where cakes  of  a particular  shape,  and  called  rrippara  (Seleucus  of  Alexandria,  in  Athen^us,  iv. 
p.  172),  or  else  animals,  had  been  substituted  for  man. 

2 It  was  asserted  that  the  partisans  of  Apopi  and  of  Sit,  who  were  the  enemies  of  Ra,  Osiris, 
and  the  other  gols,  had  taken  refuge  in  the  bodies  of  certain  animals.  Hence,  it  was  really  human 
or  divine  victims  which  were  offered  when  beasts  were  slaughtered  in  sacrifice  before  the  altars. 


THE  LEGEND  OF  SHU  AND  SIBU. 


169 


them.  As  this  was  not  enough  to  reassure  the  good  beast,  “ Ra  said,  ‘ My 
son  Shu,  place  thyself  beneath  my  daughter  Nuit,  and  keep  watch  on  both 
sides  over  the  supports,  who  live  in  the  twilight ; hold  thou  her  up  above  thy 
head,  and  be  her  guardian ! ’ ” Shu  obeyed  ; Nuit  composed  herself,  and 


NUIT,  THE  COW,  SUSTAINED  ABOVE  THE  EARTH  BY  SHU  AND  THE  SUPPORT-GODS.1 


the  world,  now  furnished  with  the  sky  which  it  had  hitherto  lacked,  assumed 
its  present  symmetrical  form.1 2 

Slur  and  Sibu  succeeded  Ra,  but  did  not  acquire  so  lasting  a popu- 
larity as  their  great  ancestor.  Nevertheless  they  had  their  annals,  frag- 
ments of  which  have  come  down  to  us.3  Their  power  also  extended  over  the 
whole  universe  : “ The  Majesty  of  Shu  was  the  excellent  king  of  the  sky,  of  the 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin.  Cf.  Champollion,  Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi. 
ccxli.  3;  Lefebure,  Le  Tombeau  de  S&ti  I.  (in  the  Me  moires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  ii.),  part  iv. 
pi.  xvii. 

- Naville,  La  Destruction  des  hommes  par  les  Dieux,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archaeology,  vol.  iv.  pi.  ii.  1.  37,  et  seq. 

3 They  have  been  preserved  upon  the  walls  of  a naos  whioh  was  first  erected  in  A'it-Nobsft,  a city 
of  the  Eastern  Delta,  and  afterwards  transported  towards  the  beginning  of  the  Eornan  period  into  the 
suburban  district  of  Ithinoeolura,  the  El-Arish  of  to-day.  This  naos,  which  was  discovered  and 
pointed  out  by  Guerin  more  than  twenty  years  ago  {Judde,  vol.  ii.  p.  241),  has  been  copied,  published, 
and  translated  by  Griffith  ( The  Antiquities  of  Tell  el  Yahudiyeh,  in  the  Seventh  Memoir  of  the 
Egypt  Exploration  Fund,  pis.  xxiii.-xxv.,  and  pp.  70-72;  cf.  Maspero  in  the  Jtevue  Critique,  1891, 
vol.  i.  pp.  44-46). 


170 


THE  LEG  END  All  Y HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


earth,  of  Ilades,  of  the  water,  of  the  winds,  of  the  inundation,  of  the  two  chains 
of  mountains,  of  the  sea,  governing  with  a true  voice  according  to  the  precepts 
of  his  father  Ea-Harmakhis.” 1 Only  “the  children  of  the  serpent  Apopi,  the 
impious  ones  who  haunt  the  solitary  places  and  the  deserts,”  disavowed  his 
authority.  Like  the  Bedawin  of  later  times,  they  suddenly  streamed  in  by  the 
isthmus  routes,  went  up  into  Egypt  under  cover  of  night,  slew  and  pillaged,  and 
then  hastily  returned  to  their  fastnesses  with  the  booty  which  they  had  carried 
off.2  From  sea  to  sea  Ea  had  fortified  the  eastern  frontier  against  them.  He 
had  surrounded  the  principal  cities  with  walls,  embellished  them  with  temples, 
and  placed  within  them  those  mysterious  talismans  more  powerful  for 
defence  than  a garrison  of  men.  Thus  Ait-nobsu,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Wady-Tumilat,  possessed  one  of  the  rods  of  the  Sun-god,  also  the  living 
uraeus  of  his  crown  whose  breath  consumes  all  that  it  touches,  and,  finally,  a 
lock  of  his  hair,  which,  being  cast  into  the  waters  of  a lake,  was  changed  into 
a hawk-headed  crocodile  to  tear  the  invader  in  pieces.3  The  employment  of 
these  talismans  was  dangerous  to  those  unaccustomed  to  use  them,  even  to 
the  gods  themselves.  Scarcely  was  Sibu  enthroned  as  the  successor  of  Shu, 
who,  tired  of  reigning,  had  reascended  into  heaven  in  a nine  days’  tempest, 
before  he  began  his  inspection  of  the  eastern  marches,  and  caused  the  box  in 
which  was  kept  the  uraeus  of  Ea  to  be  opened.  “ As  soon  as  the  living  viper 
had  breathed  its  breath  against  the  Majesty  of  Sibu  there  was  a great  disaster 
— great  indeed,  for  those  who  were  in  the  train  of  the  god  perished,  and  his 
Majesty  himself  was  burned  in  that  day.  When  his  Majesty  had  fled  to  the 
north  of  Ait-nobsu,  pursued  by  the  fire  of  this  magic  uraeus,  behold ! when  he 
came  to  the  fields  of  henna,  the  pain  of  his  burn  was  not  yet  assuaged,  and 
the  gods  who  were  behind  him  said  unto  him:  ‘0  Sire!  let  them  take  the 
lock  of  Ea  which  is  there,  when  thy  Majesty  shall  go  to  see  it  and  its  mystery, 
and  his  Majesty  shall  be  healed  as  soon  as  it  shall  be  placed  upon  thee.’  So 
the  Majesty  of  Sibu  caused  the  magic  lock  to  be  brought  to  Piarit — the  lock 
for  which  was  made  that  great  reliquary  of  hard  stone  which  is  hidden  in  the 
secret  place  of  Piarit,  in  the  district  of  the  divine  lock  of  the  Lord  Ea, — and 
behold  ! this  fire  departed  from  the  members  of  the  Majesty  of  Sibu.  And  many 

1 Griffith,  The  Antiquities  of  Tell  el  Yahudiyeh,  in  the  Seventh  Memoir  of  the  Egypt  Exploration 
Fund , pi.  xxiv.  11.  1,  2. 

- Ibid.,  ibid.,  pi.  xxiv.  1.  24,  et  seq. 

3 Egyptians  of  all  periods  never  shrank  from  such  marvels.  One  of  the  tales  of  the  second 
Theban  empire  tells  us  of  a piece  of  wax  which,  on  being  thrown  into  the  water,  changed  into 
a living  crocodile  capable  of  devouring  a man  (Erman,  Die  Miirclien  des  Papyrus  Westcar,  pis.  iii., 
iv.,  p.  8;  cf.  Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  CO-63).  The  talismans  which  protected 
Egypt  against  barbarian  invasion  are  mentioned  by  the  Pseudo-Callisthenes  (§  1,  Muller’s  edition, 
in  the  Arrianus  of  the  Didot  collection),  who  in  several  cases  attributes  their  invention  to  the  Phar- 
aoh Nectanebo.  Arab  historians  often  refer  to  them  ( L'Egypte  de  Murtadi,  V allien's  translation,  pp. 
26.  57,  etc. ; Macoudi,  Les  Prairies  d’Or,  translated  by  Barbier  de  Meynard,  vol.  ii.  pp.  414-417). 


THE  REIGN  OF  OSIRIS  ONNOPHRIS  AND  OF  ISIS. 


years  afterwards,  when  this  look,  which  had  thus  belonged  to  Sibu,  was 
brought  back  to  Piarit  in  Ait-nobsu,  and  cast  into  the  great  lake  of  Piarit 
whose  name  is  Ait-tostesu,  the  dwelling  of  waves,  that  it  might  be  purified, 
behold  ! this  lock  became  a crocodile  : it  flew  to  the  water  and  became  Sobku, 
the  divine  crocodile  of  Ait-nobsu.” 1 In  this  way  the  gods  of  the  solar  dynasty 
from  generation  to  generation  multiplied  talismans  and  enriched  the  sanc- 
tuaries of  Egypt  with  relics. 


THREE  OF  THE  DIVINE  AMULETS  PRESERVED  IN  THE  TEMPLE  OF  AIT-NOBSU  AT  THE 

ROMAN  PERIOD. 


Were  there  ever  duller  legends  and  of  more  antiquated  phantasy  ? They 
did  not  spring  spontaneously  from  the  lips  of  the  people,  but  were  composed 
at  leisure  by  priests  desirous  of  enhancing  the  antiquity  of  their  cult,  and 
augmenting  the  veneration  of  its  adherents  in  order  to  increase  its  importance. 
Each  city  wished  it  to  be  understood  that  its  feudal  sanctuary  was  founded 
upon  the  very  day  of  creation,  that  its  privileges  had  been  extended  or  con- 
firmed during  the  course  of  the  first  divine  dynasty,  and  that  these  pretensions 
were  supported  by  the  presence  of  objects  in  its  treasury  which  had  belonged 
to  the  oldest  of  the  king-gods.3  Such  was  the  origin  of  tales  in  which  the 
personage  of  the  beneficent  Pharaoh  is  often  depicted  in  ridiculous  fashion. 
Did  we  possess  all  the  sacred  archives,  we  should  frequently  find  them  quoting 
as  authentic  history  more  than  one  document  as  artificial  as  the  chronicle 
of  Ait-nobsu.  When  we  come  to  the  later  members  of  the  Ennead,  there  is 
a change  in  the  chai-acter  and  in  the  form  of  these  tales.  Doubtless  Osiris 

1 Griffith,  The  Antiquities  of  Tell  el  Yahudiyeh,  in  the  Seventh  Memoir  of  the  Egypt  Exploration 
Fund,  pi.  xxv.  11.  14-21. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Griffith,  The  Antiquities  of  Tell  el  Yahudiyeh, 
pi.  xxiii.  3.  The  three  talismans  here  represented  are  two  crowns,  each  in  a naos,  and  the  burning 
fiery  uroeus. 

3 Dendcrah,  for  example,  had  been  founded  under  the  divine  dynasties,  in  the  time  of  the  Servants 
of  Ilorus  (Dumichen,  Bauurhunde  der  Tempelanlagen  von  Dendera,  pp.  IS,  19,  and  pi.  xv.  11.  37,  3S), 


172 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EOYRT. 


and  Sit  did  not  escape  unscathed  out  of  the  hands  of  the  theologians ; but 
even  if  sacerdotal  interference  spoiled  the  legend  concerning  them,  it  did  not 
altogether  disfigure  it.  Here  and  there  in  it  is  still  noticeable  a sincerity 
of  feeling  and  liveliness  of  imagination  such  as  are  never  found  in  those  of 
Shu  and  of  Sibu.  This  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  functions  of  these  gods 
left  them  strangers,  or  all  but  strangers,  to  the  current  affairs  of  the  world. 
Shu  was  the  stay,  Sibu  the  material  foundation  of  the  world ; and  so  long  as 
the  one  bore  the  weight  of  the  firmament  without  bending,  and  the  other 
continued  to  suffer  the  tread  of  human  generations  upon  his  back,  the  devout 
took  no  more  thought  of  them  than  they  themselves  took  thought  of  the 
devout.  The  life  of  Osiris,  on  the  other  hand,  was  intimately  mingled  with 
that  of  the  Egyptians,  and  his  most  trivial  actions  immediately  reacted  upon 
their  fortunes.  They  followed  the  movements  of  his  waters ; they  noted  the 
turning-points  in  his  struggles  against  drought ; they  registered  his  yearly 
decline,  yearly  compensated  by  his  aggressive  returns  and  his  intermittent 
victories  over  Typhon  ; his  proceedings  and  his  character  were  the  subject  of 
their  minute  study.  If  his  waters  almost  invariably  rose  upon  the  appointed 
day  and  extended  over  the  black  earth  of  the  valley,  this  was  no  mechanical 
function  of  a being  to  whom  the  consequences  of  his  conduct  are  indifferent ; 
he  acted  upon  reflection,  and  in  full  consciousness  of  the  service  that  he 
rendered.  He  knew  that  by  spreading  the  inundation  he  prevented  the 
triumph  of  the  desert;  he  was  life,  he  was  goodness — Onnofriu — and  Isis,  as 
the  partner  of  his  labours,  became  like  him  the  type  of  perfect  goodness.  But 
while  Osiris  developed  for  the  better,  Sit  was  transformed  for  the  worse,  and 
increased  in  wickedness  as  his  brother  gained  in  purity  and  moral  elevation. 
In  proportion  as  the  person  of  Sit  grew  more  defined,  and  stood  out  more 
clearly,  the  evil  within  him  contrasted  more  markedly  with  the  innate  goodness 
of  Osiris,  and  what  had  been  at  first  an  instinctive  struggle  between  two  beings 
somewhat  vaguely  defined — the  desert  and  the  Nile,  water  and  drought — was 
changed  into  conscious  and  deadly  enmity.  No  longer  the  conflict  of  two 
elements,  it  was  war  between  two  gods;  one  labouring  to  produce  abundance, 
while  the  other  strove  to  do  away  with  it ; one  being  all  goodness  and  life, 
while  the  other  was  evil  and  death  incarnate. 

A very  ancient  legend  narrates  that  the  birth  of  Osiris  and  his  brothers 
took  place  during  the  five  additional  days  at  the  end  of  the  year;1  a sub- 

1 These  five  days  were  of  peculiar  importance  in  Egyptian  eyes;  they  were  so  many  festivals 
consecrated  to  the  worship  of  the  dead.  In  a hieratic  papyrus  of  Kamesside  date  (I  346  of  Leyden), 
we  still  have  a Bool i of  the  Five  Days  over  and  above  the  Year,  which  has  been  translated  and  briefly 
commented  upon  by  Chabas  ( Le  Caltndrier  des  jours  fastes  et  ndfastes  de  Vannde  dgyptienne,  pp. 
101-107).  Osiris  was  born  the  first  day,  Harceris  the  second,  Sit  the  third,  Isis  the  fourth,  Nephthys 
the  fifth;  and  the  order  indicated  by  the  papyrus  is  confirmed  by  scattered  references  on  the  monu- 


THE  CIVILIZATION  OF  EGYPT  BY  OSIRIS  AND  ISIS. 


173 


sequent  legend  explained  how  Nuit  and  Sibu  had  contracted  marriage  against 
the  express  wish  of  Ra,  and  without  his  knowledge.  When  he  became  aware 
of  it  he  fell  into  a violent  rage,  and  cast  a spell  over  the  goddess  to  prevent  her 
giving  birth  to  her  children  in  any  montli  of  any  year  whatever.  But  Thot  took 
pity  upon  her,  and  playing  at  draughts  with  the  moon  won  from  it  in  several 
games  one  seventy-second  part  of  its  fires,  out  of  which  he  made  five  whole 
days ; and  as  these  were  not  included  in  the  ordinary  calendar,  Nuit  could  then 
bring  forth  her  five  children,  one  after  another : Osiris,  Haroeris,  Sit,  Isis,  and 
Nephthys.1  Osiris  was  beautiful  of  face,  but  with  a dull  and  black  complexion  ; 
his  height  exceeded  five  and  a half  yards.2  He  was  born  at  Thebes,3  in  the 
first  of  the  additional  days,  and  straightway  a mysterious  voice  announced  that 
the  lord  of  all — nibu-r-zaru — had  appeared.  The  good  news  was  hailed  with 
shouts  of  joy,  followed  by  tears  and  lamentations  when  it  became  known  with 
what  evils  he  was  menaced.4  The  echo  reached  Ra  in  his  far-off  dwelling,  and 
his  heart  rejoiced,  notwithstanding  the  curse  which  he  had  laid  upon  Nuit. 
He  commanded  the  presence  of  his  great  grandchild  in  Xo'is,  and  unhesitatingly 
acknowledged  him  as  the  heir  to  his  throne.5  Osiris  had  married  his  sister 
Isis,  even,  so  it  was  said,  while  both  of  them  were  still  within  their  mother’s 
womb;6  and  when  he  became  king  he  made  her  queen  regnant  and 

merits.  Thus,  an  inscription  of  the  high  priest  Mankhopirri  of  the  XXIst  dynasty  records  that 
Isis  was  born  on  the  fourth  of  these  days,  which  coincided  with  the  festival  of  Ammon  at  the  begin- 
ning of  tho  year  (Brugscii,  Recueil  de  Monuments , vol.  i.  pi.  xxii.  1.  9;  and  E.  de  Rouge,  Etudes  sur 
les  monuments  du  massif  de  Karnak,  in  the  Ne'langes  d’ Archdologie,  vol.  i.  p.  133).  An  inscription  in 
the  small  temple  of  Apit  in  Thebes  (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iv.  29)  places  the  birth  of  Osiris  on  the  first  of 
the  epagomenous  days. 

1 All  that  remains  to  us  of  this  legend  is  its  Hellenized  interpretation  as  given  iu  De  lside  et 
Osiride  (Leemans’  edition,  § 12,  pp.  18-21).  But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  taken  from  a 
good  source,  like  most  of  the  tales  included  in  this  curious  treatise. 

2 De  lside  et  Osiride  (Leemans’  edition,  § 33,  p.  57) : T&v  Se  ‘'Oaripiv  aii  vraA i u u \dyxpovr  yeyoverai 
p.v8o\oyoviriy.  As  a matter  of  fact,  Osiris  is  often  represented  with  black  or  green  hands  and  face, 
as  is  customary  for  gods  of  the  dead;  it  was  probably  this  peculiarity  which  suggested  the  popular 
idea  of  his  black  complexion  (Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  p.  81).  A magic 
papyrus  of  Ramesside  times  fixes  the  stature  of  the  god  at  seven  cubits  (Chauas,  Le  Papyrus  magique 
Harris,  pp.  116,  117),  and  a phrase  in  a Ptolemaic  inscription  places  it  at  eight  cubits,  six  palms, 
three  fingers  (Dumichen,  Historisclie  Inschriften,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxxv.). 

3 Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iv.  29  b,  53  «;  Bkugsch,  Dictionnaire  Ge'ograpliique,  p.  865.  Originally  he 
was  a native  of  Mendes  (see  p.  130);  the  change  of  his  birthplace  dates  from  the  Theban  supremacy. 

4 One  variant  of  the  legend  told  that  a certain  Pamylis  of  Thebes  having  gone  to  draw  water  had 
heard  a voice  proceeding  from  the  temple  of  Zeus,  which  ordered  him  to  proclaim  aloud  to  the  world 
the  birth  of  the  great  king,  the  beneficent  Osiris.  He  had  received  the  child  from  the  hands  of 
Kronos,  brought  it  up  to  youth,  and  to  him  the  Egyptians  had  consecrated  the  feast  of  Pamylies, 
which  resembled  the  Phallopkoros  festival  of  the  Greeks  {De  lside  et  Osiride,  Leemans’  edition,  § 12, 
pp.  19,  20). 

Papyrus  3079  in  the  Louvre,  p.  ii.  11.  18,  20;  in  Pierret,  Etudes  Egyptoiogiques,  pp.  33,  34;  cf. 
Bkugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie  der  alten  JEgypter,  pp.  627,  628. 

6 De  lside  et  Osiride,  Leemans’  edition,  § 12,  pp.  20,  21.  Haroeris,  the  Apollo  of  the  Greeks,  was 
supposed  to  be  the  issue  of  a marriage  consummated  before  the  birth  of  his  parents  while  they  were 
still  within  the  womb  of  their  mother  Rhea-Nhit  {De  lside  et  Osiride,  Leemans’  edition,  § 12,  pp.  20, 
21,  and  § 54,  p.  7).  This  was  a way  of  connecting  the  personage  of  Haroeris  with  the  Osirian  myths 
by  confounding  him  with  the  homonymous  Harsiesis,  the  son  of  Isis,  who  became  the  son  of  Osiris 
through  his  mother’s  marriage  with  that  god. 


174 


THE  LEO  END  ARY  HISTORY  OE  EGYPT. 


the  partner  of  all  his  undertakings.  The  Egyptians  were  as  yet  but  half 
civilized;  they  were  cannibals,  and  though  occasionally  they  lived  upon  the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  they  did  not  know  how  to  cultivate  them.  Osiris  taught 
them  the  art  of  making  agricultural  implements— the  plough  and  the  hoe, — 
field  labour,  the  rotation  of  crops,  the  harvesting  of  wheat  and  barley,1  and 
vine  culture.2  Isis  weaned  them  from  cannibalism,8  healed  their  diseases  by 
means  of  medicine  or  of  magic,  united  women  to  men  in  legitimate  marriage,4 
and  showed  them  how  to  grind  grain  between  two  flat  stones  and  to  prepare 
bread  for  the  household.5  She  invented  the  loom  with  the  help  of  her  sister 
Nephthys,  and  was  the  first  to  weave  and  bleach  linen.6  There  was  no  worship 
of  the  gods  before  Osiris  established  it,  appointed  the  offerings,  regulated  the 
order  of  ceremonies,  and  composed  the  texts  and  melodies  of  the  liturgies.7 
He  built  cities,  among  them  Thebes  itself,8  according  to  some ; though  others 
declared  that  he  was  born  there.  As  he  had  been  the  model  of  a just  and  pacific 
king,  so  did  he  desire  to  be  that  of  a victorious  conqueror  of  nations ; and,  placing 
the  regency  in  the  hands  of  Isis,  he  went  forth  to  war  against  Asia,  accom- 
panied by  Thot  the  ibis  and  the  jackal  Anubis.  He  made  little  or  no  use  of 
force  and  arms,  but  he  attacked  men  by  gentleness  and  persuasion,  softened 
them  with  songs  in  which  voices  were  accompanied  by  instruments,  and  taught 
them  also  the  arts  which  he  had  made  known  to  the  Egyptians.  No  country 
escaped  his  beneficent  action,  and  he  did  not  return  to  the  banks  of  the  Nile 
until  he  had  traversed  and  civilized  the  world  from  one  horizon  to  the  other.9 

Sit-Typhon  was  red-haired  and  white-skinned,  of  violent,  gloomy,  and 
jealous  temper.10  Secretly  he  aspired  to  the  crown,  and  nothing  but  the 

1 Diodorus  (book  i.  § 14)  even  ascribes  to  liim  the  discovery  of  barley  and  of  wheat ; this  is  con- 
sequent upon  the  identification  of  Isis  with  Demeter  by  the  Greeks.  According  to  the  historian,  Leo 
of  Pella  (fragments  3,  4,  in  Muller-Didot,  Fragmenta  Historicorum  Grascorum,  vol.  ii.  p.  331),  the 
goddess  twined  herself  a crown  of  ripe  ears  and  placed  it  upon  her  head  one  day  when  she  was 
sacrificing  to  her  parents. 

2 Be  Iside  et  Osiride  (Leemans’  edition),  § 13,  p.  21;  Diodorus  Siculus,  book  i.  § 14,  15;  iyw 
iropous  avOpuirois  avRim fa  (Hymn  found  in  the  island  of  Ios,  Kaibel,  Epigrammata  Grxca,  p.  xxi.).  In 
Avienus,  Besc.  Orhis,  354,  and  in  Servius,  Ad  Georgicorum,  i.  19.  Osiris  is  the  inventor  of  the  plough. 

3 Eyai  /Hera  toO  aS e\tpov  'Oaipews  ras  avdpwirocpay'ias  %-navov  (Kaibel,  Epigrammata  Grxca,  p.  xxi.). 

4 ’Eyw  ywcuKa  kcu  avSpa  auwnyaya  (Hymn  of  Ios,  in  Kaibel,  Epigrammata  Grxca,  p.  xxi.). 

3 Diodorus  Siculus,  book  i.  § 25 ; cf.  the  medical  or  magic  recipes  ascribed  to  her  in  the  Ebers 
Papyrus,  pi.  xlvii.  11.  5-10,  and  on  the  Metternicli  Stela,  Golenischeff’s  edition,  pi.  iv.  1.  4,  v.  1.  100 
and  pp.  10-12. 

6 This  is  implied  among  other  passages  in  those  from  the  Ritual  of  Embalmment,  where  Isis  and 
Nephthys  are  represented  as  the  one  spinning  and  the  other  weaving  linen  (Maspero,  Mtfmoire  sur 
quelques  papyrus  du  Louvre,  pp.  35,  81). 

7 The  first  temples  were  raised  by  Osiris  and  Isis  (Diodorus  Siculus,  book  i.  § 15),  as  also  the 
first  images  of  the  gods:  cyu  aya\p.ara  iarav  eSlSa^a,  iyw  rep.ivr\  Qtwv  elbpvaapi)v  (Hymn  of  Ios,  ill 
Kaibel,  Epigrammata  Grxca,  pp.  xxi.,  xxii.).  Osiris  invented  two  of  the  flutes  used  by  Egyptians 
at  their  feasts  (Juba,  fragm.  73,  in  Muller-Didot,  Fragm.  II.  Grxc.,  vol.  iii.  p.  481). 

8 Baton,  fragm.  of  the  Persica  in  Muller-Didot,  Fragm.  H.  Grxc,  vol.  iv.  p.  348. 

n Diodorus  Siculus,  book  i.  § 17-20;  Be  Iside  et  Osiride,  Leemans’  edition,  § 13,  p.  21. 

10  The  colour  of  his  hair  was  compared  with  that  of  a red-haired  ass,  and  on  that  account  the  ass 
was  sacred  to  him  ( Be  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 22,  30,  31,  Leemans’  edition,  pp.  37,  51,  52).  As  to  his 


175 


OSIRIS,  SLAIN  BY  SIT,  IS  SEPULCHRED  BY  ISIS. 

vigilance  of  Isis  had  kept  him  from  rebellion  during  the  absence  of  his 
brother.1  The  rejoicings  which  celebrated  the  king’s  return  to  Memphis 
provided  Sit  with  his  opportunity  for  seizing  the  throne.  He  invited  Osiris 
to  a banquet  along  with  seventy-two  officers  whose  support  he  had  ensured, 
made  a wooden  chest  of  cunning  work- 
manship and  ordered  that  it  should  be 
brought  in  to  him,  in  the  midst  of  the 
feast.  As  all  admired  its  beauty,  he 
sportively  promised  to  present  it  to  any 
one  among  the  guests  whom  it  should 
exactly  fit.  All  of  them  tried  it,  one 
after  another,  and  all  unsuccessfully  ; but 
when  Osiris  lay  down  within  it,  imme- 
diately the  conspirators  shut  to  the  lid, 
nailed  it  firmly  down,  soldered  it  toge- 
ther with  melted  lead,  and  then  threw 
it  into  the  Tanitic  branch  of  the  Nile, 
which  carried  it  to  the  sea.2  The  news 
of  the  crime  spread  terror  on  all  sides. 

The  gods  friendly  to  Osiris  feared  the 
fate  of  their  master,  and  hid  themselves  within  the  bodies  of  animals 
to  escape  the  malignity  of  the  new  king.4  Isis  cut  off  her  hair,  rent  her 
garments,  and  set  out  in  search  of  the  chest.  She  found  it  aground  near  the 
mouth  of  the  river  5 under  the  shadow  of  a gigantic  acacia,6  deposited  it  in  a 

violent  and  jealous  disposition,  see  the  opinion  of  Diodorus  Siculus,  book  i.  21,  and  the  picture  drawn 
by  Synesius  in  his  pamphlet  JEgyptius.  It  was  told  how  he  tore  his  mother’s  bowels  at  birth,  and 
made  his  own  way  into  the  world  through  her  side  (De  Iside  et  Osiride,  Lee  mays’  edition,  § 12,  p.  20). 

1 De  Iside  et  Osiride,  Leemans’  edition,  § 13,  p.  21. 

- The  episode  of  the  chest  in  which  Sit  shut  up  Osiris  is  briefly  but  quite  intelligibly  mentioned 
in  a formula  of  the  Harris  great  magic  papyrus  (Chabas’  edition,  pp.  116,  117). 

3 Drawing  by  Boudier  of  the  gold  group  in  the  Louvre  Museum  (Pierret,  Catalogue  de  la  Salle 
Historique  de  la  Galerie  Egyptienne  du  Musde  du  Louvre,  No.  24,  pp.  15,  10).  The  drawing  is  made 
from  a photograph  which  belonged  to  M.  de  Witte,  before  the  monument  was  acquired  by  E.  de  Ilouge 
in  1871.  The  little  square  pillar  of  lapis-lazuli,  upon  which  Osiris  squats,  is  wrongly  set  up,  and  the 
names  and  titles  of  King  Osorkon,  the  dedicator  of  the  triad,  are  placed  upside  down. 

1 De  Iside  et  Osiride,  Leemans’  edition,  § 72,  p.  126. 

5 At  this  point  the  legend  of  the  Saite  and  Greek  period  interpolates  a whole  chapter,  telling 
how  the  chest  was  carried  out  to  sea  and  cast  upon  the  Phoenician  coast  near  to  Byblos.  The  acacia, 
a kind  of  heather  or  broom  in  this  case,  grew  up  enclosing  the  chest  within  its  trunk  (De  Iside  et 
Osiride,  Leemans’  edition,  § 15-17,  pp.  25-29).  This  addition  to  the  primitive  legend  must  date  from 
the  XVIIIth  to  the  XXth  dynasties,  when  Egypt  had  extensive  relations  with  the  peoples  of  Asia. 
No  trace  of  it  whatever  has  hitherto  been  found  upon  Egyptian  monuments  strictly  so-called ; not 
even  on  the  latest. 

6 A bas-relief  in  the  little  temple  of  Taharku,  at  Thebes  (Prisse  d’Avennes,  Monuments  dc 
VEgypte,  pi.  xxx.),  represents  a tree  growing  upon  a mound,  and  within  it  is  insciibed  the  name  of 
Osiris.  The  story  shows  us  that  this  is  the  Acacia  ( Nilotica ) of  the  chest,  beneath  which  the  waters 
had  laid  the  coffin  of  the  god  (Deveria,  Sur  un  bas-relief  dgyptien  relatif  a des  textes  de  Plutarque, 
in  the  Bulletin  de  la  Societd  des  Antiquaires  de  France,  1858,  3rd  series,  vol.  v.  pp.  133-136). 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


176 

secluded  place  where  no  one  ever  came,  and  then  took  refuge  in  Bulo,  her 
own  domain  and  her  native  city,  whose  marshes  protected  her  from  the  designs 
of  Typhon  even  as  in  historic  times  they  protected  more  than  one  Pharaoh 
from  the  attacks  of  his  enemies.  There  she  gave  birth  to  the  young  Horus, 
nursed  and  reared  him  in  secret  among  the  reeds,  far  from  the  machinations  of 
the  wicked  one.1  But  it  happened  that  Sit,  when  hunting  by  moonlight, 
caught  sight  of  the  chest,  opened  it,  and  recognizing  the  corpse,  cut  it  up  into 
fourteen  pieces,  which  he  scattered  abroad  at  random.  Once  more  Isis  set 
forth  on  her  woeful  pilgrimage.  She  recovered  all  the  parts  of  the  body 
excepting  one  only,  which  the  oxyrhynchus  had  greedily  devoured ; 2 and  with 
the  help  of  her  sister  Nephthys,  her  son  Horus,  Anubis,  and  Thot,  she  joined 
together  and  embalmed  them,  and  made  of  this  collection  of  his  remains  an 
imperishable  mummy,  capable  of  sustaining  for  ever  the  soul  of  a god.  On  his 
coming  of  age,  Horus  called  together  all  that  were  left  of  the  loyal  Egyptians 
and  formed  them  into  an  army.3  His  “Followers” — Shosiiu  Horn — defeated 
the  “ Accomplices  of  Sit  ” — Samiu  Sit — who  were  now  driven  in  their  turn  to 
transform  themselves  into  gazelles,  crocodiles  and  serpents, — animals  which 
were  henceforth  regarded  as  unclean  and  Typhonian.  For  three  days  the  two 
chiefs  had  fought  together  under  the  forms  of  men  and  of  hippopotami,  when 
Isis,  apprehensive  as  to  the  issue  of  the  duel,  determined  to  bring  it  to  an  end. 
“ Lo  1 she  caused  chains  to  descend  upon  them,  and  made  them  to  drop  upon 
Horus.  Thereupon  Horus  prayed  aloud,  saying  : ‘ I am  thy  son  Horus  ! ’ Then 
Isis  spake  unto  the  fetters,  saying : ‘ Break,  and  unloose  yourselves  from  my 
son  Horus!’  She  made  other  fetters  to  descend,  and  let  them  fall  upon  her 
brother  Sit.  Forthwith  he  lifted  up  his  voice  and  cried  out  in  pain,  and  she 
spake  unto  the  fetters  and  said  unto  them:  ‘Break!’  Yea,  when  Sit  prayed 
unto  her  many  times,  saying:  ‘Wilt  thou  not  have  pity  upon  the  brother 
of  thy  son’s  mother?  ’ then  her  heart  was  filled  with  compassion,  and  she  cried 
to  the  fetters : ‘ Break,  for  he  is  my  eldest  brother  ! ’ and  the  fetters  unloosed 

1 The  opening  illustration  of  this  chapter  (p.  155)  is  taken  from  a monument  at  Philm,  and  depicts 
Isis  among  the  reeds.  The  representation  of  the  goddess  as  squatting  upon  a mat  probably  gave 
rise  to  the  legend  of  the  floating  isle  of  Khemmis,  which  Hecatteus  op  Miletus  (fragm.  284  in 
Mulleii-Didot,  Fragm.  Ilist.  Grxc.,  vol.  i.  p.  20)  had  seen  upon  the  lake  of  Buto,  but  whose  existence 
was  denied  by  Herodotus  (ii.  156)  notwithstanding  the  testimony  of  Heeatmus. 

2 This  part  of  the  legend  was  so  thoroughly  well  known,  that  by  the  time  of  the  XIXth  d)  nasty 
it  suggested  incidents  in  popular  literature.  When  Bitiu,  the  hero  of  The  Tale  of  the  Two  Brother s, 
mutilated  himself  to  avoid  the  suspicion  of  adultery,  he  cast  his  bleeding  member  into  the  water,  and 
the  Oxyrhynchus  devoured  it  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires  de  V antique  Fgypte,  2nd  edit.,  p.  15). 

3 Towards  the  Grecian  period  there  was  here  interpolated  an  account  of  how  Osiris  had  returned 
from  the  world  of  the  dead  to  arm  bis  son  and  train  him  to  fight.  According  to  this  tale  he  had 
asked  Horus  which  of  all  animals  seemed  to  him  most  useful  in  time  of  war,  and  Horus  chose  the 
horse  rather  than  the  lion,  because  the  lion  avails  for  the  weak  or  cowardly  in  need  of  kelp,  whereas 
the  horse  is  used  for  the  pursuit  and  destruction  of  the  enemy.  Judging  from  this  reply  that  Horus 
was  ready  to  dare  all,  Osiris  allowed  him  to  enter  upon  the  war  ( De  Iside  et  Osiride,  Hermans’ 
edition,  § 19,  pp.  30-31).  The  mention  of  the  horse  affords  sufficient  proof  that  this  episode  is  of 
comparatively  late  origin  (cf.  p.  32,  note  2,  for  the  date  at  which  the  horse  was  acclimatized  in  Egypt) 


EGYPT  DIVIDED  BETWEEN  IIOB US  AND  SIT. 


177 


themselves  from  him,  and  the  two  foes  again  stood  face  to  face  like  two  men 
who  will  not  come  to  terms.  “ Homs,  furious  at  seeing  his  mother  deprive 
him  of  his  prey,  turned  upon  her  like  a panther  of  the  South. 

She  fled  before  him  on  that  day  when  battle  was  waged  with 
Sit  the  Violent,  and  he  cut  off  her  head.  But  Thot  trans- 
formed her  by  his  enchantments  and  made  a cow’s  head  for  her,” 
thereby  identifying  her  with  her  companion,  Hathor.1  The 
war  went  on,  with  all  its  fluctuating  fortunes,  till  the  gods 
at  length  decided  to  summon  both  rivals  before  their  tribunal. 

According  to  a very  ancient  tradition,  the  combatants  chose 
the  ruler  of  a neighbouring  city,  Thot,  lord  of  Hermopolis 
Parva,2  as  the  arbitrator  of  their  quarrel.  Sit  was  the  first 
to  plead,  and  he  maintained  that  Horus  was  not  the  son  of 
Osiris,  but  a bastard,  whom  Isis  had  conceived  after  the  death 
of  her  husband.  Horus  triumphantly  vindicated  the  legiti- 
macy of  his  birth  ; and  Thot  condemned  Sit  to  restore,  accord- 
ing to  some,  the  whole  of  the  inheritance  which  he  had  wrongly 
retained, — according  to  others,  part  of  it  only.  The  gods  ratified 
the  sentence,  and  awarded  to  the  arbitrator  the  title  of  Uapi- 
rahithui:  he  who  judges  between  two  parties.  A legend  of 
more  recent  origin,  and  circulated  after  the  worship  of  Osiris 
had  spread  over  all  Egypt,  affirmed  that  the  case  had  remained 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  Sibu,  who  was  father  to  the  one,  and 
grandfather  to  the  other  party.  Sibu,  however,  had  pronounced  isis-hathor,  cow- 
the  same  judgment  as  Thot,  and  divided  the  kingdom  into 
halves — poshiii ; Sit  retained  the  valley  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Memphis 
to  the  first  cataract,  while  Horus  entered  into  possession  of  the  Delta.4  Egypt 
henceforth  consisted  of  two  distinct  kingdoms,  of  which  one,  that  of  the  North, 


1 Saltier  Papyrus  IV,  pi.  ii.  1.  6,  et  seq. ; Chabas,  Le  Calendrier  des  jours  pastes  et  nefastes  de 
Vannee,  pp.  28-30,  128.  I be  same  story  is  told  in  De  Iside  et  Osiride  (Lehmans’  edition,  § 10,  p.  32, 
cf.  § 20). 

2 The  Greek  form  of  the  tradition  represents  Thot  as  having  been  the  advocate  and  not  tho 
arbitrator  ( De  hide  et  Osiride,  Leemans’  edition,  § 19,  p.  32).  The  very  title  of  Oapi-rahuhui  itself 
implies  that  Thot  was  actually  the  judge  of  the  dispute.  Baliuhu  strictly  means  comrade,  companion, 
partner  (E.  von  Bergmann,  Inschriftliche  Denlcmdler  der  Sammlung  iig yptischen  Alterthiimer,  in  the 
Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  is.  p.  57,  note  2 ; aud  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  82,  S3). 

3 Drawing  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bronze  statuette  of  Sa'ite  period  iu  the  Gizeh  Museum 
(Mariette,  Album  photographique  du  musVe  de  Boulaq,  pi.  5,  No.  167). 

4 This  legend  was  discovered  by  Goodwin  ( Upon  an  Inscription  of  the  reign  of  Shabaha,  iu  Chabas, 
Melanges  egyptologiques,  3rd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  2-16-285)  in  a British  Museum  test  published  by  Sharpe 
( Egyptian  Inscriptions,  1st  scries,  pis.  sssvi.-sssviii.).  The  only  knowu  copy  dates  no  earlier  than 
the  reign  of  Sabaco,  but  a note  by  the  Egyptian  scribe  iuforms  us  that  it  was  copied  from  a very 
ancient  monument.  Reference  is  also  made  to  the  reconciliation  of  the  two  foes  iu  De  hide  et  Osiride 
(Leemans’  edition,  § 55,  p.  98). 

N 


178 


THE  LEGENDARY  111  STORY  OE  EGYPT. 


recognized  Horus,  the  sou  of  Isis,  as  its  patron  deity ; and  the  other,  that  of 
the  South,  placed  itself  under  the  protection  of  Sit  Nubiti,  the  god  of  Ombos.1 
The  moiety  of  Horus,  added  to  that  of  Sit,  formed  the  kingdom  which  Sibu 
had  inherited ; but  his  children  failed  to  keep  it  together,  though  it  was  after- 
wards reunited  under  Pharaohs  of  human  race.2 

The  three  gods  who  preceded  Osiris  upon  the  throne  had  ceased  to  reign, 
but  not  to  live.  I\a  had  taken  refuge  in  heaven,  disgusted  with  his  own 
creatures;  Shu  had  disappeared  in  the  midst  of  a tempest;3  and  Sibu  had 
quietly  retired  within  his  palace  when  the  time  of  his  sojourning  upon  earth 
had  been  fulfilled.  Not  that  there  was  no  death,  for  death,  too,  together  with 
all  other  things  and  beings,  had  come  into  existence  in  the  beginning,  but 
while  cruelly  persecuting  both  man  and  beast,  had  for  a while  respected  the 
gods.  Osiris  was  the  first  among  them  to  be  struck  down,  and  hence  to  require 
funeral  rites.  He  also  was  the  first  for  whom  family  piety  sought  to  provide 
a happy  life  beyond  the  tomb.  Though  he  was  king  of  the  living  and  the 
dead  at  Mendes  by  virtue  of  the  rights  of  all  the  feudal  gods  in  their  own 
principalities,  his  sovereignty  after  death  exempted  him  no  more  than  the 
meanest  of  his  subjects  from  that  painful  torpor  into  which  all  mortals  fell 
on  breathing  their  last.  But  popular  imagination  could  not  resign  itself  to 
his  remaining  in  that  miserable  state  for  ever.  What  would  it  have  profited 
him  to  have  Isis  the  great  Sorceress  for  his  wife,  the  wise  Horus  for  his 
son,  two  master-magicians — Tliot  the  ibis  and  the  jackal  Anubis — for  his 
servants,  if  their  skill  had  not  availed  to  ensure  him  a less  gloomy  and 
less  lamentable  after-life  than  that  of  men.  Anubis  had  long  before  invented 
the  art  of  mummifying,4  and  his  mysterious  science  had  secured  the  ever- 
lasting existence  of  the  flesh ; but  at  what  a price ! For  the  breathing, 
warm,  fresh-coloured  body,  spontaneous  in  movement  and  function,  was  sub- 
stituted an  immobile,  cold  and  blackish  mass,  a sufficient  basis  for  the 
mechanical  continuity  of  the  double,  but  which  that  double  could  neither 
raise  nor  guide ; whose  weight  paralyzed  and  whose  inertness  condemned  it 

1 Another  form  of  (he  legend  gives  the  27th  Athyr  as  the  date  of  the  judgment,  assigning  Egypt 
to  Horus,  and  to  Sit  Nubia,  or  Voshirit,  the  red  laud  ( Sallier  Papyrus  IV.,  pi.  ix.  1.  4,  et  seq.)  It 
must  have  arisen  towards  the  age  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty,  at  a lime  when  their  piety  no  longer 
allowed  the  devout  to  admit  that  the  murderer  of  Osiris  could  be  the  legitimate  patron  of  half 
the  country.  So  the  half  belonging  to  Sit  was  then  placed  either  in  Nubia  or  in  the  western  desert, 
which  had,  indeed,  been  reckoned  as  his  domain  from  earliest  times. 

- Sit  and  Horus,  as  gods  of  South  and  North,  are  sometimes  called  the  two  Horuses,  and  their 
kingdoms  the  two  halves  of  the  two  Horuses.  Examples  of  these  phrases  have  been  collected  by 
Ed.  Meyer,  in  Set-Typlion , pp.  31-40,  where  their  meaning  is  not  explained  clearly  enough. 

3 Griffith,  The  Antiquities  of  Tell-el-Yahudiyeli,  in  the  Seventh  Memoir  of  the  Egypt  Exploration 
Fund,  pi.  xxv.  11.  6-8.  We  may  here  note  the  most  ancient  known  reference  to  the  tempest  whose 
tumult  hid  from  men  the  disappearance  or  apotheosis  of  kings  who  had  ascended  alive  into  heaven. 
Cf.  e.g.  the  story  of  Romulus. 

' Sie  chap.  ii.  p.  112,  et  seq.,  on  embalmment  by  Anubis. 


THE  0 SI  RIAN  EMBALMMENT. 


179 


to  vegetate  in  darkness,  without  pleasure  and  almost  without  consciousness  of 
existence.  Thot,  Isis,  and  Horns  applied  themselves  in  the  case  of  Osiris  to 
ameliorating  the  discomfort  and  constraint  entailed  by  the  more  primitive 
embalmment.  They  did  not  dispense  with  the  manipulations  instituted 
by  Anubis,  but  endued  them  with  new  power  by  means  of  magic.  They 


THE  OSIRIAN  MUMMY  PREPARED  AND  LAID  UPON  THE  FUNERARY  COUCH  BY  THE  JACKAL  ANUBIS.1 


inscribed  the  principal  bandages  with  protective  figures  and  formulas  ; they 
decorated  the  body  with  various  amulets  of  specific  efficacy  for  its  different 
parts;  they  drew  numerous  scenes  of  earthly  existence  and  of  the  life  beyond 
the  tomb  upon  the  boards  of  the  coffin  and  upon  the  walls  of  the  sepulchral 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Rosellim,  MonumenH  Cicili,  pi.  cxxxiv.  2.  While  Anubis  is 
stretching  out  his  hands  to  lay  out  the  mummy  on  its  couch,  the  soul  is  hovering  above  its  breast, 
and  holding  to  its  nostrils  the  sceptre,  and  the  wind-filled  sail  which  is  the  emblem  of  breath  and  of 
the  new  life. 


180  THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 

chamber.1  When  the  body  had  been  made  imperishable,  they  sought  to 
restore  one  by  one  all  the  faculties  of  which  their  previous  operations  had 
deprived  it.  The  mummy  was  set  up  at  the  entrance  to  the  vault;  the 
statue  representing  the  living  person  was  placed  beside  it,  and  semblance  was 
made  of  opening  the  mouth,  eyes,  and  ears,  of  loosing  the  arms  and  legs, 
of  restoring  breath  to  the  throat  and  movement  to  the  heart.  The  incan- 
tations by  which  these  acts  were  severally  accompanied  were  so  powerful  that 
the  god  spoke  and  ate,  lived  and  heard,  and  could  use  his  limbs  as  freely  as 
though  he  had  never  been  steeped  in  the  bath  of  the  embalmer.2  He  might 


THE  RECEPTION  OF  THE  MUMMY  BY  ANUBIS  AT  THE  DOOR  OF  THE  TOMB,  AND  THE  OPENING  OF 

THE  MOUTH.3 

have  returned  to  his  place  among  men,  and  various  legends  prove  that  he  did 
occasionally  appear  to  his  faithful  adherents.  But,  as  his  ancestors  before  him, 
he  preferred  to  leave  their  towns  and  withdraw'  into  his  own  domain.  The  ceme- 
teries of  the  inhabitants  of  Busiris  and  of  Mendes  were  called  Solchit  lain,  the 
Meadow  of  Reeds,  and  Sokliit  Hotpu,  the  Meadow  of  Rest.4  They  w'ere  secluded 
amid  the  marshes,  in  small  archipelagoes  of  sandy  islets  where  the  dead  bodies, 
piled  together,  rested  in  safety  from  the  inundations.5  This  wras  the  first  kingdom 

1 The  incantations  accompanying  the  various  operations  were  described  in  the  Ritual  of  Em- 
balmment, of  which  we  possess  the  conclusion  only  (Mariette,  Papyrus  dgyptiens  du  musde  de  Boulaq, 
vol  i.  pis.  vi-xiv.;  Devekia,  Catalogue  des  Manuscrits  e'gyptiens  qui  sont  conserve's  au  Musde  Ejypticn 
du  Louvre,  pp.  168,  169;  Maspero,  MCmoire  sur  quel ques  papyrus  du  Louvre,  pp.  11-101). 

2 The  Boole  of  the  Opening  of  the  Mouth,  which  describes  these  ceremonies,  Inis  been  published, 
translated  and  commented  upon  by  E.  Schiaparelli,  11  Libro  del  Funerali  dei  Antichi  Egiziani. 
There  are  long  extracts  from  this  book  in  the  pyramids  of  the  Vth  and  VIth  dynasties  and  in 
many  Memphite  and  Theban  tombs,  especially  in  the  tomb  of  Petemeuophis,  which  dates  from  the 
XX VIlh  dynasty  (Dumicuen,  Der  Grabpalast  des  Patuamenap  in  der  Tltebanischen  Nchropolis,  i., 
ii.).  A large  portion  has  been  studied  by  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arclidologie 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  283,  et  scq. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a painting  in  the  tomb  of  a king  in  the  Theban  necropolis 
(Rosellini,  Monument i civili,  pi.  cxxix.  No.  1 ; Ciiampollion,  Monuments  de  V Egypte  et  de  la  Nubie, 
pi.  clxxviii.  ; Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  Ixviii.). 

4 Lauth,  Ahs  JEgyptcns  Vorzeit,  p.  53,  ct  seq.,  was  the  first  to  point  out  this  important  fact  in  ti.c 
history  of  Egyptian  doctrine.  Cf.  Brugsoh,  Dictionnaire  geographique,  pp.  61,  62,  and  Religion  und 
Mytho'ogie  der  aVen  JEgypter,  pp.  175,  176;  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythclogie,  etc.,  vol.  ii  pp.  12-16. 

5 On  the  discovery  of  certaiu  of  these  island  cemeteries  by  the  Arabs,  see  a passage  by  E. 
Qcatremere,  Me',nnires  historiques  et  gdugraphiques  sur  V Egypte,  vol.  i.  pp.  331,  332. 


TEE  KINGDOM  OF  OSIRIS  OPENED  TO  THE  FOLLOWERS  OF  HORUS.  181 


of  the  dead  Osiris,  but  it  was  soon  placed  elsewhere,  as  the  nature  of  the  sur- 
rounding districts  and  the  geography  of  the  adjacent  countries  became  better 
known;  at  first  perhaps  on  the  Phoenician  shore  beyond  the  sea,  and  then 
in  the  sky,  in  the  Milky  Way,  between  the  North  and  the  East,  but  nearer 
to  the  North  than  to  the  East.1  This  kingdom  was  not  gloomy  and  mournful 


OISRIS  IN  HADES,  ACCOMPANIED  BY  ISIS,  AMENT1T,  AND  NEPHTHYS,  RECEIVES  THE  HOMAGE  OF  TRUTH.2 

like  that  of  the  other  dead  gods,  Sokaris  or  Khontamentit,  but  was  lighted 
by  sun  and  moon  ; 3 the  heat  of  the  day  was  tempered  by  the  steady  breath 
of  the  north  wind,  and  its  crops  grew  and  throve  abundantly.4  Thick  walls 
were  its  fortifications  against  the  attacks  of  Sit  and  evil  genii;5  a palace 

1 Maspero,  Eludes  dc  Mythologie  et  de  ArcMulogie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  33G,  et  seq. ; and  vol.  ii. 
pp.  15,  16.  It  was  then  that  the  Milky  Way  part  of  the  sky  came  to  be  considered  as  belonging 
to  Ra,  as  we  have  seen  on  p.  168. 

3  Drawn  by  Faucher-Grudin,  from  a photograph  by  Daniel  Heron,  taken  in  1881  in  the  temple  of 
Scti  I.  at  Abydos. 

3 The  vignettes  on  pp.  192,  194,  taken  from  the  funerary  papyrus  of  Nebhopit  in  Turin,  show  us 
the  fields  of  Iain  lighted  by  the  rayed  disc  of  the  sun  and  by  that  of  the  moon  (Lanzone,  Dizionario 
di  Mitulogia  Egizia,  pi.  v.), 

4 It  is  described  in  chap.  ex.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Navili.e’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  cxxi.-cxxiii. ; 
cf.  Lepsius,  Todtenbueh,  pi.  xli.),  where  there  is  also  a kiud  of  picture  map  giving  the  main  groups  of 
the  celestial  archipelago,  together  with  the  names  of  the  islands  and  of  the  channels  which  separate  them. 

5 Book  of  the  Dead,  chap.  cix.  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  cxx.  1.  7;  cf.  Lepsius,  Todtenbueh,  pi. 
xxxix.  chap.  109,  1.  4).  Lautii  ( Aus  LEgyptens  Vorzeit,  pp.  56-61)  connects  the  name  of  Egyptian 
fortresses,  Anbti,  T €<x°r,  given  to  the  walls  of  Ialu,  with  that  of  the  island  of  Elbo  in  the  marshes  of 
Biito,  which  current  tradition  of  the  Saite  period  made  the  refuge  of  the  blind  Anysis  throughout  the 
whole  duration  of  the  Ethiopian  dominion,  ami  whose  site  was  afterwards  entirely  unknown  until  the 
day  that  the  Pharaoh  Amyrtjeus  flew  thither  to  escape  from  the  Persian  generals  (Herodotus,  ii.  140). 


182 


THE  LEGEND  ARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


like  that  of  the  Pharaohs  stood  in  the  midst  of  delightful  gardens  ; 1 and  there, 
among  his  own  people,  Osiris  led  a tranquil  existence,  enjoying  in  succession 
all  the  pleasures  of  earthly  life  without  any  of  its  pains. 

The  goodness  which  had  gained  him  the  title  of  Onnophris2  while  he 
sojourned  here  below,  inspired  him  with  the  desire  and  suggested  the  means  of 
opening  the  gates  of  his  paradise  to  the  souls  of  his  former  subjects.  Souls  did 
not  enter  into  it  unexamined,  nor  without  trial.  Each  of  them  had  first  to 

prove  that  during  its  earthly  life  it  had 
belonged  to  a friend,  or,  as  the  Egyptian 
texts  have  it,  to  a vassal  of  Osiris — 
cvrnalclm  Tchir  Osiri — one  of  those  who  had 
served  Horus  in  his  exile  and  had  rallied 
to  his  banner  from  the  very  beginning  of 
the  Typhonian  wars.  These  were  those 
followers  of  Horus — Sliosuu  Horu — so 
often  referred  to  in  the  literature  of  his- 
toric times.3  Horus,  their  master,  having 
loaded  them  with  favours  during  life,  de- 
cided to  extend  to  them  after  death  the 
same  privileges  which  he  had  conferred 
upon  his  father.  He  convoked  around 
the  corpse  the  gods  who  had  worked  with  him  at  the  embalmment  of  Osiris : 
Anubis  and  Thot,  Isis  and  Nephthys,  and  his  four  children — Hapi,  Qabhsonuf, 
Amsit,  and  Tiumautf — to  whom  he  had  entrusted  the  charge  of  the  heart  and 
viscera.  They  all  performed  their  functions  exactly  as  bejpre,  repeated  the 
same  ceremonies,  and  recited  the  same  formulas  at  the  same  stages  of  the 
operations,  and  so  effectively  that  the  dead  man  became  a real  Osiris  under 
their  hands,  having  a true  voice,  and  henceforth  combining  the  name  of  the  god 
with  his  own.  He  had  been  Sakhomka  or  Menkauri ; he  became  the  Osiris 
Sakhomka,  or  the  Osiris  Menkauri,  true  of  voice.5  Horus  and  his  com- 
panions then  celebrated  the  rites  consecrated  to  the  “ Opening  of  the  Mouth 
and  the  Eyes;”  animated  the  statue  of  the  deceased,  and  placed  the  mummy 

1 The  description  of  the  pylons  of  Ialu  is  the  subject  of  a special  chapter  in  the  Poole  of  the  Dead , 
chap.  cxlv.  (Navilue’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  clvi.-clix. ; cf.  Lepsius,  Todtenhuch , pis.  lxi.-lxv.). 

2 Cf.  the  explanation  given  o i p.  172  of  Onnophris  as  the  cognomen  of  Osiris. 

3 Cf.  p.  176.  The  Followers  of  Horus,  i.e.  those  who  had  followed  Horus  during  the  Typhonian 
wars,  are  mentioned  in  a Turin  fragment  of  the  Canon  of  the  Kings,  in  which  the  author  sum- 
marizes the  chronology  of  the  divine  period  (Lepsius,  Auswahl  der  wiclitigsten  Urleunden,  pi.  iii. 
fragm.  1,  11.  9,  10).  Like  the  reign  of  11a,  the  time  in  which  the  followers  of  Horus  were  supposed 
to  have  lived  was  for  the  Egyptians  of  classic  times  the  ultimate  point  beyond  which  history  did  not 
reach. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Naville,  Das  Mgyptische  Todtenhuch,  vol.  i.  pi.  cxxviii.  At. 

5 See  pp.  145,  146  for  the  true  voice  and  the  importance  which  the  Egyptians  attached  to  it, 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD. 


183 


in  the  tomb,  where  Anubis  received  it  in  his  arms.  Recalled  to  life  and 
movement,  the  double  reassumed,  one  by  one,  all  the  functions  of  being, 
came  and  went  and  took  part  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  worship  which  was 
rendered  to  him  in  his  tomb.  There  he  might  be  seen  accepting  the  homage 
of  his  kindred,  and  clasping  to  his  breast  his  soul  under  the  form  of  a great 
human-headed  bird  with  features 
the  counterpart  of  his  own.  After 
being  equipped  with  the  formulas 
and  amulets  wherewith  his  pro- 
totype, Osiris,1  had  been  fur- 
nished, he  set  forth  to  seek  the 
“ Field  of  Reeds.”  The  way  was 
long  and  arduous,  strewn  with 
perils  to  which  he  must  have  suc- 
cumbed at  the  very  first  stages 
had  he  not  been  carefully  warned 
beforehand  and  armed  against 
them.2  A papyrus  placed  with 
the  mummy  in  its  coffin  con- 
tained the  needful  topographical 
directions  and  passwords,  in  order 
that  he  might  neither  stray  nor 
perish  by  the  way.  The  wiser 
Egyptians  copied  out  the  principal  chapters  for  themselves,  or  learned 
them  by  heart*  while  yet  in  life,  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  the  life 
beyond.  Those  who  had  not  taken  this  precaution  studied  after  death  the 
copy  with  which  they  were  provided ; and  since  few  Egyptians  could  read 
a priest,  or  relative  of  the  deceased,  preferably  his  son,  recited  the  prayers 
in  the  mummy’s  ear,  that  he  might  learn  them  before  he  was  carried  away 
to  the  cemetery.  If  the  double  obeyed  the  prescriptions  of  the  “ Book 
of  the  Dead  ” to  the  letter,  he  reached  his  goal  without  fail.4  On  leaving 
the  tomb  he  turned  his  back  on  the  valley,  and  staff  in  hand  climbed  the 

1 The  names  of  Khu  dpiru,  “the  equipped  Manes,”  ai  d Kliu  aqiru,  “the  instructed  Manes,”  often 
met  with  in  the  inscriptions  of  funerary  stelae,  arose  from  the  care  which  was  taken  to  equip  the 
dead  with  amulets,  and  instruct  them  in  formulas  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Myiliologie  et  d’Archdolcgie 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  347;  and  Bapport  sur  une  Mission  en  Italie,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  iii.  pp. 
105,  106). 

2 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arelie'ologie  Egyptiennes , vol.  i.  p.  362,  ct  seq. 

3 Drawn  by  Faueher-Gudin,  from  Guieysse-Lefebcre,  Le  Papyrus  de  Soutimes,  pi.  viii.  The  out- 
lines of  the  original  have  unfortunately  been  restored  and  enfeebled  by  the  cop\ist. 

4 Manuscripts  of  this  work  represent  about  nine-tenths  of  the  papyri  hitherto  discovered.  They 
are  not  all  equally  full;  complete  copies  are  still  relatively  scarce,  and  most  of  those  found  with 
mummies  contain  nothing  but  extracts  of  varying  length.  The  book  itself  was  studied  by 


184 


T11E  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


I 


hills  which  bounded  it  on  the  west,  plunging  boldly  into  the  desert,1  where 
some  bird,  or  even  a kindly  insect  such  as  a praying  mantis,  a grasshopper,  or 
a butterfly,  served  as  his  guide.2  Soon  he  came  to  one 
of  those  sycamores  which  grow  in  the  sand  far  away  from 

the  Nile,  and  are  accounted 
magic  trees  by  the  fel- 
lahin.3  Out  of  the  foliage  a 
goddess — Nuit,  Hathor,  or 
Nit — half  emerged,  and 
offered  him  a dish  of  fruit, 
loaves  of  bread,  and  a jar 
of  water.  By  accepting 
these  gifts  he  became  the 
guest  of  the  goddess,  and 
could  never  more  retrace 
his  steps4  without  special 
} emission.  Beyond  the 
sycamore  were  lands  of  terror,  infested  by  serpents  and  ferocious  beasts,0  furrowed 
by  torrents  of  boiling  water,7  intersected  by  ponds  and  marshes  where  gigantic 


CYNOfEPHALI  DKAWING  THE  NET  IN  WHICH  SOULS  AHE  CAUGHT.'1 


Champollion,  who  called  it  the  Funerary  Ritual ; Lcpsins  aft  r wards  gave  it  the  Icsj  definite  name  of 
Boole  of  the  Dead,  which  seems  likely  to  prevail.  It  has  been  chiefly  known  from  the  hieroglyphic  copy 
at  Turin,  which  Lepsius  traced  and  had  lithographed  in  1841,  under  the  title  of  Das  Todtenbuch  der 
YEgypter.  In  1805  E.  de  Rouge  began  to  publish  a hieratic  copy  in  the  Louvre,  but  siuee  1886 
there  has  been  a critical  edition  of  manuscripts  of  the  Theban  p riod  most  carefully  collated  by 
E.  Naville,  Das  YEgyplische  Todtenbuch  der  XVIII  bis  XX  Dynastie,  Berlin,  1886,  2 vols.  of  plates 
in  folio,  and  1 vol.  of  Introduction  ia  4to.  On  this  edi'iou  see  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et 
d’ ArchYologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i pp.  325-387. 

1 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d' Archtfologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  345. 

2 Lepsius,  Aelteste  Texte,  pi.  14,  II.  41,  42;  Maspero,  Quatre  Anrnfes  de  fouilles,  in  the  Mdmoires  de 
la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  i.  p.  165,  11.  468,  469;  and  p.  178,  !.  744.  “My  guide  is  the  syren,  var.  my 
guide  s are  the  syrens.’’  The  syren  is  the  little  green  bird  common  in  the  Theban  plain,  and  well 
known  to  tourists,  which  runs  along  in  front  of  the  asses  and  seems  to  show  travellers  the  way.  On 
this  question  of  bird  or  insect  as  the  gu  de  of  souls  in  the  other  world,  see  Lepage-Renouf,  A Second 
Note,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  p.  398,  et  seq. ; and 
Lefebure,  Etude  sur  Abydos  ( Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  1892-93,  vol.  xv. 
p.  135,  et  seq.). 

3 See  the  account  of  magical  trees  in  chap.  ii.  pp.  121,  122. 

4 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  224-227.  It  was  not  in 
Egypt  alone  that  the  fact  of  accepting  food  offered  by  a god  of  the  dead  constituted  a recognition  of 
suzerainty,  and  prevented  the  human  soul  from  returning  to  the  world  of  the  living.  Traces  of  tb  s 
belief  are  found  everywhere,  in  modern  ns  in  ancient  times,  and  E.  B.  Tylor  has  collected  numerous 
examples  of  the  same  in  Primitive  Culture,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  47,  51,  52. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a facsimile  by  Deveria  (E.  de  Rouge,  Etudes  sur  le  Rituel 
Fundraire,  pi.  iv.  No.  4).  Iguorant  souls  fished  for  by  the  cynocepbali  are  here  represented  ns  fish  ; 
but  the  soul  of  Nofirfibnu,  instructed  in  the  protective  formulas,  preserves  its  human  form. 

0 Chaps,  xxxi.  and  xxxii.  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  xliv.,  xlv.) 
protect  the  deceased  against  crocodiles;  chaps,  xxxv.-xl.  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  xlvi.-liv.) 
enable  him  to  repel  all  manner  of  reptiles,  both  small  and  great. 

7 The  vignette  of  chap,  lxiii.  B (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  Ixxiv.)  shows  us  the  deceased 
calmly  crossing  a river  of  boiling  water  w'hicb  risei  above  his  ankle.  In  chap,  lxiii.  A 


THE  JOURNEYINGS  OF  THE  SOUL. 


185 


monkeys  cast  their  nets.1  Ignorant  souls,  or  those  ill  prepared  for  the  struggle, 
had  no  easy  work  before  them  when  they  imprudently  entered  upon  it.  Those 
who  were  not  overcome  by  hunger  aud  thirst  at  the  outset  were  bitten  by  a 


THE  DECEASED  AND  HIS  WIFE  BEFORE  THE  SYCAMORE  OF  NUIT  RECEIVING  THE  BREAD  AND  WATER 

OF  THE  NEXT  WORLD.2 

ureeus,  or  horned  viper,  hidden  with  evil  intent  below  the  sand,  and  perished 
in  convulsions  from  the  poison ; or  crocodiles  seized  as  many  of  them  as  they 
could  lay  hold  of  at  the  fords  of  rivers ; or  cynocephali  netted  and  devoured 
them  indiscriminately  along  with  the  fish  into  which  the  partisans  of  Typhon 
were  transformed.  They  came  safe  and  sound  out  of  one  peril  only  to  fall  into 
another,  and  infallibly  succumbed  before  they  were  half  through  their  journey. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  double  who  was  equipped  and  instructed,  and  armed 
with  the  true  voice,  confronted  each  foe  with  the  phylactery  and  the  incan- 
tation by  which  his  enemy  was  held  in  check.  As  soon  as  he  caught  sight  of 


(Navilee’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  lxxiii.)  he  is  drinking  the  hot  water,  without  scalding  either  hand  or 
mouth. 

1 Chap,  clxiii.  (Naville's  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  elxxvi.-clxxviii. ; cf.  E.  de  Rough,  Etudes  sur  le 
Rituel  Fune'raire  des  Auciens  Egyptiens,  p.  35,  pis.  iv\,  v.).  The  cynocephili  thus  employed  are 
probably  those  who  hailed  the  setting  sun  near  Abydos,  when  he  entered  up  n the  first  hour  of  the 
night.  Cf.  pp.  82,  S3,  103. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a coloured  plate  in  Rosellint,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  cxxxiv.  3. 


THE  LEG  END  All  Y BISTORT  OF  EGYPT. 


8 G 


ouo  of  them  lie  recited  the  appropriate  chapter  from  his  book,  he  loudly 
proclaimed  himself  Rii,  Tiimu,  Ilorus,  or  Khopri — that  god  whose  name  and 
attributes  were  best  fitted  to  repel  the  immediate  danger — and  flames  withdrew 
at  his  voice,  monsters  fled  or  sank  paralyzed,  the  crudest  of  genii  drew  in 
their  claws  and  lowered  their  arms  before  him.  He  compelled  crocodiles  to 
turn  away  their  heads ; he  transfixed  serpents  with  his  lance  ; he  supplied  him- 
self at  pleasure  with  all  the  provisions  that  he  needed,  and  gradually  ascended 

the  mountains  which  surround  the  world,  some- 
times alone,  and  fighting  his  way  step  by  step, 
sometimes  escorted  by  beneficent  divinities.  Half- 
way up  the  slope  was  the  good  cow  Hathor,  the 
lady  of  the  West,  in  meadows  of  tall  plants  where 
every  evening  she  received  the  sun  at  his  setting.1 

If  the  dead  man  knew  how  to  ask 
it  according  to  the  prescribed 
rite,  she  would  take  him  upon  her 
shoulders 2 3 and  carry  him  across 
the  accursed  countries  at  full  speed. 
Having  reached  the  North,  he 
paused  at  the  edge  of  an  immense 
lake,  the  lake  of  Ivha,  and  saw  in  the  far  distance  the  outline  of  the  Islands 
of  the  Blest.  One  tradition,  so  old  as  to  have  been  almost  forgotten  in 
Ramesside  times,  told  how  Thot  the  ibis  there  awaited  him,  and  bore  him  away 
on  his  wings  ; 4 another,  no  less  ancient  but  of  more  lasting  popularity,  declared 
that  a ferry-boat  plied  regularly  between  the  solid  earth  and  the  shores  of  para- 
dise.5 The  god  who  directed  it  questioned  the  dead,  and  the  bark  itself  proceeded 
to  examine  them  before  they  were  admitted  on  board ; for  it  was  a magic  bark. 
“ Tell  me  my  name,”  cried  the  mast ; and  the  travellers  replied  : “ He  who  guides 


TIIE  DECEASED  PIERCING  A SERPENT  WITH  IlIS  LANCE.3 


1 See  the  different  vignettes  of  chap,  clxxxvi.  of  the  Bool-  of  the  Dead,  as  collected  by  Nayii.le  in 
his  edition  (Das  LEgyptische  Todtenbuch,  vol.  i.  pi.  ccxii.).  Sometimes  the  whole  cow  is  drawn; 
sometimes  it  is  shown  only  as  half  emerging  from  the  arid  slopes  of  the  Libyan  range. 

2 Coffins  of  the  XX"'  and  XXIst  dynasties,  witli  a yellow  ground,  often  display  this  scene,  of  which 
there  is  a good  example  in  Lanzone’s  Dizionurio  di  Nitulogia,  pi.  cccxxii.  2,  taken  from  a coffin 
in  Leyden  (cf.  p.  187).  Generally  the  scene  is  found  beneath  the  feet  of  the  dead,  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  cartonage,  and  the  cow  is  represented  as  carrying  off  at  a gallop  the  mummy  who  is  lying  on 
her  back. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Nayille  (Das  JEgyptisclie  Todtenbuch,  vol.  i.  pi. 
iii.  P b).  T he  commonest  enemies  of  the  dead  were  various  kinds  of  serpents. 

4 It  is  often  mentioned  in  the  Pyramid  texts,  and  inspired  one  of  the  most  obscure  chapters  among 
them  ( Teti , 11.  185-200  ; cf.  Reeueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  v.  pp.  22,  23).  It  seems  that  the  ibis  had  to  fight 
with  Sit  for  right  of  passage. 

5 This  tradition,  like  the  former,  is  often  found  in  the  Pyrnmils,  e.g.  in  three  formulas,  where  the 
god  who  guides  the  boat  is  invoked,  and  informed  why  it  is  incumbent  upon  him  to  give  a good 
reception  to  the  de  cased  {Papi  1.,  11.  396-411  ; cf.  Reeueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  vii.  pp.  161-163). 


TELE  JUDGMENT  OF  THE  OSIRIAN  SOUL. 


187 


the  great  goddess  on  her  way  is  thy  name.”  “Tell  me  my  name,”  repeated  the 
braces.  “The  Spine  of  the  Jackal  Uapuaitu  is  thy  name.”  “Tell  me  my 
name,”  proceeded  the  mast-head.  “ The  Neck  of  Amsit  is  thy  name.”  “ Tell  me 
my  name,”  asked  the  sail.  “ Nuit  is  thy  name.”  Each  part  of  the  hull  and  of 
the  rigging  spoke  in  turn  and  questioned  the  applicant  regarding  its  name,  this 
being  generally  a mystic  phrase  by  which  it  was  identified  either  with  some 
divinity  as  a whole,  or  else 
with  some  part  of  his  body. 

When  the  double  had  estab- 
lished his  right  of  passage  by 
the  correctness  of  his  answers, 
the  bark  consented  to  receive 
him  and  to  carry  him  to  thc- 
fnrther  shore.1 2 

There  he  was  met  by  the 
gods  and  goddesses  of  the 
court  of  Osiris : by  Anubis, 
by  HAtkor  the  lady  of  the 
cemetery,  by  Nit,  by  the 
two  Maits  who  preside  over 
justice  and  truth,  and  by 
the  four  children  of  Horus  stiff-sheathed  in  their  mummy  wrappings.3  They 
formed  as  it  were  a guard  of  honour  to  introduce  him  and  his  winged  guide4 
into  an  immense  hall,  the  ceiling  of  which  rested  on  light  graceful  columns  of 
painted  wood.  At  the  further  end  of  the  hall  Osiris  was  seated  in  mysterious 
twilight  within  a shrine  through  whose  open  doors  he  might  be  seen  wearing  a 
red  necklace  over  his  close-fitting  case  of  white  bandaging,  his  green  face  sur- 
mounted by  the  tall  white  diadem  flanked  by  two  plumes,  his  slender  hands 


1 Chap.  xcix.  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead  (Naville's  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  cx.-cxii.)  is  entirely  devoted 
to  the  bringing  of  the  baric  and  the  long  interrogatories  which  it  involves.  Of  Maspero,  Etudes  de 
Mythologie  et  d Archeologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  374-376. 

2 Drawn  by  Fuucher-Gudin,  from  a coloured  facsimile  published  by  Leemans,  Monuments 
Egyptians  du  Mus&e  d’ Antiquity's  des  Fays-Bas  a Leyden,  part  iii.  pi.  xii. 

3 All  the  scenes  preceding  and  accompanying  (he  judgment  of  the  dead  are  frequently  depicted 
on  the  outside  of  the  yellow-varnished  mummy  cases  of  the  XXth  to  the  XXVIth  dynasties.  Museums 
abound  in  these  monuments,  which  have  hitherto  been  neither  published  nor  studied  as  they  deserve. 
The  one  from  which  I have  taken  my  description  of  the  scenes  and  the  legends  partly  translated 
in  the  text,  is  in  the  Clot-Bey  collection,  and  belongs  to  the  Marseilles  Museum.  It  is  noticed  in 
Maspero,  Catalogue  du  Musde  Egyptien  de  Marseille,  pp.  36-30. 

4 Booh  of  the  Dead,  chap,  lxxvi.  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  Ixxxv  iii.  11.  1,2;  cf.  Lepsius,  Todten- 
buch,  chap,  lxxvi.  1.  1):  “I  enter  into  the  Palace  of  the  Prince,  for  the  Bird  is  my  guide.”  See  also 
chap.  civ.  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  cxvi.  11.  4,  5.  Cf.  Lepage- Renouf,  A Second  Note  (in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archgeology,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  309,  400),  and  Lefebure,  Etude  sur 
Abydos  {id.,  vol.  xv.  pp.  143,  144). 


188 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


grasping  flail  and  crook,  the  emblems  of  his  power.  Behind  him  stood  Isis  and 
Nephthys  watching  over  him  with  uplifted  hands,  bare  bosoms,  and  bodies 
straitly  casod  in  linen.  Forty-two  jurors  who  had  died  and  been  restored 
to  life  like  their  lord,  and  who  had  been  chosen,  one  from  each  of  those  cities 
of  Egypt  which  recognized  his  authority,  squatted  right  and  left,  and  motion- 
less, clothed  in  the  wrappings  of  the  dead,  silently  waited  until  they  were 
addressed.  The  soul  first  advanced  to  the  foot  of  the  throne,  carrying  on  its 


ANUBIS  AND  THOT  WEIGHING  THE  HEART  OF  THE  DECEASED  IN  THE  SCALES  OF  TRUTH.1 


outstretched  hands  the  image  of  its  heart  or  of  its  eyes,  agents  and  accomplices 
of  its  sins  and  virtues.  It  humbly  smelt  the  earth,”  then  arose,  and  with 
uplifted  hands  recited  its  profession  of  faith.1 2  “ Hail  unto  you,  ye  lords  of  Truth  ! 
hail  to  thee,  great  god,  lord  of  Truth  and  Justice  ! I have  come  before  thee,  my 
master;  I have  been  brought  to  see  thy  beauties.  For  I know  thee,  I know  thy 
name,  I know  the  names  of  thy  forty-two  gods  who  are  with  thee  in  the  Hall 
of  the  Two  Truths,  living  on  the  remains  of  sinners,  gorging  themselves  with 
their  blood,  in  that  day  when  account  is  rendered  before  Onnophris,  the  true  of 


1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  pi.  cxxxvi.  Ag  of  Naville’s  Das  Thebaimche  Todtenhuch. 

■ This  forms  chap.  exxv.  of  the  Bool;  of  the  Dead  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  cxxxiii.-cxxxix.), 
a chapter  which  Champollion  pointed  out  to  the  notice  of  scholars,  and  interpreted  ( Explication  de 
la  principals  scene  peinte  des  Papyrus  Funcraires  Egyptians,  in  the  Bulletin  Universal  des  Sciences  it  de 
V Industrie,  sect.  viii.  vol.  iv.  pp.  3i7-356).  A special  edition  of  this  chapter,  accompanied  by  a 
translation  and  philological  commentary,  was  published  by  W.  Pleyte,  Etude  stir  le  chapitre  125  dn 
Rituel  Fuueraire,  Leyden,  18G6. 


THE  NEGATIVE  CONFESSION. 


189 


voice.  Thy  name  which  is  thine  is  ‘ the  god  whose  two  twins  are  the  ladies  of 
the  two  Truths;’  and  I,  I know  you,  ye  lords  of  the  two  Truths,  I bring  unto 
you  Truth,  I have  destroyed  sins  for  you.  I have  not  committed  iniquity 
against  men ! I have  not  oppressed  the  poor  ! I have  not  made  defalcations 
in  the  necropolis ! I have  not  laid  labour  upon  any  free  man  beyond  that 
which  he  wrought  for  himself ! I have  not  transgressed,  I have  not  been  weak, 
1 have  not  defaulted,  I have  not  committed  that  which  is  an  abomination  to 


THE  DECEASED  IS  BROUGHT  BEFORE  THE  SHRINE  OF  OSIRIS  THE  JUDGE  BY  HORUS,  THE  SON  OF  ISIS. 


the  gods ! I have  not  caused  the  slave  to  be  ill-treated  of  his  master  ! I 
have  not  starved  any  man,  I have  not  made  any  to  weep,  I have  not  assassi- 
nated any  man,  I have  not  caused  any  man  to  be  treacherously  assassinated, 
and  I have  not  committed  treason  against  any  ! I have  not  in  aught  diminished 
the  supplies  of  temples!  I have  not  spoiled  the  shewbread  of  the  gods!  I 
have  not  taken  away  the  loaves  and  the  wrappings  of  the  dead  ! I have  done 
no  carnal  act  within  the  sacred  enclosure  of  the  temple ! I have  not  blas- 
phemed ! I have  in  nought  curtailed  the  sacred  revenues ! I have  not 
pulled  down  the  scale  of  the  balance  ! I have  not  falsified  the  beam  of  the 
balance!  I have  not  taken  away  the  milk  from  the  mouths  of  sucklings!  I 
have  not  lassoed  cattle  on  their  pastures ! I have  not  taken  with  nets  the 
birds  of  the  gods  ! I have  not  fished  in  their  ponds ! I have  not  turned  back 
the  water  in  its  season  ! I have  not  cut  off  a water-channel  in  its  course  ! I 


190 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


have  not  put  out  the  tire  in  its  time ! I have  not  defrauded  the  Nine 
Gods  of  the  choice  parts  of  victims  ! I have  not  ejected  the  oxen  of  the 
gods  ! I have  not  turned  back  the  god  at  his  coming  forth ! I am 
pure!  Iam  pure!  I am  pure  ! I am  pure!  Pure  as  this  Great  Bonu  of 
Heracleopolis  is  pure!  . . . There  is  no  crime  against  me  in  this  land  of  the 
Double  Truth  ! Since  I know  the  names  of  the  gods  who  are  with  thee  in 
the  Hall  of  the  Double  Truth,  save  thou  me  from  them!”  He  then  turned 
towards  the  jury  and  pleaded  his  cause  before  them.  They  had  been  severally 
appointed  for  the  cognizance  of  particular  sins,  and  the  dead  man  took  each 
of  them  by  name  to  witness  that  he  was  innocent  of  the  sin  which  that  one 
recorded.  His  plea  ended,  he  returned  to  the  supreme  judge,  and  repeated, 
under  what  is  sometimes  a highly  mystic  form,  the  ideas  which  he  had  already 
advanced  in  the  first  part  of  his  address.  “Hail  unto  you,  ye  gods  who 
are  in  the  Great  Hall  of  the  Double  Truth,  who  have  no  falsehood  in  your 
bosoms,  but  who  live  on  Truth  in  Aunu,  and  feed  your  hearts  upon  it  before 
the  Lord  God  who  dwelleth  in  his  solar  disc!  Deliver  me  from  the  Typhon 
v’ho  feedeth  on  entrails,  0 chiefs  ! in  this  hour  of  supreme  judgment : — grant 
that  the  deceased  may  come  unto  you,  he  who  hath  not  sinned,  who  hath 
neither  lied,  nor  done  evil,  nor  committed  any  crime,  who  hath  not  borne  false 
witness,  who  hath  done  nought  against  himself,  but  who  liveth  on  truth,  who 
feedeth  on  truth.  He  hath  spread  joy  on  all  sides  ; men  speak  of  that  which 
he  hath  done,  and  the  gods  rejoice  in  it.  He  hath  reconciled  the  god  to  him 
by  his  love ; he  hath  given  bread  to  the  hungry,  water  to  the  thirsty,  clothing 
to  the  naked  ; he  hath  given  a boat  to  the  shipwrecked ; he  hath  offered 
sacrifices  to  the  gods,  sepulchral  meals  unto  the  manes.  Deliver  him  from 
himself,  speak  not  against  him  before  the  Lord  of  the  Dead,  for  his  mouth  is 
pure,  and  his  two  hands  are  pure  ! ” In  the  middle  of  the  Hall,  however,  his  acts 
were  being  weighed  by  the  assessors.  Like  all  objects  belonging  to  the  gods,  the 
balance  is  magic,  and  the  genius  which  animates  it  sometimes  show's  its  fine  and 
delicate  little  human  head  on  the  top  of  the  upright  stand  which  forms  its  body.1 2 
Everything  about  the  balance  recalls  its  superhuman  origin : a cynocephalus, 
emblematic  of  Thot,  sits  perched  on  the  upright  and  watches  the  beam ; the 
cords  which  suspend  the  scales  are  made  of  alternate  cruces  ansatse  and  tats? 

1 The  souls  of  objects  thus  auimated  are  not  unfrcquently  mentioned  and  depicted  in  the  Biok 
of  knowing  that  which  is  in  Hailes.  Their  heads  emerge  from  the  material  bodies  to  which  they 
belong  while  the  Sun-god  is  passing  by,  to  draw  in  when  he  has  disappeared,  and  their  bodies 
reabsorb,  or  eat  them  (cf.  p.  83,  note  4),  according  to  the  energetic  expression  of  the  Egyptian 
text  (Maspebo,  Etudes  de  Alythologie  et  d’A rchdologic  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  104,  105,  100, 
124,  etc.). 

2 See  the  amulet  called  Tat  or  Vidu,  as  represented  on  p.  130  (cf.  p.  81,  note  3). 


THE  NEGATIVE  CONFESSION. 


191 


Truth  squats  upon  one  of  the  scales;  Thot,  ibis-headed,  places  the  heart 
on  the  other,  and  always  merciful,  bears  upon  the  side  of  Truth  that  judgment 
may  be  favourably  inclined.  He  affirms  that  the  heart  is  light  of  offence, 
inscribes  the  result  of  the  proceeding  upon  a wooden  tablet,  and  pronounces 
the  verdict  aloud.  “Thus  saith  Thot,  lord  of  divine  discourse,  scribe  of  the 
Great  Ennead,  to  his  father  Osiris,  lord  of  eternity,  ‘ Behold  the  deceased 
in  this  Hall  of  the  Double  Truth,  his  heart  hath  been  weighed  in  the  balance 
in  the  presence  of  the  great  genii,  the  lords  of  Hades,  and  been  found 
true.  No  trace  of  earthly  impurity  hath  been  found  iu  his  heart.  Now  that 
he  leaveth  the  tribunal  true  of  voice,  his  heart  is  restored  to  him,  as  well 
as  his  eyes  and  the  material  cover  of  his  heart,  to  be  put  back  in  their  places 
each  in  its  own  time,  his  soul  in  heaven,  his  heart  in  the  other  world,  as  is  the 
custom  of  the  ‘ Followers  of  Horus.’  Henceforth  let  his  body  lie  in  the  hands 
of  Anubis,  who  presideth  over  the  tombs;  let  him  receive  offerings  at  the 
cemetery  in  the  presence  of  Onnophris ; let  him  be  as  one  of  those  favourites 
who  follow  thee;  let  his  soul  abide  where  it  will  in  the  necropolis  of  his  city, 
he  whose  voice  is  true  before  the  Great  Ennead.’  ” 1 

In  this  “ Negative  Confession,”  which  the  worshippers  of  Osiris  taught  to 
their  dead,  all  is  not  equally  admirable.  The  material  interests  of  the  temple 
were  too  prominent,  and  the  crime  of  killing  a sacred  goose  or  stealing  a loaf 
from  the  bread  offerings  was  considered  as  abominable  as  calumny  or  murder. 
But  although  it  contains  traces  of  priestly  cupidity,  yet  how  many  of  its  pre- 
cepts are  untarnished  in  their  purity  by  any  selfish  ulterior  motive  ! In  it  is 
all  our  morality  in  germ,  and  with  refinements  of  delicacy  often  lacking  among 
peoples  of  later  and  more  advanced  civilizations.  The  god  does  not  confine  his 
favour  to  the  prosperous  and  the  powerful  of  this  world  ; he  bestows  it  also 
upon  the  poor.  His  will  is  that  they  be  fed  and  clothed,  and  exempted  from 
tasks  beyond  their  strength ; that  they  be  not  oppressed,  and  that  unnecessary 
tears  be  spared  them.  If  this  does  not  amount  to  the  love  of  our  neighbour 
as  our  religions  preach  it,  at  least  it  represents  the  careful  solicitude  due  from 
a good  lord  to  his  vassals.  His  pity  extends  to  slaves ; not  only  does  he  com- 
mand that  no  one  should  ill-treat  them  himself,  but  he  forbids  that  their 
masters  should  be  led  to  ill-treat  them.  This  profession  of  faith,  one  of  the 
noblest  bequeathed  us  by  the  old  world,  is  of  very  ancient  origin.  It  may 
be  read  in  scattered  fragments  upon  the  monuments  of  the  first  dynasties, 
and  the  way  in  which  its  ideas  are  treated  by  the  compilers  of  these  inscrip- 
tions proves  that  it  was  not  then  regarded  as  new,  but  as  a text  so  old  and 


M aspero,  Catalogue  du  Muse'e  Egijptien  de  Marseille,  p.  38. 


TI1E  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYRT. 


so  well  known  that  its  formulas  were  current  in  all  mouths,  and  had  their 
prescribed  places  in  epitaphs.1 2  Was  it  composed  in  Mendes,  the  god’s  own 
home,  or  in  Heliopolis,  when  the  theologians  of  that  city  appropriated  the 
god  of  Mendes  and  incorporated  him  in  their  Ennead  ? In  conception  it  cer- 
tainly belongs  to  the  Osirian  priesthood,  but  it  can  only  have  been  diffused 
over  the  whole  of  Egypt  after  the  general  adoption  of  the  Heliopolitan  Ennead 

throughout  the  cities. 

As  soon  as  he  was 
judged,  the  dead  man 
entered  into  the  posses- 
sion of  his  rights  as  a 
pure  soul.  On  high  he 
received  from  the  Uni- 
versal Lord  all  that 
kings  and  princes  here 
below  bestowed  upon  their  followers — rations  of  food,3 *  and  a house, 
gardens,  and  fields  to  be  held  subject  to  the  usual  conditions  of  tenure 
in  Egypt,  i.e.  taxation,  military  service,  and  the  corvee}  If  the  island 
was  attacked  by  the  partisans  of  Sit,  the  Osirian  doubles  hastened  in  a 
body  to  repulse  them,  and  fought  bravely  in  its  defence.  Of  the  revenues 
sent  to  him  by  his  kindred  on  certain  days  and  by  means  of  sacrifices,  each 
gave  tithes  to  the  heavenly  storehouses.  Yet  this  was  but  the  least  part  of 
the  burdens  laid  upon  him  by  the  laws  of  the  country,  which  did  not  suffer 
him  to  become  enervated  by  idleness,  but  obliged  him  to  labour  as  in  the  days 
when  he  still  dwelt  in  Egypt.5  He  looked  after  the  maintenance  of  canals 


THE  MANES  TILLING  THE  GROUND  AND  READING  IN  THE  FIELDS 
OF  IALU.2 


1 For  instance,  one  of  tlie  formulas  found  in  Memphite  tombs  states  that  the  deceased  had  been 
the  friend  of  his  father,  the  beloved  of  his  mother,  sweet  to  those  who  lived  with  him,  gracious  to  his 
brethren,  loved  of  his  servants,  and  that  he  had  never  sought  wrongful  quarrel  with  any  man  ; 
briefly,  that  he  spoke  and  did  that  which  is  right  here  below  (Lepsius,  Denhn.,  ii.  -13  c,  d ; cf.  Pleyte, 
Etude  sur  le  chapitre  125  du  Rituel  June r air e,  pp.  11,  12;  Maspeuo,  Notes  sur  differents  points 
de  Grammaire*  et  d'Histoire,  § 21,  in  the  Metanges  d’Arclidulogie  Egyptienne  el  Assyrienne,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  215,  21G). 

2 Drawn  by  Fauckcr-Gudiu,  from  a vignette  in  the  funerary  papyrus  of  Nebhopit  iu  Turin 
(Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia  Egizia,  pi.  v.). 

3 The  formula  of  the  pyramid  times  is  : “Thy  thousand  of  oxen,  thy  thousand  of  geese,  of  roast 
and  boiled  joints  from  the  larder  of  the  gods,  of  bread,  and  plenty  of  the  good  things  presented  iu 
the  hall  of  O.-iris”  ( Papi  II.,  1.  1348,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiv.  p.  150). 

* On  the  assimilation  of  the  condition  of  the  dead  enrolled  in  the  service  of  a god  and  of 
the  vassals  of  a Pharaoh,  cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  44-46. 

5 Boole  of  the  Dead,  chap.  cx.  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  cxxi.-cxxiii.).  The  vignette  to  this 
chapter  shows  us  the  dead  attending  to  their  various  occupations  iu  the  archipelago  of  laid.  There 
are  numerous  variants  of  the  same,  of  which  the  most  curious  are  perhaps  those  of  the  funerary 
papyrus  of  Nebhopit  in  Turin,  published  by  Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  pi.  v.,  and  partly 
reproduced  on  this  page  and  on  p.  lt>4. 


THE  PRIVILEGES  OF  0 SIR  I AN  SOULS. 


193 


and  dykes,  he  tilled  the  ground,  he  sowed,  he  reaped,  he  garnered  the  grain 
for  his  lord  and  for  himself.  Yet  to  those  upon  whom  they  were  incumbent, 
these  posthumous  obligations,  the  sequel  and  continuation  of  feudal  service, 
at  length  seemed  too  heavy,  and  theologians  exercised  their 
ingenuity  to  find  means  of  lightening  the  burden.  They 
authorized  the  manes  to  look  to  their  servants  for  the  dis- 
charge of  all  manual  labour  which  they  ought  to  have  per- 
formed themselves.  Rarely  did  a dead  man,  no  matter  how 
poor,  arrive  unaccompanied  at  the  eternal  cities ; he  brought 
with  him  a following  proportionate  to  his  rank  and  for- 
tune upon  earth.  At  first  they  were  real  doubles,  those  of 
slaves  or  vassals  killed  at  the  tomb,  and  who  had  departed 
along  with  the  double  of  the  master  to  serve  him  beyond  the 
grave  as  they  had  served  him  here.1  A squad  of  statues  and 
images,  magically  endued  with  activity  and  intelligence,  was 
afterwards  substituted  for  this  retinue  of  victims.  Originally 
of  so  large  a size  that  only  the  rich  or  noble  could  afford 
them,2  they  were  reduced  little  by  little  to  the  height  of 
a few  inches.  Some  were  carved  out  of  alabaster,  granite, 
diorite,  fine  limestone,  or  moulded  out  of  fine  clay  and 
delicately  modelled;  others  had  scarcely  any  human  re- 
semblance.4 They  were  endowed  with  life  by  means  of  a formula  recited 
over  them  at  the  time  of  their  manufacture,  and  afterwards  traced  upon 
their  legs.  All  were  possessed  of  the  same  faculties.  When  the  god  who 
called  the  Osirians  to  the  corvee  pronounced  the  name  of  the  dead  man 
to  whom  the  figures  belonged,  they  arose  and  answered  for  him ; hence  their 

/s 

designation  of  “Respondents” — UashbUi.5  Equipped  for  agricultural  labour, 
each  grasping  a hoe  and  carrying  a seed-bag  on  his  shoulder,  they  set  out  to 


1 On  the  occasional  persistence  of  human  sacrifice,  real  or  simulated,  even  into  the  times  of  the 
second  Theban  Empire,  see  Maspero, Le  Tombeau  de  Montouhihhopshouf,  in  the  Memoires  dela  Mission 
frangaise  du  Caire,  vol.  v.  p.  452,  et  seq.  Cf.  p.  168,  note  1. 

2 Such  are  the  women  grinding  corn,  the  bread-kneaders  and  the  cellarers  sometimes  found  in 
the  more  elaborate  tombs  of  the  Ancient  Empire  (Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur  au  musee  de  Boulaq, 
pp.  215,  218,  219,  220).  Perhaps  even  the  statues  of  the  double  ( Iia-statues ) should  be  included  in 
this  category. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a painted  limestone  statuette  from  the  tomb  of  Sonnozmu  at 
Thebes,  daling  from  the  end  of  the  XXth  dynasty. 

4 The  origin  aud  signification  of  the  l tashbiti,  or  Respondents,  have  been  several  times  pointed  out 
by  Maspero  ( Guide  du  Visiteur  au  musee  Boulaq,  pp.  131-133,  and  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’Arche'- 
ologie  Egijptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  355,  356). 

5 The  magical  formula  which  was  to  endow  the  Respondents  with  life,  and  older  their  task  in  the 
next  world,  forms  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Boole,  of  the  Dead  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  viii.).  It 
has  been  studied  by  Chabas,  Observations  sur  le  Chapitre  VI  du  Rituel  fune'raire  egyptien,  a propos 
d’une  statuette  fundraire  du  muse';  de  Langres  (an  extract  from  the  Me'moires  de  la  Society historique  et 

O 


THE  DEAD  MAN  SAILING  IN  HIS  BARK  ALONG  THE  CANALS  OF  THE  FIELDS  OF  IALU.2 

haling  the  fresh  north  breeze,  under  the  shadow  of  trees  which  were  always 
green.  They  fished  with  lines  among  the  lotus-plants ; they  embarked 

archeologique  de  Langres,  1863),  and  more  especially  by  V.  Loret,  Les  Statuettes  fun&raires  du  mu  see 
de  Boulaq,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  iv.  pp.  89-117,  vol.  v.  pp.  70-70. 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a vignette  in  No.  4 Papyrus,  Dublin  (Nayille,  Das  JEgyptische 
Todtenbuch,  vol.  i.  pi.  xxvii.  Da).  The  name  of  draughts  is  not  altogether  accurate ; a descrip- 
tion of  the  game  may  be  found  in  Falkner,  Games  Ancient  and  Oriental  and  how  to  play  them, 
pp.  9-101. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  Papyrus  of  Nebhopit,  in  Turin  (Lanzone,  Dizionario  di 
Mitologia  Egtzia,  pi.  v.).  This  drawing  is  from  part  of  the  same  scene  as  the  illustration  on 
p.  192. 


194  THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


work  in  their  appointed  places,  contributing  the  required  number  of  days  of 
forced  labour.  Up  to  a certain  point  they  thus  compensated  for  those  in- 
equalities of  condition  which 
death  itself  did  not  efface 
among  the  vassals  of  Osiris ; 
for  the  figures  were  sold  so 
cheaply  that  even  the  poorest 
could  always  afford  some  for 
themselves,  or  bestow  a few 
upon  their  relations ; and  in 
the  Islands  of  the  Blest, 
fellah,  artisan,  and  slave  were 

A 

indebted  to  the  Uashbiti  for 
release  from  their  old  routine 
of  labour  and  unending  toil. 
While  the  little  peasants  of 
stone  or  glazed  ware  dutifully 
toiled  and  tilled  and  sowed, 

THE  DEAD  MAN  AND  HIS  WIFE  PLAYING  AT  DRAUGHTS  IN  theil’  lUaStei’S  Wei’e  eniOyillg 

THE  PAVILION.1  . J ° 

all  the  delights  of  the  Egyp- 
tian paradise  in  perfect  idleness.  They  sat  at  ease  by  the  water-side,  in- 


CONFUSION  OF  OSIRIAN  AND  SOLAR  IDEAS. 


195 


iii  their  boats,  and  were  hauled  along  by  their  servants,  or  they  would 
sometimes  deign  to  paddle  themselves  slowly  about  the  canals.  They 
went  fowling  among  the  reed-beds,  or  retired  within  their  painted  pavilions 


to  read  tales,  to  play 
their  wives  who  were 
tiful.1 2  It  was  but  an 
divested  of  all  suffer- 
by  the  favour  of  the 
The  feudal  gods 


at  draughts,  to  return  to 
for  ever  young  and  beau- 
ameliorated  earthly  life, 
ing  under  the  rule  and 
true-voiced  Onnophris. 
promptly  adopted  this  new 
mode  of  life.  Each  of 
their  dead  bodies,  mummi- 
fied, and  afterwards  reani- 


BOAT  OF  A FUNERARY  FLEET  ON  ITS  WAY  TO  ABYDOS.2 


mated  in  accordance  wdth  the  Osirian  myth,  became  an  Osiris  as  did  that 
of  any  ordinary  person.  Some  carried  the  assimilation  so  far  as  to  absorb 
the  god  of  Mendes,  or  to  be  absorbed  in  him.  At  Memphis  Phtah- 
Sokaris  became  Phtah-Sokar-Osiris,  and  at  Thinis  Kkontamentit  became 
Osiris  Kkontamentit.3  The  sun-god  lent  himself  to  this  process  with  com- 
parative ease  because  his  life  is  more  like  a man’s  life,  and  hence  also  more 
like  that  of  Osiris,  which  is  the  counterpart  of  a man’s  life.  Born  in  the 

1 Gymnastic  exercises,  hunting,  fishing,  sailing,  are  all  pictured  in  Theban  tombs.  The  game  of 
draughts  is  mentioned  in  the  title  of  chap.  xvii.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Xaville’s  edition,  vol.  i. 
pi.  xxiii.  1.  2),  and  the  women’s  pavilion  is  represented  in  the  tomb  of  Rakhmiri  (Yirey,  Le  Tombeau 
de  Rekhmara,  in  the  Mdinaircs  de  la  Mission  da  Caire,  vol.  v.  pi.  xxv.).  That  the  dead  were  supposed 
to  read  tales  is  proved  from  the  fact  that  broken  ostraca  bearing  long  fragments  of  literary  works 
are  found  in  tombs;  they  were  broken  to  kill  them  and  to  send  on  their  doubles  to  the  dead  man  in 
the  next  world  (Maspero,  Les  Premieres  Lignes  des  Memoires  de  Sinuhit,  pp.  1,  2). 

2 Drawn  by  Faueher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey.  The  original  was  found 
in  the  course  of  M.  de  Morgan’s  excavations  at  Meir,  and  is  now  at  Gizeli.  The  dead  man  is  sitting 
in  the  cabin,  wrapped  iu  his  cloak.  As  far  as  I know,  this  is  the  only  boat  which  has  preserved  its 
original  rigging.^  It  dates  from  the  XIth  or  XIIth  dynasty. 

3 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d' Arche'ologie  Egijptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  21-21. 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


19G 

morning,  lie  ages  as  the  day  declines,  and  gently  passes  away  at  evening. 
From  the  time  of  his  entering  the  sky  to  that  of  his  leaving  it,  he  reigns 
above  as  he  reigned  here  below  in  the  beginning;  but  when  he  has  left 
the  sky  and  sinks  into  Hades,  he  becomes  as  one  of  the  dead,  and  is,  as 
they  are,  subjected  to  Osirian  embalmment.  The  same  dangers  that  menace 

their  human  souls  threaten  his  soul 
also ; and  when  he  has  vanquished 
them,  not  in  his  own  strength,  but 
by  the  power  of  amulets  and  magical 
formulas,  he  enters  into  the  fields 
of  Ialu,  and  ought  to  dwell  there 
for  ever  under  the  rule  of  Onno- 
phris.  He  did  nothing  of  the 
kind,  however,  for  daily  the  sun 
was  to  be  seen  reappearing  in 
the  east  twelve  hours  after  it  had 
sunk  into  the  darkness  of  the  west.  Was  it  a new  orb  each  time,  or 
did  the  same  sun  shine  every  day  ? In  either  case  the  result  was  pre- 
cisely the  same;  the  god  came  forth  from  death  and  re-entered  into  life. 
Having  identified  the  course  of  the  sun-god  with  that  of  man,  and  Ra  with 
Osiris  for  a first  day  and  a first  night,  it  was  hard  not  to  push  the 
matter  further,  and  identify  them  for  all  succeeding  days  and  nights, 
affirming  that  man  and  Osiris  might,  if  they  so  wished,  be  born  again 

in  the  morning,  as  Ra  was,  and  together  with  him.1 2  If  the  Egyptians  had 

found  the  prospect  of  quitting  the  darkness  of  the  tomb  for  the  bright 

meadows  of  Ialu  a sensible  alleviation  of  their  lot,  with  what  joy  must  they 
have  been  filled  by  the  conception  w'hich  allowed  them  to  substitute  the  whole 
realm  of  the  sun  for  a little  archipelago  in  an  out-of-the-way  corner  of  the 
universe.  Their  first  consideration  w'as  to  obtain  entrance  into  the  divine  bark, 
and  this  was  the  object  of  all  the  various  practices  and  prayers,  whose  text, 
together  with  that  which  already  contained  the  Osirian  formulas,  ensured 
the  unfailing  protection  of  Ra  to  their  possessor.3  The  soul  desirous  of 
making  use  of  them  went  straight  from  his  tomb  to  the  very  spot  where 
the  god  left  earth  to  descend  into  Hades.  This  was  somewhere  in  the 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a vignette  in  the  Papyrus  of  Nebqndu,  in  Paris. 

2 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii  pp.  24-27. 

3 The  formulas  enabling  the  soul  to  enfer  the  solar  bark  form  the  chief  part  of  chaps,  c.-cii. 
(Navtlle’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  cxiii.,  cxiv.),  cxxxiv.-cxxxvi.  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pis.  cxlv.- 
cxlix.)  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead.  But  in  this  work  the  mingling  of  solar  and  Osirian  conceptions 
is  already  complete,  and  several  chapters  intended  for  other  purposes  contaiu  many  allusions  to 
the  embarkation  of  souls  in  the  boat  of  Ra. 


THE  DEAD  IN  THE  BARK  OF  THE.  SUN. 


197 


immediate  neighbourhood  of  Abydos,  and  w§s  reached  through  a narrow  gorge 
or  “ cleft  ” in  the  Libyan 
range,  whose “ mouth ’’opened 
in  front  of  the  temple  of 
Osiris  Khontamentit,  a little 
to  the  north-west  of  the  city.1 
The  soul  was  supposed  to  be 
carried  thither  by  a small 
flotilla  of  boats,  manned  by 
figures  representing  friends 
or  priests,  and  laden  with 
food,  furniture,  and  statues. 

This  flotilla  was  placed  with- 
in the  vault  on  the  day  of 
the  funeral,2 3  and  was  set  in 
motion  by  means  of  incanta- 
tions recited  over  it  during 
one  of  the  first  nights  of  the  year,  at  the  annual  feast  of  the  dead.4  The 
bird  or  insect  which  had  previously  served  as  guide  to  the  soul  upon  its  journey 
now  took  the  helm  to  show  the  fleet  the  right  way,5  and  under  this  command 
the  boats  left  Abydos  and  mysteriously  passed  through  the  “cleft”  into  that 
western  sea  which  is  inaccessible  to  the  living,6  there  to  await  the  daily  coming 
of  the  dying  sun-god.  As  soon  as  his  bark  appeared  at  the  last  bend  of  the 


THE  SOI, Alt  BARK  PASSING  INTO  THE  MOUNTAIN  OF  THE  WEST. 


1 As  to  the  Mouth  of  the  Cleft , and  the  way  in  which  souls  arrived  there,  see  Maspeko,  Etudes  de 
Mythologie  et  d' Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  14,  etc.;  and  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  121, 
et  seq. 

2 There  are  many  of  (hese  boats  in  museums,  and  several  in  the  Louvre  (Salle  Civile,  Case  K). 
Of  the  flotillas  whose  origin  is  known  there  are  only  that  in  the  Berlin  Museum,  which  is  from 
Thebes  (Passalacqua,  Catalogue,  pp.  126-129,  reproduced  in  Prisse  d’Avennes,  JJistoire  de  V Art 
Egyptien),  and  those  in  the  Gizeh  Museum,  of  which  one  was  found  at  Saqqarah  (Maspero,  Qualre 
A mutes  de  fondles,  in  the  Me'inoires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  i.  p.  209,  with  plate;,  and  the  other 
at  Meir,  north  of  Siut.  They  belong  to  the  XIth  and  XIIth  dynasties. 

3 Diawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a very  small  photograph  published  in  the  Catalogue  of  the 
Minutoli  Sale  (Catalog  der  Sammlungen  von  Musterwerken  der  Industrie  uud  Kunst  zusammengebracht 
durch  lln.  Freiherrn,  Dr.  Alexander  von  Minutoli,  Cologne,  1875). 

4 These  formulas  are  traced  upon  the  walls  of  an  XVIIIth-dynasty  tomb,  that  of  Nofirhotpu  at 
Thebes;  they  have  been  published  by  Dumichen,  Kalendarische  Inscliriften,  pi.  xxxv.  11.  31-60  (cf. 
Die  Flotte  einer  AEgyptitchen  Konigin,  pi.  xxxi.  pp.  31-60)  and  by  Benedite,  Le  Tombeau  de  Kejerhot- 
pou,  in  the  Me'moires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  v.  p.  516,  et  seq.,  with  plate. 

5 “ Thou  risest  again  like  the  grasshopper  of  Abydos,  for  whom  room  is  made  in  the  bark  of 
Osiris,  and  who  accompauieth  the  god  as  far  as  the  region  of  the  cleft  ” (Sharpe,  Egyptian  Inscriptions, 
1st  series,  pi.  105,  11.  2:-*.  24;  E.  A.  W.  Budge,  Notes  on  Egyptian  Stelse,  principally  of  the  XVIIIth 
Dynasty,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  viii.  p.  327;  Lefebure,  Etude 
sur  Abydos,  also  iij  the  Proceedings  of  the  same  Society,  vol.  xv.  pp.  136,  137).  The  pilot  of  the 
sacred  barks  is  generally  a hawk-headed  man,  a Horus,  perhaps  a reminiscence  of  this  bird 
pilot. 

0 Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  123-13). 


THE  LEGENDARY  1UST011Y  OF  EG  YET. 


11)8 


celestial  Nile,  the  cynocephali,  who  guarded  the  entrance  into  night,  began  to 
dance  and  gesticulate  upon  the  banks  as  they  intoned  their  accustomed  hymn. 

The  gods  of  Abydos  mingled  their  shouts  of  joy  with  the 
chant  of  the  sacred  baboons,  the  bark  lingered  for  a moment 
upon  the  frontiers  of  day,  and  instructed  souls  seized  the 
occasion  to  secure  their  recognition  and  their  reception  on 
board  of  it.1  Once  admitted,  they  took  their  share  in  the 
management  of  the  boat,  and  in  the  battles  with  hostile 
deities  ; but  they  were  not  all  endowed  with  the  courage  or 
equipment  needful  to  withstand  the  perils  and  terrors  of 
the  voyage.  Many  stopped  short  by  the  way  in  one  of  the 
regions  which  it  traversed,  either  in  the  realm  of  Khouta- 
mentit,  or  in  that  of  Sokaris,  or  in  those  islands  where  the 
good  Osiris  welcomed  them  as  though  they  had  duly  arrived 
in  the  ferry-boat,  or  upon  the  wing  of  Thot.  There  they 
dwelt  in  colonies  under  the  suzerainty  of  local  gods,  rich, 
and  in  need  of  nothing,  but  condemned  to  live  in  darkness, 
excepting  for  the  one  brief  hour  in  which  the  solar  bark 

passed  through  their  midst, 


irradiating  them  with  beams 
of  light,2 3  The  few  per- 
severed, feeling  that  they 
had  courage  to  accompany 
the  sun  throughout,  and 
these  were  indemnified  for 
their  sufferings  by  the  most 
brilliant  fate  ever  dreamed 
of  by  Egyptian  souls.  Born 
anew  with  the  sun-god  and 
appearing  with  him  at  the 
gates  of  the  east,  they  were  assimilated  to  him,  and  shared  his  privilege  of 
growing  old  and  dying,  only  to  be  ceaselessly  rejuvenated  and  to  live  again  witli 


THE  SOUL  DESCENDING  THE  SEPULCHRAL  SHAFT  ON  ITS  WAY 
TO  It E JOIN  THE  MUSIJIY.3 


1 This  description  of  the  embarkation  and  voyage  of  the  soul  is  composed  from  indications  given 
in  one  of  the  vignettes  of  chap.  xvi.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  xxii.), 

combined  with  the  text  of  a formula  which  became  common  from  the  times  of  the  XIth  and  XII111 
dynasties  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d' Arche'ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  14-18,  and  Etudes 
Egyptiennes , vol.  i.  pp.  122,  123. 

3 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d' Arche'ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  44,  45. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Deveria,  Le  Papyrus  de  Neh-Qed,  pi.  i.  (cf.  Chabas,  Notice  sur 
le  Pire-em-hrou,  in  the  Md moires  du  Congres  des  Orientalistes  de  Paris,  vol.  ii.  pp.  14-50,  pi.  lviii.,  and 
X a villi;,  Das  JEgyptische  Todtenbuch,  vol.  i.  pi.  iv.  Pe ).  The  scene  of  the  soul  contemplating  the 
face  of  the  mummy  is  often  represented  in  Theban  copies  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Naville’s  edition, 


THE  GOING  FORTH  OF  SOULS  BY  DAY. 


199 


ever-renewed  splendour.  They  disembarked  where  they  pleased,  and  returned 
at  will  into  the  world.1  If  now  and  then  they  felt  a wish  to  revisit  all  that 
was  left  of  their  earthly  bodies,  the  human-headed  sparrow-hawk  descended 
the  shaft  in  full  flight,  alighted  upon  the  funeral  couch,  and,  with  hands 
softly  laid  upon  the  spot  where  the  heart  had  used  to  beat,  gazed  upwards 
at  the  impassive  mask  of  the  mummy.  This  was  but  for  a moment,  since 


THE  SOUL  ON  THE  EDGE  OF  THE  FUNERAL  COUCH,  WITH  ITS  HANDS  ON  THE  HEART  OF 

THE  MUMMY.2 


nothing  compelled  these  perfect  souls  to  he  imprisoned  within  the  tomb  like 
the  doubles  of  earlier  times,  because  they  feared  the  light.  They  “ went  forth 
by  day,” 3 and  dwelt  in  those  places  where  they  had  lived  ; they  walked  in 
their  gardens  by  their  ponds  of  running  water ; they  perched  like  so  many 
birds  on  the  branches  of  the  trees  which  they  had  planted,  or  enjoyed  the  fresh 
air  under  the  shade  of  their  sycamores ; they  ate  and  drank  at  pleasure ; they 
travelled  by  hill  and  dale ; they  embarked  in  the  boat  of  Ra,  and  disembarked, 
without  weariness,  and  without  distaste  for  the  same  perpetual  round.4  This 

vol.  i.  pi.  cl.  chap,  lxxxix.);  it  is  better  shown  in  the  little  monument  of  the  scribe  Ra,  reproduced  in 
the  illustration  on  this  page  (Maspero,  Guide  du  Yisiteur  au  Musde  de  Boidaq,  pp.  130,  131,  No.  1621). 

1 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Nythologie  et  d’  Arclidologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  24-27. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey,  reproducing  the  miniature 
sarcophagus  of  the  scribe  Ra  (Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur,  pp.  130,  131,  No.  1621). 

3 This  is  the  title,  Piru-m-hru,  of  the  first  section  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead,  and  of  several  chapters 
in  other  sections  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Arch&logie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  352-355). 
It  has  been  translated  going  out  from  day,  being  manifest  to  day,  going  forth  like  the  day.  The  true 
translation,  going  forth  by  day,  was  suggested  by  Reinisch  (Die  AEgyptischen  Denhmdler  in  Miramar, 
p.  44)  and  demonstrated  by  Lefebure  (Le  Per-m-hru,  Etude  sur  la  vie  future  chez  les  Egyptiens,  in 
Chapas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  3rd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  218-241  ; cf.  E.  von  Bergmann,  Das  Buoli 
vom  Durcliwandeln  der  Ewiglceit,  pp.  8,  31). 

4 This  picture  of  the  life  of  the  soul  going  forth  by  day  is  borrowed  from  the  frequent  formula  upon 
stel®  of  the  XVIIIth  to  the  XXth  dynasties,  of  which  the  best  known  example  is  C 55  in  the 
Louvre  (Pierret,  Becueil  d’ inscriptions  inddites,  vol.  ii.  pp.  90-93;  cf.  E.  A.  W.  Budge,  Notes  on 


200 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


conception,  which  was  developed  somewhat  late,  brought  the  Egyptians  back 
to  the  point  from  which  they  had  started  when  fiist  they  began  to  speculate 
on  the  life  to  come.  The  soul,  after  having  left  the  place  of  its  incarnation 
to  which  in  the  beginning  it  clung,  after  having  ascended  into  heaven  and  there 
sought  congenial  asylum  in  vain,  forsook  all  havens  which  it  had  found  above, 
and  unhesitatingly  fell  back  upon  earth,  there  to  lead  a peaceful,  free,  and  happy 
life  in  the  full  light  of  day,  and  with  the  whole  valley  of  Egypt  for  a paradise. 

The  connection,  always  increasingly  intimate  between  Osiris  and  Ra, 
gradually  brought  about  a blending  of  the  previously  separate  myths  and 
beliefs  concerning  each.  The  friends  and  enemies  of  the  one  became  the  friends 
and  enemies  of  the  other,  and  from  a mixture  of  the  original  conceptions  of 
the  two  deities,  arose  new  personalities,  in  which  contradictory  elements  were 
blent  together,  often  without  true  fusion.  The  celestial  lionises  one  by  one 
were  identified  with  Horus,  son  of  Isis,  and  their  attributes  were  given  to  him, 
as  his  in  the  same  way  became  theirs.  Apopi  and  the  monsters — the 
hippopotamus,  the  crocodile,  the  wild  boar — who  lay  in  wait  for  Ra  as  he 
sailed  the  heavenly  ocean,  became  one  with  Sit  and  his  accomplices.  Sit 
still  possessed  his  half  of  Egypt,  and  his  primitive  brotherly  relation  to  the 
celestial  Horus  remained  unbroken,  either  on  account  of  their  sharing  one 
temple,  as  at  Nubit,  or  because  they  were  worshipped  as  one  in  two  neigh- 
bouring nomes,  as,  for  example,  at  Oxyrrhvnchos  and  at  Heracleopolis  Magna. 
The  repulsion  with  which  the  slayer  of  Osiris  was  regarded  did  not  every- 
where dissociate  these  two  cults : certain  small  districts  persisted  in  this 
double  worship  down  to  the  latest  times  of  paganism.  It  was,  after  all, 
a mark  of  fidelity  to  the  oldest  traditions  of  the  race,  but  the  bulk  of  the 
Egyptians,  who  had  forgotten  these,  invented  reasons  taken  from  the  history 
of  the  divine  dynasties  to  explain  the  fact.  The  judgment  of  Thot  or  of 
Sibu  had  not  put  an  end  to  the  machinations  of  Sit : as  soon  as  Horus 
had  left  the  earth,  Sit  resumed  them,  and  pursued  them,  with  varying 
fortune,  under  the  divine  kings  of  the  second  Ennead.1  Now,  in  the  year  363 
of  Harmakhis,  the  Typhonians  reopened  the  campaign.  Beaten  at  first  near 
Edfu,  they  retreated  precipitately  northwards,  stopping  to  give  battle  wherever 

Egyptian  Stela,  principally  of  the  XVIII"'  Dynasty,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archxdlogy,  vol.  viii.  pp.  306-312). 

1 The  war  of  Harmakhis  and  Sit  is  chronicled  and  depicted  at  length  on  the  inner  walls  of  the 
sanctuary  in  the  temple  of  Edfu.  The  inscriptions  and  pictures  relating  to  it  were  copied,  trans- 
lated, and  published  for  the  first  time  by  E.  Naville,  Textes  relatifs  au  Mythe  d’Horus  recueillis 
dans  le  temple  d'Edfu , pis.  xii.-xxxi.,  and  pp.  16-25;  Brugsch,  soon  after,  brought  out  in  his  memoir 
on  Die  Sage  von  der  gefliigelten  Sonnenscheibe  nach  altdgyptischen  Quellen  (A  us  den  XIV  Bande  der 
Abhandlungen  der  K.  Ges.  der  Wissenschaften  zu  Gottingen,  1870),  a German  translation  of  them 
with  a commentary,  several  points  of  which  ho  has  corrected  in  various  articles  of  his  Dictionnaire 
Geographique.  The  interpretation  of  the  text  here  adopted  was  proposed  by  MAsrEiiO  ( Etudes  de 
Mythologie  et  d' Arclidologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  321,  et  seq.). 


THE  CAMPAIGNS  OF  IIA R MA K HIS  AGAINST  SIT. 


201 


their  partisans  predominated, — at  Zatmit  in  the  Theban  nome,1  at  Kliait- 
nutrit  to  the  north-east  of  Denderah,2  and  at  Hibonu  in  the  principality  of 
the  Gazelle.3  Several  bloody 
combats,  which  took  place 
between  Oxyrrhynchos  and 
Heracleopolis  Magna,  were 
the  means  of  driving  them 
finally  out  of  the  Nile 
Valley ; they  rallied  for  the 
last  time  in  the  eastern  pro- 
vinces of  the  Delta,  were 
beaten  at  Zalu,4  and  giving 
up  all  hope  of  success  on  land, 
they  embarked  at  the  head 
of  the  Gulf  of  Suez,  in  order 
to  return  to  the  Nubian 
Desert,  their  habitual  refuge 
in  times  of  distress.  The 
sea  was  the  special  element 
of  Typhon,  and  upon  it  they 
believed  themselves  secure.  Horus,  however,  followed  them,  overtook  them  near 
Shas-hirit,6  routed  them,  and  on  his  return  to  Edfu,  celebrated  his  victory  by 
a solemn  festival.  By  degrees,  as  he  made  himself  master  of  those  localities 
which  owed  allegiance  to  Sit,  he  took  energetic  measures  to  establish  in  them 
the  authority  of  Osiris  and  of  the  solar  cycle.  In  all  of  them  he  built,  side 
by  side  with  the  sanctuary  of  the  Typhonian  divinities,  a temple  to  himself,  in 
which  he  was  enthroned  under  the  particular  form  he  was  obliged  to  assume  in 
order  to  vanquish  his  enemies.  Metamorphosed  into  a hawk  at  the  battle  of 

1 Zatmit  (Budgsch,  Diet.  Geographique,  p.  1006)  appears  to  have  been  situate  at  some  distance 
from  Bayadiye'li,  on  the  spot  where  the  map  published  by  the  Egyptian  Commission  marks  the  ruins 
of  a modern  village.  There  was  a necropolis  of  considerable  extent  there,  which  furnishes  the 
Luxor  dealers  with  antiquities,  many  of  which  belong  to  the  first  Theban  empire. 

2 Khait,  or  Khaiti-nCitrit  (Brugsch,  Diet.  Geographique,  pp.  269-273),  appears  to  me  to  be  now 
represented  by  Nutah,  one  of  the  divisions  of  the  township  of  Denderah.  The  name  Khait  may 
have  been  dropped,  or  confused  with  the  administrative  term  nahhiel,  which  is  still  applied  to  a part 
of  the  village,  Nakhie't-Nutah  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  el  d’ Arch&ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii. 
p.  326). 

3 Hibonu  (Brugsch,  Diet.  Geographique,  pp.  490,  491,  1252)  is  now  Minieh  (Maspero,  Notes  au 
jour  le  jour,  § 14,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  506,  507). 

* Zalu,  Zaru  (Brugsch,  Diet.  Geographique,  pp.  992-997)  is  the  Selle  of  classical  geographers;  cf. 
the  map  of  the  nomes  of  the  Delta  on  p.  75  of  this  work. 

5 Copied  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  the  survey-drawings  of  the  tomb  of  Auni  by  Boussac,  member 
of  the  Mission  frangaise  in  Egypt  (1891).  The  inscription  over  the  arbour  gives  the  list  of  the 
various  trees  in  the  garden  of  Auni  during  his  lifetime. 

6 Shas-hirit  is  the  Egyptian  name  of  oue  of  the  towns  of  Berenice  which  the  Ptolemies  built  on 
the  Bed  Sea  (Brugsch,  Diet.  Geographique,  pp.  792-794,  1335,  1336;  and  Zeitschrift,  1884,  p.  96). 


THE  SOUL  GOING  FORTH  INTO  ITS  GARDEN  BY  DAY.5 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


202 

Ilibonu,  we  next  see  him  springing  on  to  the  back  of  Sit  under  the  guise  of 
a hippopotamus ; in  his  shrine  at  Ilibonu  he  is  represented  as  a hawk 
perching  on  the  back  of  a gazelle,  emblem  of  the  nome  where  the  struggle 
took  place.1  Near  to  Zalu  he  became  incarnate  as  a human-headed  lion, 
crowned  with  the  triple  diadem,  and  having  feet  armed  with  claws  which  cut 
like  a knife;  it  was  under  the  form,  too,  of  a lion  that  he  was  worshipped 
in  the  temple  at  Zalu.2  The  correlation  of  Sit  and  the  celestial  Horus  was 
not,  therefore,  for  these  Egyptians  of  more  recent  times  a primitive  religious 
fact ; it  was  the  consequence,  and  so  to  speak  the  sanction,  of  the  old  hostility 
between  the  two  gods.  Horus  had  treated  his  enemy  in  the  same  fashion 
that  a victorious  Pharaoh  treated  the  barbarians  conquered  by  his  arms : he 
had  constructed  a fortress  to  keep  his  foe  in  check,  and  his  priests  formed  a sort 
of  garrison  as  a precaution  against  the  revolt  of  the  rival  priesthood  and  the 
followers  of  the  rival  deity.3  In  this  manner  the  battles  of  the  gods  were 
changed  into  human  struggles,  in  which,  more  than  once,  Egypt  was  deluged 
with  blood.  The  hatred  of  the  followers  of  Osiris  to  those  of  Typhon  was 
perpetuated  with  such  implacability,  that  the  nomes  which  had  persisted  in 
adhering  to  the  worship  of  Sit,  became  odious  to  the  rest  of  the  population : 
the  image  of  their  master  on  the  monuments  was  mutilated,1  their  names  were 
effaced  from  the  geographical  lists,  they  were  assailed  with  insulting  epithets, 
and  to  pursue  and  slay  their  sacred  animals  was  reckoned  a pious  act. 
Thus  originated  those  skirmishes  which  developed  into  actual  civil  wars,  and 
were  continued  down  to  Homan  times.5  The  adherents  of  Typhon  only  became 

1 Naville,  Textes  relatifs  au  Mythe  d’ Horus  recueiUis  dans  le  temple  d’Edfii,  pi.  xiv.  11.  11-13; 
cf.  Brugsch,  Die  Sage  von  der  gefliigelten  Sonnensclieibe,  pp.  17,  18. 

2 Naville,  Textes  relatifs  au  Mythe  d’Horus  recueiUis  dans  le  temple  d'Edfii,  pi.  xviii.  11.  1-3 ; 
Brugsch,  Die  Sage  von  der  gefliigelten  Sonnenscheibe,  pp.  31-30. 

3 These  foundations,  the  “ Marches  of  Horus  ” into  Typhonian  territory,  are  what  the  texts  of 
Edfu  (Naville,  Textes  relatifs  au  Mythe  d’Horus,  pi.  xvii.  1.  10,  et  seq.)  call  “Masnit.”  The  warrior- 
priests  of  Horus,  according  to  an  ancient  tradition,  called  themselves  “Masnitiu” — blacksmiths 
(Maspero,  Etudes  de  Religion  et  d’Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  313,  et  seq.).  “Masnit”  at  first 
meant  the  place  where  the  blacksmiths  worked,  the  forge ; it  then  became  tiie  sanctuary  of  their 
master  at  Edlu,  and  by  extension,  the  sanctuary  of  the  celestial  Horus  in  all  those  towns  of  Egypt 
where  that  god  received  a worship  analogous  to  that  of  Edfu.  Brugsch  has  shown  that  these 
■“Masnit,”  or  “divine  forges,”  were  four  in  number  in  Egypt  ( Dictionnaire  G&ographique,  pp. 
298-306,  371-378,  1211,  1212). 

4 Seti  I.,  in  his  tomb,  everywhere  replaced  the  hieroglyph  ^ of  the  god  Sit,  which  forms  his 
name,  by  that  of  Osiris  J* ; it  was  in  order,  as  Champollion  remarked,  not  to  offend  tire  god  of  the 
dead  by  the  sight  of  his  enemy,  and  more  particularly  perhaps  to  avoid  the  contradiction  of  a king 
named  Sit  being  styled  Osiris,  and  of  calling  him  “the  Osiris  Seti.”  The  mutilation  of  the  name  of 
Sit  upon  the  monuments  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  anterior  to  the  Persian  period ; at  that  time  the 
masters  of  the  country  being  strangers  and  of  a different  religion,  the  feudal  divinities  ceased  to 
aspire  to  the  political  supremacy,  and  the  only  common  religion  that  Egypt  possessed  was  that  of 
Osiris,  the  god  of  the  dead. 

5 Cf.  the  battle  that  Juvenal  describes  in  his  fifteenth  satire,  between  the  people  of  Deuderah  and 
those  of  the  town  of  Ombi,  which  latter  is  not  the  Ombos  situated  between  Assuan  and  Gebel  Silsileh, 
but  Pa-nubit,  the  Pampanis  of  Roman  geographers,  the  present  Negadeh  (Dumichen,  Geschichte 
-Egyptens,  pp.  125,  126). 


AN"  INCIDENT  IN  THE  WARS  OF  HARMAKHIS  AND  SIT 


204 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


more  confirmed  in  their  veneration  for  the  accursed  god ; Christianity  alone 
overcame  their  obstinate  fidelity  to  him.1 

The  history  of  the  world  for  Egypt  was  therefore  only  the  history  of  the 
struggle  between  the  adherents  of  Osiris  and  the  followers  of  Sit;  an  inter- 
minable warfare  in  which  sometimes  one  and  sometimes  the  other  of  the  rival 
parties  obtained  a passing  advantage,  without  ever  gaining  a decisive  victory 
till  the  end  of  time.  The  divine  kings  of  the  second  and  third  Ennead  devoted 
most  of  the  years  of  their  earthly  reign  to  this  end ; they  were  portrayed  under 
the  form  of  the  great  warrior  Pharaohs,  who,  from  the  eighteenth  to  the  twelfth 
century  before  our  era,  extended  their  rule  from  the  plains  of  the  Euphrates 
to  the  marshes  of  Ethiopia.  A few  peaceful  sovereigns  are  met  with  here  and 
there  in  this  line  of  conquerors — a few  sages  or  legislators,  of  whom  the  most 
famous  was  styled  Thot,  the  doubly  great,  ruler  of  Hermopolis  and  of  the 
Hermopolitan  Ennead.  A legend  of  recent  origin  made  him  the  prime 
minister  of  Horus,  son  of  Isis ; 2 a still  more  ancient  tradition  would  identify 
him  with  the  second  king  of  the  second  dynasty,  the  immediate  successor 
of  the  divine  Horuses,  and  attributes  to  him  a reign  of  3226  years.3  He 
brought  to  the  throne  that  inventive  spirit  and  that  creative  power  which 
had  characterized  him  from  the  time  when  he  was  only  a feudal  deity. 
Astronomy,  divination,  magic,  medicine,  writing,  drawing — -in  fine,  all  the 
arts  and  sciences  emanated  from  him  as  from  their  first  source.4  He  had 
taught  mankind  the  methodical  observation  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  changes 
that  took  place  in  them,  the  slow  revolutions  of  the  sun,  the  rapid  phases 
of  the  moon,  the  intersecting  movements  of  the  five  planets,  and  the  shapes 
and  limits  of  the  constellations  which  each  night  were  lit  up  in  the  sky.  Most 

1 This  incident  in  the  wars  of  Horus  and  Sit  is  drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  a bas-ielicf  of  the 
temple  of  Edfu  (Naville,  Textes  relatifs  an  Mytlie  d’Horus,  pi.  xv.).  On  the  right,  Har-Huditi, 
standing  up  in  the  solar  bark,  pierces  with  his  lance  the  head  of  a crocodile,  a partisan  of  Sit, 
lying  in  the  water  below;  Hurmakhis,  standing  behind  him,  is  present  at  the  execution.  Facing 
this  divine  pair,  is  the  young  Horus,  who  kills  a man,  auotlier  partisan  of  Sit,  while  Isis  and  Ilar- 
Huditi  hold  his  chains;  behind  Horus,  Isis  and  Thot  are  leading  four  other  captives  bound  and 
ready  to  be  sacrificed  before  Harmakhis. 

2 This  is  the  part  he  plays  in  the  texts  of  Edfu  published  by  Naville,  and  which  is  confirmed  by 
several  passages,  where  he  is  called  Zaiti,  the  “count”  of  Horus  (cf.  Bergmaxn,  Hierogly ph ieche 
Inschriften,  pi.  Ixxxi.  11.  73,  71);  according  to  another  tradition,  known  to  the  Greeks,  he  is  the 
minister,  or  “count”  of  Osiris  (cf.  p.  174,  and  DCmichen,  Historische  Inschriften,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxv.)T 
or,  according  to  Plato,  of  Thamus  ( Pheedrus , Didot’s  edition,  vol.  i.  p.  733),  according  to  iElian 
( Varia  Historia,  xii.  4 ; xiv.  34)  of  Sesostris. 

3 Royal  Papyrus  of  Turin,  in  Lepsius,  Auswald  der  wichtigsten  Vrkunden , pi.  iii.  col.  ii.  11,  1.  5. 
Thot,  the  king,  mentioned  on  the  coffer  of  a queen  of  the  XIlh  dynasty,  now  preserved  in  the 
Berlin  Museum  (No.  1175),  is  not,  according  to  M.  Erman  ( Historische  Nachlese,  in  the  Zeitsclirift, 
vol.  xxx.  pp.  46,  47),  the  god  Thot,  king  of  the  divine  dynasties,  but  a prince  of  the  Theban  or 
Heracleopolitan  dynasties  (cf.  Pietschmann,  Hermes  Trismegistos,  p.  26,  Ed.  Meyer,  Geschiclite  des 
Alterthums,  vol.  i.  p.  65). 

4 The  testimony  of  Greek  and  Roman  writers  on  this  subject  is  found  in  JAr.LONSKJ,  Pantheon  JEgyp- 
tiorum,  vol.  iii.  p.  159,  et  seq.,  and  in  Pietsciimaxn,  Hermes  Trismegistos  nacli  JEgyptischen,  Griechischen 
und  Orientalischen  Ueherlieferungen,  p.  28,  et  seq.  Thot  is  the  Hermes  Trismegistos  of  the  Greeks. 


ASTRONOMY , TEE  STELLAR  TABLES. 


205 


ol  the  latter  either  remained,  or  appeared  to  remain  immovable,  and  seemed 
never  to  pass  out  of  the  regions  accessible  to  the  human  eye.  Those  which 

were  situate  on  the  extreme 


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margin  of  the  firmament  ac- 
complished movements  there 
analogous  to  those  of  the 
planets.  Every  year  at  fixed 
times  they  were  seen  to  sink 
one  after  another  below  the 
horizon,  to  disappear,  and 
rising  again  after  an  eclipse 
of  greater  or  less  duration,  to 
regain  insensibly  their  original 
positions.  The  constellations 
were  reckoned  to  be  thirty- 
six  in  number,  the  thirty-six  decani*  to  whom  were 
attributed  mysterious  powers,  and  of  whom  Sothis 
was  queen — Sothis  transformed  into  the  star  of  Isis, 
when  Orion  (Sahu)  became  the  star  of  Osiris.1  The 
nights  are  so  clear  and  the  atmosphere  so  transparent 
in  Egypt,  that  the  eye  can  readily  penetrate  the 
depths  of  space,  and  distinctly  see  points  of  light 
which  would  be  invisible  in  our  foggy  climate.  The 
Egyptians  did  not  therefore  need  special  instruments 
to  ascertain  the  existence  of  a considerable  number 
of  stars  which  we  could  not  see  without  the  help  of 
our  telescopes;  they  could  perceive  with  the  naked  eye  stars  of  the  fifth 
magnitude,  and  note  them  upon  their  catalogues.3  It  entailed,  it  is  true,  a long 
training  and  uninterrupted  practice  to  bring  their  sight  up  to  its  maximum 
keenness ; but  from  very  early  times  it  was  a function  of  the  priestly  colleges 


ONE  OF  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  TABLES 
OF  THE  TOMB  OF  RAMSES  IV.2 


[*  The  “Decani”  were  single  stars,  or  groups  of  stars,  and  related  to  the  thirty-sixth  or  thirty- 
seventh  decades  of  which  the  Egyptian  year  was  composed  (Maspero,  Hist.  Ancienne  des  peuples  de 
I’Orient,  p.  71). — Trs.] 

1 For  Orion  and  Sothis,  see  pp  96-98  of  this  History.  Champollion  first  drew  attention  to  the 
Decani,  who  were  afterwards  described  by  Lepsics  (Einleitung  zur  Chronologie  der  Alten  AEgypttr, 
pp.  68,  69),  but  with  mistakes  which  Goodwin  (Sar  un  horoscope  grec  contenant  les  noms  de  plusieurs 
Decans,  in  Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  second  series,  pp.  294-306)  and  Brugscli  ( Thesaurus 
Inscriptionum  AEgyptiacarum,  p.  131,  et  seq. ; cf.  Die  AEgyptologie,  p.  339,  et  siq.)  have  corrected 
by  means  of  fresli  documents. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  the  copy  by  Lepsius,  Denlcm .,  iii.  227,  3. 

3 Biot,  however  (Sur  un  calendrier  astronomique  et  astrologique  trouiE  ii  Thebes  en  Egypte,  p.  15), 
states  that  stars  of  the  third  and  fourth  magnitude  “ are  the  smallest  which  can  be  seen  with  the 
naked  eye.”  I believe  I am  right  in  affirming  that  several  of  the  fellahin  and  Bedawin  attached  to 
the  “service  des  Antiquites ” can  see  stars  which  are  usually  classed  with  those  of  the  fifth  magnitude. 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


200 

to  found  and  maintain  schools  of  astronomy.  The  first  observatories  established 
on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  seem  to  have  belonged  to  the  temples  of  the  sun; 
the  high  priests  of  Ra — who,  to  judge  from  their  title,  were  alone  worthy  to 
behold  the  sun  face  to  face — were  actively  employed  from  the  earliest  times 
in  studying  the  configuration  and  preparing  maps  of  the  heavens.1  The 
priests  of  other  gods  were  quick  to  follow  their  example : at  the  opening 
of  the  historic  period,  there  was  not  a single  temple,  from  one  end  of  the 
valley  to  the  other,  that  did  not  possess  its  official  astronomers,  or,  as  they 
were  called,  “watchers  of  the  night.”2  In  the  evening  they  went  up  on  to 
the  high  terraces  above  the  shrine,  or  on  to  the  narrow  platforms  which  termi- 
nated the  pylons,  and  fixing  their  eyes  continuously  on  the  celestial  vault  above 
them,  followed  the  movements  of  the  constellations  and  carefully  noted  down 
the  slightest  phenomena  which  they  observed.  A portion  of  the  chart  of  the 
heavens,  as  known  to  Theban  Egypt  between  the  eighteenth  and  twelfth 
centuries  before  our  era,  has  survived  to  the  present  time  ; parts  of  it  were 
carved  by  the  decorators  on  the  ceilings  of  temples,  and  especially  on  royal 
tombs.3  The  deceased  Pharaohs  were  identified  with  Osiris  in  a more  intimate 
fashion  than  their  subjects.  They  represented  the  god  even  in  the  most 
trivial  details ; on  earth — where,  after  having  played  the  part  of  the 
beneficent  Onnophris  of  primitive  ages,  they  underwent  the  most  complete 
and  elaborate  embalming,  like  Osiris  of  the  lower  world ; in  Hades — where 
they  embarked  side  by  side  with  the  Sun-Osiris  to  cross  the  night  and  to 


1 I would  recall  the  fact  that  the  high  priests  of  Ra  styled  themselves  Oiru-mauu,  “the  great  of 
sight,”  the  chief  of  those  who  see  the  Sun,  those  alone  who  behold  him  face  to  face.  One  of  them 
describes  himself  on  his  statue  (Maspero , Rapport  sur  une  mission  en  Italie,  in  the  Mecueil  tie  Travaux, 
vol.  iii.  p.  126,  § xi. ; cf.  Brugsch,  Die  TEgyptologie,  p.  320):  “the  reader  who  knows  the  face  of  the 
heavens,  the  great  of  sight  iu  the  mansion  of  the  Prince  of  Hermonthis  ” (cf.  pp.  136, 160  of  this  History). 
Hermonthis,  the  Auuu  of  the  south,  was  the  exact  counterpart  of  Heliopolis,  the  Aunft  (On)  of  the 
north  ; it  therefore  possessed  its  mansion  of  the  prince  where  Montu,  the  meridional  sun,  had  of  old 
resided  during  his  sojourn  upon  earth. 

2 TJrshu : this  word  is  also  used  for  the  soldiers  on  watch  during  the  day  upon  the  walls  of  a 
fortress  (Maspero,  Le  Papyrus  de  Berlin,  No.  1,  11.  18,  19,  in  the  Melanges  <F Arche'ologie  Egyptienne  et 
Assyrienne , vol.  iii.  p.  72).  Birch  believed  he  had  discovered  in  the  British  Museum  ( Inscriptions  in 
the  Hieratic  and  Demotic  Characters,  pi.  xix.,  No.  5635,  and  p.  8)  a catalogue  of  observations  made  at 
Thebes  by  several  astronomers  upon  a constellation  which  answered  to  the  Hyades  or  the  Pleiades 
(Birch,  Varia,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1868,  pp.  11,  12);  it  was  merely  a question  in  this  text  of  the 
quantity  of  water  supplied  regularly  to  the  astronomers  of  a Theban  temple  for  their  domestic  purposes. 

3 The  principal  representations  of  the  map  of  the  heavens  which  are  at  present  known  to  us, 
are  those  of  the  Rameseum  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Nile  at  Thebes,  which  have  been  studied  by  Biot 
( Sur  VannFe  vague  des  Egyptiens,  1831,  118,  et  seq.),  by  G.  Tomlinson  ( On  the  Astronomical  Ceiling  of 
the  Memnonium  at  Thebes,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  R.  Soc.  of  Literature,  vol.  iii.  pi.  ii.  pp  4S4-499), 
by  Lepsius  ( Einleitung  zur  Chronologic,  pp.  20,  21),  and  lastly  by  Brugsch  ( Thesaurus  Inscriptivnum 
TEgyptiacarum,  p.  87,  et  seq.);  those  of  Denderah,  which  have  been  reproduced  in  the  Description  de 
VEgypte  (Ant.,  vol.  iv.  pis.  20,  21),  and  have  had  further  light  thrown  on  them  by  Brugsch  ( Thesaurus 
Tnscriptionum  TEgyptiacarum,  p.  1,  et  seq.);  those  of  the  tomb  of  Seti  I.,  which  have  been  edited  by 
Belzoni  (A  Narrative  of  the  Operations,  Suppl.,  iii.),  by  Rosellini  (Monumenti  del  Culto,  pi.  69).  by 
Lepsius  ( Denkmaler , iii.  137),  by  Lefebure  (Le  Tombeau  de  Sdli  Ier,  part  iv.  pi.  xxxvi.,  in  the  Memoires 
de  la  Mission  Frangaise  du  Caire,  vol.  ii.),  and  finally  studied  by  Brugsch  in  his  Thesaurus  (p.  64,  et  seq.). 


THE  YEAR  AND  ITS  SUBDIVISIONS. 


207 


be  born  again  at  daybreak ; in  heaven — where  they  shone  with  Orion-Sahu 
under  the  guardianship  of  Sothis,  and,  year  by  year,  led  the  procession  of  the 
stars.  The  maps  of  the  firmament  recalled  to  them,  or  if  necessary  taught 
them,  this  part  of  their  duties:  they  there  saw  the  planets  and  the  decani 
sail  past  in  their  boats,  and  the  constellations  follow  one  another  in  con- 
tinuous succession.  The  lists  annexed  to  the  charts  indicated  the  positions 
occupied  each  month  by  the  principal  heavenly  bodies — their  risings,  their 
culminations,  and  their  settings.1  Unfortunately,  the  workmen  employed  to 
execute  these  pictures  either  did  not  understand  much  about  the  subject 
in  hand,  or  did  not  trouble  themselves  to  copy  the  originals  exactly  : they 
omitted  many  passages,  transposed  others,  and  made  endless  mistakes,  which 
make  it  impossible  for  us  to  transfer  accurately  to  a modern  map  the  infor- 
mation possessed  by  the  ancients. 

In  directing  their  eyes  to  the  celestial  sphere,  Thot  had  at  the  same  time 
revealed  to  men  the  art  of  measuring  time,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  future. 
As  he  was  the  moon-god  far  excellence,  he  watched  with  jealous  care  over 
the  divine  eye  which  had  been  entrusted  to  him  by  Horus,  and  the  thirty 
days  during  which  he  was  engaged  in  conducting2  it  through  all  the  phases 
of  its  nocturnal  life,  were  reckoned  as  a month.  Twelve  of  these  months 
formed  the  year,  a year  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  days,  during  which  the 
earth  witnessed  the  gradual  beginning  and  ending  of  the  circle  of  the  seasons. 
The  Nile  rose,  spread  over  the  fields,  sank  again  into  its  channel ; to  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  inundation  succeeded  the  work  of  cultivation;  the  harvest 
followed  the  seedtime : these  formed  three  distinct  divisions  of  the  year,  each 
of  nearly  equal  duration.  Thot  made  of  them  the  three  seasons, — that  of  the 
waters,  Shait ; that  of  vegetation,  Piruit ; that  of  the  harvest,  Shomu — each  com- 
prising four  months,  numbered  one  to  four;  the  1st,  2nd,  3rd,  and  4th  months 
of  Shait ; the  1st,  2nd,  3rd,  and  4th  months  of  Piruit ; the  1st,  2nd,  3rd,  and  4th 
months  of  Shomu.  The  twelve  months  completed,  a new  year  began,  whose 
birth  was  heralded  by  the  rising  of  Sothis  in  the  early  days  of  August.3  The 

1 These  tables,  preserved  in  the  tombs  of  Ramses  IV.  and  Ramses  IX.,  had  attention  first  drawn 
to  them  by  Chainpollion  (Lett res  Writes  d'Egypte , 2nd  edit.,  pp.  239-241)  and  were  published  by 
him  (Monuments  de  V Egypt*  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi.  cclxxii.  bis-cclxxii.,  Text,  vol.  ii.  pp.  547-568),  and 
subsequently  by  Lepsius  (Denlcm.,  iii.  227,  228  bis).  They  have  been  studied  by  E.  de  Rouge  and  Biot 
(Rccherches  de  qnelques  dates  absolues  qui  peuvent  se  conclure  des  dates  vagues  inscrites  sur  des  monu- 
ments Egyptians,  pp.  35-83,  and  Sur  uu  calendrier  astronomique  et  astrologique  trouee  a Thebes  en  Egypte 
dans  les  tombeaux  de  RhamsesV I et  de  Rhamscs  IX);  by  Lepsius  (Einleitung  zur  Chronologie,  p.  110,  et 
seq.) ; by  Gensler  (Die  Thebanisch&n  Tafeln  stiindlicher  Sternauf gauge) ; by  Lepage-Renouf  (Calendar  of 
Astronomical  Obsercaiions  in  Royal  Tombs  of  the  Twentieth  Dynasty,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Biblical 
Archxological  Society,  vol.  iii.  pp  400-421);  by  Brugsch  (Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  JEgyptiacarum,  pp. 
185-194);  and  lastly  by  Bilfinger  (Die  Sterntafeln  in  den  /Egypt ischen  Konigsgrabern  von  Biban  el-Moluh). 

2 One  of  the  most  common  titles  of  the  moon-god  Thot  is  An-uzait,  “ He  who  carries,  who  brings 
the  painted  Eye  of  the  Sun  ” (E.  de  Bergmann,  Uistorischc  Inschriften,  pi.  Iii.). 

3 The  order  and  the  nature  of  the  seasons,  imperfectly  described  by  Champoliion  iu  his  Memoire 


THE  LEGENDARY  111  STORY  OF  EG  YET. 


-1 08 

first  month  of  the  Egyptian  year  thus  coincided  with  the  eighth  of  ours.  Thot 
became  its  patron,  and  gave  it  his  name,  relegating  each  of  the  others  to  a 
special  protecting  divinity;  in  this  manner  the  third  month  of  Shaft  fell  to 
Hathor,  and  was  called  after  her;  the  fourth  of  Piruit  belonged  to  Ranuit  or 
Ramuit.  the  lady  of  harvests,  and  derived  from  her  its  appellation  of  Pharmuti.1 
Official  documents  always  designated  the  months  by  the  ordinal  number 
attached  to  them  in  each  season,  but  the  people  gave  them  by  preference 
the  names  of  their  tutelary  deities,  and  these  names,  transcribed  into  Greek, 
and  then  into  Arabic,  are  still  used  by  the  Christian  inhabitants  of  Egypt, 
side  by  side  with  the  Mussulman  appellations.  One  patron  for  each  month 
was,  however,  not  deemed  sufficient : each  month  was  subdivided  into  three 
decades,  over  which  presided  as  many  decani,  and  the  days  themselves  were 
assigned  to  genii  appointed  to  protect  them.  A number  of  festivals  were 
set  apart  at  irregular  intervals  during  the  course  of  the  year : festivals 
for  the  new  year,  festivals  for  the  beginning  of  the  seasons,  months  and 
decades,  festivals  for  the  dead,  for  the  supreme  gods,  and  for  local  divinities. 
Every  act  of  civil  life  was  so  closely  allied  to  the  religious  life,  that  it  could 
not  be  performed  without  a sacrifice  or  a festival.  A festival  celebrated  the 
cutting  of  the  dykes,  another  the  opening  of  the  canals,  a third  the  reaping 
of  the  first  sheaf,  or  the  carrying  of  the  grain ; a crop  gathered  or  stored 
without  a festival  to  implore  the  blessing  of  the  gods,  would  have  been  an 
act  of  sacrilege  and  fraught  with  disaster.  The  first  year  of  three  hundred 
and  sixty  days,  regulated  by  the  revolutions  of  the  moon,  did  not  long  meet 
the  needs  of  the  Egyptian  people ; it  did  not  correspond  with  the  length 
of  the  solar  year,  for  it  fell  short  of  it  by  five  and  a quarter  days,  and  this 
deficit,  accumulating  from  twelvemonth  to  twelvemonth,  caused  such  a serious 
difference  between  the  calendar  reckoning  and  the  natural  seasons,  that  it 
soon  had  to  be  corrected.  They  intercalated,  therefore,  after  the  twelfth  month 
of  each  year  and  before  the  first  day  of  the  ensuing  year,  five  epagomenal 
days,  which  they  termed  the  “ five  days  over  and  above  the  year.”  2 The  legend 
of  Osiris  relates  that  Thot  created  them  in  order  to  permit  Nuit  to  give 


sur  les  signes  employe*  par  les  aneiens  Egypt  iens  a la  notation  du  temps,  have  been  correctly  explained 
by  Brugscli  ( Nouvelles  Reclierches  sur  la  division  de  l' amide  chez  les  aneiens  Egyptiens,  pp.  1-15,01,62). 

1 For  the  popular  names  of  the  months  and  their  Coptic  and  Arabic  transcriptions,  see  Bkugsch, 
Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  JEgyptiacarum,  p.  472,  et  seq.,  and  Die  lEgyptologie,  pp.  359-361 ; the 
Fgyptian  festivals  are  enumerated  and  described  in  this  latter  work,  p.  362,  et  seq. 

2 There  appears  to  be  a tendency  among  Egyptologists  now  to  doubt  the  existence,  under  the 
Ancient  Empire,  of  the  five  epagomenal  days,  and  as  a fact  they  are  nowhere  to  be  found  expressly 
mentioned;  but  we  know  that  the  five  gods  of  the  Osirian  cycle  were  born  during  the  epagomenal 
days  fcf.  p.  172  of  this  History),  aud  the  allusions  to  the  Osirian  legend  which  are  met  with  in  the 
Pyramid  texts,  prove  that  the  days  were  added  long  before  the  time  when  those  inscriptions  were 
cut.  As  the  wording  of  the  texts  often  comes  down  from  prehistoric  times,  it  is  most  likely 
that  the  invention  of  the  epagomenal  days  is  anterior  to  the  first  Thinitc  and  Memphite  dynasties. 


THE  DEFECTS  OF  THE  YEAR. 


209 


birth  to  all  her  children.  These  days  constituted,  at  the  end  of  the  “ great 
year,”  a “ little  month,”1  which  considerably  lessened  the  difference  between 
the  solar  and  lunar  computation,  but  did  not  entirely  do  away  with  if,  and 
the  six  hours  and  a few  minutes  of  which  the  Egyptians  had  not  taken 
count  gradually  became  the  source  of  fresh  perplexities.  They  at  length 
amounted  to  a whole  day,  which  needed  to  be  added  every  four  years  to  the 
regular  three  hundred  and  sixty  days,  a fact  which  was  unfortunately  over- 
looked. The  difficulty,  at  first  only  slight,  which  this  caused  in  public  life, 
increased  with  time,  and  ended  by  disturbing  the  harmony  between  the  order 
of  the  calendar  and  that  of  natural  phenomena : at  the  end  of  a hundred  and 
twenty  years,  the  legal  year  had  gained  a whole  month  on  the  actual  year,  and 
the  1st  of  Thot  anticipated  the  heliacal  rising  of  Sothis  by  thirty  days,  instead 
of  coinciding  with  it  as  it  ought.  The  astronomers  of  the  Graeco-Roman 
period,  after  a retrospective  examination  of  all  the  past  history  of  their  country, 
discovered  a very  ingenious  theory  for  obviating  this  unfortunate  discrepancy.2 
If  the  omission  of  six  hours  annually  entailed  the  loss  of  one  day  every 
four  years,  the  time  would  come,  after  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  times 
four  years,  when  the  deficit  would  amount  to  an  entire  year,  and  when, 
in  consequence,  fourteen  hundred  and  sixty  whole  years  would  exactly 
equal  fourteen  hundred  and  sixty-one  incomplete  years.  The  agreement 
of  the  two  years,  which  had  been  disturbed  by  the  force  of  circumstances, 
was  re-established  of  itself  after  rather  more  than  fourteen  and  a half 
centuries  : the  opening  of  the  civil  year  became  identical  with  the  beginning 
of  the  astronomical  year,  and  this  again  coincided  with  the  heliacal  rising 
of  Sirius,  and  therefore  with  the  official  date  of  the  inundation.  To  the 
Egyptians  of  Pharaonic  times,  this  simple  and  eminently  practical  method  was 
unknown ; by  means  of  it  hundreds  of  generations,  who  suffered  endless 
troubles  from  the  recurring  difference  between  an  uncertain  and  a fixed  year, 
might  have  consoled  themselves  with  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  a day 
would  come  when  one  of  their  descendants  would,  for  once  in  his  life,  see 
both  years  coincide  with  mathematical  accuracy,  and  the  seasons  appear  at 
their  normal  times.  The  Egyptian  year  might  be  compared  to  a watch  which 
loses  a definite  number  of  minutes  daily.  The  owner  does  not  take  the  trouble 
to  calculate  a cycle  in  which  the  total  of  minutes  lost  will  bring  the  watch 
round  to  the  correct  time : he  bears  with  the  irregularity  as  long  as  his  affairs 

1 This  is  the  name  still  given  by  the  Copts  to  the  five  epogomenal  days  (Stern,  Koptische 
Gramm  atilt,  p.  137 ; Brugsch,  Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  AUgypliacarum,  p.  479,  et  scq.). 

2 Krall  has  shown  that  the  Sothic  cycle  was  devised  and  adapted  to  the  ancient  history 
°f  Egypt  under  the  AntoDines  (Krall,  Stuclien  zur  Gescliichte  des  Alten  TEgypiens,  i.  p.  70, 
et  seq.). 

V 


210 


THE  LEGENDARY  111  STORY  OF  EGYPT. 


do  not  suffer  by  it;  but  when  it  causes  him  inconvenience,  he  alters  the  hands 
to  the  right  hour,  and  repeats  this  operation  each  time  he  finds  it  necessary, 
without  being  guided  by  a fixed  rule.  In  like  manner  the  Egyptian  year 
fell  into  hopeless  confusion  with  regard  to  the  seasons,  the  discrepancy 
continually  increasing,  until  the  difference  became  so  great,  that  the  king 
or  the  priests  had  to  adjust  the  two  by  a process  similar  to  that  employed 
in  the  case  of  the  watch.1 

The  days,  moreover,  had  each  their  special  virtues,  which  it  was  necessary 
for  man  to  know  if  he  wished  to  profit  by  the  advantages,  or  to  escape  the 
perils  which  they  possessed  for  him.  There  was  not  one  among  them  that 
did  not  recall  some  incident  of  the  divine  wars,  and  had  not  witnessed  a battle 
between  the  partisans  of  Sit  and  those  of  Osiris  or  Ka ; the  victories  or  the 
disasters  which  they  had  chronicled  had  as  it  were  stamped  them  with  good 
or  bad  luck,  and  for  that  reason  they  remained  for  ever  either  auspicious  or 
the  reverse.  It  was  on  the  17th  of  Athyr  that  Typhon  had  enticed  his  brother 
to  come  to  him,  and  had  murdered  him  in  the  middle  of  a banquet.2  Every 
year,  on  this  day,  the  tragedy  that  had  taken  place  in  the  earthly  abode  of 
the  god  seemed  to  be  repeated  afresh  in  the  heights  of  heaven.  Just  as 
at  the  moment  of  the  death  of  Osiris,  the  powers  of  good  were  at  their 
weakest,  and  the  sovereignty  of  evil  everywhere  prevailed,  so  the  whole  of 
Nature,  abandoned  to  the  powers  of  darkness,  became  inimical  to  man. 
Whatever  he  undertook  on  that  day  issued  in  failure.3  If  he  went  out 
to  walk  by  the  river-side,  a crocodile  would  attack  him,  as  the  crocodile 
sent  by  Sit  had  attacked  Osiris.4  If  he  set  out  on  a journey,  it  was  a last 
farewell  which  he  bade  to  his  family  and  friends  : death  would  meet  him 
by  the  way.5  To  escape  this  fatality,  he  must  shut  himself  up  at  home,6  and 


1 The  questions  relating  to  the  divisions  and  defects  of  the  Egyptian  year  have  given  rise  to  a 
considerable  number  of  works,  in  which  much  science  and  ingenuity  have  been  expended,  often  to  no 
purpose.  I have  limited  myself,  in  my  remarks  on  the  subject,  to  what  seemed  to  me  most  probable 
and  in  conformity  with  what  we  know  of  Egyptian  belief.  The  Anastasi  Papyrus  IV.  (pi.  x.  11.  1-5) 
has  preserved  the  complaint  of  an  Egyptian  of  the  time  of  Minephtah  or  of  Seti  II.,  with  regard  to 
the  troubles  suffered  by  the  people  owing  to  the  defects  of  the  year  (Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le  jour, 
§ 4,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archxological  Society,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  303-410). 

- The  date  of  the  17th  of  Athyr,  given  by  the  Greeks  ( De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 13,  edit.  Parthey, 
pp.  21-23),  is  confirmed  by  several  Pharaonic  texts,  such  as  the  Saltier  Papyrus  IV.,  pi.  viii.  11.  4-G. 

3 The  12th  of  Paophi,  the  day  on  which  one  of  the  followers  of  Osiris  joined  himself  to  Sit, 
“whatsoever  thou  mayest  do  on  this  dav,  misfortune  will  come  this  day”  ( Saltier  Pap.  IV.,  pi.  v. 
1-1). 

4 The  22nd  of  Paophi,  “ do  not  bathe  in  any  water  on  this  day  : whosoever  sails  on  the  river  this 
day,  will  be  torn  in  pieces  by  the  tongue  of  the  divine  crocodile”  ( Sallier  Pap.  IV.,  pi.  vi.  11.  5,  G). 

5 The  20th  of  Mecliir,  “think  not  to  set  forth  in  a boat”  ( Sallier  Pap.  IV.,  pi.  xvii.  1.  8).  The 
24th,  “set  not  out  on  this  day  to  descend  the  river;  whosoever  approaches  the  river  on  this  day  loses 
his  life  ” (id.,  pi.  xviii.  11.  1,  2). 

c The  4tli  of  Paophi,  “go  not  forth  from  thy  house  in  any  direction  on  this  day”  (Sallier  Pap . 
IV.,  pi.  iv.  1.  3),  neither  on  the  5th  (id , pi.  iv.  11.  3,  4);  the  5th  of  Pakhons,  “whosoever  goes  forth 
from  his  house  on  this  day  will  be  attacked  and  die  from  fevers”  (id.,  pi.  xxiii.  11.  8,  9). 


AUSPICIOUS  AND  INAUSPICIOUS  DATS. 


211 


wait  in  inaction  until  the  hours  of  danger  had  passed  and  the  sun  of  the 
ensuing  day  had  put  the  evil  one  to  flight.1  It  was  to  his  interest  to 
know  these  adverse  influences  ; and  who  would  have  known  them  all,  had 
not  Tliot  pointed  them  out  and  marked  them  in  his  calendars  ? One  of 
these,  long  fragments  of  which  have  come  down  to  us,  indicated  briefly 
the  character  of  each  day,  the  gods  who  presided  over  it,  the  perils  which 
accompanied  their  patronage,  or  the  good  fortune  which  might  be  expected 
of  them.2  The  details  of  it  are  not  always  intelligible  to  us,  as  we  are  still 
ignorant  of  many  of  the  episodes  in  the  life  of  Osiris.  The  Egyptians  were 
acquainted  with  the  matter  from  childhood,  and  were  guided  with  sufficient 
exactitude  by  these  indications.  The  hours  of  the  night  were  all  inausph 
cious;3  those  of  the  day  were  divided  into  three  “seasons”  of  four  hours 
each,  of  which  some  were  lucky,  while  others  were  invariably  of  ill  omen.4 
“The  4th  of  Tybi:  good,  good,  good.  Whatsoever  thou  seest  on  this  day  will 
be  fortunate.  Whosoever  is  born  on  this  day,  will  die  more  advanced  in  years 
than  any  of  his  family;  he  will  attain  to  a greater  age  than  his  father. 

The  5th  of  Tybi  : inimical,  inimical,  inimical.  This  is  the  day  on  which 

the  goddess  Sokhit,  mistress  of  the  double  white  Palace,  burnt  the  chiefs 
when  they  raised  an  insurrection,  came  forth,  and  manifested  themselves.5 
Offerings  of  bread  to  Shu,  Phtah,  Thot : burn  incense  to  Pa,  and  to  the 
gods  who  are  his  followers,  to  Phtah,  Thot,  Hu-Su,  on  this  day.  Whatsoever 

thou  seest  on  this  day  will  be  fortunate.  The  Gth  of  Tybi  : good,  good,  good. 

Whatsoever  thou  seest  on  this  day  will  be  fortunate.  The  7th  of  Tybi  : 
inimical,  inimical,  inimical.  Do  not  join  thyself  to  a woman  in  the  presence 

1 On  the  20th  of  Thot  no  work  was  to  be  done,  no  oxen  killed,  no  stranger  received  ( [Sallier  Papy- 
rus IV.,  pi.  i.  11.  2,  3).  On  the  22nd  no  fish  might  be  eaten,  no  oil  lamp  was  to  be  lighted  (id.,  pi.  i. 
11.  8,  9).  On  the  23rd  “ put  no  incense  on  the  fire,  nor  kill  big  cattle,  nor  goats,  nor  elucks  ; eat  of  no 
goose,  nor  of  that  which  has  lived  ” (id.,  pi.  i.  1.  9 ; pi.  ii.  1.  1).  On  the  26th  “ do  absolutely  nothing 
on  this  day  ” (id.,  pi.  ii.  11.  6,  7),  and  the  same  advice  is  found  on  the  7ih  of  Paophi  (id.,  pi.  iv.  1.  6), 
on  the  18th  (id.,  pi.  v.  1.  8),  on  the  26th  (id.,  pi.  vi.  1.  9),  on  the  27th  (id.,  pi.  vi.  1.  10),  and  more  than 
thirty  times  in  the  remainder  of  the  Sallier  Calendar.  On  the  30th  of  Meehir  it  is  forbidden  to  speak 
aloud  to  any  one  (id.,  pi.  xviii.  11.  7,  8). 

2 The  Sallier  Papyrus  IV.  in  the  British  Museum,  published  in  Select  Papyri,  vol.  i.  pi.  cxliv.- 
clxviii.  Its  value  was  recognized  by  Champollion  (Salvolini,  Campagne  de  Ramses  le  Grand,  p.  121, 
note  1),  and  an  analysis  was  made  of  it  by  E.  de  Rouge  (MCmoire  sur  quelques  pliCnomenes  edestes, 
pp.  35-39  ; cf.  Revue  ArchCologique,  1st  series,  vol.  ix.)  ; it  has  been  entirely  translated  by  Chabas  (Le 
Calendrier  des  jours  pastes  et  nC fades  de  Vanne'e  egyptienne). 

3 Some  nights  were  more  inauspicious  than  others,  and  furnished  a pretext  for  special  advice. 
On  the  9th  of  Thot  “ go  not  out  at  night  ” (Sallier  Pap.  IV.,  pi.  iii.  1.  8),  also  on  the  15th  of  Khoiak 
(id.,  pi.  xi.  1.  5)  and  the  27th  (id.,  pi.  xii.  1.  6);  on  the  5th  of  Pbamenoth,  the  fourth  hour  of  the 
night  only  was  dangerous  (id.,  pi.  xix.  1.  2). 

4 For  this  division  of  the  day  into  three  seasons — “tori,”  cf.  Maspero,  Eludes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i. 
p.  30,  note  2.  Sunrise  and  sunset  especially  had  harmful  influences,  against  which  it  was  necessary 
to  be  on  one’s  guard  (Sallier  Pap.  IV.,  pi.  ii.  1.  4;  pi.  v.  1.  5;  pi.  vi.  1.  6;  pi.  xv.  11.  2,  6;  pi.  xvii. 
11.  2,  3 ; pi.  xviii.  11.  6,  7 ; pi.  xix.  1.  4 ; pi.  xxiii.  II.  2,  3). 

5 This  is  an  allusion  to  the  revolt  of  men  against  Ra,  and  to  the  revenge  taken  by  the  god  Pharaoh 
by  means  of  the  goddess  Sokhit;  cf.  the  account  given  on  p.  165  of  this  History. 


212 


THE  LEO  ENT)  ARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


of  the  Eye  of  Homs.  Beware  of  letting  the  fire  go  out  which  is  in  thy  house. 
The  8tii  of  Tybi  : gool,  good,  good.  Whatsoever  thou  seest  with  thine  eye 
this  day,  the  Enncad  of  the  gods  will  grant  to  thee  : the  sick  will  recover. 
The  9th  of  Tybi  : good,  good,  good.  The  gods  cry  out  for  joy  at  noon  this  da\\ 
Bring  offerings  of  festal  cakes  and  of  fresh  bread,  which  rejoice  the  heart  of 
the  gods  and  of  the  manes.  The  IOtii  of  Tybi  : inimical,  inimical,  inimical. 
Do  not  set  fire  to  weeds  on  this  day:  it  is  the  day  on  which  the  god  Sap-hou 
set  fire  to  the  land  of  Buto.1  The  11th  of  Tybi  : inimical,  inimical,  inimical. 
Do  not  draw  nigh  to  any  flame  on  this  day,  for  Ra  entered  the  flames  to  strike 
all  his  enemies,  and  whosoever  draws  nigh  to  them  on  this  day,  it  shall  not  he 
well  with  him  during  his  whole  life.  The  12th  of  Tybi:  inimical,  inimical, 
inimical.  See  that  thou  beholdest  not  a rat  on  this  day,  nor  approaehest  anv 
rat  within  thy  house:  it  is  the  day  wherein  Sokliit  gave  forth  the  decrees.”  2 
In  these  c>ses  a little  watchfulness  or  exercise  of  memory  sufficed  to  put 
a man  on  his  guard  against  evil  omens ; but  in  many  circumstances  all  the 
vigilance  in  the  world  would  not  protect  him,  and  the  fatality  of  the  day 
would  overtake  him,  without  his  being  able  to  do  ought  to  avert  it.  No  man 
can  at  will  place  the  day  of  his  birth  at  a favourable  time ; he  must  accept 
it  as  it  occurs,  and  yet  it  exercises  a decisive  influence  on  the  manner  of  his 
death.  According  as  he  enters  the  world  on  the  4th,  5th,  or  6th  of  Paophi, 
he  either  dies  of  marsh  fever,  of  love,  or  of  drunkenness.3  The  child  of  the 
23rd  perishes  by  the  jaws  of  a crocodile ; 4 that  of  the  27th  is  bitten  and  dies 
by  a serpent.5  On  the  other  hand,  the  fortunate  man  whose  birthday  falls 
on  the  9th  or  the  29th  lives  to  an  extreme  old  age,  and  passes  away  peacefully, 
respected  by  all.6 

Thot,  having  pointed  out  the  evil  to  men,  gave  to  them  at  the  same 
time  the  remedy.  The  magical  arts  of  which  he  was  the  repository,  made 
him  virtual  master  of  the  other  gods.7  He  knew  their  mystic  names,  their 
secret  weaknesses,  the  kind  of  peril  they  most  feared,  the  ceremonies  which 
subdued  them  to  his  will,  the  prayers  w'hich  they  could  not  refuse  to  grant 
under  pain  of  misfortune  or  death.  His  wisdom,  transmitted  to  his  wor- 
shippers, assured  to  them  the  same  authority  which  he  exercised  upon  those 

1 The  incident  in  the  divine  wars  to  which  this  passage  alludes  is  as  yet  unknown. 

2 Sallier  Papyrus  IV.,  pi.  xiii.  1.  3;  pi.  xiv.  1.  3;  cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  Ejyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  30-35  ; 
Chabas,  Le  Calendrier  des  jours  fastes  tt  ne'f antes,  pp.  65-69.  The  decrees  of  Soklut  were  those  put 
forth  by  the  goddess  at  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Ra  for  the  destruction  of  men. 

3 Sallier  Papyrus  IV.,  pi.  iv.  1.  3,  pp.  4-6. 

4 Id.,  pi.  vi.  1.  6;  in  the  story,  this  was  one  of  the  fates  announced  to  the  “Predestined  Prince.” 

5 Id.,  pi.  vii.  1.  1. 

6 Id.,  pi.  iv.  1.  8 ; pi.  vii.  11.  1,  2. 

7 For  the  magic  power  of  Thot,  the  “correct  voice”  which  he  prescribes,  and  his  books  of  incan- 
tation, see  pp.  145,  146  of  this  History. 


MAGICAL  ARTS,  INVOCATIONS,  SPELLS. 


213 


in  heaven,  on  earth,  or  in  the  nether  world.  The  magicians  instructed  in  his 
school  had,  like  the  god,  control  of  the  words  and  sounds  which,  emitted  at  the 
favourable  moment  with  the  “ correct  voice,”  would  evoke  the  most  formidable 
deities  from  beyond  the  confines  of  the  universe : they  could  bind  and  loose 
at  will  Osiris,  Sit,  Auubis,  even  Thot  himself;  they  could  send  them  forth, 
and  recall  them,  or  constrain  them  to  work  and  fight  for  them.  The  extent 
of  their  power  exposed  the  magicians  to  terrible  temptations ; they  were  often 
led  to  use  it  to  the  detriment  of  others,  to  satisfy  their  spite,  or  to  gratify 
their  grosser  appetites.  Many,  moreover,  made  a gain  of  their  knowledge, 
putting  it  at  the  service  of  the  ignorant  who  would  pay  for  it.  When  they 


THE  GODS  FIGHTING  FOE  THE  MAGICIAN  WHO  HAS  INVOKED  THEM.1 

were  asked  to  plague  or  get  rid  of  an  enemy,  they  had  a hundred  different 
ways  of  suddenly  surrounding  him  without  his  suspecting  it : they  tor- 
mented him  with  deceptive  or  terrifying  dreams;2  they  harassed  him  with 
apparitions  and  mysterious  voices  ; they  gave  him  as  a prey  to  sicknesses,  to 
wandering  spectres,  who  entered  into  him  and  slowly  consumed  him.3  They 
constrained,  even  at  a distance,  the  wills  of  men ; they  caused  women  to  be 
the  victims  of  infatuations,  to  forsake  those  they  had  loved,  and  to  love  those 
they  had  previously  detested.4  In  order  to  compose  an  irresistible  charm, 
they  merely  required  a little  blood  from  a person,  a few  nail-parings,  some 
hair,  or  a scrap  of  linen  which  he  had  worn,  and  which,  from  contact  with 
his  skin,  had  become  impregnated  with  his  personality.  Portions  of  these 
were  incorporated  with  the  wax  of  a doll  which  they  modelled,  and 
clothed  to  resemble  their  victim  ; thenceforward  all  the  inflictions  to  which 
the  image  was  subjected  were  experienced  by  the  original ; he  was  consumed 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-G  udin,  from  the  tracing  by  Golenischeff,  Die  Metternicli- Stele,  pi.  iii.  14. 

2 Most  of  the  magical  books  contain  formularies  for  “tlie  sending  of  dreams;”  e.g.  Papyrus  3229 
in  the  Louvre  (Maspero,  Me'moire  sur  quelques  Papyrus  du  Louvre,  pis.  i.-viii.,  and  pp.  113-123),  the 
Gnostic  Papyrus  of  Leyden  and  the  incantations  in  Greek  which  accompany  it  (Leemans,  Monuments 
Lyyptiens,  vol.  i.  pis.  1-14,  and  Papyri  Grxci,  vol.  ii.  p.  16,  et  seq.). 

3 Tims  in  the  hieroglyphic  text  (Sharpe,  Egyptian  Inscriptions,  1st  series,  pi.  xii.  11.  15,  16) 
quoted  for  the  first  time  by  Chains  (De  quelques  textes  hie'roglyphiques  relatifs  aux  esprits  possesseurs, 
in  the  Bulletin  Archdulogique  de  V Athdnxum  Franfais,  1856,  p.  44) : ‘‘  That  no  dead  man  nor  woman 
enter  into  him,  that  the  shade  of  no  manes  haunt  him.” 

4 Gnostic  Papyrus  of  Leyden,  p.  xiv.  1.  1,  et  seq.  (in  Leemans,  Monuments  Egyptiens  du  Musde  de 
Leyde,  pi.  vii.)  ; cf.  Ricvii.lout,  Les  Arts  Egyptiens  in  the  Revue  Egyptologique,  vol.  i.  pp.  169-172. 


214 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EG  YTT. 


with  fever  when  his  effigy  was  exposed  to  the  fire,  he  was  wounded  when 
the  figure  was  pierced  by  a knife.  The  Pharaohs  themselves  had  no  immunity 
from  these  spells.1  These  machinations  were  wont  to  be  met  by  others  of 
the  same  kind,  and  magic,  if  invoked  at  the  right  moment,  was  often  able 
to  annul  the  ills  which  magic  had  begun.  It  was  not  indeed  all-powerful 
against  fate  : the  man  born  on  the  27th  of  Paophi  would  die  of  a snake-bite, 
whatever  charm  he  might  use  to  protect  himself.  But  if  the  day  of  his  death 
were  foreordained,  at  all  events  the  year  in  which  it  would  occur  was 
uncertain,  and  it  was  easy  for  the  magician  to  arrange  that  it  should  not 
take  place  prematurely.  A formula  recited  opportunely,  a sentence  of  prayer 
traced  on  a papyrus,  a little  statuette  worn  about  the  person,  the  smallest 
amulet  blessed  and  consecrated,  put  to  flight  the  serpents  who  were  the 
instruments  of  fate.  Those  curious  stelm  on  which  we  see  Horus  half  naked, 
standing  on  two  crocodiles  and  brandishing  in  his  fists  creatures  which  had 
reputed  powers  of  fascination,  were  so  many  protecting  talismans ; set  up  at 
the  entrance  to  a room  or  a house,  they  kept  off  the  animals  represented 
and  brought  the  evil  fate  to  nought.  Sooner  or  later  destiny  would  doubt- 
less prevail,  aud  the  moment  would  come  when  the  fated  serpent,  eluding 
all  precautions,  would  succeed  in  carrying  out  the  sentence  of  death.  At  all 
events  the  man  would  have  lived,  perhaps  to  the  verge  of  old  age,  perhaps 
to  the  years  of  a hundred  and  ten,  to  which  the  wisest  of  the  Egyptians  hoped 
to  attain,  and  which  period  no  man  born  of  mortal  mother  might  exceed.2 
If  the  arts  of  magic  could  thus  suspend  the  law  of  destiny,  how  much  more 
efficacious  were  they  when  combatting  the  influences  of  secondary  deities,  the  evil 
eye,  and  the  spells  of  man  ? Thot,  who  was  the  patron  of  sortilege,  presided 
also  over  exorcisms,  and  the  criminal  acts  which  some  committed  in  his  name 
could  have  reparation  made  for  them  by  others  in  his  name.  To  malicious 
genii,  genii  still  stronger  were  opposed  ; to  harmful  amulets,  those  which  were 
protective ; to  destructive  measures,  vitalizing  remedies ; and  this  was  not  even 
the  most  troublesome  part  of  the  magicians’  task.  Nobody,  in  fact,  among 
those  delivered  by  their  intervention  escaped  unhurt  from  the  trials  to  which 
he  had  been  subjected.  The  possessing  spirits  when  they  quitted  their  victim 
generally  left  behind  them  traces  of  their  occupation,  in  the  brain,  heart, 
lungs,  intestines — in  fact,  in  the  whole  body.  The  illnesses  to  which  the 

1 Spells  were  employed  against  Itamses  III.  (Chabas,  Le  Papyrus  Magique  Harris,  pp.  170,  172; 
biivEiUA,  Le  Papyrus  judiciaire  de  Turin,  pp.  125,  120,  131),  aud  the  evidence  in  the  criminal  charge 
brought  against  the  magicians  explicitly  mentions  the  wax  figures  and  the  philters  used  on  this 
occasion. 

2 See  the  curious  memoir  by  Goodwin  iu  Chabas,  Melanges  Egyplologiques,  2nd  series,  pp.  231-237, 
on  the  age  of  a hundred  and  ten  years  and  its  mention  in  Pharaonic  aud  Coptic  documents. 


THOT  AND  THE  PRACTICE  OF  MEDICINE. 


215 


human  race  is  prone,  were  not  indeed  all  brought  about  by  enchanters 
relentlessly  persecuting  their  enemies,  but  they  were  all  attributed  to  the 
presence  of  an  invisible 
being,  whether  spectre  or 
demon,  who  by  some  super- 
natural means  had  been  made 
to  enter  the  patient,  or  who, 
unbidden,  had  by  malice  or 
necessity  taken  up  his  abode 
within  him.1  It  was  needful, 
after  expelling  the  intruder, 
to  re-establish  the  health  of 
the  sufferer  by  means  of  fresh 
remedies.  The  study  of 
simples  and  other  materise 
medicse  would  furnish  these  ; 

Thot  had  revealed  himself 
to  man  as  the  first  magician, 
he  became  in  like  manner 
for  them  the  first  physician 
and  the  first  surgeon.2 3 

Egypt  is  naturally  a very 
salubrious  country,  and  the 
Egyptians  boasted  that  they 
were  “ the  healthiest  of  all 
mortals  ; ” but  they  did  not 
neglect  any  precautions  to 
maintain  their  health. 

“ Every  month,  for  three 

THE  CHILD  HORUS  ON  THE  CROCODILES.3 

successive  days,  they  purged 

the  system  by  means  of  emetics  or  clysters.4  The  study  of  medicine  with 
them  was  divided  between  specialists ; each  physician  attending  to  one  kind 


1 Upon  this  conception  of  sickness  and  death,  see  pp.  Ill,  112  of  this  History. 

2 The  testimony  of  classical  writers  and  of  the  Egyptian  monuments  to  Thot  as  physician  and 
surgeon  has  been  collected  and  brought  up  to  date  by  Pietschmann,  Hermes  Trismegistos,  p.  20,  et 
seq.,  43,  et  seq.,  57. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucker-Gudiu,  from  au  Alexandrian  stele  in  the  Ghizeli  Museum  (Mahiette,  Monu- 
ments divers,  pi.  15  and  text,  pp.  3,  4).  The  reason  for  the  appearance  of  so  many  different  animals 
in  this  stele  and  in  others  of  the  same  nature,  has  been  given  by  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et 
d' Archtfologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  417-419;  they  were  all  supposed  to  possess  the  evil  eye  and  to 
be  able  to  fascinate  their  victim  before  striking  him. 

4 Herod.,  ii.  77;  the  testimony  of  Herodotus  in  regard  to  potions  and  clysters  is  confirmed  by 
that  of  the  medical  Papyri  of  Egypt  (Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  1st  series,  p.  65,  et  seq.). 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


* 1 1 6 

of  illness  only.  Everyplace  possessed  several  doctors;  some  for  diseases  of 
the  eyes,  others  for  the  head,  or  the  teeth,  or  the  stomach,  or  for  internal 
diseases.1  ” But  the  subdivision  was  not  carried  to  the  extent  that  Herodotus 
would  make  us  believe.  It  was  the  custom  to  make  a distinction  only  between 
the  physician  trained  in  the  priestly  schools,  and  further  instructed  by  daily 
practice  and  the  study  of  books, — the  bone-setter  attached  to  the  worship  of 
Sokhit  who  treated  fractures  by  the  intercession  of  the  goddess, — and  the 
exorcist  who  professed  to  cure  by  the  sole  virtue  of  amulets  and  magic 
phrases.'2  The  professional  doctor  treated  all  kinds  of  maladies,  but,  as  with 
us,  there  were  specialists  for  certain  affections,  who  were  consulted  iu 
preference  to  general  practitioners.  If  the  number  of  these  specialists  was 
so  considerable  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  strangers,  it  was  because  the 
climatic  character  of  the  country  necessitated  it.  Where  ophthalmia  and 
affections  of  the  intestines  raged  violently,  we  necessarily  find  many  oculists8 
as  well  as  doctors  for  internal  maladies.  The  best  instructed,  however,  knew 
but  little  of  anatomy.  As  with  the  Christian  physicians  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
religious  scruples  prevented  the  Egyptians  from  cutting  open  or  dissecting, 
in  the  cause  of  pure  science,  the  dead  body  which  was  identified  with  that 
of  Osiris.  The  processes  of  embalming,  which  would  have  instructed  them 
in  anatomy,  were  not  entrusted  to  doctors  ; the  horror  was  so  great  with  which 
any  one  was  regarded  who  mutilated  the  human  form,  that  the  “ paraschite,” 
on  whom  devolved  the  duty  of  making  the  necessary  incisions  in  the  dead, 
became  the  object  of  universal  execration;  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  his 
task,  the  assistants  assaulted  him,  throwing  stones  at  him  with  such  violence 
that  he  had  to  take  to  his  heels  to  escape  with  his  life.4  The  knowledge  of 
what  went  on  within  the  body  was  therefore  but  vague.  Life  seemed  to  be  a 
little  air,  a breath  which  ivas  conveyed  by  the  veins  from  member  to  member. 

“ The  head  contains  twenty-two  vessels,  which  draw  the  spirits  into  it  and 
send  them  thence  to  all  parts  of  the  body.  There  are  two  vessels  for  the 
breasts,  which  communicate  heat  to  the  lower  parts.  There  are  two  vessels 
for  the  thighs,  two  for  the  neck,5  two  for  the  arms,  two  for  the  back  of  the 

1 Herodotus,  ii.  84,  and  the  commentary  of  Wiedemann  on  these  two  passages  ( UerodoU  Zweites 
Buck,  p.  322,  et  seq.,  344,  315). 

2 This  division  into  three  categories,  indicated  by  the  Ebers  Papyrus,  pi.  xe.ix.  11.  2,  3,  lias  been 
confirmed  by  a curious  passage  in  a Grseco-Egyptian  treatise  on  alchemy  (Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le 
jour,  § 13,  iu  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Arclixological  Society,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  501-503). 

3 Affections  of  the  eyes  occupy  ouc-fourth  of  the  Ebers  Papyrus  (Ebers,  Das  Kapitel  uber  die  . 
Augerihrunhheiten,  iu  the  Ahh.  der  phil.-hist.  Classe  der  Konigl.  Sachs.  Gesells.  der  Wissenschajten, 
Vol.  xi.  pp.  199-336;  cf.  J.  Hirsciiberg,  JEgypten,  Geschichlliche  Sladien  eines  Augenarztes,  pp. 
31-71). 

' Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  91. 

5 These  two  vessels,  not  mentioned  in  the  Ebers  and  the  Berlin  Papyri  through  the  iuadvertence 
of  the  copyist,  were  restored  to  the  text  of  the  general  enumeration  by  H.  Schaefer,  Beitrdge  zur 
Erldiining  des  Papajnu  Ebers  (in  the  Zeitsclirift,  vol.  xxx.  pp.  35-37). 


THE  VITAL  SPIRITS. 


217 


head,  two  for  the  forehead,  two  for  the  eyes,  two  for  the  eyelids,  two  for 
the  right  ear  by  which  enter  the  breaths  of  life,  and  two  for  the  left  ear 
which  in  like  manner  admit  the  breaths  of  death.” 1 2 The  “ breaths  ” 
entering  by  the  right  ear,  are  “ the  good  airs,  the  delicious  airs  of  the 
north ; ” the  sea-breeze  which  tempers 
the  burning  of  summer  and  renews  the 
strength  of  man,  continually  weakened 
by  the  heat  and  threatened  with  ex- 
haustion. These  vital  spirits,  entering 
the  veins  and  arteries  by  the  ear  or 
nose,  mingled  with  the  blood,  which 
carried  them  to  all  parts  of  the  body  ; 
they  sustained  the  animal  and  were, 
so  to  speak,  the  cause  of  its  movement. 

The  heart,  the  perpetual  mover — hditi 
— collected  them  and  redistributed  them 
throughout  the  body  : it  was  regarded 
as  “the  beginning  of  all  the  mem- 
bers,” and  whatever  part  of  the  living 
body  the  physician  touched,  “ whether 
the  head,  the  nape  of  the  neck,  the 
hands,  the  breast,  the  arms,  the  legs,  his  hand  lit  upon  the  heart,”  and 
he  felt  it  beating  under  his  fingers.3  Under  the  influence  of  the  good 
breaths,  the  vessels  were  inflated  and  worked  regularly;  under  that  of  the 
evil,  they  became  inflamed,  were  obstructed,  were  hardened,  or  gave  way, 
and  the  physician  had  to  remove  the  obstruction,  allay  the  inflammation, 
and  re-establish  their  vigour  and  elasticity.  At  the  moment  of  death, 
the  vital  spirits  “withdrew  with  the  soul;  the  blood,”  deprived  of  air, 
“ became  coagulated,  the  veins  and  arteries  emptied  themselves,  and  the 
creature  perished  ” for  want  of  breaths.4 

The  majority  of  the  diseases  from  which  the  ancient  Egyptians  suffered, 
are  those  which  still  attack  their  successors ; ophthalmia,  affections  of  the 


1 Ebers  Papyrus , pi.  xcix.  1.  1-c.  1.  14;  The  Berlin  Medical  Papyrus,  pi.  xv.  1.  5,  pi.  xvi.  1.  3;  cf. 
Ghabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  1st  series,  pp.  G3,  64;  Brugsch,  Eecueil  de  Monuments  Egyptiens 
destines  sur  les  lieux,  vol.  ii.  pp.  114,  115. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Naville,  in  the  JEgyptisclie  Tudtenbuch,  vol.  i. 
pi.  lxix.  The  deceased  carries  in  his  hand  a sail  inflated  by  the  wind,  symbolizing  the  air,  and  holds 
it  to  his  nostrils  that  he  may  iuh  de  the  breaths  which  will  fill  anew  his  arteries,  and  bring  life  to 
his  limbs. 

3 Ebers  Papyrus,  pi.  xcix.  11.  1-4. 

' Pcemander,  § x.,  Parthey’s  edition,  pp.  75,  76. 


218 


THE  LEGEND  Alt  Y HISTORY  OF  EG  Y1‘T. 


stomach,1  abdomen,  and  bladder,2  intestinal  worms,3  varicose  veins,  ulcers 
in  the  leg,  the  Nile  pimple,4  and  finally  the  “divine  mortal  malady,”  the 
divinus  morbus  of  the  Latins,  epilepsy.5 6  Anaemia,  from  which  at  least  one- 
fourth  of  the  present  population  suffers,5  was  not  less  prevalent  than  at  present, 
if  we  may  judge  from  the  number  of  remedies  which  were  used  against 
haematuria,  the  principal  cause  of  it.  The  fertility  of  the  women  entailed  a 
number  of  infirmities  or  local  affections  which  the  doctors  attempted  to  relieve, 
not  always  with  success.7  The  science  of  those  days  treated  externals  only, 
and  occupied  itself  merely  with  symptoms  easily  determined  by  sight  or  touch  ; 
it  never  suspected  that  troubles  which  showed  themselves  in  two  widely 
remote  parts  of  the  body  might  only  be  different  effects  of  the  same  illness, 
and  they  classed  as  distinct  maladies  those  indications  which  we  now  know  to 
be  the  symptoms  of  one  disease.8  They  were  able,  however,  to  determine  fairly 
well  the  specific  characteristics  of  ordinary  affections,  and  sometimes  described 
them  in  a precise  and  graphic  fashion.  “ The  abdomen  is  heavy,  the  pit 
of  the  stomach  painful,  the  heart  burns  and  palpitates  violently.  The 
clothing  oppresses  the  sick  man  and  he  can  barely  support  it.  Nocturnal 
thirsts.  His  heart  is  sick,  as  that  of  a man  who  has  eaten  of  the  sycamore 
gum.  The  fh  sh  loses  its  sensitiveness  as  that  of  a man  seized  with  illness. 
If  he  seek  to  satisfy  a want  of  nature  he  finds  no  relief.  Say  to  this,  ‘ There 
is  an  accumulation  of  humours  in  the  abdomen,  which  makes  the  heart  sick. 
I will  act.’”9  This  is  the  beginning  of  gastric  fever  so  common  in  Egypt, 


1 Designated  by  the  name  ro-abu.  Ro-abu  is  also  a general  term,  comprising,  besides  the  stomach, 
all  the  internal  parts  of  tho  body  in  the  region  of  the  diaphragm ; cf.  Maspero  in  the  Revue  critique, 
1875,  vol.  i.  p.  237 ; Luring,  Die  iiber  die  medicinischen  Kenntnisse  der  alten  ZEgypter  berichtenden 
Papyri,  pp.  22-21,  70,  et  seq. ; Joachim,  Papyrus  Ebers,  p.  xviii.  The  recipes  for  the  stomach  are 
confined  for  the  most  part  to  the  Ebers  Papyrus,  pis.  xxxvi.-xliv. 

2 Ebers  Papyrus,  pis.  ii.,  xvi.,  xxiii.,  xxxvi.,  etc. 

3 Fibers  Papyrus,  pi.  xvi.  1.  15,  pi.  xxiii.  1.  1 ; cf.  Luring,  Die  iiber  die  medicinischen  Kenntnisse 
der  alten  ZEgypter  berichtenden  Papyri,  p.  16;  Joachim,  Papyrus  Ebers,  pp.  xvii.,  xviii. 

4 Medical  Papyrus  of  Berlin,  pi.  iii.  1.  5,  pi.  vi.  1.  6,  pi.  x.  1.  3,  et  seq. 

3  Brugsch,  Recueil  de  Monuments  Eyyptiens  dessirnfs  sur  les  lieux,  vol.  ii.  p.  109. 

6 Griesinger,  Klinische  und  Anatomische  Beobaclitungen  iiber  die  Kranlcheiten  von  rEgypten  in  the 
Archiv  fur  physiologischen  Heilhunde,  vol.  xiii.  p.  556. 

7 With  regard  to  the  diseases  of  women,  cf.  Ebers  Papyrus,  pis.  xciii.,  xcviii.,  etc.  Several  of  the 
recipes  are  devoted  to  the  solution  of  a problem  which  appears  to  have  greatly  exercised  the  mind  of 
the  ancients,  viz.  the  determination  of  the  sex  of  a child  before  its  birth  ( Medical  Papyrus  of  Berlin, 
verso  pis.  i,  ii. ; cf.  Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  1st  series,  pp.  68-70;  Brugsch,  Recueil  de 
Monuments,  vol.  ii.  pp.  116,  117);  analogous  formularies  in  writers  of  classical  antiquity  or  of  modern 
times  have  been  cited  by  Lepage-Renouf,  Note  on  the  Medical  Papyrus  of  Berlin  (in  the  Zeitschrift, 
1873,  pp.  123-125),  by  Erman,  JEgypten  und  JEgyptisches  Leben  im  Altertum,  p.  486,  and  by  Luring, 
Die  iiber  die  medicinischen  Kenntnisse  der  alten  JEgypter  berichtenden  Papyri,  pp.  139-141. 

8 This  is  particularly  noticeable  in  the  chapters  which  treat  of  diseases  of  the  eyes ; cf.  on  this 
subject  the  remarks  of  Maspero,  in  the  Revue  critique,  1889,  vol.  ii.  p.  365. 

9 Medical  Papyrus  of  Berlin,  pi.  xiii.  11.  3-6  ; cf.  Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  1st  scries, 
p.  60 ; Brugsch,  Recueil  de  Monuments,  vol.  ii.  pp.  112,  113.  A whole  sciies  of  diagnoses,  worded  with 
much  clearness,  will  be  found,  in  the  treatise  on  diseases  of  the  stomach  in  the  Ebers  Papyrusi 


DIAGNOSIS  AND  REMEDIES. 


219 


and  a modern  physician  could  not  better  diagnose  such  a case ; the  phraseology 
would  be  less  flowery,  but  the  analysis  of  the  symptoms  would  not  differ  from 
that  given  us  by  the  ancient  practitioner.  The  medicaments  recommended 
comprise  nearly  everything  which  can  in  some  way  or  other  be  swallowed, 
whether  in  solid,  mucilaginous,  or  liquid  form.1  Vegetable  remedies  are 
reckoned  by  the  score,  from  the  most  modest  herb  to  the  largest  tree,  such 
as  the  sycamore,  palm,  acacia,  and  cedar,  of  which  the  sawdust  and  shavings 
were  supposed  to  possess  both  antiseptic  and  emollient  properties.  Among  the 
mineral  substances  are  to  be  noted  sea-salt,  alum,2  nitre,  sulphate  of  copper,  and 
a score  of  different  kinds  of  stones — among  the  latter  the  “ memphite  stone  ” 
was  distinguished  for  its  virtues;  if  applied  to  parts  of  the  body  which  were 
lacerated  or  unhealthy,  it  acted  as  an  anaesthetic  and  facilitated  the  success 
of  surgical  operations.  Flesh  taken  from  the  living  subject,  the  heart,  the 
liver,  the  gall,  the  blood — either  dried  or  liquid — of  animals,  the  hair  and 
horn  of  stags,  were  all  customarily  used  in  many  cases  where  the  motive 
determining  their  preference  above  other  materiss  medicos  is  unknown  to  us. 
Many  recipes  puzzle  us  by  their  originality  and  by  the  barbaric  character 
of  the  ingredients  recommended : “ the  milk  of  a woman  who  has  given 
birth  to  a boy,”  the  dung  of  a lion,  a tortoise’s  brains,  an  old  book  boiled 
in  oil.3  The  medicaments  compounded  of  these  incongruous  substances  were 
often  very  complicated.  It  was  thought  that  the  healing  power  was  increased 
by  multiplying  the  curative  elements;  each  ingredient  acted  upon  a specific 
region  of  the  body,  and  after  absorption,  separated  itself  from  the  rest  to 
bring  its  influence  to  bear  upon  that  region.  The  physician  made  use 
of  all  the  means  which  we  employ  to-day  to  introduce  remedies  into  the 
human  system,  whether  pills  or  potions,  poultices  or  ointments,  draughts  or 
clysters.  Not  only  did  he  give  the  prescriptions,  but  he  made  them  up,  thus 


pi.  xxxvi.  1.  4,  xliv.  1.  12 ; cf.  Maspero  in  the  Revue  critique,  187G,  vol.  i.  pp.  235-237 ; Joachim, 
Papyrus  Ebers,  pp.  39-53. 

1 The  partial  enumeration  and  identification  of  the  ingredients  which  enter  into  the  composition 
of  Egyptian  medicaments  have  been  made  by  Chabas  (Melanges  Eyyptologiques,  1st  series,  pp.  71-77, 
and  L’ Egyptologie,  vol.  i.  pp.  186,  187);  by  Brugsch  ( Recueil  de  Monuments,  vol.  ii.  p.  105);  by  Stern 
in  the  Glossary  which  he  has  made  to  the  Ebers  Papyrus,  and  more  recently  by  Lining  (Die  iiber  die 
medieinisclien  Kenntnisse  der  alien  JEgypter  berichtenden  Papyri,  pp.  85-120,  143-170). 

2 Alum  was  called  abend,  oben,  in  ancient  Egyptian  (Loret,  Le  Nom  egyptien  de  VAlun,  in  the 
Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  pp.  199,  200);  for  the  considerable  quantity  produced,  cf.  Herodotus, 
ii.  180,  and  Wiedemann’s  Commentary,  Herodots  Zweites  Buck,  pp.  610,  611. 

3 Ebers  Papyrus,  pi.  lxxviii.  1.  22— lxxix.  1.  1 ; “ To  relieve  a child  who  is  constipated.— An  old 
book.  Boil  it  in  oil,  and  apply  half  to  the  stomach,  to  provoke  evacuation.”  It  must  not  be  forgotten 
that,  the  writings  being  on  papyrus,  the  old  book  in  question,  once  boiled,  would  have  an  effect 
analogous  to  that  of  our  linseed-meal  poultices.  If  the  physician  recommended  taking  an  old  one, 
it  was  for  economical  reasons  merely  ; the  Egyptians  of  the  middle  classes  would  always  have  in  their 
possession  a number  of  letters,  copy-bocks,  and  other  worthless  waste  papers,  of  which  they  would 
gladly  rid  themselves  in  such  a profitable  manner. 


THE  LEO  ENT)  ARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


220 

combining  the  art  of  the  physician  with  that  of  the  dispenser,  lie  prescribed 
the  ingredients,  pounded  them  either  separately  or  together,  he  macerated 
them  in  the  proper  way,  boiled  them,  reduced  them  by  heating,  and  filtered 
them  through  linen.1  Fat  served  him  as  the  ordinary  vehicle  for  ointments, 
and  pure  water  for  potions;  but  he  did  not  despise  other  liquids,  such  as  wine, 
beer  (fermented  or  unfermented),  vinegar,  milk,  olive  oil,  “ben”  oil  either 
crude  or  refined,2  even  the  urine  of  men  and  animals:  the  whole,  sweetened 
with  honey,  was  taken  hot,  night  and  morning.3  The  use  of  more  than  one 
of  these  remedies  became  world- wide;  the  Greeks  borrowed  them  from  the 
Egyptians ; we  have  piously  accepted  them  from  the  Greeks ; and  our 
contemporaries  still  swallow  with  resignation  many  of  the  abominable  mix- 
tures invented  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  long  before  the  building  of  the 
Pyramids. 

It  was  Thot  who  had  taught  men  arithmetic  ; Tliot  had  revealed  to  them 
the  mysteries  of  geometry  and  mensuration;  Thot  had  constructed  instruments 
and  promulgated  the  laws  of  music  ; Thot  had  instituted  the  art  of  drawing, 
and  had  codified  its  unchanging  rules.4  He  had  been  the  inventor  or  patron 
of  all  that  was  useful  or  beautiful  in  the  Nile  valley,  and  the  climax  of  his 
beneficence  was  reached  by  his  invention  of  the  principles  of  writing,  without 
which  humanity  would  have  been  liable  to  forget  his  teaching,  and  to  lose 
the  advantage  of  his  discoveries.5  It  has  been  sometimes  questioned  whether 
writing,  instead  of  having  been  a benefit  to  the  Egyptians,  did  not  rather 
injure  them.  An  old  legend  relates  that  when  the  god  unfolded  his  dis- 
covery to  King  Tharnos,  whose  minister  he  was,  the  monarch  immediately 
raised  an  objection  to  it.  Children  and  young  people,  who  had  hitherto  been 
forced  to  apply  themselves  diligently  to  learn  and  retain  whatever  was  taught 
them,  now  that  they  possessed  a means  of  storing  up  knowledge  without 
trouble,  would  cease  to  apply  themselves,  and  would  neglect  to  exercise  their 
memories.6  Whether  Tharnos  was  right  or  not,  the  criticism  came  too  late  : 

1 I know  of  no  description  of  the  methods  for  making  up  pharmaceutical  preparations ; but  an 
idea  can  he  formed  of  the  minuteness  and  care  with  which  the  Egyptians  performed  these  operations, 
from  the  receipts  preserved,  as  at  Edfu,  for  the  preparation  of  the  perfumes  used  in  the  temples. 
Dumichen,  Der  Grabpalast  des  Tatuamenema'pt,  vol.  ii.  pp.  13-32;  Loret,  Le  Kyplii,  parfum  acre 
des  anciens  Egyptiens,  taken  from  the  Journal  Asiatique,  8th  series,  vol.  x.  pp.  76-132. 

2 The  moiinga,  which  supplies  the  “ben”  oil,  is  the  Biku  of  the  Egyptian  texts  (Loret, 
Recherches  sur  plusieurs  plantes  connues  des  Anciens  Egyptiens,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  vii. 
pp  103-106). 

3 Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  1st  series,  pp.  66,  67,  78,  79;  Luring,  Ueber  die  medicinischen 
Kentnisse  der  alten  JEgypter  berichtenden  Papyri,  pp.  165-170. 

4 For  these  various  attributions  to  Thot,  see  the  passages  from  Egyptian  inscriptions  and  from 
classical  authors,  collected  by  Pietschmann,  Hermes  Trismegistos,  p.  13,  et  seq.,  39,  et  seq. 

5 Concerning  Thot  as  the  inventor  of  writing,  cf.  the  Egyptian  texts  of  Pharaonic  aud  Ptolemaic 
times  quoted  by  Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mytlwlogie  der  Alten  JEgypter,  p.  116. 

6 Pr  ato,  rhxdrus,  § lix. , Didot’s  edition,  vol.  i.  p.  733. 


THOT,  TEE  INVENTOR  OF  WRITING. 


221 


“ the  iugenious  art  of  painting  words  and  of  speaking  to  the  eyes  ” had 
once  for  all  been  acquired  by  the  Egyptians,  and  through  them  by  the 
greater  part  of  mankind.  It  was  a very  complex  system,  in  which  were 
united  most  of  the  methods  fitted  for  giving  expression  to  thought,  namely : 
those  which  were  limited  to  the  presentment  of  the  idea,  and  those  which 
were  intended  to  suggest  sounds.1  At  the 
outset  the  use  was  confined  to  signs  in- 
tended to  awaken  the  idea  of  the  object 
in  the  mind  of  the  reader  by  the  more  or 
less  faithful  picture  of  the  object  itself ; 
for  example,  they  depicted  the  sun  by  a 
centred  disc  ©,  the  moon  by  a crescent 
().  a lion  by  a lion  in  the  act  of  walking 
a man  by  a small  figure  in  a squat- 
ting attitude  ^ As  by  this  method  it 
was  possible  to  convey  only  a very  re- 
stricted number  of  entirely  materialistic 
concepts,  it  became  necessary  to  have  re- 
course to  various  artifices  in  order  to  make 
up  for  the  shortcomings  of  the  ideograms 
properly  so-called.  The  part  was  put  for 
the  whole,  the  pupil  ® in  place  of  the  whole 
eye  the  head  of  the  ox  y instead  of 
the  complete  ox  The  Egyptians  sub- 

stituted cause  for  effect  and  effect  for  cause, 
the  instrument  for  the  work  accomplished,  thot  records  the  years  op  the  life 

OF  RAMSES  IT.2 

and  the  disc  ot  the  sun  © signified  the 

day;  a smoking  brazier  |[  the  fire:  the  brush,  inkpot,  and  palette  of  the 
scribe  j=Q  denoted  writing  or  written  documents.  They  conceived  the  idea  of 
employing  some  object  which  presented  an  actual  or  supposed  resemblance  to 
the  notion  to  be  conveyed  ; thus,  the  foreparts  of  a lion  denoted  priority, 
supremacy,  command ; the  wasp  symbolized  royalty  & . and  a tadpole  ^ stood 
for  hundreds  of  thousands.  They  ventured  finally  to  use  conventionalisms,  as 
for  instance  when  they  drew  the  axe  ”|  for  a god,  or  the  ostrich-feather  [ for 


1 The  gradual  formation  of  the  hieroglyphic  system,  and  the  nature  of  the  various  elements  of 
which  it  was  composed,  have  been  very  skilfully  analyzed  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  sur  la  propaga- 
tion de  V alphabet  phenicien  parmi  les  peuples  de  VAncien  Monde,  vol.  i.  pp.  1-52. 

2 Bas-relief  of  the  temple  of  Seti  I.  at  Abydos,  drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Beato. 
The  god  is  marking  with  his  reed-pen  upon  the  notches  of  a long  frond  of  palm,  the  duration  in 
millions  of  years  of  the  reign  of  Pharaoh  upon  this  earth,  in  accordance  with  the  decree  of  the  gods. 


THE  LEO  END  ARY  HISTORY  OF  EC,  YET. 


2 o 2 

justice;  the  sign  in  these  cases  had  only  a conventional  connection  with  the 
concept  assigned  t>  it.  At  times  two  or  three  of  these  symbols  were  associated 
in  order  to  express  conjointly  an  idea  which  would  have  been  inadequately 
rendered  by  one  of  them  alone  : a five-pointed  star  placed  under  an  inverted 
crescent  moon  'T'  denoted  a month,  a calf  running  before  the  sign  for  water 
indicated  thirst.  All  these  artifices  combined  furnished,  however,  but 
a very  incomplete  means  of  seizing  and  transmitting  thought.  When  the 
writer  had  written  out  twenty  or  thirty  of  these  signs  and  the  ideas  which  they 
were  supposed  to  embody,  he  had  before  him  only  the  skeleton  of  a sentence, 
from  which  the  flesh  and  sinews  had  disappeared ; the  tone  and  rhythm 
of  the  words  were  wanting,  as  were  also  the  indications  of  gender,  number, 
person,  and  inflection,  which  distinguish  the  different  parts  of  speech  and 
determine  the  varying  relations  between  them.  Besides  this,  in  order  to 
understand  for  himself  and  to  guess  the  meaning  of  the  author,  the  reader 
was  obliged  to  translate  the  symb  ds  which  he  deciphered,  by  means  of  words 
which  represented  in  the  spoken  language  the  pronunciation  of  each  symbol. 
Whenever  he  looked  at  them,  they  suggested  to  him  both  the  idea  and 
the  word  for  the  idea,  and  consequently  a sound  or  group  of  sounds;  when 
each  of  them  had  thus  acquired  three  or  four  invariable  associations  of  sound, 
he  forgot  their  purely  ideographic  value  and  accustomed  himself  to  consider 
them  merely  as  notations  of  sound. 

The  first  experiment  in  phonetics  was  a species  of  rebus,  where  each  of 
the  signs,  divorced  from  its  original  sense,  served  to  represent  several  words, 
similar  in  sound,  but  differing  in  meaning  in  the  spoken  language.  The  same 
group  of  articulations,  Naufir,  Nojir,  conveyed  in  Egyptian  the  concrete  idea 
of  a lute  and  the  abstract  idea  of  beauty  ; the  sign  J expressed  at  once  the 
lute  and  beauty.  The  beetle  was  called  Khopirru,  and  the  verb  “ to  be  ” was 
pronounced  hhopiru : the  figure  of  the  beetle  •§[  consequently  signified  both 
the  insect  and  the  verb,  and  by  further  combining  with  it  other  signs,  the 
articulation  of  each  corresponding  syllable  was  given  in  detail.  The  sieve  o 
lchau,  the  mat  B pu,  pi,  the  mouth  «=*  ra,  ru,  gave  the  formula  hhau-pi-ru, 
which  was  equivalent  to  the  sound  of  Icliopiru,  the  verb  “to  be:”  grouped 
together  C1,  they  denoted  in  writing  the  concept  of  “ to  be  ” by  means  of 
a triple  rebus.  In  this  system,  each  syllable  of  a word  could  be  represented 
by  one  of  several  signs,  all  sounding  alike.  One-half  of  these  “ syllables  ” 
stood  for  open,  the  other  half  for  closed  syllables,  and  the  use  of  the  former 
soon  brought  about  the  formation  of  a true  alphabet.  The  final  vowel  in 
them  became  detached,  and  left  only  the  remaining  consonant — for  example, 
?•  in  ru,  h in  ha,  n in  ni,  h in  hu — so  that  *=>  ru,  fj  ha,  > — ' ni,  J hi, 


IDEOGRAPHIC,  SYLLABIC,  AND  ALPHABETIC  WRITING. 


223 


eventually  stood  for  r,  h,  n,  and  b only.  This  process  in  the  course  of 
time  having  been  applied  to  a certain  number  of  syllables,  furnished  a fairly 
large  alphabet,  in  which  several  letters  represented  each  of  the  twenty-two 
chief  articulations,  which  the  scribes  considered  sufficient  for  their  purposes. 
The  signs  corresponding  to  one  and  the  same  letter  were  homophones  or 
“ equivalents  in  sound  *=,  are  homophones,  just  as  and 

because  each  of  them,  in  the  group  to  which  it  belongs,  may  be  indifferently 
used  to  translate  to  the  eye  the  articulations  m or  n.  One  would  have 
thought  that  when  the  Egyptians  had  arrived  thus  far,  they  would  have 
been  led,  as  a matter  of  course,  to  reject  the  various  characters  which  they 
had  used  each  in  its  turn,  in  order  to  retain  an  alphabet  only.  But  the 
true  spirit  of  invention,  of  which  they  had  given  proof,  abandoned  them 
here  as  elsewhere : if  the  merit  of  a discovery  was  often  their  due,  they 
were  rarely  able  to  bring  their  invention  to  perfection.  They  kept  the 
ideographic  and  syllabic  signs  which  they  had  used  at  the  outset,  and, 
with  the  residue  of  their  successive  notations,  made  for  themselves  a most 
complicated  system,  in  which  syllables  and  ideograms  were  mingled  with 
letters  properly  so  called.  There  is  a little  of  everything  in  an  Egyptian 
phrase,  sometimes  even  in  a word;  as,  for  instance,  in  |f|P  masziru,  the 
ear,  or  ^ J Jcherou,  the  voice;  there  are  the  syllabic?  (fi  mas,  Jk  zir, 

ru,  J biker,  the  ordinary  letters  p s,  ^ u,  «=*  r,  which  complete  the  phonetic 
pronunciation,  and  finally  the  ideograms,  namely,  p,  which  gives  the  picture 
of  the  ear  by  the  side  of  the  written  word  for  it,  and  ^ which  proves  that  the 
letters  represent  a term  designating  an  action  of  the  mouth.  This  medley 
had  its  advantages ; it  enabled  the  Egyptians  to  make  clear,  by  the  picture 
of  the  object,  the  sense  of  words  which  letters  alone  might  sometimes 
insufficiently  explain.  The  system  demanded  a serious  effort  of  memory  and 
long  years  of  study ; indeed,  many  people  never  completely  mastered  it.  The 
picturesque  appearance  of  the  sentences,  in  which  we  see  representations  of 
men,  animals,  furniture,  weapons,  and  tools  grouped  together  in  successive  little 
pictures,  rendered  hieroglyphic  writing  specially  suitable  for  the  decoration  of 
the  temples  of  the  gods  or  the  palaces  of  kings.  Mingled  with  scenes  of 
worship,  sacrifice,  battle,  or  private  life,  the  inscriptions  frame  or  separate 
groups  of  personages,  and  occupy  the  vacant  spaces  which  the  sculptor  or 
painter  was  at  a loss  to  fill ; hieroglyphic  writing  is  pre-eminently  a monu- 
mental script.  For  the  ordinary  purposes  of  life  it  was  traced  in  black  or 
red  ink  on  fragments  of  limestone  or  pottery,  or  on  wooden  tablets  covered 
with  stucco,  and  specially  on  the  fibres  of  papyrus.  The  exigencies  of  haste 
and  the  unskilfulness  of  scribes  soon  changed  both  its  appearance  and  its 


224 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


elements;  the  characters  when  contracted,  superimposed  and  united  to  one 
another  with  connecting  strokes,  preserved  only  the  most  distant  resemblance 
to  the  persons  or  things  which  they  had  originally  represented.  This  cursive 
writing,  which  was  somewhat  incorrectly  termed  hieratic,  was  used  only  for 
public  or  private  documents,  for  administrative  correspondence,  or  for  the 
propagation  of  literary,  scientific,  and  religious  works. 

It  was  thus  that  tradition  was  pleased  to  ascribe  to  the  gods,  and  among 
them  to  Thot — the  doubly  great — the  invention  of  all  the  arts  and  sciences 
which  gave  to  Egypt  its  glory  and  prosperity.  It  was  clear,  not  only  to 
the  vulgar,  but  to  the  wisest  of  the  nation,  that,  had  their  ancestors  been 
left  merely  to  their  own  resources,  they  would  never  have  succeeded  in 
raising  themselves  much  above  the  level  of  the  brutes.  The  idea  that  a 
discovery  of  importance  to  the  country  could  have  risen  in  a human  brain, 
and,  once  made  known,  could  have  been  spread  and  developed  by  the  efforts 
of  successive  generations,  appeared  to  them  impossible  to  accept.  They 
believed  that  every  art,  every  trade,  had  remained  unaltered  from  the  outset, 
and  if  some  novelty  in  its  aspect  tended  to  show  them  their  error,  they 
preferred  to  imagine  a divine  intervention,  rather  than  be  undeceived. 
The  mystic  writing,  inserted  as  chapter  sixty-four  in  the  Booh  of  the 
Bead,  and  which  subsequently  was  supposed  to  be  of  decisive  moment 
to  the  future  life  of  man,  was,  as  they  knew,  posterior  in  date  to  the  other 
formulas  of  which  this  book  was  composed  ; they  did  not,  however,  regard 
it  any  the  less  as  being  of  divine  origin.  It  had  been  found  one  day,  without 
any  one  knowing  whence  it  came,  traced  in  blue  characters  on  a plaque 
of  alabaster,  at  the  foot  of  the  statue  of  Thot,  in  the  sanctuary  of  Hermopolis. 
A prince,  Ilardiduf,  had  discovered  it  in  his  travels,  and  regarding  it  as 
a miraculous  object,  had  brought  it  to  his  sovereign.1 * * * * *  This  king,  according 
to  some,  was  Husaphaiti  of  the  first  dynasty,  but  by  others  was  believed  to 
be  the  pious  Mykerinos.  In  the  same  way,  the  book  on  medicine,  dealing 
with  the  diseases  of  w7omen,  was  held  not  to  be  the  work  of  a practitioner ; 
it  had  revealed  itself  to  a priest  watching  at  night  before  the  Holy  of  Holies 
in  the  temple  of  Isis  at  Coptos.  “Although  the  earth  was  plunged  into 


1 With  regard  to  this  double  origin  of  chap.  Ixiv.,  see  Guieysse,  Riluel  Funeraire  Egyptian,  chap. 

04,  pp.  10-12  and  pp.  58,  59.  I haye  given  elsewhere  my  reasons  for  regarding  this  tradition  as  a 

proof  of  the  comparatively  modern  recension  of  this  chapter,  though  this  is  contrary  to  the  generally 
received  ojiinion,  which  would  recognize  io  it  an  indication  of  the  great  antiquity  which  the 

Egyptians  attributed  to  the  work  ( Etudes  de  Mythologie  ct  d' Arcldulogie  Egypliennes,  vol.  i.  pp. 
307-3G9).  A tablet  of  hard  stone,  the  “PerofFsky  plinth,”  which  bears  the  text  of  this  chapter,  and 

which  is  now  in  the  museum  of  the  Hermitage  (Golenischeff,  Ermiluge  Imperial.  Inventaire  de 

la  Collection  Egyptienne,  No.  1101,  pp.  169,  170),  is  prolably  a facsimile  of  the  original  discovered 

in  the  temple  of  Thot. 


THE  TABLES  OF  THE  KINGS. 


225 


darkness,  the  moon  shone  upon  it  and  enveloped  it  with  light.  It  was  sent 
as  a great  wonder  to  the  holiness  of  King  Kheops,  the  just  of  speech.”1  The 
gods  had  thus  exercised  a direct  influence  upon  men  until  they  became 
entirely  civilized,  and  this  work  of  culture  was  apportioned  among  the  three 
divine  dynasties  according  to  the  strength  of  each.  The  first,  which  com- 
prised the  most  vigorous  divinities,  had  accomplished  the  more  difficult 
task  of  establishing  the  world  on  a solid  basis;  the  second  had  carried  on 
the  education  of  the  Egyptians;  and  the  third  had  regulated,  in  all  its 
minutiaa,  the  religious  constitution  of  the  country.  When  there  was  nothing 
more  demanding  supernatural  strength  or  intelligence  to  establish  it,  the  gods 
returned  to  heaven,  and  were  succeeded  on  the  throne  by  mortal  men.  One 
tradition  maintained  dogmatically  that  the  first  human  king  whose  memory 
it  preserved,  followed  immediately  after  the  last  of  the  gods,  who,  in  quitting 
the  palace,  had  made  over  the  crown  to  man  as  his  heir,  and  that  the  change 
of  nature  had  not  entailed  any  interruption  in  the  line  of  sovereigns.2  Another 
tradition  would  not  allow  that  the  contact  between  the  human  and  divine 
series  had  been  so  close.  Between  the  Ennead  and  Menes,  it  intercalated 
one  or  more  lines  of  Theban  or  Thinite  kings ; but  these  were  of  so  formless, 
shadowy,  and  undefined  an  aspect,  that  they  were  called  Manes,  and  there 
was  attributed  to  them  at  most  only  a passive  existence,  as  of  persons  who 
had  always  been  in  the  condition  of  the  dead,  and  had  never  been  subjected 
to  the  trouble  of  passing  through  life.3  Menes  was  the  first  in  order  of 
those  who  were  actually  living.4  From  his  time,  the  Egyptians  claimed 
to  possess  an  uninterrupted  list  of  the  Pharaohs  who  had  ruled  over  the 
Nile  valley.  As  far  back  as  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  this  list  was  written  upon 
papyrus,  and  furnished  the  number  of  years  that  each  prince  occupied  the 
throne,  or  the  length  of  his  life.5  Extracts  from  it  were  inscribed  in  the 

1 Birch,  Medical  Papyrus  with  the  name  of  Cheops,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1871,  pp.  61-74. 

2 This  tradition  is  related  in  the  Chronicle  of  Scaliger  (Lauth,  Manetho  und  der  Turiner  Kiinigs- 
buch,  pp.  8-11;  cf.  p.  74,  et  seq.),  and  in  most  of  the  ancient  authors  who  have  used  Manetho’s 
extracts  (Muller-Didot,  Fragmenta  Historicorum  Grsecorum,  vol.  ii.  pp.  539,  540). 

5 This  tradition  occurs  in  the  Armenian  version  of  Eusebius,  and,  like  the  preceding  one,  comes 
from  Manetho  (Muller-Didot,  Fragm.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  526,  528).  One  only  of  these  kings, 
Bytis,  is  known  to  us,  who  perhaps  may  be  identified  with  the  Bitiu  of  an  Egyptian  tale. 

1 Manetho  (in  Muller-Didot,  Fragm.  Hist.  Grsec.,vo\.  ii.  p.  539)  : Me-ra  viuuas  rovs  ryu <0eou5  irpwTt] 
0a<nA6ia  Kurapid/ieiTai  flamAiwv  oktu >,  wv  irpuros  QcivIttjs  ifiafr'iAevtrev  err)  . Most  classical 

authorities  confirm  the  tradition  which  Manetho  had  found  iu  the  archives  of  the  temples  of  Memphis 
(Herod.,  ii.  99;  Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  43,  45,  94;  Josephus,  Ant.  Jud.,  viii.  6,  2;  Eratosthenes,  in 
Muller-Didot,  Fragm.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  540). 

5 The  only  one  of  these  lists  which  we  possess,  the  “Turin  Eoyal  Papyrus,”  was  bought,  nearly 
intact,  at  Thebes,  by  Drovetti,  about  1818,  but  was  accidentally  injured  by  him  in  bringing  home. 
The  fragments  of  it  were  acquired,  together  with  the  rest  of  the  collection,  by  the  Piedmontese 
Government  in  1820,  and  placed  in  the  Turin  Museum,  where  Champollicn  saw  and  drew  attention 
1o  them  in  1824  ( Papyrus  Egyptiens  historiques  du  Mustfe  royal  Egyptien,  p.  7,  taken  from  the  Bulletin 
Fdrussac , eighth  section,  1824,  No.  292).  Seyfforth  carefully  collected  and  arranged  them  in  the 


22f> 


THE  LEO  END  ARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


temples,  or  even  in  the  tombs  of  private  persons;  and  three  of  these  abridged 
catalogues  are  still  extant,  two  coming  from  the  temples  of  Seti  I.  and 
Ramses  II.  at  Abydos,1  while  the  other  was  discovered  in  the  tomb  of  a 
person  of  rank  named  Tunari,  at  Suqqara,2  They  divided  this  interminable 
succession  of  often  problematical  personages  into  dynasties,  following  in  this 
division,  rules  of  which  we  are  ignorant,  and  which  varied  in  the  course  of 
ages.  In  the  time  of  the  Ramessides,  names  in  the  list  which  subsequently 
under  the  Lagides  formed  five  groups  were  made  to  constitute  one  single 
dynasty.3  Manetho  of  Sebennytos,  who  wrote  a history  of  Europe  for  the  use 
of  Alexandrine  Greeks,  had  adopted,  on  some  unknown  authority,  a division 
of  thirty-one  dynasties  from  Menes  to  the  Macedonian  Conquest,  and  his 
system  has  prevailed — not,  indeed,  on  account  of  its  excellence,  but  because 
it  is  the  only  complete  one  which  has  come  down  to  us.4  All  the  families 
inscribed  in  his  lists  ruled  in  succession.5  The  country  was  no  doubt 

order  in  which  they  now  are;  subsequently  Lepsius  gave  a facsimile  of  them  in  1840,  in  his  Auswalil 
der  wichtigsten  Urlcunden,  pis.  i.-vi.,  but  this  did  not  include  the  verso ; Champollion-Figeac  edited 
in  1847,  in  the  Revue  Archdologique,  1st  series,  vol.  vi.,the  tracings  taken  by  the  younger  Champollion 
before  Seyffartli’s  arrangement;  lastly,  Wilkinson  published  the  whole  in  detail  in  1851  {The  Frag- 
ments of  the  Hieratic  Papyrus  at  Turin).  Since  then,  the  document  has  been  the  subject  of  continuous 
investigation  : E.  de  Rouge'  has  reconstructed,  in  an  almost  conclusive  manner,  the  pages  containing 
the  first  six  dynasties  (Reclierches  sur  les  monuments  qu'on  pent  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties  de 
Mandthon,  pi.  iii.),  and  Lauth,  with  less  certainty,  those  which  deal  with  the  eight  following  dynasties 
( Manetho  und  der  Turiner  Kiinigspapyrus,  pis.  iv.-x.). 

1 The  first  table  of  Abydos,  unfortunately  incomplete,  was  discovered  in  the  temple  of  Ramses  II. 
by  Banks,  in  1818;  the  copy  published  by  Caillaud  {Voyage  a Mfrod,  vol.  iii.  pp.  305-307,  and  pi. 
lxxii.,  No.  2)  and  by  Salt  {Essay  on  Dr.  Young's  and  M.  Champollion' s Phonetic  System  of  Hierogly- 
phics, p.  1,  et  seq.,  and  frontispiece)  served  as  a foundation  for  Champollion’s  first  investigations  on 
the  history  of  Egypt  {Lettres  a M.  de  Blacas,  2-  Lettre,  p.  12,  et  seq.,  and  pi.  vi.).  The  original, 
brought  to  France  by  Mimaut  (Dubois,  Description  des  antiquity  Egyptiennes,  etc.,  pp.  19-28),  was 
acquired  by  England,  and  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.  The  second  table,  which  is  complete,  all 
but  a few  signs,  was  brought  to  light  by  Mariette  in  1804,  in  the  excavations  at  Abydos,  and  was 
immediately  noticed  and  published  by  Dumichen,  Die  Sethos  Tafel  von  Abydos,  in  the  Zeitsclirift, 
18G4,  pp.  81-83.  The  text  of  it  is  to  be  found  in  Maiuette,  La  Nouvelle  Table  d’ Abydos  {Revue 
Archdologique,  2nd  series,  vol.  xiii.),  and  Abydos , vol.  i.  pi.  43. 

2 The  table  of  Saqqara,  discovered  in  1863,  has  been  published  by  Mariette,  La  Table  de  Saqqara 
{Revue  Archdologique,  2ud  series,  vol.  x.  p.  109,  et  seq.),  and  reproduced  in  the  Monuments  Divers,  pi.  58. 

3 The  Royal  Canon  of  Turin,  which  dates  from  the  Ramesside  period,  gives,  indeed,  the  names 
of  these  early  kings  without  a break,  until  the  list  reaches  Unas ; at  this  point  it  sums  up  the 
number  of  Pharaohs  and  the  aggregate  years  of  their  reigns,  thus  indicating  the  end  of  a dynasty 
(E.  de  Rouge,  Reclierches  sur  les  monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties  de 
Mandlhon,  pp.  15,  10,  25).  In  the  intervals  between  the  dynasties  rubrics  are  placed,  pointing  out 
the  changes  which  took  place  in  the  order  of  direct  succession  {id.,  pp.  160,  161).  The  division  of  the 
same  group  of  sovereigns  into  five  dynasties  has  been  preserved  to  us  by  Manetho  (in  Mullek-Didot, 
Fragmenta  Historicorum  Grxcorum,  vol.  ii.  pp.  539-554). 

4 The  best  restoration  of  the  system  of  Manetho  is  that  by  Lepsius,  Der  Kouigsbuch  der  Alten 
JEgypter,  which  should  be  completed  and  corrected  from  the  various  memoirs  of  Lauth,  Lieblein, 
Krall,  and  Unger.  The  fault  common  to  all  these  memoirs,  so  remarkable  in  many  respects,  is  not  in 
regarding  the  work  of  Manetho  as  representing  a more  or  less  ingenious  system  applied  to  Egyptian 
history,  but  as  furnishing  an  exact  and  authentic  scheme  of  this  history,  in  which  it  was  necessary 
to  embrace,  at  whatever  cost,  all  the  royal  names,  dates,  and  events  which  the  monuments  have 
revealed,  and  are  still  daily  revealing  to  us. 

5 E.  de  Rouge'  triumphantly  demonstrated,  in  opposition  to  Bunsen,  now  nearly  fifty  years  ago, 
that  all  Manetho’s  dynasties  are  successive  {Examen  de  Vouvrage  de  31.  le  Chevalier  de  Bunsen,  in  the 


THE  TABLE  OF  THE  KINGS  IN’  THE  TEMPLE  OF  SETI  I.  AT  ABYD03, 

From  a photograph  by  Beato. 


228 


THE  LEO  END  ARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


frequently  broken  up  into  a dozen  or  more  independent  states,  each  possessing 
its  own  kings  during  several  generations ; but  the  annalists  had  from  the 
outset  discarded  these  collateral  lines,  and  recognized  only  one  legitimate 
dynasty,  of  which  the  rest  were  but  vassals.  Their  theory  of  legitimacy  does 
not  always  agree  with  actual  history,  and  the  particular  line  of  princes  which 
they  rejected  as  usurpers  represented  at  times  the  only  family  possessing 
true  rights  to  the  crown.1  In  Egypt,  as  elsewhere,  the  official  chroniclers 
were  often  obliged  to  accommodate  the  past  to  the  exigencies  of  the  present, 
and  to  manipulate  the  annals  to  suit  the  reigning  party  ; while  obeying  their 
orders  the  chroniclers  deceived  posterity,  an  1 it  is  only  by  a rare  chance  that 
we  can  succeed  in  detecting  them  in  the  act  of  falsification,  and  can  re-establish 
the  truth. 

The  system  of  Manetho,  in  the  state  in  which  it  has  been  handed  down 
to  us  by  epitomizers,  has  rendered,  and  continues  to  render,  service  to  science  ; 
if  it  is  not  the  actual  history  of  Egypt,  it  is  a sufficiently  faithful  substitute 
to  warrant  our  not  neglecting  it  when  we  wish  to  understand  and  reconstruct 
the  sequence  of  events.  His  dynasties  furnish  the  necessary  framework  for 
most  of  the  events  and  revolutions,  of  which  the  monuments  have  preserved 
us  a record.  At  the  outset,  the  centre  to  which  the  affairs  of  the  country 
gravitated  was  in  the  extreme  north  of  the  valley.  The  principality  which 
extended  from  the  entrance  of  the  Fayum  to  the  apex  of  the  Delta,  and 
subsequently  the  town  of  Memphis  itself,  imposed  their  sovereigns  upon  the 
remaining  nomes,  served  as  an  emporium  for  commerce  and  national  industries, 
and  received  homage  and  tribute  from  neighbouring  peoples.  About  the 
time  of  the  VIth  dynasty  this  centre  of  gravity  was  displaced,  and  tended 
towards  the  interior;  it  was  arrested  for  a short  time  at  Heracleopolis  (IXth* 
and  Xth  dynasties),  and  ended  by  fixing  itself  at  Thebes  (XIth  dynasty). 
From  henceforth  Thebes  became  the  capital,  and  furnished  Egypt  with 
her  rulers.  With  the  exception  of  the  XIVth  Xoite  dynasty,  all  the 
families  occupying  the  throne  from  the  XIth  to  the  XXth  dynasty  were 
Theban.  When  the  barbarian  shepherds  invaded  Africa  from  Asia,  the 
Thebald  became  the  last  refuge  and  bulwark  of  Egyptian  nationality;  its 

Anndles  de  Philosopliie  chretienne,  1840-47,  vol.  xiii.-xvi.),  and  the  monuments  discoverel  from  year 
to  year  in  Egypt  have  confirmed  his  demonstration  in  every  detail. 

1 It  is  enough  to  give  two  striking  examples  of  this.  The  royal  lists  of  the  time  of  the  Ramessides 
suppress,  at  the  end  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty,  Amenothes  IV.  and  several  of  his  successors,  and  give 
the  following  sequence — Amenothes  III.,  Harmhabi,  Ramses  I.,  without  any  apparent  hiatus ; Manetho, 
on  the  contrary,  replaces  the  kings  who  were  omitted,  and  keeps  approximately  to  the  real  order 
between  Horos  (Amenothes  III.)  and  Armais  (Harmhabi).  Again,  the  official  tradition  of  the 
XXth  dynasty  gives,  between  Ramses  II.  and  Ramses  III.,  the  sequence — Mincphtah,  Seti  II., 
Naklit-Seti ; Manetho,  on  the  other  hand,  gives  Amenemes  followed  by  Thhoris,  who  appear  to  corre- 
spond to  the  Amenmeses  and  Siphtah  of  contemporary  monuments,  but,  after  Minepbtah,  he  omits 
Seti  II.  and  Nakht-Seti,  the  father  of  Ramses  III, 


THE  GREAT  HISTORICAL  PERIODS. 


229 


chiefs  struggled  for  many  centuries  against  the  conquerors  before  they  were 
able  to  deliver  the  rest  of  the  valley.  It  was  a Theban  dynasty,  the  XVIIIth, 
which  inaugura'ed  the  era  of  foreign  conquest;  but  after  the  XIXth,  a 
movement,  the  reverse  of  that  which  had  taken  place  towards  the  end  of 
the  first  period,  brought  back  the  centre  of  gravity,  little  by  little,  towards 
the  north  of  the  country.  From  the  time  of  the  XXIst  dynasty,  Thebes 
ceased  to  hold  the  position  of  capital : Tanis,  Bubastis,  Mendes,  Sebennytos, 
and  above  all,  Sais,  disputed  the  supremacy  with  each  other,  and  political 
life  was  concentrated  in  the  maritime  provinces.  Those  of  the  interior,  ruined 
by  Ethiopian  and  Assyrian  invasions,  lost  their  influence  and  gradually 
dwindled  away.  Thebes  became  impoverished  and  depopulated;  it  fell  into 
ruins,  and  soon  was  nothing  more  than  a resort  for  devotees  or  travellers. 
The  history  of  Egypt  is,  therefore,  divided  into  three  periods,  each  corre- 
sponding to  the  suzerainty  of  a town  or  a principality : — 

I.  — Memphite  Period,  usually  called  the  “Ancient  Empire,”  from  the 
Ist  to  the  Xth  dynasty : kings  of  Memphite  origin  ruled  over  the  whole  of 
Egypt  during  the  greater  part  of  this  epoch. 

II.  — Theban  Period,  from  the  XIth  to  the  XXth  dynasty.  It  is  divided 
into  two  parts  by  the  invasion  of  the  Shepherds  (XVIth  dynasty) : 

a.  The  first  Theban  Empire  (Middle  Empire),  from  the  XIth  to  the 

XIVth  dynasty. 

b.  The  new  Theban  Empire,  from  the  XVIIth  to  the  XXth  dynasty. 

II. — Saite  Period,  from  the  XXIst  to  the  XXXth  dynasty,  divided  into 
two  unequal  parts  by  the  Persian  Conquest : 

a.  The  first  Saite  period,  from  the  XXIst  to  the  XXVIth  dynasty. 

b.  The  second  Saite  period,  from  the  XXVIIIth  to  the  XXXth  dynasty. 

The  Memphites  had  created  the  monarchy.  The  Thebans  extended  the 
rule  of  Egypt  far  and  wide,  and  made  of  her  a conquering  state:  for  nearly 
six  centuries  she  ruled  over  the  Upper  Nile  and  over  Western  Asia.  Under 
the  Sa'ites  she  retired  gradually  within  her  natural  frontiers,  and  from  having 
been  aggressive  became  assailed,  and  suffered  herself  to  be  crushed  in  turn 
by  all  the  nations  she  had  once  oppressed.1 

The  monuments  have  as  yet  yielded  no  account  of  the  events  which  tended 
to  unite  the  country  under  the  rule  of  one  man;  we  can  only  surmise  that  the 
feudal  principalities  had  gradually  been  drawn  together  into  two  groups,  each 

* The  division  into  Ancient,  Middle,  and  New  Empire,  proposed  by  Lepsius,  has  the  disadvantage 
of  not  taking  into  account  the  influence  which  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  the  dynasties  exercised  on 
the  history  of  the  country.  The  arrangement  which  I have  here  adopted  was  first  put  forward  in 
the  Revue  critique , 1873,  vol.  i.  pp.  82,  83. 


230 


THE  LEG  END  All  Y 1I1ST011Y  OF  EGYPT. 


of  which  formed  a separate  kingdom.  Heliopolis  became  the  chief  focus  in 
the  north,  from  which  civilization  radiated  over  the  rich  plains  and  the  marshes 
of  the  Delta.  Its  colleges  of  priests  had  collected,  condensed,  and  arranged 
the  principal  myths  of  the  local  religions  ; the  Ennead  to  which  it  gave  con- 
ception would  never  have  obtained  the  popularity  which  we  must  acknowledge 
it  had,  if  its  princes  had  not  exercised,  for  at  least  some  period,  an  actual 
suzerainty  over  the  neighbouring  plains.1  It  was  around  Heliopolis  that  the 
kingdom  of  Lower  Egypt  was  organized ; everything  there  bore  traces  of 
Heliopolitan  theories — the  protocol  of  the  kings,  their  supposed  descent  from 
Ra,  and  the  enthusiastic  worship  which  they  offered  to  the  sun.  The  Delta, 
owing  to  its  compact  and  restricted  area,  was  aptly  suited  for  government  from 
one  centre;  the  Nile  valley  proper,  narrow,  tortuous,  and  stretching  like  a 
thin  strip  on  either  bank  of  tbe  river,  did  not  lend  itself  to  so  complete 
a unity.  It,  too,  represented  a single  kingdom,  having  the  reed  ^ and  the 
lotus  ^ for  its  emblems;  but  its  component  parts  were  more  loosely  united, 
its  religion  was  less  systematized,  and  it  lacked  a well-placed  city  to  serve  as 
a political  and  sacerdotal  centre.  Hermopolis  contained  schools  of  theologians 
who  certainly  played  an  important  part  in  the  development  of  myths  and 
dogmas ; but  the  influence  of  its  rulers  was  never  widely  felt.  In  the  south, 
Siut  disputed  their  supremacy,  and  Heracleopolis  stopped  their  road  to  the 
north.  These  three  cities  thwarted  and  neutralized  one  another,  and  not  one 
of  them  ever  succeeded  in  obtaining  a lasting  authority  over  Upper  Egypt. 
Each  of  the  two  kingdoms  had  its  own  natural  advantages  and  its  system  of 
government,  which  gave  to  it  a particular  character,  and  stamped  it,  as  it  were, 
with  a distinct  personality  down  to  its  latest  days.2  The  kingdom  of  Upper 
Egypt  was  more  powerful,  richer,  better  populated,  and  was  governed  apparently 
by  more  active  and  enterprising  rulers.  It  is  to  one  of  the  latter,  Mini  or 
Menes  of  Thinis,  that  tradition  ascribes  the  honour  of  having  fused  the  two 
Egypts  into  a single  empire,  and  of  having  inaugurated  the  reign  of  the 
human  dynasties.  Thinis  figured  in  the  historic  period  as  one  of  the  least 
of  Egyptian  cities.  It  barely  maintained  an  existence  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Nile,  if  not  on  the  exact  spot  now  occupied  by  Girgeh,  at  least  only  a 
short  distance  from  it.3  The  principality  of  the  Osirian  Reliquary,  of  which 

1 Cf.  what  is  said  of  Heliopolis,  its  position  and  its  ruins,  on  pp.  135,  136,  of  this  volume. 

2 See,  on  this  head,  the  points  which  M.  Ermau  has  worked  out  very  ably  in  his  JEgypten, 
p.  32,  et  seq. ; in  spite,  however,  of  the  opinion  which  he  expresses  (p.  128),  I believe  that  the 
northern  kingdom  received,  in  very  early  times,  a political  organization  as  strong  and  as  complete 
as  that  of  the  southern  kingdom  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  244,  et  seq.). 

3 The  site  of  Thinis  is  not  yet  satisfactorily  identified.  It  is  neither  at  Kom-es-Sultan,  as 
Mariette  thought  ( Notice  des  principaux  Monuments,  1S64,  p.  285),  nor,  according  to  the  hypothesis 
of  A.  Schmidt,  at  El-Kherbeh  ( Die  Griechischen  Papyrus-Urhunden  der  Kdnigliclien  Bibliothek  zu 
Berlin,  pp.  69-79).  Brugsch  has  proposed  to  fix  the  site  at  the  village  of  Tineh  ( Geogr.  lnschriften, 


UNCERTAINTY  OF  TEE  BEGINNING:  MENES  OF  THINIS.  231 


it  was  the  metropolis,  occupied  the  valley  from  one  mountain  range  to  the 
other,  and  gradually  extended  across  the  desert  as  far  as  the  Great  Theban 
Oasis.1  Its  inhabitants  worshipped  a skv-god,  Anhuri,  or  rather  two  twin  gods, 
Anhuri-Shu,  who  were  speedily  amalgamated  with  the  solar  deities  and  became 
a warlike  personification  of  Ra.  Anhuri-Shu,  like  all  the  other  solar  manifesta- 


tions, came  to  be  associated  with  a goddess  having  the  form  or  head  of  a lioness 
— a Sokhit,  who  took  for  the  occasion  the  epithet  of  Mihit,  the  northern  one.2 
Some  of  the  dead  from  this  city  are  buried  on  the  other  side  of  the  Nile, 
near  the  modern  village  of  Mesheikh,  at  the  foot  of  the  Arabian  chain, 
whose  steep  cliffs  here  approach  somewhat  near  the  river : 3 the  principal 

vol.  i.  p.  207),  near  Berdis,  and  is  followed  in  this  by  Diimichen  (Geschichte  zEgyptens,  p.  154).  The 
present  tendency  is  to  identify  it  either  with  Girgeh  itself,  or  with  one  of  the  small  neighbouring 
towns — for  example,  Birbeh — where  there  are  some  ancient  ruins  (Mariette-Maspeko,  Monuments 
divers,  text,  pp.  26,  27 ; Sayce,  Gleanings  from  the  Land  of  Egypt,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii. 
p.  65);  this  was  also  the  opinion  of  Champollion  and  of  Nestor  L’hote  ( Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii. 
p.  72,  Lettres  derites  d’Egijpte,  pp.  88,  125).  I may  mention  that,  in  a frequently  quoted  passage  of 
Hellanicos  (fragm.  150,  edit.  Muller-Didot,  Fragmenta  Historicorum  Grsecorum,  vol.  i.  p.  66),  Zoega 
corrects  the  reading  TirSiov  ovojua  into  &iv  Se  oi  uvoy. a,  which  would  once  more  give  us  the  name  of 
Thinis:  the  mention  of  this  town  as  being  eViirora^i?),  “situated  on  the  river,”  would  be  a fresh 
reason  for  its  identification  with  Girgeh. 

1 From  the  XIth  dynasty,  the  lords  of  Abydos  and  Thinis  bear  officially,  at  the  beginning  of 
their  inscriptions,  the  title  of  “Masters  of  the  Oasis”  (Brugsch,  Reise  nach  der  Grossen  Oase  el- 
Khargeli,  p.  62). 

2 On  Anhhri-Shii,  cf.  what  is  said  on  pp.  99,  101,  140,  141,  of  this  volume. 

3 I explored  this  after  Mariette.  The  majority  of  the  tombs  of  the  XIXth  dynasty  which  it 
contains  have  been  published  in  part  in  Mariette’s  Monuments  divers,  pi.  78,  and  pp.  26,  27;  several 
others,  dating  back  to  the  VIth  dynasty,  have  been  noticed  by  Nestor  L’l.ote  ( Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol 


TIIE  LEGEND AHY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


necropolis  was  at  some  distance  to  the  east,  near  the  sacred  town  of  Abydos. 
It  would  appear  that,  at  the  outset,  Abydos  was  the  capital  of  the  country, 
for  the  entire  nome  bore  the  same  name  as  the  city,  and  had  adopted  for  its 
symbol  the  representation  of  the  reliquary  in  which  the  god  reposed.  In  very 
early  times  Abydos  fell  into  decay,  and  resigned  its  political  rank  to  Thinis, 
but  its  religious  importance  remained  unimpaired.  The  city  occupied  a long 
and  narrow  strip  of  land  between  the  canal  and  the  first  slopes  of  the  Libyan 
mountains.  A brick  fortress  defended  it  from  the  incursions  of  the  Bedouin,1 
and  beside  it  the  temple  of  the  god  of  the  dead  reared  its  naked  walls.  Here 
Anhuri,  having  passed  from  life  to  death,  was  worshipped  under  the  name 
of  Khontamentit,  the  chief  of  that  western  region  whither  souls  repair  on 
quitting  this  earth.2  It  is  impossible  to  say  by  what  blending  of  doctrines 
or  by  what  political  combinations  this  Sun  of  the  Night  came  to  be  identified 
with  Osiris  of  Mendes,  since  the  fusion  dates  back  to  a very  remote  antiquity  ; 
it  had  become  an  established  fact  long  before  the  most  ancient  sacred  books 
were  compiled.  Osiris  Khontamentit  grew  rapidly  in  popular  favour,  and  his 
temple  attracted  annually  an  increasing  number  of  pilgrims.  The  Great  Oasis 
had  been  considered  at  first  as  a sort  of  mysterious  paradise,  whither  the  dead 
went  in  search  of  peace  and  happiness.  It  was  called  Uit,  the  Sepulchre ; 
this  name  clung  to  it  after  it  had  become  an  actual  Egyptian  province,3  and 
the  remembrance  of  its  ancient  purpose  survived  in  the  minds  of  the  people, 
so  that  the  “cleft,”  the  gorge  in  the  mountain  through  which  the  doubles 
journeyed  towards  it,  never  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  gates  of 
the  other  world.  At  the  time  of  the  New  Year  festivals,  spirits  flocked 
thither  from  all  parts  of  the  valley ; they  there  awaited  the  coming  of 
the  dying  sun,  in  order  to  embark  with  him  and  enter  safely  the  dominions 
of  Khontamentit.4  Abydos,  even  before  the  historic  period,  was  the  only  town, 
and  its  god  the  only  god,  whose  worship,  practised  by  all  Egyptians,  inspired 
them  all  with  an  equal  devotion. 

Did  this  sort  of  moral  conquest  give  rise,  later  on,  to  a belief  in  a 
material  conquest  by  the  princes  of  Thinis  and  Abydos,  or  is  there  an 
historical  foundation  for  the  tradition  which  ascribes  to  them  the  establish- 
ment of  a single  monarchy  ? It  is  the  Thinite  Menes,  whom  the  Theban 

xiii.  pp.  71-72)  and  by  Sayce  ( Gleanings  from,  the  Land  of  Egypt,  in  Ihe  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii. 
pp.  G2-G5). 

1 It  is  the  preseut  Kom-es-Sultan,  where  Mariette  hoped  to  find  the  tomb  of  Osiris. 

- MASrERO,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’ Arclnfologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  23,  24. 

3 As  late  as  the  Persiau  epoch,  the  ancient  tradition  found  its  echo  in  the  name  “Isles  of  the 
Pleased  ’’  (Herod.,  iii.  26)  which  was  given  to  the  Great  Oasis.  A passage  in  the  inscription  describes 
the  souls  repairing  to  the  Oasis  of  Zoszes  (Buugsch,  Reise  nach  der  Grossen  Oase,  p.  41,  and  Did. 
Geogr.,  p.  1002),  which  is  a part  of  the  Great  Oasis,  and  is  generally  considered  as  a dwelling-place  of 
the  dead  (MAsrEito,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d'  Arch€ologie  Egyptiennes , vol.  ii.  pp.  421-427). 

4 See  what  is  said  upon  this  subject  on  pp.  196-198  of  this  work. 


MENES  AND  THE  FOUNDING  OF  MEMPHIS. 


233 


annalists  point  out  as  the  ancestor  of  the  glorious  Pharaohs  of  the  XVIIIth 
dynasty : 1 it  is  he  also  who  is  inscribed  in  the  Memphite  chronicles,  followed 
by  Manetho,  at  the  head  of  their  lists  of  human  kiDgs,  and  all  Egypt,  for 
centuries,  acknowledged  him  as  its  first  mortal  ruler.  It  is  true  that  a 
chief  of  Thinis  may  well  have  borne  such  a name,  and  may  have  accomplished 
feats  which  rendered  him  famous;2  but,  on  closer  examination,  his  pre- 
tensions to  reality  disappear,  and  his  personality  is  reduced  to  a cipher. 
“ This  Menes,  according  to  the  priests,  surrounded  Memphis  with  dykes. 
For  the  river  formerly  followed  the  sandhills  for  some  distance  on  the  Libyan 
side.  Menes,  having  dammed  up  the  reach  about  a hundred  stadia  to  the 
south  of  Memphis,  caused  the  old  bed  to  dry  up,  and  conveyed  the  river 
through  an  artificial  channel  dug  midway  between  the  two  mountain  ranges. 
Then  Menes,  the  first  who  was  king,  having  enclosed  a firm  space  of  ground 
with  dykes,  there  founded  that  town  which  is  still  called  Memphis;  he  then 
made  a lake  round  it,  to  the  north  and  west,  fed  by  the  river,  the  city 
being  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Nile.”3  The  history  of  Memphis,  such 
as  it  can  be  gathered  from  the  monuments,  differs  considerably  from  the 
tradition  current  in  Egypt  at  the  time  of  Herodotus.1  It  appears,  indeed, 
that  at  the  outset,  the  site  on  which  it  subsequently  arose  was  occupied 
by  a small  fortress,  Anbu-hazu  — the  white  wall  — which  was  dependent 
on  Heliopolis,  and  in  which  Phtah  possessed  a sanctuary.  After  the  “ white 
wall  ” was  separated  from  the  Heliopolitan  principality  to  form  a nome  by 
itself,  it  assumed  a certain  importance,  and  furnished,  so  it  was  said,  the 
dynasties  which  succeeded  the  Thinite.  Its  prosperity  dates  only,  however, 
from  the  time  when  the  sovereigns  of  the  Vth  and  VIth  dynasties  fixed 
on  it  for  their  residence ; one  of  them,  Papi  I.,  there  founded  for  himself  and 
for  his  “ double  ” after  him,  a new  town,  which  he  called  Minnofiru,  from 
his  tomb.  Minnofiru,  which  is  the  correct  pronunciation  and  the  origin 
of  Memphis,  probably  signified  “the  good  refuge,”  the  haven  of  the  good, 

' In  the  time  of  Seti  I.  and  Ramses  II.  he  heads  the  list  of  the  Table  of  Abydos.  Under 
Ramses  II.  his  statue  was  carried  in  procession,  preceding  all  the  other  royal  statues  (Champoli.ion, 
Monuments  de  V Egypt  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi.  cxlix.;  Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  iii.  163).  Finally,  the  “Royal 
Papyrus  ” of  Turin,  written  in  the  time  of  Ramses  I.,  begins  the  entire  series  of  the  human  Pharaohs 
witli  his  name. 

2 He  has  been  considered  as  an  historical  personage  by  nearly  all  Egyptologists,  from  Gham- 
pollion  downwards  : Bunsen,  JEgyptens  Stelle,  vol.  ii.  p.  38;  Lepsius,  Konigsbuch,  pp.  19,  20  ; E.  de 
Rouge,  Recherclies  sur  les  monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties  de  Maneihon, 
p.  12,  et  scq. ; Brugsch,  Geschichte  ZEqyptens,  p.  41,  et  seq. ; Wiedemann,  JEqyptische  Geschiclite, 
p.  163,  et  seq. ; Ed.  Meyer,  Geschichte  Mgyptens,  p.  49,  et  seq.  Krall  has  shown  the  artificial 
character  of  the  lists  which  mention  him  ( Composition  der  Manethonischen  Geschichtswerkes,  pp. 
16-18);  Erman  was  the  first  to  treat  him  as  a semi-mythical  personage  (Erman,  Historische 
Nachlese,  in  the  Zeit-clirift,  vol.  xxx.  p.  46). 

3 Herod.,  ii.  99.  The  dyke  supposed  to  have  been  made  by  Menes  is  evidently  that  of  Qosheish, 
which  now  protects  the  province  of  Gizeh,  and  regulates  the  inundation  in  its  neighbourhood. 

4 It  has  been  most  cleverly  disentangled  by  Erman,  ZEqypten , pp.  240-244. 


234 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


the  burying-place  where  the  blessed  dead  came  to  rest  beside  Osiris.1  The 
people  soon  forgot  the  true  interpretation,  or  probably  it  did  not  fall  in 
with  their  taste  for  romantic  tales.  They  were  rather  disposed,  as  a rule,  to 
discover  in  the  beginnings  of  history  individuals  from  whom  the  countries 
or  cities  with  which  they  were  familiar  took  their  names  : if  no  tradition 
supplied  them  with  this,  they  did  not  experience  any  scruple  in  inventing 
one.  The  Egyptians  of  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies,  who  were  guided  in 
their  philological  speculations  by  the  pronunciation  in  vogue  around  them, 
attributed  the  patronship  of  their  city  to  a Princess  Memphis,  a daughter 
of  its  founder,  the  fabulous  Uchoreus ; 2 those  of  preceding  ages  before 
the  name  had  become  altered,  thought  to  find  in  Minnofiru  a “ Mini  Nofir,” 
or  “ Menes  the  Good,”  the  reputed  founder  of  the  capital  of  the  Delta.  Menes 
the  Good,  divested  of  his  epithet,  is  none  other  than  Menes,  the  first  king 
of  all  Egypt,  and  he  owes  his  existence  to  a popular  attempt  at  etymology.2 
The  legend  which  identifies  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  with  the 
construction  of  the  city,  must  have  originated  at  a time  when  Memphis  was 
still  the  residence  of  the  kings  and  the  seat  of  government,  at  latest  about 
the  end  of  the  Memphite  period.  It  must  have  been  an  old  tradition  at 
the  time  of  the  Theban  dynasties,  since  they  admitted  unhesitatingly  the 
authenticity  of  the  statements  which  ascribed  to  the  northern  city  so  marked 
a superiority  over  their  own  country.  When  the  hero  was  once  created  and 
firmly  established  in  his  position,  there  was  little  difficulty  in  inventing  a story 
about  him,  which  would  portray  him  as  a paragon  and  an  ideal  sovereign. 
He  was  represented  in  turn  as  architect,  warrior,  and  statesman ; he  had 
founded  Memphis,  he  had  begun  the  temple  of  Phtah,4  written  laws  and 
regulated  the  worship  of  the  gods,5  particularly  that  of  Hapis,6  and  he  had 
conducted  expeditions  against  the  Libyans.7  When  he  lost  his  only  son 
in  the  flower  of  his  age,  the  people  improvised  a hymn  of  mourning  to 
console  him — the  “ Maneros  ” — both  the  words  and  the  tune  of  which  were 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation.8  He  did  not,  moreover,  disdain 

1 The  translation  made  by  the  Greeks,  'Appos  ayaOiiv,  exactly  corresponds  to  the  ancient  orthography 
Min-nof  irft,  which  lias  become  Miu-nofir,  Minndfi,  the  “ Haven  of  the  Good,”  by  dropping  the  plural  ter- 
mination and  then  the  final  r (De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 20,  Farthey’s  edition,  p.  35).  The  other  translation, 
rdcf>os  ’Ocriptfios,  given  by  a Greek  author,  would  derive  Memphis  from  Ma-omphis,  M-omphis,  in  which 
the  name  Pnnofir,  given  to  Osiris,  takes  the  common  form',0/uc£is  : to  S'erepov  ovopa  rov  6cov  rbv  "Opipiv 
evepycrrjv  6 'EppaiAs  <prjcriv  SrjAovv  epprjrsvAperoy  (De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 42,  Parthey’s  edition,  pp.  74, 75). 

2 Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  50,  51 ; the  legend  preserved  by  this  historian  was  of  Theban  origin, 
Uchoreus,  the  father  of  the  eponymous  goddess  of  Memphis,  being  the  founder  of  Thebes. 

3 One  monument  (Erman,  Ilistorische  Nachlese,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  vol.  xxx.  pp.  43-46)  associates 
Mini,  called  Minna  or  Menna,  M771 /5s,  with  Phtah  and  Ramses  II.  : the  eponymous  hero  became 
a god,  and  Mini  is  here  treated  as  fJsirtasen  III.  was  at  Semneh,  or  as  Amenothes  III.  at  Soleb. 

1 Herod.,  ii.  99  ; cf.  Wiedemann,  Herodots  Zweites  Buck,  pp.  396-398. 

5 Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  94;  he  perhaps  only  promulgated  the  laws  originally  drawn  up  by  Thot. 

6 /Elian,  llist.  Animalium,  xi.  10;  in  Manetho,  Kakou  instituted  the  worship  of  Hapis,  cf.  p.  238. 

7 Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Fragmenta  Historicorum  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  539,  540. 

Herod.,  ii,  79.  According  to  the  De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 17  (Parthey’s  edition,  p.  28,  the  origin  of) 


THE  LEGEND  OF  MENES. 


235 


the  luxuries  of  the  table,  for  he  invented  the  art  of  serving  a dinner,  and 
the  mode  of  eating  it  in  a reclining  posture.1  One  day,  while  hunting, 
his  dogs,  excited  by  something  or  other,  fell  upon  him  to  devour  him.  He 
escaped  with  difficulty,  and,  pursued  by  them,  fled  to  the  shore  of  Lake 
Moeris,  and  was  there  brought  to  bay ; he  was  on  the  point  of  succumbing 


to  them,  when  a crocodile  took  him 
and  carried  him  across  to  the  other 
titude  he  built  a new  town,  which  he 
dilopolis,  and  assigned  to  it  for  its 


on  his  back 
side.3  In  gra- 
called  Croco- 
god  the  croco- 


dile which  had  saved  him ; he  then  erected  close  to  it  the  famous  labyrinth 
and  a pyramid  for  his  tomb.4  Other  traditions  show  him  in  a less  favourable 
light.  They  accuse  him  of  having,  by  horrible  crimes,  excited  against  him 
the  anger  of  the  gods,  and  allege  that  after  a reign  of  sixty  to  sixty-two  years, 
he  was  killed  by  a hippopotamus  which  came  forth  from  the  Nile.5  They 
also  related  that  the  Sa'ite  Tafnakhti,  returning  from  an  expedition  against 
the  Arabs,  during  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  renounce  the  pomp  and 
luxuries  of  royal  life,  had  solemnly  cursed  him,  and  had  caused  his  impre- 
cations to  be  inscribed  upon  a stele  set  up  in  the  temple  of  Amon  at  Thebes.6 


the  Maneros  is  traced  back  to  Isis  lamenting  the  death  of  Osiris.  The  questions  raised  by  this  hymn  have 
been  discussed  by  two  Egyptologists — Brugsch,  Die  Adonisklage  und  das  Linoslied,  1852  ; and  Lautii, 
TJeber  den  JEgyptischen  Maneros  (in  the  Sitzungsberichte  of  the  Academy  of  Munich,  1809,  pp.  163-194). 

1 Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  45 ; cf.  De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 8 (Parthey’s  edition,  pp.  12,  13). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  after  Prisse  d’Avennes , Monuments  Egyptians,  pl.xlvii.  2,  and  pp.  8,9. 
The  gold  medallions  engraved  with  the  name  of  Menes  are  ancient,  and  perhaps  go  back  to  the  XXth 
dynasty  : the  setting  is  entirely  modern,  with  the  exception  of  the  three  oblong  pendants  of  cornelian. 

3 This  is  an  episode  from  the  legend  of  Osiris : at  Phil®,  in  the  little  building  of  the  Antonines, 
may  be  seen  a representation  of  a crocodile  crossing  the  Nile,  carrying  on  his  back  the  mummy  of 
the  god.  The  same  episode  is  also  found  in  the  tale  of  Onus  el-Ujud  and  of  Uard  f’il-Ikmam,  where 
the  crocodile  leads  the  hero  to  his  beautiful  prisoner  in  the  Island  of  Phil®.  Ebers,  VEgypte, 
French  trans.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  415,  416,  has  shown  how  this  episode  in  the  Arab  story  must  have  been 
inspired  by  the  bas-relief  at  Phil®  and  by  the  scene  which  it  portrays : the  temple  is  still  called 
“ Kasr,”  and  the  island  “ Geziret  Onous  el-Ujud.” 

4 Diod.  Siculus,  i.  89  ; several  commentators,  without  any  reason,  would  transfer  this  legend  to 
a kiDg  of  the  XIIth  dynasty,  Amenemhait  III.  We  have  no  cause  to  suspect  that  Diodorus,  or  the 
historian  from  whom  he  took  his  information,  did  not  copy  correctly  a romance  of  which  Menes  was 
the  hero  (Unger,  Manetho,  pp.  82,  130,  131)  : if  traditions  relating  to  other  kings  have  become  mixed 
up  with  this  one,  it  need  not  astonish  us,  since  we  know  this  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  com- 
position of  Egyptian  tales. 

5 Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Fragmenta  Hist.  Grsec.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  539,  540.  In  popular  romances, 
this  was  the  usual  end  of  criminals  of  every  kind  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires  de  VEgypte  ancienne, 
2nd  edit.,  pp.  59-62);  we  shall  see  that  another  king,  Akhthoes  the  founder  of  the  IXth  dynasty, 
after  committing  horrible  misdeeds,  was  killed,  in  the  same  way  as  Menes,  by  a hippopotamus. 

8 De  Iside  et  Osiride , § 8 (Parthey’s  edition,  pp.  12,  13) ; Diodorus,  i.  45  ; Alexis,  in  Athen^us, 
x.  p.  418  e. 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OE  EGYPT. 


236 

Nevertheless,  in  the  memory  that  Egypt  preserved  of  its  first  Pharaoh,  the 
good  outweighed  tire  evil.  He  was  worshipped  in  Memphis  side  by  side 
with  Phtah  and  Eamses  II. ; his  name  figured  at  the  head  of  tire  royal 
lists,  and  his  cult  continued  till  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies. 

His  immediate  successors  have  only  a semblance  of  reality,  such  as  he  had. 
The  lists  give  the  order  of  succession,  it  is  true,  with  the  years  of  their  reigns 
almost  to  a day,  sometimes  the  length  of  their  lives,1  but  we  may  well  ask 
whence  the  chroniclers  procured  so  much  precise  information.  They  were  in  the 
same  position  as  ourselves  with  regard  to  these  ancient  kings  : they  knew  them 
by  a tradition  of  a later  age,  by  a fragment  of  papyrus  fortuitously  preserved 
in  a temple,  by  accidentally  coming  across  some  monument  bearing  their 
name,  and  were  reduced,  as  we  are,  to  put  together  the  few  facts  which 
they  possessed,  or  to  supply  such  as  were  wanting  by  conjectures,  often  in 
a very  improbable  manner.  It  is  quite  possible  that  they  were  able  to  gather 
from  the  memory  of  the  past,  the  names  of  those  individuals  of  which  they 
made  up  the  first  two  Thinite  dynasties.  The  forms  of  these  names  are 
curt  and  rugged,  and  indicative  of  a rude  and  savage  state,  harmonizing 
with  the  semi-barbaric  period  to  which  they  are  relegated : — Ati  the  Wrestler, 
Teti  the  Kunner,  Qenqoni  the  Crusher, — are  suitable  rulers  for  a people,  the 
first  duty  of  whose  chief  was  to  lead  his  followers  into  battle,  and  to  strike 
harder  than  any  other  man  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight.2  The  inscriptions 
supply  us  with  proofs  that  some  of  these  princes  lived  and  reigned : — Sondi, 
who  is  classed  in  the  IInd  dynasty,  received  a continuous  worship  towards  the 
end  of  the  IIIrd  dynasty.3  But  did  all  those  who  preceded  him,  and  those 
who  followed  him,  exist  as  he  did?  and  if  they  existed,  do  the  order  and 
relation  assigned  to  them  agree  with  the  actual  truth  ? The  different  lists  do 

1 This  is  the  case  in  the  “Canon  Royal”  at  Turin,  where  the  leDgth  of  the  reign  and  life  of 
nearly  every  sovereign  is  given  iu  years,  months,  and  days. 

2 The  Egyptians  were  accustomed  to  explain  the  meaning  of  the  names  of  their  kings  to  strangers, 
and  the  Canon  of  Eratosthenes  has  preserved  several  of  their  derivations,  of  which  a certain  number, 
as,  for  instance,  that  of  Menes  from  ai’tiwoj,  the  “ lasting,”  are  tolerably  correct.  M.  Krall  ( Die  Compo- 
sition und  die  Schichsale  des  Manethonischen  Geschichtswerlces,  pp.  16-19)  is,  to  my  knowledge,  the  only 
Egyptologist  who  has  attempted  to  glean  from  the  meaning  of  these  names  indications  of  the  methods 
by  which  the  national  historians  of  Egypt  endeavoured  to  make  up  the  lists  of  the  earliest  dynasties. 

3 Ilia  priest  Shiri  is  known  to  us  by  a stele  in  the  form  of  a door,  iu  the  Gizeh  Museum 
(Mariette,  Notice  des  principaux  Monuments,  1876,  p.  296,  No.  996;  Maspeuo,  Guide  da  visiteur, 
pp.  31,  32,  213,  No.  993);  the  son  and  grandson  of  Shiri,  Ankaf  and  Aasen,  are  mentioned  on  a 
monument  in  the  museum  at  Aix,  exercising  the  same  priestly  office  as  Shiri  (GiBEitT-DiivimiA,  Le 
Musde  d’Aix,  pp.  7,  8,  Nos.  1,2;  cf.  Wiedemann,  On  a monument  of  the  First  Dynasties,  iu  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society,  vol.  ix.  pp.  180,  181).  A part  of  Shiri’s  monument  is  at 
Oxford  ( Marmora  Oxoniensia,  2nd  part,  pi.  i.;  Lepsius,  Ausicahl,  pi.  ix.),  another  part  at  Florence 
(Schiaparelli,  Museo  Archeologico  di  Firenze,  pp.  230-232).  A notice  of  his  tomb  occurs  iu 
Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  92,  et  seq.  A Saite  bronze,  which  passed  from  the  Posno  Collection 
( Catalogue , Paris,  1883,  No.  53,  p.  14)  into  the  possession  of  the  Berlin  Museum,  is  supposed  to 
represent  Sondi.  The  worship  of  this  prince  lasted  down  to,  or  was  restored  under,  the  Ptolemies 
(E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  monuments,  p.  31). 


TEE  FIRST  TWO  T FINITE  DYNASTIES. 


237 


not  contain  the  same  names  in  the  same  positions ; certain  Pharaohs  are  added 
or  suppressed  without  appreciable  reason,  Where  Manetho  inscribes  Kenkenes 
and  Ouenephes,  the  tables  of 
the  time  of  Seti  I.  give  us  Ati 
and  Ata ; Manetho  reckons 
nine  kings  tothe  IInd  dynasty, 
while  they  register  only  five.1 
The  monuments,  indeed, 
show  us  that  Egypt  in  the 
past  obeyed  princes  whom 
her  annalists  were  unable  to 
classify : for  instance,  they 
associate  with  Sondi  a Pir- 
senu,  who  is  not  mentioned  in 
the  annals.  We  must,  there- 
fore, take  the  record  of  all 
this  opening  period  of  his- 
tory for  what  it  is — namely, 
a system  invented  at  a much 
later  date, by  meansof  various 
artifices  and  combinations — 
to  be  partially  accepted  in  de- 
fault of  a better,  but  without 
according  to  it  that  exces- 
sive confidence  which  it  has 
hitherto  received.  The  two 
Thinite  dynasties,  in  direct 
descent  from  the  fabulous 
Menes,  furnish,  like  this 
hero  himself,  only  a tissue 
of  romantic  tales  and  mira- 

. , T • ,1  1 STEI.E  IN  THE  FORM  OF  A DOOR  IN  THE  TOMB  OF  SHIRT.2 

culous  legends  in  the  place 

of  history.  A double-headed  stork,  which  had  appeared  in  the  first  year 


1 The  impossibility  of  reconciling  the  names  of  the  Greek  with  those  of  the  Pharaonic  lists  has 
been  admitted  by  most  of  the  savants  who  have  discussed  the  matter,  viz.  Mariette  ( la  Nouvelle  Table 
d’Abydos,  p.  5,  et  seq.),  E.  de  Rouge  {Rechercb.es  sur  les  monuments,  p.  18,  et  seq.),  Lieblein 
( Recherches  sur  la  Chronologie  Egyptienne,  p.  12,  ct  seq.),  Wiedemann  (A'gyptische  Geschichte,  pp.  162, 
163,  166,  167,  etc.);  most  of  them  explain  the  differences  by  the  supposition  that,  in  many  cases, 
one  of  the  lists  gives  the  cartouche  name,  and  the  other  the  cartouche  prenomen  of  the  same 
king. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey,  taken  from  the  stele  1027  in  the 
Gijeh  Museum  (Maspero,  Guide  du  VUiteur  au  Muse'e  de  Boulaq,  pp.  31,  32,  213). 


238 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


of  Teti,  sou  of  Menes,  had  foreshadowed  to  Egypt  a long  prosperity,1  hut  a 
famine  under  Ouenephes,2  and  a terrible  plague  under  Semempses,  had  depopu- 
lated the  country:3  the  laws  had  been  relaxed,  great  crimes  had  been  com- 
mitted, and  revolts  had  broken  out.  During  the  reign  of  Boethos,  a gulf 
had  opened  near  Bubastis,  and  swallowed  up  many  people,4  then  the  Nile 
had  flowed  with  honey  for  fifteen  days  in  the  time  of  Nephercheres,5  and 
Sesochris  was  supposed  to  have  been  a giant  in  stature.6  A few  details  about 
royal  edifices  were  mixed  up  with  these  prodigies.  Teti  had  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  great  palace  of  Memphis,7  Ouenephes  had  built  the  pyramids  of  Ko-kome 
near  Saqqara.8  Several  of  the  ancient  Pharaohs  had  published  books  on 
theology, or  had  written  treatises  on  anatomy  and  medicine;  9 several  had  made 
laws  which  lasted  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  One  of  them 
was  called  Kakou,  the  male  of  males,  or  the  bull  of  bulls.  They  explained  his 
name  by  the  statement  that  he  had  concerned  himself  about  the  sacred  animals; 
he  had  proclaimed  as  gods,  Hapis  of  Memphis,  Mnevis  of  Heliopolis,  and  the 
goat  of  Mendes.10  After  him,  Binothris  had  conferred  the  right  of  succession 
upon  all  the  women  of  the  blood-royal.11  The  accession  of  the  IIIrd  dynasty, 
a Memphite  one  according  to  Manetho,  did  not  at  first  change  the  miraculous 
character  of  this  history.  The  Libyans  had  revolted  against  Necherophes,  and 
the  two  armies  were  encamped  before  each  other,  when  one  night  the  disk  of 
the  moon  became  immeasurably  enlarged,  to  the  great  alarm  of  the  rebels, 
who  recognized  in  this  phenomenon  a sign  of  the  anger  of  heaven,  and  yielded 
without  fighting.12  Tosorthros,  the  successor  of  Necherophes,  brought  the 
hieroglyphs  and  the  art  of  stone-cutting  to  perfection.  He  composed,  as 
Teti  did,  books  of  medicine,  a fact  which  caused  him  to  be  identified  with  the 


1 Apion,  frag.  11,  in  Muller-Didot,  Fragmenta  Historicorum  Grxcorum,  vol.  iii.  p.  512.  ^Elian 
(Hist.  Anim.,  xi.  40),  who  has  transmitted  this  fragment  to  us,  calls  the  son  of  Menes,  Oinis,  Hard  rbv 
OiViS a,  which  Bunsen,  without  reason,  corrects  into  «ar’  ’Artidi 8a  (JEgyptens  Stelle,  vol.  ii.  p.  46, 
note  15). 

2 Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  539,  540. 

3 Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  539,  540. 

4 Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  542,  543. 

5 Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  542,  543.  John  of  Antioch,  on 
whose  authority  is  not  known,  places  this  miracle  under  Binothris  (Muller-Didot,  op.  cit.,  vol.  iv^ 
p.  539). 

6 Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  542,  543. 

7 Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  539,  540. 

8 Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  539,  540. 

9 Teti  wrote  books  on  anatomy  (Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
539,  540),  and  a recipe  for  causing  the  hair  to  grow,  is  ascribed  to  his  mother,  Queen  Shishit  ( Ebers 
Papyrus,  pi.  lxvi.  1.  5).  Tosorthros,  of  the  IIIrd  dynasty,  wTas  said  to  have  composed  a treatise  on 
medicine  (Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii.  p.  544). 

10  Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  542,  543 ; cf.  Krall,  Die  Com- 
position und  Schichsale  des  Manetlionischen  Geschichtsiverkes,  p.  4. 

11  Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  542,  543. 

12  Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Frag.  Hist.  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  544,  545. 


ORIGIN  OF  LEGENDS  ABOUT  TEE  FIRST  THREE  DYNASTIES.  239 


healing  god  Imhotpu.1  The  priests  related  these  things  seriously,  and  the 
Greek  writers  took  them  down  from  their  lips  with  the  respect  which  they 
offered  to  everything  emanating  from  the  wise  men  of  Egypt. 

What  they  related  of  the  human  kings  was  not  more  detailed,  as  we  see,  than 
their  accounts  of  the  gods. 

Whether  the  legends  dealt 
with  deities  or  kings,  all 
that  we  know  took  its  origin, 
not  in  popular  imagination, 
but  in  sacerdotal  dogma : 
they  were  invented  long  after 
the  times  they  dealt  with, 
in  the  recesses  of  the  tem- 
ples, with  an  intention  and 
a method  of  which  we  are 
enabled  to  detect  flagrant 
instances  on  the  monuments.2 3 
Towards  the  middle  of  the 
third  century  before  our  era, 
the  Greek  troops  stationed 
on  the  southern  frontier,  in 
the  forts  at  the  first  cataract, 
developed  a particular  vene- 
ration for  Isis  of  Philm. 

Their  devotion  spread  to  the 
superior  officers  who  came  to 
inspect  them,  then  to  the 
whole  population  of  the  The- 
baid,  and  finally  reached  the 
court  of  the  Macedonian 
kings.  The  latter,  carried 

away  by  force  of  example,  gave  every  encouragement  to  a movement  which 
attracted  worshippers  to  a common  sanctuary,  and  united  in  one  cult  the  two  races 
over  which  they  ruled.  They  pulled  down  the  meagre  building  of  the  Sai'te 


SAT1T  PRESENTS  THE  PHARAOH  AMENOTHES  III.  TO  KHNUMl . 


1 Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Fragmenta  Historicorum  Grxc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  544,  545. 

2 On  pp.  109-171  of  this  history,  I have  given  a rdsumd  of  the  information  possessed,  or  sup- 
posed to  be  possessed,  by  the  chronicler  of  the  legend  of  Ait-nobsou,  concerning  the  benefits 
which  Ka,  Shfi,  and  Siba  had  conferred  upon  the  sanctuary  of  the  nome  during  their  terrestrial 
reigns. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  one  of  the  bas-reliefs  of  the  temple  of  Khnumft,  at  Elephantine 
( Description  de  VEgypte,  Antiquity,  vol.  i.  pi.  36,  1).  This  bas-relief  is  now  destroyed. 


240 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EG  YET. 


period  which  had  hitherto  sufficed  for  the  worship  of  Isis,  constructed  at  great 
cost  the  temple  which  still  remains  almost  intact,  and  assigned  to  it  considerable 
possessions  in  Nubia,  which,  in  addition  to  gifts  from  private  individuals,  made 
the  goddess  the  richest  landowner  in  Southern  Egypt.  Knurau  and  his  two 
wives,  Anukit  and  Satit,  who,  before  Isis,  had  been  the  undisputed 
suzerains  of  the  cataract,  perceived  with  jealousy  their  neighbour’s 
prosperity  : the  civil  wars  and  invasions  of  the  centuries  imme- 
diately preceding  had  ruined  their  temples,  and  their  poverty  con- 
trasted painfully  with  the  riches  of  the  new-comer.  The  priests 
resolved  to  lay  this  sad  state  of  affairs  before  King  Ptolemy,  to 
represent  to  him  the  services  which  they  had  rendered  and  still 
continued  to  render  to  Egypt,  and  above  all  to  remind  him  of  the 
generosity  of  the  ancient  Pharaohs,  whose  example,  owing  to  the 
poverty  of  the  times,  the  recent  Pharaohs  had  been  unable  to  follow. 
Doubtless  authentic  documents  were  wanting  in  their  archives  to 
support  their  pretensions  : they  therefore  inscribed  upon  a rock,  in 
the  island  of  Seliel,  a long  inscription  which  they  attributed  to 
Zosiri  of  the  IIIrd  dynasty.  This  sovereign  had  left  behind  him 
a vague  reputation  for  greatness.  As  early  as  the  XIIth  dynasty 
Usirtasen  III.  had  claimed  him  as  “his  father” — his  ancestor — 
and  had  erected  a statue  to  him;1  the  priests  knew  that,  by 
invoking  him,  they  had  a chance  of  obtaining  a hearing.  The 
inscription  which  they  fabricated,  set  forth  that  in  the  eighteenth  year 
of  Zosiri’s  reign  he  had  sent  to  Madir,  lord  of  Elephantine,  a message 
couched  in  these  terms : “ I am  overcome  with  sorrow  for  the  throne, 
and  for  those  who  reside  in  the  palace,  and  my  heart  is  afflicted  and 
suffers  greatly  because  the  Nile  has  not  risen  in  my  time,  for  the  space  of 
eight  years.  Corn  is  scarce,  there  is  a lack  of  herbage,  and  nothing  is 
left  to  eat:  when  any  one  calls  upon  his  neighbours  for  help,  they  take 
pains  not  to  go.  The  child  weeps,  the  young  man  is  uneasy,  the  hearts 
of  the  old  men  are  in  despair,  their  limbs  are  bent,  they  crouch  on  the 
earth,  they  fold  their  hands ; the  courtiers  have  no  further  resources ; the 
shops  formerly  furnished  with  rich  wares  are  now  filled  only  with  air, 
all  that  was  in  them  has  disappeared.  My  spirit  also,  mindful  of  the 
beginning  of  things,  seeks  to  call  upon  the  Saviour  who  was  here  where 
I am,  during  the  centuries  of  the  gods,  upon  Thot-Ibis,  that  great 
wise  one,  upon  Imhotpu,  son  of  Phtah  of  Memphis.  Where  is  the  place 

1 The  mutilated  base  of  this  statue  is  now  preserved  iu  the  Egyptian  Museum  at  Berlin  (Erman, 
Ycrzeichniss  der  JEtjyptisclien  AHerliimer  und  Giysabgusee,  p.  34.  No.  94  ll). 


anvk!t. 


THE  FAMINE  STELE. 


241 


in  which  the  Nile  is  born  ? 
Who  is  the  god  or  goddess 
concealed  there  ? What  is 
his  likeness?”  The  lord  of  Ele- 
phantine brought  his  reply  in  person.  He 
described  to  the  king,  who  was  evidently 
ignorant  of  it,  the  situation  of  the  island 
and  the  rocks  of  the  cataract,  the  pheno- 
mena of  the  inundation,  the  gods  who 
presided  over  it,  and  who  alone  could 
relieve  Egypt  from  her  disastrous  plight. 

THE  STEP-PYRAMID  OP  SAQQARA.1  . . ■ t 

Zosin  repaired  to  the  temple  of  the  prin- 
cipality and  offered  the  prescribed  sacrifices ; the  god  arose,  opened  his 
eyes,  panted  and  cried  aloud,  “ 1 am  Klinumu  who  created  thee ! ” and 
promised  him  a speedy  return  of  a high  Nile  and  the  cessation  of  the 
famine.  Pharaoh  was  touched  by  the  benevolence  which  his  divine  father 
had  shown  him ; he  forthwith  made  a decree  by  which  he  ceded  to  the 
temple  all  his  rights  of  suzerainty  over  the  neighbouring  nomes  within 
a radius  of  twenty  miles.  Henceforward  the  entire  population,  tillers 
and  vinedressers,  fishermen  and  hunters,  had  to  yield  the  tithe  of  their 
incomes  to  the  priests ; the  quarries  could  not  be  worked  without  the 
consent  of  Klinumu,  and  the  payment  of  a suitable  indemnity  into 
his  coffers;  finally,  metals  and  precious  woods  shipped  thence  for  Egypt 
had  to  submit  to  a toll  on  behalf  of  the  temple.2  Did  the  Ptolemies 
admit  the  claims  which  the  local  priests  attempted  to  deduce  from  this 


1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  De'veria  (1864) ; in  the  foreground,  the  tomb  of  Ti. 

1 This  is  the  inscription  discovered  at  Sehel  by  Mr.  Wilbour  in  1890,  and  published  by  Brugsch, 
Die  Biblischen  sieben  Jalire  der  Uungersnoth ; and  by  Pleyte,  SchenlcingsoorJconde  van  Sehele  uit  liet 
18‘le  Jaar  van  Honing  Tosertasis  (taken  from  the  Report  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Amsterdam, 
3rd  series,  vol.  viii.) ; cf.  Maspero,  in  the  Revue  Critique , 1891,  vol.  ii.  p.  149,  et  seq.  The  correct 
reading  of  the  royal  name  was  pointed  out,  almost  immediately  after  the  discovery,  by  Steindorfif,  in 
the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxviii.  pp.  Ill,  112. 


It 


242 


THE  LEO  END  ARY  HI  STORY  OF  EGYPT. 


romantic  tale  ? and  did  the  god  regain  possession  of  the  domains  and  dues 
which  they  declared  had  been  his  right?  The  stele  shows  us  with  what  ease 
the  scribes  could  forge  official  documents,  when  the  exigencies  of  daily  life  forced 
the  necessity  upon  them  ; it  teaches  us  at  the  same  time  how  that  fabulous 
chronicle  was  elaborated,  whose  remains  have  been  preserved  for  us  by  classical 
writers.  Every  prodigy,  every  fact  related  by  Manetho,  was  taken  from  some 
document  analogous  to  the  supposed  inscription  of  Zosiri.1 

The  real  history  of  the  early  centuries,  therefore,  eludes  our  researches, 
and  no  contemporary  record  traces  for  us  those  vicissitudes  which  Egypt 
passed  through  before  being  consolidated  into  a single  kingdom,  under  the 
rule  of  one  man.  Many  names,  apparently  of  powerful  and  illustrious  princes, 
had  survived  in  the  memory  of  the  people ; these  were  collected,  classified, 
and  grouped  in  a regular  manner  into  dynasties,  but  the  people  were  ignorant 
of  any  exact  facts  connected  with  the  names,  and  the  historians,  on  their 
own  account,  were  reduced  to  collect  apocryphal  traditions  for  their  sacred 
archives.  The  monuments  of  these  remote  ages,  however,  cannot  have 
entirely  disappeared : they  exist  in  places  where  we  have  not  as  yet  thought 
of  applying  the  pick,  and  chance  excavations  will  some  day  most  certainly 
bring  them  to  light.  The  few  which  we  do  possess  barely  go  back  beyond 
the  IIIrd  dynasty:  namely,  the  hypogeum  of  Shiri,  priest  of  Sondi  and 
Pirsenu ; 2 possibly  the  tomb  of  Khuithotpu  at  Saqqara;3  the  Great  Sphinx 
of  Gizeli ; a short  inscription  on  the  rocks  of  the  Wady  Magbara,  which 
represents  Zosiri  (the  same  king  of  whom  the  priests  of  Khnumu  in  the  Greek 
period  made  a precedent)  working  the  turquoise  or  copper  mines  of  Sinai;4 
and  finally  the  Step-Pyramid  where  this  same  Pharaoh  rests.5  It  forms  a 

1 The  legend  of  the  yawning  gulf  at  Bubastis  must  be  connected  with  the  gifts  supposed  to  have 
been  offered  by  King  Boethos  to  the  temple  of  that  town,  to  repair  the  losses  sustained  by  the 
goddess  on  that  occasion  ; the  legend  of  the  pestilence  and  famine  is  traceable  to  some  relief  given 
by  a local  god,  and  for  which  Semempses  and  flenephes  might  have  shown  their  gratitude  iu  the 
same  way  as  Zosiri.  The  tradition  of  the  successive  restorations  of  Denderah  (Dumichen,  Bauur- 
leunde  der  Tempelanlagen  von  Dendera,  pi.  xvi.  a-b,  and  pp.  15,  18,  19)  accounts  for  the  constructions 
attributed  to  Teti  I.  and  to  Tosorthros;  finally,  the  pretended  discoveries  of  sacred  books,  dealt 
with  elsewhere  (pp.  224,  225),  show  how  Manetho  was  enabled  to  attribute  to  his  Pharaohs  the 
authorship  of  works  on  medicine  or  theology. 

2 Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire , pp.  92-94,  and  the  fragments  mentioned  above, 
p.  23G. 

3 Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  pp  G8-70.  Mariette  ascribes  the  construction  of 
the  tomb  of  Khabiiisokari  to  the  Ist  dynasty  (p.  73);  I am  inclined  to  think  it  is  not  earlier  than 
the  IIP". 

1 This  text,  in  which  only  the  Horus-name  is  given  to  the  king,  was  copied  by  Be'nedite  four  * 
years  ago  ; it  is  the  most  ancient  of  all  the  Egyptian  historical  inscriptions. 

5 The  stele  of  Seliel  has  enabled  us  to  verify  the  fact  that  the  preamble  [a  string  of  titles]  of  the 
inscription  of  the  king,  buried  in  the  Step-Pyramid,  is  identical  with  that  of  King  Zosiri : it  was, 
therefore,  Zosiri  who  constructed,  or  arranged  for  the  construction  of  this  monument  as  his  tomb 
(Buugsch,  Der  Konig  Ihser,  in  the  Zeilschrift,  vol.  xxviii.  pp.  110,  111).  The  Step-Pyramid  of 
Saqqara  was  opened  in  1819,  at  the  expense  of  the  Prussian  General  Minutoli,  who  was  the  first  to 


THE  STEP-PYRAMID  OF  SAQQaRA. 


243 


rectangular  mass,  incorrectly  orientated,  with  a variation  from  the  true  north 
of  4°  35',  393  ft.  8 in.  long  from  east  to  west,  and  352  ft.  deep,  with  a 
height  of  159  ft.  9 in.  It  is  composed  of  six  cubes,  with  sloping  sides, 
each  being  about  13  ft.  less  in  width  than  the  one  below  it ; that  nearest 
to  the  ground  measures  37  ft.  8 in.  in  height,  and  the  uppermost  one 


ONE  OP  THE  CHAMBERS  OP  THE  STEP-PYRAMID,  WITH  ITS  VVALL-C'OYERING  OF  GLAZED  TILES.' 

29  ft.  2 in.  It  was  entirely  constructed  of  limestone  from  the  neighbouring 
mountains.  The  blocks  are  small,  and  badly  cut,  the  stone  courses  being 
concave  to  offer  a better  resistance  to  downward  thrust  and  to  shocks 
of  earthquake.  When  breaches  in  the  masonry  are  examined,  it  can  be 
seen  that  the  external  surface  of  the  steps  has,  as  it  were,  a double  stone 


give  a brief  description  of  the  interior,  illustrated  by  plans  and  drawings  ( Reise  zurrt  Tempel  des 
Jupiter  Ammon,  pp.  295-299,  and  Atlas,  pis.  xxvi.-xxviii.). 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  coloured  sketch  by  Segato.  M.  Stern  ( Die  Rcuidbemer- 
lcungen  zu  den  manethonisclien  Konigscanon,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1885,  p.  90,  note  1)  attributes  the 
decoration  of  glazed  pottery  to  the  XXVPh  dynasty,  which  opinion  is  shared  by  Borchardt,  Die  Tliiir 
aus  der  Stufenpyramide  bei  Saltkara  (in  the  Zeitschrift,  v.  xxx.  pp.  83-87).  The  yellow  and  green 
glazed  tiles  bearing  the  cartouche  of  Papi  I.,  show  that  the  Egyptians  of  the  Memphite  dynasties 
used  glazed  facings  at  that  early  date  ; we  may,  therefore,  believe,  if  the  tiles  of  the  vault  of  Zosiri 
are  really  of  the  Saite  period,  that  they  replaced  a decoration  of  the  same  kind,  which  belonged  to 
the  time  of  its  construction,  and  of  which  some  fragments  still  exist  among  the  tiles  of  more  recent 
date.  The  chamber  has  been  drawn  and  reproduced  in  black  and  white  by  Minutoli  ( Reise  zum 
Tempel  des  Jupiter  Ammon,  pi.  xxviii.),  and  in  colour  by  Segato  in  Valeriani,  Nuova  lllustrazione 
istorico-monumentale  del  Basso  e dell’  Alto  Egitto,  pi.  C;  cf.  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  I’Art, 
vol.  i.  pp.  823,  824. 


244 


THE  LEGENDARY  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT. 


facing,  each  facing  being  carefully  dressed.  The  body  of  the  pyramid  is 
solid,  the  chambers  being  cut  in  the  rock  beneath.  These  chambers 
have  been  often  enlarged,  restored,  and  reworked  in  the  course  of  centuries, 
and  the  passages  which  connect  them  form  a perfect  labyrinth  into  which 
it  is  dangerous  to  venture  without  a guide.  The  columned  porch,  the  galleries 
and  halls,  all  lead  to  a sort  of  enormous  shaft,  at  the  bottom  of  which  the 
architect  had  contrived  a hiding-place,  destined,  no  doubt,  to  contain  the 
more  precious  objects  of  the  funerary  furniture.  Until  the  beginning  of  this 
century,  the  vault  had  preserved  its  original  lining  of  glazed  pottery.  Three 
quarters  of  the  wall  surface  were  covered  with  green  tiles,  oblong  and 
lightly  convex  on  the  outer  side,  but  flat  on  the  inner:  a square  pro- 
jection pierced  with  a hole,  served  to  fix  them  at  the  back  in  a horizontal 
line  by  means  of  flexible  wooden  rods.  The  three  bands  which  frame  one 
of  the  doors  are  inscribed  with  the  titles  of  the  Pharaoh:  the  hiero- 
glyphs are  raised  in  either  blue,  red,  green,  or  yellow',  on  a fawn-coloured 
ground.  The  towns,  palaces,  temples,  all  the  buildings  which  princes  and 
kings  had  constructed  to  be  witnesses  of  their  power  or  piety  to  future 
generations,  have  disappeared  in  the  course  of  ages,  under  the  feet  and  before 
the  triumphal  blasts  of  many  invading  hosts:  the  pyramid  alone  has 
survived,  and  the  most  ancient  of  the  historic  monuments  of  Egypt  is  a 
tomb. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION 
OF  EGYPT. 


THE  KING,  QUEEN,  AND  ROYAL  PRINCES — PHARAONIC  ADMINISTRATION — FEUDALISM  AND 
THE  EGYPTIAN  PRIESTHOOD,  THE  MILITARY — THE  CITIZENS  AND  THE  COUNTRY- 
PEOPLE. 


The  cemeteries  of  Gizeh  and  Saqqdra : the  Great  Sphinx;  the  mastabas,  their  chapel  and 
its  decoration,  the  statues  of  the  double,  the  sepidchral  vaidt — Importance  of  the  wall  paintings 
and  texts  of  the  mastabas  in  determining  the  history  of  the  Memphite  dynasties. 

The  king  and  the  royal  family — Double  nature  and  titles  of  the  sovereign : his  Horus- 
names,  and  the  progressive  formation  of  the  Pharaonic  Protocol — Royal  etiquette  an  actual 
divine  worship ; the  insignia  and  prophetic  statues  of  Pharaoh,  Pharaoh  the  mediator 
between  the  gods  and  his  subjects — Pharaoh  in  family  life ; his  amusements,  his  occupa- 
tions, his  cares — His  harem:  the  ivomen,  the  queen,  her  origin,  her  duties  to  the  king — His 
children : their  position  in  the  State ; rivalry  among  them  during  the  old  age  and  at  the 
death  of  their  father  ; succession  to  the  throne,  consequent  revolutions. 

The  royal  city : the  palace  and  its  occupants — The  royal  household  and  its  officers : Pharaoh's 
jesters,  dwarfs,  and  magicians — The  royal  domain  and  the  slaves,  the  treasury  and  the 
establishments  which  provided  for  its  service : the  buildings  and  places  for  the  receipt  of 
taxes — The  scribe,  his  education,  his  chances  of  promotion : the  career  of  Amten,  his  successive 
offices,  the  value  of  hit  personcd  property  at  his  death. 


( 2-t(i  ) 


Egypt  inn  feudalism:  the  status  of  the  lonls,  their  rights,  their  amusements , their 
obligations  to  the  sovereign — The  influence  of  the  jods  : gifts  to  the,  temples,  anil  possessions  in 
mortmain  ; the  priesthood , its  hierarchy,  and  the  method  of  recruiting  its  ranks  — Tin  military ; 
foreign  mercenaries ; native  militia,  th  ir  privileges,  their  training. 

The  people  of  the  towns  — The  slaves,  men  without  a master — ll'orkme n and  artisans; 
corporations:  miser g of  handicraftsmen — Aspect  of  the  towns:  houses,  furniture,  women  in 
family  life— Festivals : periodic  markets,  bazaars:  commerce  by  barter,  the  weighing  of 
precious  metals. 

The  country  people — The  villages;  serfs,  free  peasantry — Rural  domains;  the  survey, 
taxes;  the  bastinado,  the  corvee — Administration  of  justice,  the  relations  between  peasants 
and  their  lords ; misery  of  the  peasantry  ; their  resignation  and  natural  cheerfulness;  llicir 
improvidence  ; their  indifference  to  political  revolutions. 


THE  SPHINX  AND  THE  PYRAMIDS  OF  GIZEII,  SEEN  AT  SUNSET.1 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 

The  king,  the  queen,  and  the  royal  princes — Administration  under  the  Pharaohs — Feudalism  and 
the  Egyptian  priesthood,  the  military — The  citizens  and  country  people. 

f<v  T)ETWEEN  the  Fayum  and  the  apex  of  the  Delta,  the 
Lybian  range  expands  aud  forms  a vast  and  slightly 
undulating  table-land,  which  runs  parallel  to  the  Nile  for 
nearly  thirty  leagues.  The  Great  Sphinx  Harmakhis  has 
\i  mounted  guard  over  its  northern  extremity  ever  since 
the  time  of  the  Followers  of  Horus.  Hewn  out  of  the 
solid  rock  at  the  extreme  margin  of  the  mountain- 
plateau,  he  seems  to  raise  his  head  in  order  that  he 
may  be  the  first  to  behold  across  the  valley  the 
rising  of  his  father  the  Sun.  Only  the  general  out- 
line of  the  lion  can  now  be  traced  in  his  weather- 
worn body.  The  lower  portion  of  the  head-dress 
has  fallen,  so  that  the  neck  appears  too  slender  to 
support  the  weight  of  the  head.  The  cannon-shot  of 
the  fanatical  Mamelukes  has  injured  both  the  nose 
beard,  and  the  red  colouring  which  gave  animation  to  his  features 
now  almost  entirely  disappeared.  But  in  spite  of  this,  even  in  its 

Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  La  Description  cle  VEgypte,  A.,  vol.  v.  pi.  7.  The-  vignette,  which  is 
by  Boudier,  represents  a man  bewailing  the  dead,  in  the  attitude  adopted  at  funerals  by 


and 

has 

1 

also 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


248 

decay,  it  still  bears  a commanding  expression  of  strength  and  dignity. 
The  eyes  look  into  the  far-off  distance  with  an  intensity  of  deep  thought, 
the  lips  still  smile,  the  whole  face  is  pervaded  with  calmness  and  power. 
The  art  that  could  conceive  and  hew  this  gigantic  statue  out  of  the  mountain- 
side, was  an  art  in  its  maturity,  master  of  itself  and  sure  of  its  effects. 
How  many  centuries  were  needed  to  bring  it  to  this  degree  of  development 
and  perfection ! In  later  times,  a chapel  of  alabaster  and  rose  granite  was 
erected  alongside  the  god  ; temples  were  built  here  and  there  in  the  more 
accessible  places,  and  round  these  were  grouped  the  tombs  of  the  whole 


THE  MASTABA  OF  KHOMTINI  IN  THE  NECROPOLIS  OF  GIZEII.' 

country.  The  bodies  of  the  common  people,  usually  naked  and  uncoffined, 
were  thrust  under  the  sand,  at  a depth  of  barely  three  feet  from  the  surface. 
Those  of  a better  class  rested  in  mean  rectangular  chambers,  hastily  built  of 
yellow  bricks,  and  roofed  with  pointed  vaulting.  No  ornaments  or  treasures 
gladdened  the  deceased  in  his  miserable  resting-place ; a few  vessels,  however, 
of  coarse  pottery  contained  the  provisions  left  to  nourish  him  during  the 
period  of  his  second  existence.2 

Some  of  the  wealthy  class  had  their  tombs  cut  out  of  the  mountain- 
side ; but  the  majority  preferred  an  isolated  tomb,  a “ mastaba,”  3 comprising 
a chapel  above  ground,  a shaft,  and  some  subterranean  vaults.  From  a 

male  and  female  professional  mourners ; the  right  fist  resting  on  the  ground,  while  the  left  hand 
scatters  on  the  hair  the  dust  which  he  has  just  gathered  up.  The  statue  is  iu  the  Gizeh  Museum 
(Mariette,  Album  pliotographique  du  musde  de  Boulaq,  pi.  20). 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Lepsius  (Denlan.,  ii.  26).  The  corner-stone  at  the 
top  of  the  mastaba,  at  the  extreme  left  of  the  hieroglyphic  frieze,  had  been  loosened  and  thrown  to 
the  ground  by  some  explorer ; the  artist  has  restored  it  to  its  original  position. 

2 Mariette,  Sur  le s tombes  de  VAncien  Empire  que  Von  trouve  a Saqqdra,  pp.  2,  3 (Rev.  Arch., 
2nd  scries,  vol.  xix.  pp.  8,  9),  and  Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  pp.  17,  18. 

3 “ The  Arabic  word  ‘ mastaba,’  plur.  ‘ masatib,’  denotes  the  stone  bench  or  platform  seen  in  the 
streets  of  Egyptian  towns  in  front  of  each  shop.  A carpet  is  spread  on  the  ‘ mastaba,’  and  the 
customer  sits  upon  it  to  transact  his  business,  usually  side  by  side  with  the  seller.  In  the  necropolis 
of  Saqqara,  there  is  a temple  of  gigantic  proportions  in  the  shape  of  a ‘mastaba,’  The  inhabitants 
of  the  neighbourhood  call  it  ‘ Mastabat-el-Faiaoun,’  the  seat  of  Pharaoh,  in  the  belief  that  anciently 
one  of  the  Pharaohs  sat  there  to  dispense  justice.  The  Memphite  tombs  of  the  Ancient  Empire, 
which  thickly  cover  the  Saqqara  plateau,  arc  more  or  less  miniature  copies  of  the  ‘ Mastabat-el- 


THE  CEMETERIES  OF  GIZEH  AND  SAQQARA. 


249 


distance  these  chapels  have  the  appearance  of  truncated  pyramids,  varying 
in  size  according  to  the  fortune  or  taste  of  the  owner;  there  are  some  which 
measure  30  to  40  ft.  in  height,  with  a facade  160  ft.  long,  and  a depth 
from  back  to  front  of  some  80  ft.,  while  others  attain  only  a height  of  some 
10  ft.  upon  a base  of  16  ft.  square.1  The  walls  slope  uniformly  towards  one 
another,  and  usually  have  a smooth  surface ; sometimes,  however,  their  courses 


THE  GREAT  SPHINX  OF  GIZEH  PARTIALLY  UNCOVERED,  AND  THE  PYRAMID  OF  KHEPHREN.  2 


are  set  back  one  above  the  other  almost  like  steps.  The  brick  mastabas 
were  carefully  cemented  externally,  and  the  layers  bound  together  internally 
by  fine  sand  poured  into  the  interstices.  Stone  mastabas,  on  the  contrary, 
present  a regularity  in  the  decoration  of  their  facings  alone ; in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  the  core  is  built  of  rough,  stone  blocks,  rudely  cut  into  squares, 
cemented  with  gravel  and  dried  mud,  or  thrown  together  pell-mell  without 
mortar  of  any  kind.  The  whole  building  should  have  been  orientated 
according  to  rule,  the  four  sides  to  the  four  cardinal  points,  the  greatest 
axis  directed  north  and  south ; but  the  masons  seldom  troubled  themselves 

Faraoun.’  Hence  the  name  of  mastabas,  which  has  always  been  given  to  this  kind  of  tomb,  in 
the  necropolis  of  Saqqara  ” (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  V Ancien  Empire,  pp.  22,  23). 

1 The  mastaba  of  Sabft  is  175  ft.  9 in.  long,  by  about  87  ft.  9 in.  deep,  but  two  of  its  sides  have 
lost  their  facing  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  113);  that  of  Ranimait  measures  171  ft.  3 in.  by 
84  ft.  6 in.  on  the  south  front,  and  100  ft.  on  the  nortli  front  (id.,  p.  222).  On  the  other  hand,  the 
mastaba  of  Papft  is  only  19  ft.  4 in.  by  29  ft.  long  (id.,  p.  391),  and  that  of  Khabiuphtah  (id.,  p.  294) 
42  ft.  4 in.  by  21  ft.  8 in. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey,  taken  in  the  course  of  the 
excavations  beguu  in  1886,  with  the  funds  furnished  by  a public  subscription  opened  by  the 
Journal  des  Debats. 


-50  THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  ON  EGYPT. 

to  find  the  true  north,  and  the  orientation  is  usually  incorrect.1  The  doors 
lace  east,  sometimes  north  or  south,  but  never  west.  One  of  these  is  but 
the  semblance  of  a door,  a high  narrow  niche,  contrived  so  as  to  face  east, 

and  decorated  with  grooves 
framing  a carefully  walled- 
up  entrance;  this  was  for 
the  use  of  the  dead,  and  it 
was  believed  that  the  ghost 
entered  or  left  it  at  will. 
The  door  for  the  use  of 
the  living,  sometimes  pre- 
ceded by  a portico,  was 
almost  always  characterized 
by  great  simplicity.  Over 
it  is  a cylindrical  tym- 
panum, or  a smooth  flag- 
stone, bearing  sometimes 
merely  the  name  of  the 
dead  person,  sometimes  his 
titles  and  descent,  some- 
times a prayer  for  his  wel- 
fare, and  an  enumeration  of  the  days  during  which  he  was  entitled  to  receive 
the  worship  due  to  ancestors.  They  invoked  on  his  behalf,  and  almost 
always  precisely  in  the  same  words,  the  “ Great  God,”  the  Osiris  of  Mendes, 
or  else  Anubis,  dwelling  in  the  Divine  Palace,3  that  burial  might  be 
granted  to  him  in  Amentit,  the  land  of  the  West,  the  very  great  and 
very  good,  to  him  the  vassal  of  the  Great  God;  that  he  might  walk  in 
the  ways  in  which  it  is  good  to  walk,  he  the  vassal  of  the  Great  God;  that 
he  might  have  offerings  of  bread,  cakes,  and  drink,  at  the  New  Year’s  Feast, 
at  the  feast  of  Tliot,  on  the  first  day  of  the  year,  on  the  feast  of  Uagait,4 
at  the  great  fire  festival,  at  the  procession  of  the  god  Minu,  at  the  feast 
of  offerings,  at  the  monthly  and  half-monthly  festivals,  and  every  day.5 

1 Thus  the  axis  of  the  tomb  of  Pirsenu  is  17°  east  of  the  magnetic  north  (Mariette,  Let 
Mastabas,  p.  299).  In  some  cases  the  divergence  is  only  1°  or  2°,  more  often  it  is  6°,  7°,  8°,  or  9°, 
as  can  be  easily  ascertained  by  consulting  the  work  of  Mariette. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  of  the  original  monument  which  is  preserved  in  the 
Liverpool  Museum;  cf.  Gatty,  Catalogue  of  the  Mayer  Collection;  I.  Egyptian  Antiquities,  No.  294, 
p.  45. 

3 The  “ Divine  Palace  ” is  the  palace  of  Osiris.  Anubis  performed  for  it  the  duties  of  usher, 
and  his  protection  was  deemed  necessary  for  those  who  wished  to  be  admitted  into  the  presence  of 
the  “ Great  God  ” (cf.  p.  187,  et  seq.,  of  this  volume). 

' L'agait  was  the  festival  of  the  dead,  celebrated  during  the  first  days  of  the  year,  the  18th  Thot. 

5 Mariette,  Notice  cles  principaux  monuments  exposes  dans  les  galeries  provisoires  du  Muse'e 


THE  MASTABA  CHAPELS. 


251 


The  chapel  is  usually  small,  and  is  almost  lost  iu  the  great  extent 
of  the  building.1  It  generally  consists  merely  of  an  oblong  chamber, 
approached  by  a rather  short  passage.2  At  the  far  end,  and  set  back  into  the 


THE  FACADE  AND  STELE  OF  THE  TOME  OF  FHTAHSPHOSISU  AT  SAQQAHA.3 


western  wall,4  is  a huge  quadrangular  stele,  at  the  foot  of  which  is  seen 

the  table  of  offerings,  made  of  alabaster,  granite  or  limestone  placed  flat 

upon  the  ground,  and  sometimes  two  little  obelisks  or  two  altars,  hollowed 

iV Antiquites  Egypiiennes,  1864,  pp.  20-22  ; Sur  les  tombes  de  VAncien  Empire  que  Von  trouve  a Saqqdra, 
pp.  3-8  (Rev.  Arch.,  2nd  series,  six.  pp.  9-14);  Les  Mastabcis  de  VAncien  Empire,  pp.  21-33.  For  a 
more  complete  and  technical  description  of  the  mastahas  of  the  Memphite  period,  see  Pehrot-Chipiez, 
Histoire  de  VArt  dans  V Antiquity,  vol.  i.  pp.  169-178,  and  Maspero,  Archtologie  Egyptienne,  pp.  109-133. 

1 Thus  the  chapel  of  the  mastaba  of  Sabft  is  only  14  ft.  4 iu.  long,  by  about  3 ft.  3 in.  deep 
(Mariette,  Les  Mastabas , p.  143),  and  that  of  the  tomb  of  Phtalishopsisu  10  ft.  4 in.  by  3 ft.  7 in. 
(id , p.  131). 

2 The  mastaba  of  Tinti  has  four  chambers  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  149),  as  has  also  that 
of  Assi-onkhh  (id.,  p.  190) ; but  these  are  exceptions,  as  may  be  ascertained  by  consulting  the  work 
of  Mariette.  Most  of  those  which  contain  several  rooms  are  ancient  one-roomed  mastabas,  which 
have  been  subsequently  altered  or  enlarged;  this  is  the  case  with  the  mastabas  of  Shopsi  (id.,  p.  206) 
and  of  Ankhaftuka  (id.,  p.  304).  A few,  however,  were  constructed  from  the  outset  with  all  their 
apartments — that  of  Raonkhumai,  with  six  chambers  and  several  niches  (id.,  p.  280);  that  of 
Khabiftphtah,  with  three  chambers,  niches,  and  doorway  ornamented  with  two  pillars  (id.,  p.  294); 
that  of  Ti,  with  two  chambers,  a court  surrounded  with  pillars,  a doorway,  and  long  inscribed 
passages  (id.,  pp.  332,  333);  and  that  of  Phtahhotpft,  with  seven  chambers,  besides  niches  (id.,  p.  351). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Dumtchen,  Besultate,  vol.  i.  pi.  2. 

4 Mariette,  Sur  les  tombes  de  VAncien  Empire,  p.  8 ; Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  pp.  35,  36» 
where  “ west”  should  be  read  for  “east”  in  the  published  text.  The  rule  is  not  as  invariable  as 
Mariette  believed  it  to  be,  and  I have  pointed  out  a few  examples  of  stelae  facing  north  or  south. 


252  THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 

at  the  top  to  receive  the  gifts  mentioned  in  the  inscription  on  the  exterior  of 
the  tomb.  The  general  appearance  is  that  of  a rather  low,  narrow  doorway,  too 
small  to  be  a practicable  entrance.1  The  recess  thus  formed  is  almost  always 
left  empty ; sometimes,  however,  the  piety  of  relatives  placed  within  it  a statue 
of  the  deceased.  Standing  there,  with  shoulders  thrown  back,  head  erect, 
and  smiling  face,  the  statue  seems  to  step  forth  to  lead  the  double  from 
its  dark  lodging  where  it  lies  embalmed,  to  those  glowing  plains  where 
he  dwelt  in  freedom  during  his  earthly  life : another  moment,  crossing 
the  threshold,  he  must  descend  the  few  steps  leading  into  the  public  hall. 
On  festivals  and  days  of  offering,  when  the  priest  and  family  presented 
the  banquet  with  the  customary  rites,  this  great  painted  figure,  in  the  act  of 
advancing,  and  seen  by  the  light  of  flickering  torches  or  smoking  lamps, 
might  well  appear  endued  with  life.  It  was  as  if  the  dead  ancestor  himself 
stepped  out  of  the  wall  and  mysteriously  stood  before  his  descendants  to 
claim  their  homage.  The  inscription  on  the  lintel  repeats  once  more  the 
name  and  rank  of  the  dead.  Faithful  portraits  of  him  and  of  other  members 
of  his  family  figure  in  the  bas-reliefs  on  the  doorposts.  The  little  scene 
at  the  far  end  represents  him  seated  tranquilly  at  table,  with  the  details 
of  the  feast  carefully  recorded  at  his  side,  from  the  first  moment  when 
water  is  brought  to  him  for  ablution,  to  that  when,  all  culinary  skill  being 
exhausted,  he  has  but  to  return  to  his  dwelling,  in  a state  of  beatified 
satisfaction.  The  stele  represented  to  the  visitor  the  door  leading  to  the 
private  apartments  of  the  deceased ; the  fact  of  its  being  walled  up  for 
ever  showing  that  no  living  mortal  might  cross  its  threshold.  The  in- 
scription which  covered  its  surface  was  not  a mere  epitaph  informing  future 
generations  who  it  was  that  reposed  beneath.  It  perpetuated  the  name  and 
genealogy  of  the  deceased,  and  gave  him  a civil  status,  without  which  he 
could  not  have  preserved  his  personality  in  the  -world  beyond ; the  nameless 
dead,  like  a living  man  without  a name,  was  reckoned  as  non-existing. 
Nor  was  this  the  only  use  of  the  stele  ; the  pictures  and  prayers  inscribed 
upon  it  acted  as  so  many  talismans  for  ensuring  the  continuous  existence 
of  the  ancestor,  whose  memory  they  recalled.  They  compelled  the  god 
therein  invoked,  whether  Osiris  or  the  jackal  Anubis,  to  act  as  mediator 
between  the  living  and  the  departed;  they  granted  to  the  god  the  enjoy- 
ment of  sacrifices  and  those  good  things  abundantly  offered  to  the  deities, 
and  by  which  they  live,  on  condition  that  a share  of  them  might  first  be 


1 The  stele  of  Shiii,  priest  of  the  Pharaohs  Sondi  and  Pirsenh,  and  one  of  the  most  ancient 
monuments  known,  offers  a good  example  of  these  door-shaped  stelae ; cf.  p.  237  of  this  volume,  and 
Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur  au  Musde  de  Boulaq,  pp.  31,  32,  where  the  stele  of  Khabiusokari  is 
reproduced,  and  where  the  signification  of  stelae  of  this  particular  type  was  first  pointed  out. 


THE  STELE  4 ED  ITS  FUNEREAL  SIGNIFICANCE.  253 

set  aside  for  the  deceased.  By  the  divine  favour,  the  soul  or  rather  the 
doubles  of  the  bread,  meat,  and  beverages  passed  into  the  other  world, 


STELE  IX  THE  FORM  OF  A DOOR,  AND  THE  STATUE  OF  THE  TOMB  OF  MIRRUKA.' 


and  there  refreshed  the  human  double.  It  was  not,  however,  necessary 
that  the  offering  should  have  a material  existence,  in  order  to  be  effective  ; 

1 Drawn  by  Bouclicr,  from  a photograph  of  the  tomb  of  Mirrftka,  taken  by  M.  de  Morgan. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


254 

the  first  comer  who  should  repeat  aloud  the  name  and  the  formulas  inscribed 
upon  the  stone,  secured  for  the  unknown  occupant,  by  this  means  alone,  the 
immediate  possession  of  all  the  things  which  he  enumerated.1 2 

The  stele  constitutes  the  essential  part  of  the  chapel  and  tomb.  In  many 
cases  it  was  the  only  inscribed  portion,  it  alone  being  necessary  to  ensure 
the  identity  and  continuous  existence  of  the  dead  man  ; often,  however,  the 


A REPRESENTATION  OF  THE  DOMAINS  OF  THE  LORD  TI,  BRINGING  TO  HIM  TIIEIR  OFFERINGS 

IN  PROCESSION.2 


sides  of  the  chamber  and  passage  were  not  left  bare.  When  time  or  the 
wealth  of  the  owner  permitted,  they  were  covered  with  scenes  and 
writing,  expressing  at  greater  length  the  ideas  summarized  by  the  figures 
and  inscriptions  of  the  stele.  Neither  pictorial  effect  nor  the  caprice  of 
the  moment  was  permitted  to  guide  the  artist  in  the  choice  of  his  subjects  ; 
all  that  he  drew,  pictures  or  words,  had  a magical  purpose.  Every  individual 
who  built  for  himself  an  “eternal  house,”  either  attached  to  it  a staff  of 
priests  of  the  double,  of  inspectors,  scribes,  and  slaves,  or  else  made  an 
agreement  with  the  priests  of  a neighbouring  temple  to  serve  the  chapel 
in  perpetuity.  Lands  taken  from  his  patrimony,  which  thus  became  the 

1 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arclufologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  1-34;  Guide  du  Visiteur 
au  Musde  de  Boidaq.  p.  31,  et  seq. ; and  Archdologie  Egyptienne,  p.  155,  et  seq. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a “squeeze”  taken  from  the  tomb  of  Ti.  The  domains  are 
represented  as  women.  The  name  is  written  before  each  figure,  with  the  designation  of  the  land- 
owner— “ the  nebbek  of  Ti,”  “ the  two  sycamores  of  Ti,”  “ the  wine  of  Ti ; ” cf.  p.  329  of  this  volume. 


THE  DECORATION  OF  THE  FUNERAL  CHAPEL. 


255 


“ Domains  of  the  Eternal  House,”  rewarded  them  for  their  trouble,  and 
supplied  them  with  meats,  vegetables,  fruits,  liquors,  linen  and  vessels  for 
sacrifice.1  In  theory,  these  “liturgies”  were  perpetuated  from  year  to  year, 
until  the  end  of  time ; but  in  practice,  after  three  or  four  generations,  the 


THE  REPRESENTATION  OF  THE  LORD  TI  ASSISTING  AT  THE  PRELIMINARIES  OF  THE 
SACRIFICE  AND  OFFERING.2 

older  ancestors  were  forsaken  for  those  who  had  died  more  recently.  Not- 
withstanding the  imprecations  and  threats  of  the  donor  against  the  priests 
who  should  neglect  their  duty,  or  against  those  who  should  usurp  the 
funeral  endowments,3  sooner  or  later  there  came  a time  when,  forsaken  by 
all,  the  double  was  in  danger  of  perishing  for  want  of  sustenance.  In  order 
to  ensure  that  the  promised  gifts,  offered  in  substance  on  the  day  of 

1 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d'Arche'ologie  Egypliennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  53-75,  where  a contract 
of  this  kind,  between  a Prince  of  Siut  and  the  priests  of  (he  god  flapuaitu,  is  explained  at  length  ; 
cf.  Mariette,  Les  Maslabas,  p.  313 ; E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  hiCroglyphiques,  vol.  i.  pi.  1. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Dumichen,  Resultate,  vol.  i.  pi.  13. 

3 The  mutilated  text  of  the  tomb  of  Sonuionkhu  offers  an  example  of  these  menaces  in  the 
period  with  which  we  are  dealing  (Mariette,  Les  Mastalias,  p.  313;  cf.  E.  and  J.  de  Rouge, 
Inscriptions  hieroglyphiques,  vol.  i.  pi.  1).  Shorter  formulas  are  found  in  the  tombs  of  Hotpuhikhuit 
(Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  312),  of  Khonii  (id.,  p.  185),  and  of  Niuki  (Piehl,  Inscriptions  pro- 
venant  d'un  Mastiba  de  la  VI'  Dynastie,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arcliseology, 
vol.  xiii.  pp.  121-126). 


2 5 C> 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


burial,  should  be  maintained  throughout  the  centuries,  the  relatives  not 
only  depicted  them  upon  the  chapel  walls,  but  represented  in  addition  the 
lands  which  produced  them,  and  the  labour  which  contributed  to  their 
production.  On  one  side  we  see  ploughing,  sowing,  reaping,  the  carrying 
of  the  corn,  the  storing  of  the  grain,  the  fattening  of  the  poultry,  and 
the  driving  of  the  cattle.  A little  further  on,  workmen  of  all  description 
are  engaged  in  their  several  trades  : shoemakers  ply  the  awl,  glassmakers 
blow  through  their  tubes,  metal  founders  watch  over  their  smelting-pots, 
carpenters  hew  down  trees  and  build  a ship ; groups  of  women  weave  or 
spin  under  the  eye  of  a frowning  taskmaster,  who  seems  impatient  of  their 
chatter.  Did  the  double  in  his  hunger  desire  meat?  He  might  choose  from 
the  pictures  on  the  wall  the  animal  that  pleased  him  best,  whether  kid, 
ox,  or  gazelle;  he  might  follow  the  course  of  its  life,  from  its  birth  in 
the  meadows  to  the  slaughter-house  and  the  kitchen,  and  might  satisfy 
his  hunger  with  its  flesh.  The  double  saw  himself  represented  in  the 
paintings  as  hunting,  and  to  the  hunt  he  went ; he  was  painted  eating  and 
drinking  with  his  wife,  and  he  ate  and  drank  with  her;  the  pictured 
ploughing,  harvesting,  and  gathering  into  barns,  thus  became  to  him  actual 
realities.  In  fine,  this  painted  world  of  men  and  things  represented  upon 
the  wall  was  quickened  by  the  same  life  which  animated  the  double,  upon 
whom  it  all  depended : the  picture  of  a meal  or  of  a slave  was  perhaps  that 
which  best  suited  the  shade  of  guest  or  of  master.1 

Even  to-day,  when  we  enter  one  of  these  decorated  chapels,  the  idea  of 
death  scarcely  presents  itself : we  have  rather  the  impression  of  being  in 
some  old-world  house,  to  which  the  master  may  at  any  moment  return.  We 
see  him  portrayed  everywhere  upon  the  walls,  followed  by  his  servants,  and 
surrounded  by  everything  which  made  his  earthly  life  enjoyable.  One  or 
two  statues  of  him  stand  at  the  end  of  the  room,  in  constant  readiness  to 
undergo  the  “Opening  of  the  Mouth”  and  to  receive  offerings.2  Should 
these  be  accidentally  removed,  others,  secreted  in  a little  chamber  hidden 
in  the  thickness  of  the  masonry,  are  there  to  fill  their  places.3  These  inner 
chambers  have  rarely  any  external  outlet,  though  occasionally  they  are  con- 
nected with  the  chapel  by  a small  opening,  so  narrow  that  it  will  hardly  admit 
of  a hand  being  passed  through  it.  Those  who  came  to  repeat  prayers  and 
burn  incense  at  this  aperture  were  received  by  the  dead  in  person.  The 
statues  were  not  mere  images,  devoid  of  consciousness.  Just  as  the  double 

1 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Nytliologie  et  d’Arcfie'ologie  Egyptienne,  vol.  i.  pp.  1-34:  cf.  Etudes 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  193,194;  Guide  du  Visiteur,  pp.  205-207;  Archdologie  Egyptienne,  pp.  117-120. 

2 Cf.  what  is  said  about  the  “ Opening  of  the  Mouth  ” on  p.  180  of  this  volume. 

3 This  is  the  “serdab,”  or  “passage”  of  Arab  diggers;  cf.  Mariette,  Notice  des  principaux 
monuments,  1864,  pp.  23,  24 ; Sur  les  tombes  de  VAncitn  Empire,  pp.  8,  9;  Lts  Mastabas , pp.  41,  42. 


THE  STATUES  OF  THE  DOUBLE — THE  SEPULCHRAL  VAULT.  25 7 


of  a god  could  be  linked  to  an  idol  in  the  temple  sanctuary  in  order  to 
transform  it  into  a prophetic  being,  capable  of  speech  and  movement,1  so 
when  the  double  of  a man  was  attached  to  the  effigy  of  his  earthly  body, 
whether  in  stone,  metal,  or  wood,  a real  living  person  was  created  and  was 
introduced  into  the  tomb.  So  strong  was  this  conviction  that  the  belief 
has  lived  on  through  two  changes  of  religion  until  the  present  day.  The 
double  still  haunts  the  statues  with  which  he  was  associated  in  the  past. 
As  in  former  times,  he  yet  strikes  with  madness  or  death  any  who  dare  to 
disturb  his  repose ; and  one  can  only  be  protected  from  him  by  breaking,  at 
the  moment  of  discovery,  the  perfect  statues  which  the  vault  contains.  The 
double  is  weakened  or  killed  by  the  mutilation  of  these  his  sustainers.2  The 
statues  furnish  in  their  modelling  a more  correct  idea  of  the  deceased  than  his 
mummy,  disfigured  as  it  was  by  the  work  of  the  embalmers;  they  were  also 
less  easily  destroyed,  and  any  number  could  be  made  at  will.  Hence  arose 
the  really  incredible  number  of  statues  sometimes  hidden  away  in  the  same 
tomb.3  These  sustainers  or  imperishable  bodies  of  the  double  were  multiplied 
so  as  to  insure  for  him  a practical  immortality ; and  the  care  with  which 
they  were  shut  into  a secure  hiding-place,  increased  their  chances  of  pre- 
servation.4 All  the  same,  no  precaution  was  neglected  that  could  save  a 
mummy  from  destruction.  The  shaft  leading  to  it  descended  to  a mean 
depth  of  forty  to  fifty  feet,  but  sometimes  it  reached,  and  even  exceeded,  a 
hundred  feet.  Kunning  horizontally  from  it  is  a passage  so  low  as  to 
prevent  a man  standing  upright  in  it,  which  leads  to  the  sepulchral  chamber 
properly  so  called,  hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock  and  devoid  of  all  ornament ; the 
sarcophagus,  whether  of  fine  limestone,  rose-granite,  or  black  basalt,  does  not 
always  bear  the  name  and  titles  of  the  deceased.  The  servants  who  deposited 
the  body  in  it  placed  beside  it  on  the  dusty  floor  the  quarters  of  the  ox, 
previously  slaughtered  in  the  chapel,  as  well  as  phials  of  perfume,  and  large 
vases  of  red  pottery  containing  muddy  water;  after  which  they  walled 
up  the  entrance  to  the  passage  and  filled  the  shaft  with  chips  of  stone 
intermingled  with  earth  and  gravel.  The  whole,  being  well  watered,  soon 

1 See  what  haa  been  said  on  the  subject  of  prophetic  statues  on  pp.  119, 120  of  this  History. 

2 The  legends  still  current  about  the  pyramids  of  Gizeh  furnish  some  good  examples  of  this 
kind  of  superstition.  “ The  guardian  of  the  Eastern  pyramid  was  an  idol  . . . who  had  both  eyes 
open,  and  was  seated  on  a throne,  having  a sort  of  halberd  near  it,  on  which,  if  any  one  fixed  his 
eye,  he  heard  a fearful  noise,  which  struck  terror  to  his  heart,  and  caused  the  death  of  the 
hearer.  There  was  a spirit  appointed  to  wait  on  each  guardian,  who  departed  not  from  before  him.” 
The  keeping  of  the  other  two  pyramids  was  in  like  manner  entrusted  to  a statue,  assisted  by  a spirit 
( UEgypte  de  Nourtadi,  fils  du  Gaphiplie,  from  the  translation  of  M.  Pierre  Vattier,  Paris,  166G, 
pp.  10-61).  I have  collected  a certain  number  of  tales  resembling  that  of  Mourtadi  in  the  Etudes 
de  Mythologie  et  d’ Arclufol.ngie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  77,  et  seq. 

3 Eighteen  or  nineteen  were  found  in  the  serdab  of  Rahotpu  alone  at  Saqqara  (Mariette, 
Notice  des  principaux  Monuments,  1861,  pp.  62,  182,  202;  Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  p.  157). 

4 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Archd'ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  7-9,  17-19,  etc. 

S 


258 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


hardened  into  a compact  mass,  which  protected  the  vault  and  its  master 
from  desecration.1 

During  the  course  of  centuries,  the  ever-increasing  number  of  tombs 
at  length  formed  an  almost  uninterrupted  chain  of  burying-places  on  the 
table-land.  At  Gizeh  they  follow  a symmetrical  plan,  and  line  the  sides  of 
regular  roads ; 2 at  Saqqara  they  are  scattered  about  on  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  in  some  places  sparsely,  in  others  huddled  confusedly  together.3 
Everywhere  the  tombs  are  rich  in  inscriptions,  statues,  and  painted  or 
sculptured  scenes,  each  revealing  some  characteristic  custom,  or  some  detail 
of  contemporary  civilization.  From  the  womb,  as  it  were,  of  these  cemeteries, 
the  Egypt  of  the  Memphite  dynasties  gradually  takes  new  life,  and  reappears 
in  the  full  daylight  of  history.  Nobles  and  fellahs,  soldiers  and  priests,  scribes 
and  craftsmen,— the  whole  nation  lives  anew  before  us  ; each  with  his  manners, 
his  dress,  his  daily  round  of  occupation  and  pleasures.  It  is  a perfect  picture, 
and  although  in  places  the  drawing  is  defaced  and  the  colour  dimmed,  yet  these 
may  be  restored  with  no  great  difficulty,  and  with  almost  absolute  certainty. 
The  king  stands  out  boldly  in  the  foreground,  and  his  tall  figure  towers  over 
all  else.  He  so  completely  transcends  his  surroundings,  that  at  first  sight 
one  may  well  ask  if  he  does  not  represent  a god  rather  than  a man  ; and,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  he  is  a god  to  his  subjects.  They  call  him  “ the  good  god,” 
“ the  great  god,”  and  connect  him  with  Ra  through  the  intervening  kings,  the 
successors  of  the  gods  who  ruled  the  two  worlds.  His  father  before  him  was 
“ Son  of  Ra,”  as  was  also  his  grandfather,  and  his  great-grandfather,  and  so 
through  all  his  ancestors,  until  from  “son  of  Ra”  to  “son  of  Ra ” they  at  last 
reached  Ra  himself.  Sometimes  an  adventurer  of  unknown  antecedents  is 
abruptly  inserted  in  the  series,  and  we  might  imagine  that  he  would  interrupt 
the  succession  of  the  solar  line  ; but  on  closer  examination  we  always  find  that 
either  the  intruder  is  connected  with  the  god  by  a genealogy  hitherto  unsus- 
pected, or  that  he  is  even  more  closely  related  to  him  than  his  predecessors, 
inasmuch  as  Ra,  having  secretly  descended  upon  the  earth,  had  begotten  him  by 
a mortal  mother  in  order  to  rejuvenate  the  race.4  If  things  came  to  the  worst,  a 
marriage  with  some  princess  would  soon  legitimise,  if  not  the  usurper  himself, 

1 Makiette,  Notice  lies  principaux  monuments  Egyptiens,  1864,  pp.  31,  32;  Sur  les  tombes  de 
VAncien  Empire  que  Von  trouve  a Saqqarali,  pp.  9-11  ; Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  pp.  42-46. 

2 Jomard,  Description  generate  de  Memphis  et  des  Pyramides  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  v. 
pp.  619,  620 ; Marietta,  Sur  les  tombes  de  VAncien  Empire  que  Von  trouve  a Saqqarah,  p.  4. 

3 Mariette,  Sur  les  tombes  de  VAncien  Empire,  p.  6,  and  Les  Mastabas,  p.  29.  The  necropolis  of 
Saqqara  is  iu  reality  composed  of  a score  of  cemeteries,  grouped  around,  or  between  the  royal 
pyramids,  each  having  its  clientele  and  particular  regulations. 

1 A legend,  preserved  for  us  in  the  Westcar  Papyrus  (Erman’s  edition,  pi.  ix.  11.  5-11,  ph  x.  1.  .>, 
et  seq  ),  maintains  that  the  first  three  kings  of  the  Yth  dynasty,  tlsirkaf,  Sahhri,  and  Kakih,  were 
children  born  to  Ra,  lord  of  Sakhibh,  by  RQditdidit,  wife  of  a priest  attached  to  the  temple  of 
that  town. 


TEE  DOUBLE  NATURE  AND  THE  NAMES  OF  KINGS. 


259 


at  least  his  descendants,  and  thus  firmly  re-establish  the  succession.1  The 
Pharaohs,  therefore,  are  blood -relations  of 
the  Sun-god,  some  through  their  father, 
others  through  their  mother,  directly 
begotten  by  the  God,  and  their  souls 
as  well  as  their  bodies  have  a super- 
natural origin  ; each  soul  being  a double 
detached  from  Horus,  the  successor  of 
Osiris,  and  the  first  to  reign  alone 
over  Egypt.  This  divine  double  is 
infused  into  the  royal  infant  at  birth, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  ordinary 
double  is  incarnate  in  common  mortals. 

It  always  remained  concealed,  and 
seemed  to  lie  dormant  in  those  princes 
whom  destiny  did  not  call  upon  to 
reign,  but  it  awoke  to  full  self-con- 
sciousness in  those  who  ascended  the 
throne  at  the  moment  of  their  accession. 

From  that  time  to  the  hour  of  their  death, 
and  beyond  it,  all  that  they  possessed 
of  ordinary  humanity  was  completely 
effaced  ; they  were  from  henceforth  only 
“ the  sons  of  Ka,”  the  Horus,  dwelling 
upon  earth,  who,  during  his  sojourn  here 
below,  renews  the  blessings  of  Horus, 
son  of  Isis.2  Their  complex  nature  was 
revealed  at  the  outset  in  the  form  and 
arrangement  of  their  names.  Among 

the  Egyptians  the  choice  of  a name  was  not  a matter  of  indifference ; not  only 
did  men  and  beasts,  but  even  inanimate  objects,  require  one  or  more  names,  and 
it  may  be  said  that  no  person  or  thing  in  the  world  could  attain  to  complete 


THE  BIRTH  OF  A KING  AND  HIS  DOUBLE. 


' According  to  the  law  attributed  to  Binothris  of  the  II"d  dynasty  ; cf.  p.  238  of  this  volume. 
s The  expressions  designating  kingly  power  in  the  time  of  the  Ancient  Empire  were  first 
analysed  by  E.  de  Rouge,  Rechercltes  sur  les  monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres 
■dynasties  de  Man&thon,  pp.  32,  33;  and  subsequently  by  Erman,  JEgypten  und  TEgyptisches  Leben , 
pp.  89-91.  The  explanation  which  I have  given  above  has  already  been  put  forward  in  a small 
memoir  entitled  Sur  les  quatre  noms  officiels  des  rois  d’Egypte  ( Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp, 
273-288 ; and  in  the  Lectures  Historiques,  pp.  42-45). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Gayet.  The  king  is  Amenotliis  III.,  whose 
conception  and  birth  are  represented  in  the  temple  of  Luxor,  with  the  same  wealth  of  details  that 
we  should  have  expected,  had  he  been  a son  of  the  gcd  Amon  and  the  goddess  Mftt : cf.  Chasi- 
pollion,  Monuments  de  V Egypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi.  cccxxix.,  2-cccxli. ; Rosellini,  Monumenti  Storici, 
pi.  38-41 ; Lepsics,  Demkm.,  iii.  74,  75. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


260 

existence  until  the  name  had  been  conferred.  The  most  ancient  names  were 
often  only  a short  word,  which  denoted  some  moral  or  physical  quality,  as 
Titi  the  runner,  Mini  the  lasting,  Qonqeni  the  crusher,  Sondi  the  formidable, 
Uzuasit.  the  flowery-tongued.  They  consisted  also  of  short  sentences,  by  which 
the  royal  child  confessed  his  faith  in  the  power  of  the  gods,  and  his  partici- 
pation in  the  acts  of  the  Sun’s  life — “Khafri,”  his  rising  is  Ra ; “Men- 
kauhoru,”  the  doubles  of  Homs  endure ; “ Usirkeri,”  the  double  of  Ra  is 
omnipotent.  Sometimes  the  sentence  is  shortened,  and  the  name  of  the 

A 

god  is  understood : as  for  instance,  “ Usirkaf,”  ms  double  is  omnipotent ; 

“ Snofrui,”  HE  has  made  me  good  ; “ Khufui,”  he  has  protected  me,  are  put 
/\ 

for  the  names  “Usirkeri,”  “ Ptahsnofrui,” 1 “ Khnumkhufui,”  with  the  sup- 
pression of  Ra,  Phtah,  and  Khnumu.2  The  name  having  once,  as  it  were, 
taken  possession  of  a man  on  his  entrance  into  life,  never  leaves  him  either 

A 

in  this  world  or  the  next ; the  prince  who  had  been  called  Unas  or  Ossi 
at  the  moment  of  his  birth,  retained  this  name  even  after  death,  so  long  as 
his  mummy  existed,  and  his  double  was  not  annihilated. 

When  the  Egyptians  wished  to  denote  that  a person  or  thing  was  in  a 
certain  place,  they  inserted  their  names  within  the  picture  of  the  place  in 
question.  Thus  the  name  of  Teti  is  written  inside  a picture  of  Teti’s  castle, 
the  result  being  the  compound  hieroglyph  [2j]  Again,  when  the  son  of  a 
king  became  king  in  his  turn,  they  enclose  his  ordinary  name  in  the  long 
flat-bottomed  frame  cdi  which  we  call  a cartouche ; the  elliptical  part  CD  of 
which  is  a kind  of  plan  of  the  world,  a representation  of  those  regions  passed 
over  by  Ra  in  his  journey,  and  over  which  Pharaoh,  because  he  is  a son  of 
Ra,  exercises  his  rule.  When  the  names  of  Teti  or  Snofrni.  preceded  bv  the 
group  “ son  of  the  Sun,”  are  placed  in  a cartouche, 

they  are  preceded  by  the  words  4s  which  respectively  express  sovereignty 
over  the  two  halves  of  Egypt,  the  South  and  the  North,  the  whole  expression 
describing  exactly  the  visible  person  of  Pharaoh  during  his  abode  among 
mortals.  But  this  first  name  chosen  for  the  child  did  not  include  the  whole 
man ; it  left  without  appropriate  designation  the  double  of  Horus,  which  was 
revealed  iu  the  prince  at  the  moment  of  accession.  The  double  therefore 
received  a special  title,  which  is  always  constructed  on  a uniform  plan : first 
the  picture  ^ of  the  hawk-god,  who  desired  to  leave  to  his  descendants  a portion 
of  his  soul,  then  a simple  or  compound  epithet,  specifying  that  virtue  of 
Horus  which  the  Pharaoh  wished  particularly  to  possess — “ Horn  nib-mait,” 

1 The  name  Phtahsnofrhi  is  frequently  met  with  on  the  stelse  of  Abydos  (Lieblein,  Dictionnaire 
des  noms  lneroglyphiques,  Nos.  132  and  726,  pp.  40  and  241 ; Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxvii.  a,  and 
Catalogue  general  des  monuments  d’ Abydos,  pi.  clxxvi.,  No.  660) : the  name  Kasnofrhi,  which  one  might 
be  tempted  to  insert  here,  has  not  as  yet  been  found  upon  the  monuments  of  the  aucient  dynasties. 

2 For  the  restitution  of  the  omitted  elements  in  these  and  some  other  royal  names  of  the  same 
period,  cf.  W.  Max  Mr i.ler,  Bemerlcung  iiber  einige  Konigsnamen,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  ix. 
pp.  176,  177. 


THE  HO  HUS  NAMES  IN  THE  ROYAL  PREAMBLE. 


261 


Horus  master  of  Truth;  “Horu  miri-toui,”  Horus  friend  of  both  lands; 
“ Horn  nibkhauu,”  Horus 
master  of  the  risings  ; “ Horu 
maziti,”  Horus  who  crushes 
his  enemies.  The  variable 
part  of  these  terms  is  usually 
written  in  an  oblong  rect- 
angle, terminated  at  the 
lower  end  by  a number  of 
lines  portraying  in  a sum- 
mary way  the  fagade  of  a 
monument,  in  the  centre  of 
which  a bolted  door  may 
sometimes  be  distinguished : 
this  is  the  representation  of 
the  chapel  where  the  double 
will  one  day  rest,  and  the 
closed  door  is  the  portal  of 
the  tomb.1  The  stereotyped 
part  of  the  names  and  titles, 
which  is  represented  by  the 
figure  of  the  god,  is  placed 
outside  the  rectangle,  some- 
times by  the  side  of  it,  some- 
times upon  its  top:  the  hawk 
is,  in  fact,  free  by  nature, 
and  could  nowhere  remain 

. . ' THE  ADULT  KING  ADVANCING,  FOLLOWED  BY  HIS  DOUBLE.* 

imprisoned  against  Ins  will. 

This  artless  preamble  was  not  enough  to  satisfy  the  love  of  precision  which 
is  the  essential  characteristic  of  the  Egyptians.  When  they  wished  to  represent 
the  double  in  his  sepulchral  chamber,  they  left  out  of  consideration  the  period 
in  his  existence  during  which  he  had  presided  over  the  earthly  destinies  of  the 
sovereign,  in  order  to  render  them  similar  to  those  of  Horus,  from  whom  the 


1 This  is  what  is  usually  known  as  the  “ Banner  Name ; ” indeed,  it  was  for  some  time  believed 
that  this  sign  represented  a piece  of  stuff,  ornamented  at  the  bottom  by  embroidery  or  fringe,  and 
bearing  on  the  upper  part  the  title  of  a king.  Wilkinson  thought  that  this  “ square  title,”  as  he 
called  it,  represented  a house  (Extract from  several  Hierogltjphical  Subjects,  p.  7,  note  14).  The  real 
meaning  of  the  expression  was  determined  by  Professor  Flinders  Petrie  (Tanis,  1st  part,  p.  5,  note, 
and  A Season  in  Egypt,  1887,  pp.  21,  22,  and  pi.  xx.)  and  by  myself  (Revue  Critique,  1888,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  118-120 ; Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  274,  275). 

* Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  illustration  in  Arundall-Bonomi-Bircii’s  Gallery  of 
Antiquities  from  the  British  Museum,  pi.  31.  The  king  thus  represented  is  Thutmosis  II.  of  the 
XYIIIth  dynasty  ; the  spear,  surmounted  by  a man’s  head,  which  the  double  holds  in  his  hand, 
probably  recalls  the  human  victims  formerly  sacrificed  at  the  burial  of  a chief  (Lefebure,  Rites 
Egyptiens,  pp.  5,  6). 


2(52 


THE  rOLlTICA  Tj  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


double  proceeded.  They,  therefore,  withdrew  him  from  the  tomb  which  should 
have  been  his  lot,  and  there  was  substituted  for  the  ordinary  sparrow-hawk  one 
of  those  groups  which  symbolize  sovereignty  over  the  two 
countries  of  the  Nile — the  coiled  tiraeus  of  the  North,  and  the 
vulture  of  the  South,  there  was  then  finally  added  a 

second  sparrow-hawk,  the  golden  sparrow-hawk,  jv,,  the  trium- 

I "..fill  | 

pliant  sparrow-hawk  which  had  delivered  Egypt  from  Typhon.* 1 
The  soul  of  Snofrui,  which  is  called,  as  a surviving  double, 
^,^3,  ^ , “ Horns  master  of  Truth,”  is,  as  a living  double, 
entitled  , “the  Lord  of  the  Vulture  and  of  the 

Uneus,”  master  of  Truth,  and  Horus  triumphant.2  On  the 
other  hand,  the  royal  prince,  when  he  put  on  the  diadem, 
received,  from  the  moment  of  his  advancement  to  the  highest 
rank,  such  an  increase  of  dignity,  that  his  birth-name — even 
when  framed  in  a cartouche  and  enhanced  with  brilliant  epithets 

— was  no  longer  able  to  fully  represent  him.  This  exaltation 
of  his  person  was  therefore  marked  by  a new  designation.  As 
he  was  the  living  flesh  of  the  sun,  so  his  surname  always  makes 
allusion  to  some  point  in  his  relations  with  his  father,  and  pro- 
claims the  love  which  he  felt  for  the  latter,  “ Miriri,”  or  that 
BLE”  the  latter  experienced  for  him,  “Mirniri,”  or  else  it  indicates 
the  stability  of  the  doubles  of  11a,  “ Tatkeri,”  their  goodness, 
“Nofirkeri,”  or  some  other  of  their  sovereign  virtues.  Several  Pharaohs  of  the 
IVth  dynasty  had  already  dignified  themselves  by  these  surnames  ; those  of 
the  VIth  were  the  first  to  incorporate  them  regularly  into  the  royal  preamble. 
There  was  some  hesitation  at  first  as  to  the  position  the  surname  ought  to 
occupy,  and  it  was  sometimes  placed  after  the  birth-name,  as  in  Q I IjJ  } [jj| , 
“Papi  Nofirkeri,”  sometimes  before  it,  as  in  { [jj  Q | , “ Nofirkeri  Papi.”  4 

1 The  meaning  of  this  group,  which  has  long  been  rendered  as  “ the  gold  sparrow-hawk,”  “the 

glittering  sparrow-hawk,”  was  determined  with  certainty  for  the  first  time  by  Brugsch,  from  a passage 
in  a demotic  inscription  at  Phil®  (Brugsch,  Uibereinst im mun g eiiier  hieroglyphischen  Inschrift  von 
Pliilx  mit  clem,  griecliischen  und  demotischen  Anfangs-Texte  dee  Deltretes  von  Hoselte,  pp.  13,  14).  Sub- 
sequently adopted  by  E.  de  Rouge  ( Etude  sur  une  slele  Egyptienne  appartenant  a la  Bibliotheque 
Imperials,  pp.  21, 22),  Brugsch’s  interpretation  has  since  been  accepted  by  all  Egyptologists  (Brccsch, 
Die  JEgypt.ologie,  p.  202),  though,  from  force  of  custom,  the  literal  translation  of  these  signs,  “ the 
golden  Horus,”  is  often  given.  % 

2 Ti  e reading  of  the  group  is  not  yet  determined  with  cerlaiuty  (cf.  Erman,  Per  Kunigstitel 

in  the  Zeitsclirift,  vol.  xxix.  pp.  57,  58;  and  Pi  Kill.,  Notes  de  Philologie  Egyptienne,  § 49,  in  tiie_ 
Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archxological  Society,  vol.  xiii.  1890-91,  p.  569).  The  literal  tran- 
scription would  be  “ Master  of  the  Vulture  and  of  the  Uraeus;  ” the  sense  is  “ Master  of  crowns,” 
and  consequently  “ Master  of  the  Countries  of  North  and  South”  (Brugsch,  Uebereinstimmung  einer 
hieroglyphischen  Inschrift  von  Philx,  pp.  10,  11). 

3 The  Ka,  or  double  name,  represented  in  this  illustration  is  that  of  the  Pharaoh  Khephren,  the 
builder  of  the  second  of  the  great  pyramids  at  Gizeh;  it  reads  “Horu  usir-haiti,”  Horus  powerful  of  heart. 

4 Some  good  examples  of  this  indecision  may  be  found  in  the  texts  of  the  pyramid  of  Papi  II., 
where  the  cartouche  of  the  prenomen  is  placed  once  before  the  cartouche  of  the  name  ( Itecueil  de 
Travaux,  vol.  xii.  p.  56),  and  almost  everywhere  else  after  it  (id.,  pp.  56,  58,  59,  60,  etc.). 


THK  AM,  OR  “DOU 
NAME.3 


ROYAL  ETIQUETTE  AN  ACTUAL  DIVINE  WORSHIP. 


263 


It  was  finally  decided  to  place  it  at  the  beginning,  preceded  by  the  group 
+ & “King  of  Upper  and  Low'er  Egypt,”  which  expresses  in  its  fullest 
extent  the  power  granted  by  the  gods  to  the  Pharaoh  alone ; the  other,  or 
birth-name,  came  after  it,  accompanied  by  the  words  ^ “ Son  of  the  Sun.” 
There  were  inscribed,  either  before  or  above  these  two  solar  names — which  are 
exclusively  applied  to  the  visible  and  living  body  of 
the  master — the  two  names  of  the  sparrow-hawk,  which 
belonged  especially  to  the  soul ; first,  that  of  the 
double  in  the  tomb,  and  then  that  of  the  double  while 
still  incarnate.  Four  terms  seemed  thus  necessary 
to  the  Egyptians  in  order  to  define  accurately  the 
Pharaoh,  both  in  time  and  in  eternity. 

Long  centuries  were  needed  before  this  subtle 
analysis  of  the  royal  person,  and  the  learned  gradua- 
tion of  the  formulas  which  corresponded  to  it,  could 
transform  the  Nome  chief,  become  by  conquest  suzerain 
over  all  other  chiefs  and  king  of  all  Egypt,  into  a 
living  god  here  below,  the  all-powerful  son  and  sue- 

9 

3 

inevitable  consequences.  From  the  moment  that  the 
Pharaoh  became  god  upon  earth,  the  gods  of  heaven, 
his  fathers  or  his  brothers,1  and  the  goddesses  recog- 
nized him  as  their  son,  and,  according  to  the  cere- 
monial imposed  by  custom  in  such  cases,  consecrated 
his  adoption  by  offering  him  the  breast  to  suck, 
as  they  would  have  done  to  their  own  child.3 
Ordinary  mortals  spoke  of  him  only  in  symbolic  words,  designating  him  by 

A. 

some  periphrasis  : Pharaoh,  “ Pirui  Aui,”  the  Double  Palace,  “ Pruxti,”  the 
Sublime  Porte,4  His  Majesty,5  the  Sun  of  the  two  lands,  Horus  master  of  the 

1 The  formula  “his  fathers  the  gods”  or  “his  brethren  the  gods”  is  constantly  applied  to  the 
Pharaohs  in  texts  of  all  periods. 

- Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Intinger.  The  original  is  in  the  great  speos  of  Silsilis. 
The  king  here  represented  is  Harmhabi  of  the  XVIIP'1  dynasty;  cf.  Champollion,  Monuments  de  V Egypt 
and  de  la  Nubic,  pi.  cix.,  No.  3;  Rosellini,  Monumenta  Storici,  pi.  xliv.  5;  Lf.psius,  Denkm.,  iu.  121  b. 

3 The  explanation  of  the  scene,  frequently  met  with,  in  which  we  see  a goddess  of  gigantic 
stature  offering  her  breast  to  a crowned  or  helmeted  king,  who  stands  before  her,  was  first  given  by 
Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  lejour,  § 23,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Arcliseologioal  Society,  vol.  xiv., 
1891-92,  pp.  308-312.  Characteristic  examples  of  this  method  of  adoption  by  actual  or  fictitious 
suckling  of  the  person  adopted,  are  found  among  other  ancient  and  modern  peoples. 

4 The  meaning  and  etymology  of  the  word  Pharaoh  were  discovered  by  E de  Rovge,  Note  sur  le  mot 
Pharaon,  in  the  Bulletin  Arche'ologique  de  V Athdnxum  Frangais,  1856,  pp.  6(5-08;  Mr.  Lepage-Renouf 
has  proposed  au  explanation  of  it,  derived  from  the  Hebrew  (The  Name  of  Pharaoh,  in  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Biblical  Archseological  Society,  vol.  xv.,  1892-93,  pp.  421,  422).  The  value  of  the  title  Ruiti, 
Prftiti,  was  determined,  to  the  best  of  my  recollection,  by  Chabas,  Le  Voyage  d’un  Fgyptien,  p.  305. 

5 The  title  “Honflt”  is  translated  by  the  same  authors,  sometimes  as  “His  Majesty,”  sometimes 


cessor  of  tbe  gods;  but  the  divine  concept  of  royalty 
once  implanted  in  the  mind,  quickly  produced  its 


THE  GODDESS  ADOPTS  THE 
KING  BY  SUCKLING  HIM.2 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


2(54 


palace,1  or,  less  ceremoniously,  by  the  indeterminate  pronoun  “ One.”  2 The 
greater  number  of  these  terms  is  always  accompanied  by  a wish  addressed 
to  the  sovereign  for  his  “ life,”  “ health,”  and  “ strength,”  the  initial  signs 
of  which  are  written  after  all  bis  titles.3  He  accepts  all  this  graciously,  and 
even  on  his  own  initiative,  swears  by  his  own  life,  or  by  the  favour 
of  Ra,,4  but  he  forbids  his  subjects  to  imitate  him  : 5 for  them  it  is 
a sin,  punishable  in  this  world  and  in  the  next,6  to  adjure  the 
person  of  the  sovereign,  except  in  the  case  in  which  a 
magistrate  requires  from  them  a judicial  oath.7  He  is 
approached,  moreover,  as  a god  is  approached,  with  down- 
cast  eyes,  aud  head  or  back  bent ; they  “ sniff  the 
earth”  before  him,8  they  veil  their  faces  with  both 
hands  to  shut  out  the  splendour  of  his  appearance  ; 
they  chant  a devout  form  of  adoration  before  submitting  to  him  a 
petition.  No  one  is  free  from  this  obligation : his  ministers  them- 
selves, and  the  great  ones  of  his  kingdom,  cannot  deliberate  with 
him  on  matters  of  state,  without  inaugurating  the  proceeding  by  a 
sort  of  solemn  service  in  his  honour,  and  reciting  to  him  at  length  a 
eulogy  of  his  divinity.10  They  did  not,  indeed,  openly  exalt  him 
above  the  other  gods,  but  these  were  rather  too  numerous  to  share 
heaven  among  them,  whilst  he  alone  rules  over  the  “ Entire  Circuit 
of  the  Sun,”  and  the  w hole  earth,  its  mountains  and  plains,  are  in  subjection  under 
his  sandalled  feet.  People,  no  doubt,  might  be  met  with  w'ho  did  not  obey  him, 


THE  CUCUPHA- 
HEADICD 
SCEPTRE.0 


as  “His  Holiness.”  The  reasons  for  translating  it  “His  Majesty,”  as  was  originally  proposed  by 
Champollion,  and  afterwards  generally  adopted,  have  been  given  last  of  all  by  E.  de  Rouge 
( Chrestomathie  Egyptienne,  vol.  ii.  § 189,  p.  GO). 

1 Erman,  AEgypten  und  AEgyptisclies  Leben,  p.  92,  where  may  be  found  collected  several  of  these 
indirect  methods  of  designating  the  king  both  in  official  documents  and  in  ordinary  speech. 

2 This  determinate  manner  of  speaking  of  the  sovereign,  which  we  have  as  yet  met  with  only 
in  the  texts  of  the  New  Theban  Empire,  was  first  pointed  out  by  Maspero,  Le  Conte  dee  deux  Freres , 
in  the  Revue  des  Cours  Litter aires,  vol.  vii.  p.  783,  note  2. 

3 This  is  the  group  HP  onkhii,  uzaijSonbu,  usually  shortened  in  French  into  v.s.f.,  vie,sant?,  force. 

4 As  occurs  in  the  inscription  of  Pionkhi  Miamun,  11.  24,  G5  ; cf.  1.  110. 

5 Chabas,  Hebrxo-AEgyptiaca,  § iii.  Interdiction  dee  Jurements , in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society 
of  Biblical  Arc'ixology,  vol.  i.  pp.  177-182. 

0 In  the  “Negative  Confession,”  the  deceased  declares  that  he  has  not  uttered  any  malediction 
against  the  king  ( Livre  des  morts,  ch.  exxv.,  Naville’s  edition,  vol.  ii.  p.  306). 

7 For  the  judicial  oath,  and  the  form  it  took,  cf.  W.  Spiegelberg,  Studien  und  Materialien  zum 
Reclitswesen  des  Pliaraonenreiches  der  dynastien,  xviii.-xxi.  pp.  71-81. 

8 This  is  the  literal  translation  of  the  group  “sonu-to,”  which  is  usually  employed  to  express  the 
prostration  of  the  faithful  before  the  god  or  the  king,  the  proscynema  of  texts  of  the  Greek  period. 

9 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  the  engraving  of  Prisse  d’Avennes,  Recherches  sur  les  ICgtndes 
royales  et  Vdpoque  du  regne  de  Scliai  ou  Scherai,  in  the  Revue  Archeologique,  1st  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  467. 
The  original  is  now  preserved  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  to  which  it  was  presented  by  Prisse 
d’ Avenues.  It  is  of  glazed  earthenware,  of  very  delicate  and  careful  workmanship. 

10  The  fashion  was  observed  in  all  times,  but  the  best  examples  of  it  are  found  on  the  monuments 
of  the  New  Theban  Empire.  I may  refer  my  readers  specially  to  the  commencement  of  the  Stele 
of  the  Gold-mines  (Prisse  d'Avennes,  Monuments  Egyptiens,  pi.  xxi.;  and  Chabas,  Les  Inscriptions 
des  Mines  d'or,  p.  13,  et  seq.). 


THE  INSIGNIA  AND  PROPHESYING  STATUES  OF  THE  KINGS.  2G5 


but  these  were  rebels,  adherents  of  Sit,  “ Children  of  Ruin  ” 1 who,  sooner  or  later, 
would  be  overtaken  by  punishment.  While  hoping  that  his  fictitious  claim  to 
universal  dominion  would  be  realized,  the  king  adopted,  in  addition  to  the 
simple  costume  of  the  old 
chiefs,  the  long  or  short 
petticoat,  the  jackal’s  tail, 
the  turned-up  sandals,  and 
the  insignia  of  the  supreme 
gods, — the  ankh,  the  crook, 
the  flail,  and  the  sceptre 
tipped  with  the  head  of  a jer- 
boa or  a hare,  which  we  mis- 
name the  cucupha-headed 
sceptre.2  He  put  on  the 
many-coloured  diadems  of 
the  gods,  the  head-dresses 
covered  with  feathers,  the 
white  and  the  red  crowns 
either  separately  or  com- 
bined so  as  to  form  the 
pshent.  The  viper  or  uraeus, 
in  metal  or  gilded  wood, 
which  rose  from  his  fore- 
head, was  imbued  with  a 
mysterious  life,  which  made  it  a means  of  executing  his  vengeance  and  accom- 
plishing his  secret  purposes.  It. was  supposed  to  vomit  flames  and  to  destroy 
those  who  should  dare  to  attack  its  master  in  battle.  The  supernatural  virtues 
which  it  communicated  to  the  crown,  made  it  an  enchanted  thing  which  no  one 
could  resist.4  Lastly,  Pharaoh  had  his  temples  where  his  enthroned  statue, 

1 On  p.  159,  note  2,  of  this  volume,  will  be  found  the  explanation  of  the  phrase  “ Mosu  Batashit,” 
which  is  usually  translated  “ Children  of  Rebellion.” 

2 This  identification,  suggested  by  Champollion  ( Dictionnaire  hidrog'yphique,  Nos.  381,  385),  is, 
from  force  of  custom,  still  adhered  to,  in  neatly  all  works  on  Egyptology.  But  we  know  from  ancient 
evidence  that  the  cucupha  was  a b'rd,  perhaps  a hoopoe  (Leemans,  Horapollinis  Niloi  Hieroghyplrica, 
pp.  279-281) ; the  sceptre  of  the  gods,  moreover,  is  really  surmounted  by  the  head  of  a quadruped 
having  a pointed  snout  and  long  retreating  ears,  and  belonging  to  the  greyhound,  jackal,  or  jerboa 
species  (Prisse  d’Avennes,  Reciter  ches  sur  les  Idgendes  royales  et  sur  Vdpoque  du  rcgne  de  Schai  ou 
Schercti,  in  the  Revue  Archeologique,  1st  series,  vol.  ii.,  1815,  p.  466,  et  seq). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gaudin,  from  a photograph  by  Insinger ; cf.  Lepsius,  Denhm.,  iii.  The 
picture  represents  Khamhait  presenting  the  superintendents  of  storehouses  to  Tulankhamon,  of  the 
NYHI111  dynasty. 

4 The  mysterious  life  with  which  the  uroeus  of  the  royal  crowns  was  supposed  to  be  imbued,  was 
first  noticed  by  E.  de  Rouge,  Etude  sur  divers  monuments  du  regne  de  Toutmes  III.  decouverls  u 
Thebes  par  M.  Mariette,  p.  15  Concerning  the  enchanted  crowns,  see  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mytho- 
logie  et  d' Arclidologie  Ejyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  134,  where  a description  of  them,  and  a concise  expla- 
nation of  their  magical  office,  will  be  found. 


TI1E  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


266 

animated  by  one  of  his  doubles,  received  worship,  prophesied,  and  fulfilled  all 
the  functions  of  a Divine  Being,  both  during  his  life,  and  after  ho  had  rejoined 
in  the  tomb  his  ancestors  the  gods,  who  existed  before  him  and  who  now 
reposed  impassively  within  the  depths  of  their  pyramids.1 

Man,  as  far  as  his  body  was  concerned,  and  god  in  virtue  of  his  soul 
and  its  attributes,  the  Pharaoh,  in  right  of  this  double  nature,  acted  as  a 
constant  mediator  between  heaven  and  earth.  He  alone  was  fit  to  transmit 
the  prayers  of  men  to  his  fathers  and  his  brethren  the  gods.  Just  as  the 
head  of  a family  was  in  his  household  the  priest  par  excellence  of  the  gods  of 
that  family, — just  as  the  chief  of  a nome  was  in  his  nome  the  priest  par 
excellence  in  regard  to  the  gods  of  the  nome, — so  was  Pharaoh  the  priest 
par  excellence  of  the  gods  of  all  Egypt,  who  were  his  special  deities.  He 
accompanied  their  images  in  solemn  processions ; he  poured  out  before  them 
the  wine  and  mystic  milk,  recited  the  formulas  in  their  hearing,  seized  the 
bidl  who  was  the  victim  with  a lasso  and  slaughtered  it  according  to  the  rite 
consecrated  by  ancient  tradition.  Private  individuals  had  recourse  to  his 
intercession,  when  they  asked  some  favour  from  on  high;  as,  however,  it  was 
impossible  for  every  sacrifice  to  pass  actually  through  his  hands,  the 
celebrating  priest  proclaimed  at  the  beginning  of  each  ceremony  that  it 
was  the  king  who  made  the  offering — Sutni  di  hoptu — he  and  none  other, 
to  Osiris,  Phtah,  and  Ra-IIarmakhis,  so  that  they  might  grant  to  the  faithful 
who  implored  them  the  object  of  their  desires,  and,  the  declaration  being 
accepted  in  lieu  of  the  act,  the  king  was  thus  regarded  as  really  officiating 
on  every  occasion  for  his  subjects.  He  thus  maintained  daily  intercourse  with 
the  gods,  and  they,  on  their  part,  did  not  neglect  any  occasion  of  communicating 
with  him.  They  appeared  to  him  in  dreams  to  foretell  his  future,  to  command 
him  to  restore  a monument  which  was  threatened  with  ruin,  to  advise  him 
to  set  out  to  war,  to  forbid  him  risking  his  life  in  the  thick  of  the  fight.2 

1 This  method  of  distinguishing  deceased  kings  is  met  with  as  far  Lack  as  the  “ Song  of  the 
Harpist,”  which  the  Egyptians  of  the  Ramesside  period  attributed  to  the  author  of  the  XI11'  dynasty 
(Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  178,  et  scq.).  The  first  known  instance  of  a temple  raised 
by  au  Egyptian  king  to  his  double  is  that  of  Amenothes  III.  at  Soleb,  in  Nubia,  but  I do  not  agree 
with  Prof.  Ed.  Meyer  ( Geschiclite  des  Alterthums,  vol.  i.  pp.  208,  209,  and  Geschichte  des  alien 
xEgyptens,  pp  251,  252),  or  with  Prof.  Ermau  (jEgyptm,  p.  93),  who  imagine  that  this  was  the  first 
instance  of  the  practice,  and  that  it  had  been  introduced  into  Nubia  before  its  adoption  on  Egyptian 
soil.  Under  the  Ancient  Empire  we  meet  with  more  than  one  functionary  who  styles  himself,  in 
some  cases  during  his  master’s  lifetime,  in  others  shortly  after  his  death,  “ Prophet  of  Horus  who 
lives  in  the  palace”  (Mariette,  Les  Maslabas,  p.  228,  tomb  of  Kai),  or  “Prophet  of  Kkeops”  {ibid., 
pp.  88,  89,  tomb  of  Tinti),  “ Prophet  of  Sondi  ” (ibid.,  pp.  92,  93,  tomb  of  Shiri),  “ Prophet  of  Kheops, 
of  Mykerinos,  of  tlsirkaf  ” (ibid.,  pp.  198-200,  tomb  of  Tapumankhi),  or  of  other  sovereigns. 

2 Among  other  examples,  the  texts  mention  the  dream  in  which  Thutmosis  IV.,  while  still  a 
royal  prince,  received  from  Phra-Harmakhis  orders  to  unearth  the  Great  Sphinx  (Vyse,  Operations 
carried  on  at  the  Pyramids  of  Gizeh,  vol.  iii.,  pi.  and  p.  114;  Lepsius,  Denl:m.,  iii.  63),  the  dream  in 
which  Phtah  forbids  Miuephtah  to  take  part  in  the  battle  against  the  peoples  of  the  sea  (E.  de 
Rouge,  Extrait  d’un  m^moire  sur  les  attaques,  p.  9),  that  by  which  Tonuatamon,  King  of  Napata,  is 
persuaded  to  undertake  the  conquest  of  Egypt  (Mariette,  Mon.  divers,  pi.  vii. ; Maspero,  Essai  sur 
la  stele  du  Songe,  in  the  Revue  ArchCologique,  2nd  series,  vol.  xviii.  pp.  321-332;  cf.  Records  of  the 


PHARAOH  IN  FAMILY  LIFE. 


267 


Communication  by  prophetic  dreams  was  not,  however,  the  method  usually 
selected  by  the  gods : they  employed  as  interpreters  of  their  wishes  the 
priests  and  the  statues  in  the  temples.  The  king  entered  the  chapel  where 
the  statue  was  kept,  and  performed  in  its  presence  the  invocatory  rites, 
and  questioned  it  upon  the  subject  which  occupied  his  mind.  The  priest 
replied  under  direct  inspiration  from  on  high,  and  the  dialogue  thus  entered 
upon  might  last  a long  time.  Interminable  discourses,  whose  records  cover 
the  walls  of  the  Theban  temples,  inform  us  what  the  Pharaoh  said  on  such 
occasions,  and  in  what  emphatic  tones  the  gods  replied.1  Sometimes  the 
animated  statues  raised  their  voices  in  the  darkness  of  the  sanctuary  and 
themselves  announced  their  will ; more  frequently  they  were  content  to  indicate 
it  by  a gesture.  When  they  were  consulted  on  some  particular  subject  and 
returned  no  sign,  it  was  their  way  of  signifying  their  disapprobation.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  they  significantly  bowed  their  head,  once  or  twice,  the  subject 
was  an  acceptable  one,  and  they  approved  it.2  No  state  affair  was  settled 
without  asking  their  advice,  and  without  their  giving  it  in  one  way  or  another. 

The  monuments,  which  throw  full  light  on  the  supernatural  character  of 
the  Pharaohs  in  general,  tell  us  but  little  of  the  individual  disposition  of  any 
king  in  particular,  or  of  their  everyday  life.  When  by  chance  we  come 
into  closer  intimacy  for  a moment  with  the  sovereign,  he  is  revealed  to  us 
as  being  less  divine  and  majestic  than  we  might  have  been  led  to  believe,  had 
we  judged  him  only  by  his  impassive  expression  and  by  the  pomp  with  which 
he  was  surrounded  in  public.  Not  that  he  ever  quite  laid  aside  his  grandeur; 
even  in  his  home  life,  in  his  chamber  or  his  garden,  during  those  hours  when 
he  felt  himself  withdrawn  from  public  gaze,  those  highest  in  rank  might 
never  forget  when  they  approached  him  that  he  was  a god.  He  showed 
himself  to  be  a kind  father,  a good-natured  husband,3  ready  to  dally  with 
his  wives  and  caress  them  on  the  cheek  as  they  offered  him  a flower,  or 
moved  a piece  upon  the  draught-board.  He  took  an  interest  in  those  who 
waited  on  him,  allowed  them  certain  breaches  of  etiquette  when  lie  was  pleased 
with  them,4  and  was  indulgent  to  their  little  failings.  If  they  had  just 

Past,  vol.  iv.  p.  83).  Herodotus  had  already  made  us  familiar  with  the  dreams  of  Sabaco  (ii. 
139)  and  of  the  high  priest  Sethos  (ii.  112). 

1 At  Deir  el-Bahari,  Queen  Hatshopsitu  hears  the  voice  of  Amon  himself  in  the  depths  of  the 
sanctuary,  or,  in  other  words,  the  voice  of  the  priest  who  received  the  direct  inspiration  and  words 
of  Amon  in  the  presence  of  the  statue  (Mariette,  Deir  el-Bahari,  pi.  x.  1.  2 ; Dumichen,  Historische 
Insehriften,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xx.  11.  4-0). 

2 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arclieologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  81,  et  seq. 

3 As  a literary  example  of  what  the  conduct  of  a king  was  like  in  his  family  circle,  we  may 
quote  the  description  of  King  Minibphtah,  in  the  story  of  Satni-Khamois  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  popu- 
laires  de  VEgypte  Ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  p.  165,  et  seq.).  The  pictures  of  the  tombs  at  Tel-el-Amarna 
show  us  the  intimate  terms  on  which  King  Khuniaton  lived  with  his  wife  and  his  daughters,  botli 
big  and  little  (Lepsius,  Denkm.  iii.,  pi.  99  b,  where  the  queen  has  her  arms  round  the  king’s  waist, 
104,  108,  etc.). 

* Pharaoh  Shopsiskaf  dispenses  his  son-in-law  Shopsiephtah  from  sniffing  the  earth  in  front  of 


2(58 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


returned  from  foreign  lands,  a little  countrified  after  a lengthy  exile  from  the 
court,  he  would  break  out  into  pleasantries  over  their  embarrassment  and  their 
unfashionable  costume, — kingly  pleasantries  which  excited  the  forced  mirth 
of  the  bystanders,  but  which  soon  fell  flat  and  had  no  meaning  for  those 
outside  the  palace.1  The  Pharaoh  was  fond  of  laughing  and  drinking  ; indeed, 
if  we  may  believe  evil  tongues,  he  took  so  much  at  times  as  to  incapacitate 
him  for  business.2  The  chase  was  not  always  a pleasure  to  him,  hunting 
in  the  desert,  at  least,  where  the  lions  evinced  a provoking  tendency  to 
show  as  little  respect  for  the  divinity  of  the  prince  as  for  his  mortal  subjects  ; 
but,  like  the  chiefs  of  old,  he  felt  it  a duty  to  his  people  to  destroy  wild 
beasts,  and  he  ended  by  counting  the  slain  in  hundreds,  however  short  his 
reign  might  be.3  A considerable  part  of  his  time  was  taken  up  in  war — in 
the  east,  against  the  Libyans  in  the  regions  of  the  Oasis;  in  the  Nile  Valley 
to  the  south  of  Aswan  against  the  Nubians;  on  the  Isthmus  of  Suez  and 
in  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula  against  the  Bedouin ; frequently  also  in  a civil 
war  against  some  ambitious  noble  or  some  turbulent  member  of  his  own 
family.  He  travelled  frequently  from  south  to  north,  and  from  north  to 
south,  leaving  in  every  possible  place  marked  traces  of  his  visits — on  the 
rocks  of  Elephantine  and  of  the  first  cataract,4  on  those  of  Silsilis  or  of 
El-Kab,  and  he  appeared  to  his  vassals  as  Tumu  himself  arisen  among  them 
to  repress  injustice  and  disorder.5  He  restored  or  enlarged  the  monuments, 
regulated  equitably  the  assessment  of  taxes  and  charges,  settled  or  dismissed 
the  lawsuits  between  one  town  and  another  concerning  the  appropriation 
of  the  water,  or  the  possession  of  certain  territories,  distributed  fiefs,  which 
had  fallen  vacant,  among  his  faithful  servants,  and  granted  pensions  to  be  paid 
out  of  the  royal  revenues.6  At  length  he  re-entered  Memphis,  or  one  of  his 
usual  residences,  where  fresh  labours  awaited  him.  He  gave  audience  daily 

him  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  le s monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties 
de  Mandtlion,  p.  68;  Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  112,  113),  and  Papi  I.  grants  to  flni  the  privilege 
of  wearing  his  sandals  in  the  palace  (E.  de  Rouge,  Reeherches  sur  les  monuments,  p.  128;  Mariette, 
Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pis.  xliv.,  xlv.,  1.  23;  Erman,  Commentar  zur  Insclirift  des  Una,  in  the  Zeitschrift, 
1882,  p.  20,  leaves  the  passage  unexplained). 

1 See  in  Les  A ventures  de  Sinuhit  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires  de  VEgypte  ancienne,  pp. 
124,  125)  an  account  of  the  audience  granted  by  Amcnembait  II.  to  the  hero  on  his  return  from  a 
long  exile  in  Asia. 

2 E.g.  Amasis,  in  a tale  of  the  Greek  period  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  pp 
209-308). 

3 Amenothes  III.  had  killed  as  many  as  a hundred  and  two  lions  during  the  first  ten  years  of  his 
reign  (Scarabde  580  du  Louvre,  in  Pierret’s  Recueil  d’ inscriptions  ine'dites  du  Louvre,  vol  i,  pp.  87,  88). 

4 Traces  of  the  journey  of  Mirniri  to  Assuan  are  mentioned  by  Petrie  in  A Season  in  Egypt, 
pi.  xiii.,  No.  338;  and  by  Sayce,  Gleanings  from  the  Land  of  Egypt  (in  the  Receuil  de  Travaux, 
vol.  xv.  p.  117),  and  of  the  journey  of  Papi  I.  to  El-Kab  by  Sterx,  Die  Cultusstdtte  der  Lucina,  in  the 
Zeitschrift,  1875,  pp.  67,  68. 

5 These  are  the  identical  expressions  used  in  the  Great  Inscription  of  Beni-Hassan,  11.  36-46. 

0 These  details  are  not  found  on  the  historical  monuments,  but  are  furnished  to  us  by  the 
description  given  in  “ The  Book  of  Knowledge  of  what  there  is  in  the  other  world”  of  the  course 
of  the  sun  across  the  domain  of  the  hours  of  night ; the  god  is  there  described  as  a Pharaoh  passing 


rHARAOH'S  OCCUPATIONS  AND  CARES. 


269 


master  against  the  injustice  of  his  servant.  If  he  quitted  the  palace  when  the 
cause  had  been  heard,  to  take  boat  or  to  go  to  the  temple,  he  was  not  left 
undisturbed,  but  petitions  and  supplications  assailed  him  by  the  way.2  In 
addition  to  this,  there  were  the  despatch  of  current  affairs,  the  daily  sacrifices, 
the  ceremonies  which  demanded  the  presence  of  the  Pharaoh,  and  the  reception 
of  nobles  or  foreign  envoys.  One  would  think  that  in  the  midst  of  so  many 
occupations  he  would  never  feel  time  hang  heavy  on  his  hands.  He  was,  how- 
ever, a prey  to  that  profound  ennui  which  most  Oriental  monarchs  feel  so  keenly, 
and  which  neither  the  cares  nor  the  pleasures  of  ordinary  life  could  dispel.  Like 
the  Sultans  of  the  “ Arabian  Nights,”  the  Pharaohs  were  accustomed  to  have 
marvellous  tales  related  to  them,  or  they  assembled  their  councillors  to  ask 
them  to  suggest  some  fresh  amusement : a happy  thought  would  sometimes 
strike  one  of  them,  as  in  the  case  of  him  who  aroused  the  interest  of  Snofrui 
by  recommending  him  to  have  his  boat  manned  by  young  girls  barely  clad  in 
large-meshed  network.  All  his  pastimes  were  not  so  playful.  The  Egyptians 
by  nature  were  not  cruel,  and  we  have  very  few  records  either  in  history 
or  tradition  of  bloodthirsty  Pharaohs;  but  the  life  of  an  ordinary  individual 
was  of  so  little  value  in  their  eyes,  that  they  never  hesitated  to  sacrifice 
it,  even  for  a caprice.  A sorcerer  had  no  sooner  boasted  before  Kheops 
of  being  able  to  raise  the  dead,  than  the  king  proposed  that  he  should  try 

through  his  kingdom,  and  all  that  he  does  for  his  vassals,  the  dead,  is  identical  with  what  Pharaoh 
was  accustomed  to  do  for  his  subjects,  the  living  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Arclieologie 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  44,  45). 

1 Drawn  by  Fauelier-Gudin  (Champollion,  Monuments  de  I’Egypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pis.  cxcix.-cc., 
cci.  2,  3;  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Storici,  pi.  cxxiii.,  Nos.  1,  2 ; Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  iii.,  208  a-d). 

2 See  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  2,  for  the  supplications  with  which  a peasant  overwhelms  the 
chief  steward  Mirtiitensi  and  King  Nibkaniri  of  the  IXth  or  Xth  dynasty  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  popu- 
lates, 2nd  edit.,  p.  43,  et  seq.). 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


270 


the  experiment  on  a prisoner  whose  head  was  to  be  forthwith  cut  off.1  The 
anger  of  Pharaoh  was  quickly  excited,  and  once  aroused,  became  an  all- 
consuming  tire;  the  Egyptians  were  wont  to  say,  in  describing  its  intensity, 
“ His  Majesty  became  as  furious  as  a panther.” 2 The  wild  beast  often 
revealed  itself  in  the  half-civilized  man. 

The  royal  family  was  very  numerous.  The  women  were  principally  chosen 
from  the  relatives  of  court  officials  of  high  rank,  or  from  among  the  great 
feudal  lords ; 3 there  were,  however,  many  strangers  among  them,  daughters 
or  sisters  of  petty  Libyan,  Nubian,  or  Asiatic  kings;  they  were  brought  into 
Pharaoh’s  house  as  hostages  for  the  submission  of  their  respective  peoples. 
They  did  not  all  enjoy  the  same  treatment  or  consideration,  and  their  original 
position  decided  their  status  in  the  harem,  unless  the  amorous  caprice  of  their 
master  should  otherwise  decide.  Most  of  them  remained  merely  concubines 
for  life,  others  were  raised  to  the  rank  of  “ royal  spouses,”  and  at  least  one 
received  the  title  and  privileges  of  “great  spouse,”  or  queen.4  This  was 
rarely  accorded  to  a stranger,  but  almost  always  to  a princess  born  in  the 
purple,  a daughter  of  Ha,  if  possible  a sister  of  the  Pharaoh,  and  who, 
inheriting  in  the  same  degree  and  in  equal  proportion  the  flesh  and  blood  of 
the  Sun-god,  had,  more  than  others,  the  right  to  share  the  bed  and  throne  of 
her  brother.5  She  had  her  own  house,  and  a train  of  servants  and  followers  as 
large  as  those  of  the  king ; while  the  women  of  inferior  rank  were  more  or  less 
shut  up  in  the  parts  of  the  palace  assigned  to  them,  she  came  and  went  at 
pleasure,  and  appeared  in  public  with  or  without  her  husband.  The  preamble 
of  official  documents  in  which  she  is  mentioned,  solemnly  recognizes  her  as  the 
living  follower  of  Horns,  the  associate  of  the  Lord  of  the  Vulture  and  the 
Urasus,  the  very  gentle,  the  very  praiseworthy,  she  who  sees  her  Horus,  or 
Horus  and  Sit,  face  to  face.6  Her  union  with  the  god-king  rendered  her  a 

1 Erhan,  Die  Mdrchen  des  Papyrus  Westcar,  pi.  viii.  1.  12,  and  pp.  10,  11 ; Maspero,  Lee  Contes 
pupulaires  de  V Egypte  Ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  42-44  and  73.  Cf.  p.  282  of  this  History. 

2 Thus  in  the  Pioukhi-Miamdu  inscription  (11.  23  and  93,  E.  de  Rouge’s  edition,  pp.  20,  52),  in 
the  Conte  des  deux  Freres,  the  hero,  who  is  a kind  of  god  disguised  as  a peasant,  also  becomes 
“ furious,”  and  the  author  adds,  “as  a southern  panther”  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit., 

p.  10). 

3 Queen  Miririonkhnas,  wife  of  Papi  I.,  was  the  daughter  of  a person  named  Khhi,  attached  to 
the  court,  her  mother  being  a princess  Nibit  (E.  de  Rouge,  Reclierclies  sur  les  monuments,  p.  130, 
et  seq. ; cf.  E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  hie'roglypliiques  copides  en  Egypte,  pi.  cliii.). 

' The  first  “great  spouse  of  the  king”  whose  name  has  come  down  to  us,  is  mentioned  by  flni; 
this  is  Queen  Amitsi,  wife  of  Miriri-Papi  I.  of  the  VIth  dynasty  (E.  de  Rouge,  Ilecherclies  sur  les 
monuments,  p.  121 ; cf.  Erman,  Commentar  zur  Inschrift  des  Una,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1881,  pp.  10,  11). 

5 It  would  seem  that  Queen  MirisGnkhu  (Mauiette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  183;  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii. 
14,  26),  wife  of  Khepliren,  was  the  daughter  of  Kheops,  and  consequently  her  husband’s  sister  (E.  de 
Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties  de  Mantthon, 
pp.  61,  62). 

6 The  preamble  of  the  queens  of  this  period  was  settled  for  the  first  time  by  E.  de  Rouge  ( Recherches 
sur  les  monuments,  pp.  44,  15,  57-61,  130),  on  the  authority  of  the  inscriptions  of  Queen  Mirtittefsi 


THE  ROYAL  HAREM — THE  QUEEN. 


271 


goddess,  and  entailed  upon  her  the  fulfilment  of  all  the  duties  which  a goddess 
owed  to  a god.  They  were  varied  and  important.  The  woman,  indeed,  was 
supposed  to  combine  in  herself  more  completely  than  a man  the  qualities 


rHARAOH  GIVES  SOLEMN  AUDIENCE  TO  ONE  OF  HIS  MINISTERS.1 


necessary  for  the  exercise  of  magic,  whether  legitimate  or  otherwise  : she  saw 
and  heard  that  which  the  eyes  and  ears  of  man  could  not  perceive  ; her  voice, 
being  more  flexible  and  piercing,  was  heard  at  greater  distances;  she  was 

(E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  liieroglyphiques  copi&es  en  Egypte,  pi.  lxii.),  of  Queen  Mirisonkhu 
(Marietie,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  183;  Lepsius,  TJenkm  , ii.  14),  of  Queen  Khuit  (Mariettf,  Les  Mastabas, 
pp.  207,  208),  of  a queen  whose  name  is  still  uncertain  (Mariette,  Les  Mustabas,  pp.  225),  and  of 
Queen  Miririonkhnas  (E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  hieroglyphiques  copiees  en  Egypte,  pi.  cliii.). 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  after  Lepsius,  Denim.,  iii.  77.  The  king  is  Amenotlies  III. 
(XVIIIth  dynasty). 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


by  nature  mistress  of  the  art  of  summoning  or  banishing  invisible  beings. 
While  Pharaoh  was  engaged  in  sacrificing,  the  queen,  by  her  incantations, 
protected  him  from  malignant  deities,  whose  interest  it  was  to  divert  the 
attention  of  the  celebrant  from  holy  things : she  put  them  to  flight  by  the 
sound  of  prayer  and  sistrum,1  she  poured  libations  and  offered  perfumes  and 
flowers.  In  processions  she  walked  behind  her  husband,  gave  audience  with 
him,  governed  for  him  while  he  was  engaged  in  foreign  wars,  or  during  his 
progresses  through  his  kingdom  : such  was  the  work  of  Isis  while  her  brother 
Osiris  was  conquering  the  world.2  Widowhood  did  not  always  entirely 
disqualify  her.  If  she  belonged  to  the  solar  race,  and  the  new  sovereign  was  a 
minor,  she  acted  as  regent  by  hereditary  right,  and  retained  the  authority  for 
some  years  longer.3  It  occasionally  happened  that  she  had  no  posterity,  or 
that  the  child  of  another  woman  inherited  the  crown.  In  that  case  there  was 
no  law  or  custom  to  prevent  a young  and  beautiful  widow  from  cohabiting 
with  the  son,  and  thus  regaining  her  rank  as  Queen  by  a marriage  with  the 
successor  of  her  deceased  husband.  It  was  in  this  manner  that,  during  the 
earlier  part  of  the  IVth  dynasty,  the  Princess  Mirtittefsi  ingratiated  herself  suc- 
cessively in  the  favour  of  Snofrui  and  Ivheops.4  Such  a case  did  not  often  arise, 
and  a queen  who  had  once  quitted  the  throne  had  but  little  chance  of  again 
ascending  it.  Her  titles,  her  duties,  her  supremacy  over  the  rest  of  the  family, 
passed  to  a younger  rival:  formerly  she  had  been  the  active  companion  of  the 
king,  she  now  became  only  the  nominal  spouse  of  the  god,5  and  her  office  came 
to  an  end  when  the  god,  of  whom  she  had  been  the  goddess,  quitting  his  body, 
departed  heavenward  to  rejoin  his  father  the  Sun  on  the  far-distant  horizon.6 

Children  swarmed  in  the  palace,  as  in  the  houses  of  private  individuals : 

1 The  magical  virtues  of  the  sistrum  are  celebrated  by  the  author  of  De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 63 
(Parthey’s  edition,  pp.  Ill,  112);  frequent  mention  is  made  of  them  in  the  Dendera  inscriptions. 

2 The  part  played  by  the  queen  in  regard  to  the  king  has  been  clearly  defined  by  the  earlier 
Egyptologists.  A statement  of  the  views  of  the  younger  Cbampollion  on  this  subject  will  be  found 
in  the  Egypte  ancienne  of  Champollion-Figeac  (p.  56,  et  seq.)  ; as  to  the  part  played  by  Isis,  Kegent 
of  Egypt,  cf.  pp.  173-175  of  the  present  work. 

3 The  best-known  of  these  queen  regencies  is  that  which  occurred  during  the  minority  of 
Thutmosis  III.,  about  the  middle  of  the  XVIIIlh  dynasty.  Queen  Tuau  also  appears  to  have 
acted  as  regent  for  her  son  Ramses  II.  during  his  first  Syrian  campaigns  (Lepsips,  Notice  sur  deux 
statues  fyyptiennes  repre'sentant  Vune  la  mere  du  roi  Ramses- S&ostr  is,  Vautre  le  roi  Amasis,  in  vol.  ix. 
of  the  Annales  de  Vlmtitut  de  Correspondance  arcb€ologique,  p.  5,  et  seq.). 

4 M.  de  Rouge  was  the  first  to  bring  this  fact  to  light  in  his  Reclierches  sur  les  monuments  qu’on 
peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties  de  Man&tlion,  pp.  36-38.  Mirtittefsi  also  lived  in  the 
harem  of  Khephren,  but  the  title  which  connects  her  with  this  king — Amaldiit,  the  vassal — proves 
that  she  was  then  merely  a nominal  wife ; she  was  probably  by  that  time,  as  M.  de  Rouge  says,  of 
too  advanced  an  age  to  remain  the  favourite  of  a third  Pharaoh. 

5 The  title  of  “divine  spouse”  is  not,  so  far  as  we  know  at  present,  met  with  prior  to  the 
XYIII*11  dynasty.  It  was  given  to  the  wife  of  a living  monarch,  and  was  retained  by  her  after  his 
death ; the  divinity  to  whom  it  referred  was  no  other  than  the  king  himself.  Cf.  Erman,  in  Schwein- 
fcrtii’s  memoir,  Alte  Baureste  und  Uieroghjphische  lnscliriften  im  Uadi  Gasus,  p.  17,  et  seq.  (Berlin 
Academy  of  Sciences,  Pliilol.-Hist.  Abltandlungen  nicht  zur  Academie  gehor.  Gelehrter , 1885,  vol.  ii.). 

“ These  are  the  identical  expressions  used  in  the  Egyptian  texts  in  speaking  of  the  death  of 


THE  ROYAL  CHILDREN:  THEIR  POSITION  IN  THE  STATE.  273 


in  spite  of  the  number  who  died  in  infancy,  they  were  reckoned  by  tens, 
sometimes  by  the  hundred,  and  more  than  one  Pharaoh  must  have  been 
puzzled  to  remember  exactly 
the  number  and  names  of  his 
offspring.1  The  origin  and 
rank  of  their  mothers  greatly 
influenced  the  condition  of 
the  children.  No  doubt  the 
divine  blood  which  they  took 
from  a common  father  raised 
them  all  above  the  vulgar 
herd,  but  those  connected 
with  the  solar  line  on  the 
maternal  side  occupied  a de- 
cidedly much  higher  position 
than  the  rest : as  long  as  one 
of  these  was  living,  none  of 
his  less  nobly-born  brothers 
might  aspire  to  the  crown.2 
Those  princesses  who  did 
not  attain  the  rank  of  queen 
by  marriage,  were  given  in 
early  youth  to  some  well-to- 
do  relative,4  or  to  some  cour- 
tier of  high  descent  whom 
Pharaoh  wished  to  honour ; 5 
they  filled  the  office  of  priestesses  to  the  goddesses  Nit  or  Hathor,6  and  bore 

kings;  cf.  Maspero,  Les  Premieres  lignes  des  Mdmoires  de  Sinuhit,  pp.  3,  10  (Mdmoires  de  VInslitut 
Egyptien,  vol.  ii.),  for  the  death  of  Amenemha.it  I.,  and  Ebers,  Thalen  und  Zeit  Tutmes  III.,  in  the 
Zeitschrift,  1873,  p.  7,  for  that  of  Thutmosis  III. 

1 This  was  probably  so  in  the  case  of  the  Pharaoh  Ramses  II.,  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
of  whose  children,  boys  and  gills,  are  known  to  us,  and  who  certainly  had  others  besides  of  whom 
we  know  nothing. 

2 Proof  of  this  fact  is  furnished  us,  in  so  far  as  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  is  concerned,  by  the  history 
of  the  immediate  successors  of  Thutmosis  I.,  the  Pharaohs  Thutmosis  II.,  Thutmosis  II F.,  Queen 
Htttshopsitil,  Queen  Mutnofrit,  and  Isis,  concubine  of  Thutmosis  II.  and  mother  of  Thutmosis  III. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  in  the  temple  of  Ibsambul : Nofritari  (cf.  Lepsius, 
Denhm , iii.,  189  6)  shakes  behind  Ramses  II.  two  sistra,  on  which  are  representations  of  the  head  of 
Hathor. 

4 Thus  the  Princess  Sitmosti  was  given  in  marriage  to  her  brother  Safkliitabuihotpu  (Lepsius, 
Denlim.,  ii.,  pi.  xxiv. ; cf  E.  de  Rouge,  Recherche s sur  les  monuments,  p.  44,  but  the  instance  given 
is  not  absolutely  certain). 

5 Princess  Khamait,  eldest  daughter  of  Pharaoh  Sbopsiskaf,  was  married  to  Shopsisphtah  in  this 
manner  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties, 
p.  67),  and  Princess  KhontkatL  to  Snozmuhit,  surnamed  Mihi  (id.,  pp.  103,  104). 

6 To  give  only  one  instance  from  among  many,  Princess  Hotpuhirisit  was  prophetess  of  Hathor 
and  of  Nit  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  90 ; E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  hieroglyphiques,  pi.  Ixiv.). 

T 


THE  QUEEN  SHAKES  THE  SISTRUM  WHILE  THE  KING  OFFERS 
THE  SACRIFICE.3 


274 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


in  their  households  titles  which  they  transmitted  to  their  children,  with  such 
rights  to  the  crown  as  belonged  to  them.1  The  most  favoured  of  the  princes 
married  an  heiress  rich  in  fiefs,  settled  on  her  domain,  and  founded  a race  of 
feudal  lords.  Most  of  the  roval  sons  remained  at  court,  at  first  in  their  father’s 
service  and  subsequently  in  that  of  their  brothers’  or  nephews’ : the  most  difficult 
and  best  remunerated  functions  of  the  administration  were  assigned  to  them,  the 
superintendence  of  public  works,  the  important  offices  of  the  priesthood,2  the 
command  of  the  army.3  It  could  have  been  no  easy  matter  to  manage  without 
friction  this  multitude  of  relations  and  connections,  past  and  present  queens, 
sisters,  concubines,  uncles,  brothers,  cousins,  nephews,  sons  and  grandsons  of 
kings  who  crowded  the  harem  and  the  palace.  The  women  contended  among 
themselves  for  the  affection  of  the  master,  on  behalf  of  themselves  or  their 
children.  The  children  were  jealous  of  one  another,  and  had  often  no  bond  of 
union  except  a common  hatred  for  the  son  whom  the  chances  of  birth  had 
destined  to  be  their  ruler.  As  long  as  he  was  full  of  vigour  and  energy,  Pharaoh 
maintained  order  in  his  family ; but  when  his  advancing  years  and  failing 
strength  betokened  an  approaching  change  in  the  succession,  competition 
showed  itself  more  openly,  and  intrigue  thickened  around  him  or  around  his 
nearest  heirs.  Sometimes,  indeed,  he  took  precautions  to  prevent  an  outbreak 
and  its  disastrous  consequences,  by  solemnly  associating  with  himself  in  the 
royal  power  the  son  he  had  chosen  to  succeed  him  : Egypt  in  this  case  had  to 
obey  two  masters,  the  younger  of  whom  attended  to  the  more  active  duties  of 
royalty,  such  as  progresses  through  the  country,  the  conducting  of  military 
expeditions,  the  hunting  of  wild  beasts,  and  the  administration  of  justice;  while 
the  other  preferred  to  confine  himself  to  the  role  of  adviser  or  benevolent 
counsellor.4  Even  this  precaution,  however,  was  insufficient  to  prevent 
disasters.  The  women  of  the  seraglio,  encouraged  from  without  by  their 
relations  or  friends,  plotted  secretly  for  the  removal  of  the  irksome  sovereign.r’ 

1 Nibit,  married  to  Khui,  transmitted  her  rights  to  her  daughter  Miririonkhnas ; this  latter 
would  have  been  the  rightful  heir  to  the  throne  at  the  beginning  of  the  VIth  dynasty  (E.  de  Rouge, 
Recherches,  p.  132,  note  1). 

2 Mirabu,  son  of  Kheops,  was  “ head  of  all  the  works  of  the  king”  (LErsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  18,  et  seq.); 
Minu-An  was  high  priest  of  the  Hermopolitan  Tliot  (Lepsius,  Denkm  , ii.  24 ; cf.  E.  de  Rouge,  Recherche s 
sur  les  monuments  qu'on  pent  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties,  p.  62) ; Khafkliufui  was  prophet  of 
Hapi  and  of  “ Horus  who  raises  his  arm  ” (E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  hie'roglyphiques,  pi.  lxi.). 

3 Prince  Amoni  (Amenemhait  II.),  son  of  'LTsirtasen  I.,  commanded  an  army  during  a campaign 
in  Ethiopia  (Champollion,  Monuments  de  V Egypte,  vol.  ii.  p.  42,  and  pi.  cccxv. ; Lepsius,  l>erd;m.,  ii.  132). 

4 This  fact  was  known  from  the  time  of  Lepsius  (Bunsen,  JEgyptens  Stelle  in  der  Weltgeschichte,  ■ 
vol.  ii.  p.  288,  et  seq. ; cf.  E.  de  Rouge,  Examen  de  Vouvrage  de  M.  le  chevalier  de  Bunsen,  2nd 
art.,  p.  45,  et  seq.),  in  regard  to  the  first  four  Pharaohs  of  the  XII"“  dynasty.  A passage  in  the 
M&moires  de  Sinoulut  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  101-104)  gives  a very  exact 
description  of  the  respective  parts  played  by  the  two  kings. 

The  fragment  of  the  flni  inscription,  in  which  mention  is  made  of  a lawsuit  carried  on  against  Queen 
Amitsi  (Erman,  Commentar  zur  Inschrift  des  Una,  in  the  Zeitscliri/t,  1882,  pp.  10-12),  probably  refers 
to  some  harem  conspiracy.  The  celebrated  lawsuit,  some  details  of  which  are  preserved  for  us  in  a 


THE  ROYAL  RESIDENCE. 


275 


Those  princes  who  had  been  deprived  by  their  father’s  decision  of  any 
legitimate  hope  of  reigning,  concealed  their  discontent  to  no  purpose;  they 
were  arrested  on  the  first  suspicion  of  disloyalty,  and  were  massacred  whole- 
sale ; their  only  chance  of  escaping  summary  execution  was  either  by 
rebellion 1 or  by  taking  refuge  with  some  independent  tribe  of  Libya  or  of  the 
desert  of  Sinai.2  Did  we  but  know  the  details  of  the  internal  history  of  Egypt, 
it  would  appear  to  us  as  stormy  and  as  bloody  as  that  of  other  Oriental  empires  : 
intrigues  of  the  Harem,  conspiracies  in  the  palace,  murders  of  heirs  apparent, 
divisions  and  rebellions  in  the  royal  family,  were  the  almost  inevitable 
accompaniment  of  every  accession  to  the  Egyptian  throne. 

The  earliest  dynasties  had  their  origin  in  the  “ White  Wall,”  but  the 
Pharaohs  hardly  ever  made  this  town  their  residence,  and  it  would  be  incor- 
rect to  say  that  they  considered  it  as  their  capital ; each  king  chose  for  himself 
in  the  Memphite  or  Letopolite  nome,  between  the  entrance  to  the  Fayutn 
and  the  apex  of  the  Delta,  a special  residence,  where  he  dwelt  with  his  court 
and  from  whence  he  governed  Egypt.3  Such  a multitude  as  formed  his  court 
needed  not  an  ordinary  palace,  but  an  entire  city.  A brick  wall,  surmounted 
by  battlements,  formed  a square  or  rectangular  enclosure  around  it,  and  was  of 
sufficient  thickness  and  height,  not  only  to  defy  a popular  insurrection  or  the 
surprises  of  marauding  Bedouin,  but  to  resist  for  a long  time  a regular  siege. 
At  the  extreme  end  of  one  of  its  fapades,  was  a single  tall  and  narrow  opening, 
closed  by  a wooden  door  supported  on  bronze  hinges,  and  surmounted  with 
a row  of  pointed  metal  ornaments ; this  opened  into  a long  narrow  passage 
between  the  external  wall  and  a partition  wall  of  equal  strength ; at  the 
end  of  the  passage  in  the  angle  was  a second  door,  sometimes  leading  into 
a second  passage,  but  more  often  opening  into  a large  courtyard,  where 
the  dwelling-houses  were  somewhat  crowded  together:  assailants  ran  the 
risk  of  being  annihilated  in  the  passage  before  reaching  the  centre  of 
the  place.4  The  royal  residence  could  be  immediately  distinguished  by  the 

papyrus  of  Turin  (Th.  Deveria,  Le  Papyrus  judiciaire  cle  Turin,  vide  Journal  Asiatique,  18G6-68), 
gives  us  some  information  in  regard  to  a conspiracy  which  w as  hatched  in  the  harem  against  Ramses  III. 

1 A passage  in  the  “ Instructions  of  Amenemhait  ” ( Sallier  Rap.  II.,  pi.  i.  1.  9,  et  seq.)  describes  in 
somewhat  obscure  terms  an  attack  on  the  palace  by  conspirators,  and  the  wars  which  followed  their 
undertaking. 

2 The  case  of  SinOlnt,  when  he  fled  from  Libya  into  Idumaea,  on  the  death  of  Amenemhait  I. 
(Maspero,  Leg  Premieres  Lignes  des  Memoires  de  Sinouhit,  pp.  17,  18,  and  Les  Contes  populaires, 
2nd  edit.,  p.  97,  et  seq.),  is  an  instance  of  this. 

3 Erman  was  the  first  to  bring  this  important  point  in  early  Egyptian  history  to  light  (Erman, 
JEgypten  und  JEgyptisch.es  Lehen  im  Alterium,  pp  243,  244  ; cf.  Ed.  Meyer,  Gescliiclite  des  Alten 
JEgyptcns,  pp.  5G,  57,  and  the  objections  of  Wiedemann,  The  Age  of  Memphis,  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  ix.,  1886-87,  pp.  184,  190). 

4 No  plan  or  exact  drawing  of  any  of  the  palaces  of  the  Ancient  Empire  has  come  down  to  us, 
but,  as  Erman  has  very  justly  pointed  out,  the  signs  found  in  contemporary  inscriptions  give  us 
a good  general  idea  of  them  (Erman,  JEgypten,  pp.  106,  107).  The  doors  which  lead  from  one 
of  the  hours  of  the  night  to  another,  in  the  “Book  of  the  Other  World,”  show  us  the  double 


276 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


projecting  balconies  on  its  facade,  from  which,  as  from  a tribune,  Pharaoh 
could  watch  the  evolutions  of  his  guard,  the  stately  approach  of  foreign 
envoys,  Egyptian  nobles  seeking  audience,  or  such  officials  as  he  desired 
to  reward  for  their  services.  They  advanced  from  the  far  end  of  the  court, 
stopped  before  the  balcony,  and  after  prostrating  themselves  stood  up,  bowed 
their  heads,  wrung  and  twisted  their  hands,  now  quickly,  now  slowly, 
in  a rhythmical  manner,  and  rendered  worship  to  their  master,  chanting 
his  praises,  before  receiving  the  necklaces  and  jewels  of  gold  which  he 
presented  to  them  by  his  chamberlains,  or  which  he  himself  deigned  to  fling 
to  them.1  It  is  difficult  for  us  to  catch  a glimpse  of  the  detail  of  the  internal 
arrangements  : we  find,  however,  mention  made  of  large  halls  “ resembling  the 
hall  of  Atumu  in  the  heavens,”  whither  the  king  repaired  to  deal  with  state 
affairs  in  council,  to  dispense  justice  and  sometimes  also  to  preside  at  state 
banquets.  Long  rows  of  tall  columns,  carved  out  of  rare  woods  and  painted 
with  bright  colours,  supported  the  roofs  of  these  chambers,  which  were 
entered  by  doors  inlaid  with  gold  and  silver,  and  incrusted  with  malachite 
or  lapis-lazuli.2  The  private  apartments,  the  “ akhonuiti,”  were  entirely 
separate,  but  they  communicated  with  the  queen’s  dwelling  and  with  the 
harem  of  the  wives  of  inferior  rank.3  The  “ royal  children  ” occupied  a 
quarter  to  themselves,  under  the  care  of  their  tutors;  they  had  their  own 
houses  and  a train  of  servants  proportionate  to  their  rank,  age,  and  the 
fortune  of  their  mother’s  family.4  The  nobles  who  had  appointments  at  court 

passage  leading  to  the  courtyard  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Archefulogie  Egyptiennes, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  1G6-1G8).  The  hieroglyph  m gives  us  the  name  tJosKHiT  (literally,  the  broad  [place]) 
of  the  courtyard  on  to  which  the  passage  opened,  at  the  end  of  which  the  palace  and  royal  judgment- 
seat  (or,  in  the  other  world,  the  tribunal  of  Osiris,  the  court  of  the  double  truth)  were  situated. 

1 The  ceremonial  of  these  receptions  is  not  represented  on  any  monuments  with  which  we  are  at 
present  acquainted,  prior  to  the  XVIIIth  dynasty;  it  may  be  seen  in  Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  iii.  7G,  under 
Amenothes  III.,  and  103-105,  under  Amenothes  IV.,  in  Diimichen,  Hist.  Inst.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  lx.  e,  under 
Harmhabi.  The  ceremonial  during  the  XIIth  dynasty  is  described  in  the  Ntmoires  de  Sinoidiit 
(Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  123-127).  I am  inclined  to  believe  the  “Golden 
Friends”  mentioned  in  the  fini  inscription  (1.  17)  are  those  “Friends  of  the  King”  who  had  received 
the  necklace  and  jewels  of  gold  at  one  of  these  solemn  audiences. 

3 This  is  the  description  of  the  palace  of  Anion  built  by  Ramses  III.  ( Harris  Papyrus,  No.  4,  pi.  iv. 
11.  11, 12).  Ramses  II.  was  seated  in  one  of  these  halls,  on  a throne  of  gold,  when  he  deliberated  with  his 
councillors  in  regard  to  the  construction  of  a cistern  in  the  desert  for  the  miners  who  were  going  to 
the  gold-mines  of  Akiti  (Pkisse,  Monuments,  pi.  xxi.  1.  8).  The  room  in  which  the  king  stopped,  after 
leaving  his  apartments,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  ou  his  ceremonial  dress  and  leceiving  the  homage  of 
his  ministers,  appears  to  me  to  have  been  called  during  the  Ancient  Empire  “Pi-dait” — “The  House 
of  Adoration”  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  270,  271,  307,  308,  etc.),  the  house  in  which  the  king  was 
worshipped,  as  in  temples  of  the  Ptolemaic  epoch,  was  that  in  which  the  statue  of  the  god,  on  leaving 
the  sanctuary,  was  dressed  and  worshipped  by  the  faithful.  Siufthit,  under  the  XIIth  dynasty,  was 
granted  an  audience  in  the  “Ilall  of  Vermillion”  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  123). 

3 The  “sfthit”  or  pavilions  formed  part  of  the  apartments  belonging  to  the  harem.  The  tomb 
of  Rakhmiri  shows  us  one  of  these  “women’s  kiosques”  belongiug  to  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  (Virey, 
Le  T ombeau  de  Relchmard,  pi.  xxxv.,  in  the  Mdmoires  de  la  mission  franyaise,  vol.  v.) ; other  pictures 
of  different  epochs  represent  the  dead  as  playing  at  draughts  in  them  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes, 
vol.  ii.  p.  220,  et  seq.). 

* Shopsiskafanklih  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  50)  was  “ Governor  of  the  houses  of  the  Royal  Children  ” 
under  Nofiririkeri  of  the  Vth  dynasty  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherclies  sur  les  monuments,  p.  73).  Sinuhit  receives 


THE  KING'S  PALACE  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS. 


2 77 


and  the  royal  domestics  lived  in  the  palace  itself,  but  the  offices  of  the 
different  functionaries,  the  storehouses  for  their  provisions,  the  dwellings 
of  their  emjoloijes,  formed  distinct  quarters  outside  the  palace,  grouped  around 
narrow  courts,  and  communicating  with  each  other  by  a labyrinth  of  lanes 
or  covered  passages.  The  entire  building  was  constructed  of  wood  or  bricks, 
less  frequently  of  roughly  dressed  stone,  badly  built,  and  wanting  in  solidity. 
The  ancient  Pharaohs  were  no  more  inclined  than  the  Sultans  of  later  days 
to  occupy  palaces  in  which  their  predecessors  had  lived  and  died.  Each 
king  desired  to  possess  a habitation  after  his  own  heart,  one  which  would 
not  be  haunted  by  the  memory,  or  perchance  the  double,  of  another  sovereign.1 
These  royal  mansions  hastily  erected,  hastily  filled  with  occupants,  were 
vacated  and  fell  into  ruin  with  no  less  rapidity ; they  grew  old  with  their 
master,  or  even  more  rapidly  than  he,  and  his  disappearance  almost  always 
entailed  their  ruin.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Memphis  many  of  these  palaces 
might  be  seen,  which  their  short-lived  masters  had  built  for  eternity,  an 
eternity  which  did  not  last  longer  than  the  lives  of  their  builders.2 

Nothing  could  present  a greater  variety  than  the  population  of  these 
ephemeral  cities  in  the  climax  of  their  splendour.  We  have  first  the 
people  who  immediately  surrounded  the  Pharaoh,3  the  retainers  of  the  palace 
and  of  the  harem,  whose  highly  complex  degrees  of  rank  are  revealed  to 
us  on  the  monuments.4  His  person  was,  as  it  were,  minutely  subdivided 
into  departments,  each  requiring  its  attendants  and  their  appointed  chiefs. 
His  toilet  alone  gave  employment  to  a score  of  different  trades.  There  were 
royal  barbers,  who  had  the  privilege  of  shaving  his  head  and  chin ; hair- 

a “ House  of  a son  of  the  king,"  in  which  there  were  all  manner  of  riches,  a tent  in  which  to  take  the  air, 
ornaments  worthy  of  a god,  and  orders  on  the  treasury,  money,  garments  made  from  royal  stuffs,  gums  and 
royal  perfumes  such  as  the  children  of  the  king  delight  to  have  in  every  house,  and  lastly,  “ whole  troops  of 
artisans  of  all  kinds”  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  127).  In  regard  toother  “Governors 
of  the  houses  of  the  Royal  Children,”  see  Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  pp.  250,  259. 

1 Erman,  JEgypten  und  AZgyptisclies  Leben  im  Altertum,  pp.  242-214. 

2 The  song  of  the  harp-player  on  the  tomb  of  King  Antuf  contains  an  allusion  to  these  ruined  palaces  : 
“ The  gods  [kings]  who  have  been  of  yore,  and  who  repose  in  their  tombs,  mummies  and  manes,  all 
buried  alike  in  their  pyramids,  when  castles  are  built  they  no  longer  have  a place  in  them ; see,  what 
is  done  with  them  1 I have  heard  the  poems  in  praise  of  Imhotpu  and  of  Hardidif  which  are  sung  in 
the  songs,  and  yet,  see,  where  are  their  places  to-day?  their  walls  are  destroyed,  their  places  are  no 
more,  as  though  they  had  never  existed  I ” (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  179,  180). 

’ They  are  designated  by  the  general  terms  of  Shonitiu,  the  “people  of  the  circle,”  and  Qonbitih,  the 
“ people  of  the  corner.”  These  words  are  found  in  religious  inscriptions  referring  to  the  staff  of  the  tem- 
ples, and  denote  the  attendant  s or  court  of  each  god ; they  are  used  to  distinguish  the  notables  of  a town  or 
borough,  the  sheikhs,  who  enjoyed  the  right  to  superintend  local  administration  and  dispense  justice. 

1 The  Egyptian  scribes  had  endeavoured  to  draw  up  an  hierarchical  list  of  these  offices.  At  present 
we  possess  the  remains  of  two  lists  of  this  description.  One  of  these,  preserved  in  the  “ Hood  Papyrus  ” 
in  the  British  Museum,  has  been  published  and  translated  by  Maspero,  in  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  1-66  (cf.  Brcgsch,  Die  AEgyptologie,  pp.  211-227) ; another  and  more  complete  copy,  discovered  in 
1890,  is  in  the  possession  of  M.  Gole'nischeff.  The  other  list,  also  in  the  British  Museum,  was  pub- 
lished by  Prof.  Petrie  in  a memoir  of  The  Egypt  Exploration  Fund  ( Two  Hieroglyphic  Papyri  from 
Tunis,  p.  21,  et  seq.);  in  this  latter  the  names  and  titles  are  intermingled  with  various  other  matter. 
To  these  two  works  may  be  added  the  lists  of  professions  and  trades  to  be  found  passim  on  the 
monuments,  and  which  have  been  commented  on  by  Brcgsch  ( Die  lEgyptologie,  p.  228,  et  seq.). 


278 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


dressers  who  made,  curled,  and  put  on  his  black  or  blue  wigs  and  adjusted 
the  diadems  to  them ; 1 there  were  manicurists  who  pared  and  polished 
his  nails,2  perfumers  who  prepared  the  scented  oils  and  pomades  for  the 
anointing  of  his  body,  the  kohl  for  blackening  his  eyelids,  the  rouge  for 
spreading  on  his  lips  and  cheeks.3  His  wardrobe  required  a whole  troop 
of  shoemakers,4  belt-makers,  and  tailors,  some  of  whom  had  the  care  of  stuffs 
in  the  piece,  others  presided  over  the  body-linen,  while  others  took  charge 
of  his  garments,  comprising  long  or  short,  transparent  or  thick  petticoats, 
fitting  tightly  to  the  hips  or  cut  with  ample  fulness,  draped  mantles  and 
flowing  pelisses.5  Side  by  side  with  these  officials,  the  laundresses  plied 
their  trade,  which  was  an  important  one  among  a people  devoted  to  white, 
and  in  whose  estimation  want  of  cleanliness  in  dress  entailed  religious 
impurity.  Like  the  fellalnn  of  the  present  time,  they  took  their  linen  daily 
to  wash  in  the  river;  they  rinsed,  starched,  smoothed,  and  pleated  it 
without  intermission  to  supply  the  incessant  demands  of  Pharaoh  and  his 
family.6  The  task  of  those  set  over  the  jewels  was  no  easy  one,  when  we 
consider  the  enormous  variety  of  necklaces,  bracelets,  rings,  earrings,  and 
sceptres  of  rich  workmanship,  which  ceremonial  costume  required  for 
particular  times  and  occasions.  The  guardianship  of  the  crowns  almost 
approached  to  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood;  for  was  not  the  uneus,  which 
ornamented  each  one,  a living  goddess?  The  queen  required  numerous 
waiting-women,  and  the  same  ample  number  of  attendants  were  to  be 
encountered  in  the  establishments  of  the  other  ladies  of  the  harem.  Troops 
of  musicians,  singers,  dancers,  and  almehs  whiled  away  the  tedious  hours, 
supplemented  by  buffoons  and  dwarfs.7  The  great  Egyptian  lords  evinced 

1 Manofir  was  “ inspector  of  the  king's  wig-makers  ” under  Tatkeri  of  the  Vth  dynasty  (Mariette,  Les 
Mastabas,  pp.  44(1,  447),  and  Plitahniinait  discharged  the  duties  of  the  same  office  under  Nofiririkeri 
(id.,  ibid.,  p.  250).  Khafrionkhfi  was  “director  of  the  king’s  wig-makers’’  under  one  of  the  Pharaohs 
of  the  IVth  dynasty  (E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  hieroghjphiqu.es  recueillies  en  Egypte,  p.  lx.). 

2 Raunkhumai  was  “director  of  those  who  dress  the  king’s  nails’’  under  a Pharaoh  of  the  Vth  dynasty 
(Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  283,  284);  Kliabiuphtah  combined  this  office  with  that  of  “director  of 
the  wig-makers”  under  Sahuri  and  under  Nofiririkeri  of  the  Vlh  dynasty  (id.,  ibid.,  p.  295). 

3 Mihtinofir  was  inspector  for  Pharaoh  and  “ director  of  the  perfumed  oils  of  the  king  and  queen  ” 
(Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  298),  as  also  was  Phtahnofiriritu  (id.,  ibid.,  p.  322);  these  two  persons 
also  exercised  important  functions  in  connection  with  the  royal  linen. 

* The  “royal  bootmakers”  are  mentioned  in  the  Hood  Papyrus  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes, 
vol.  ii.  p.  11):  the  stelse  of  Abydos  mention  several  others  in  the  time  of  the  Ramesides. 

6 Khonit  was  “director  of  the  king’s  stuffs”  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  185),  as  was  also 
Ankhaftulca  (id.,  ibid.,  pp.  307,  308,  cf.  E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  liie'roglyphiques,  pi.  lxxxiii.); 
Sakhemphtah  was  “ director  of  the  white  linen  ” (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  252),  as  also  Tapu- 
monkhu  (id.,  ibid.,  p.  198),  and  the  two  personages  Mihtinofir  and  Phtahnofiriritu,  mentioned  above  in 
note  3.  At  the  beginning  of  the  XIIth  dynasty,  we  find  Ilapizaufi  of  Siut  installed  as  “ primate  of  all 
the  dresses  of  the  king  ” (E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  liie’roglyphiques,  pi.  cclxxxiii.),  i.e.  grand- 
master of  the  wardrobe,  and  this  title  often  occurs  in  the  preamble  of  the  princes  of  Hermopolis. 

0 The  “royal  laundrymen”  and  their  chiefs  are  mentioned  in  the  Conte  des  deux  freres  under  the 
XIX,h  dynasty',  as  well  as  their  laundries  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires, 
2nd  edit.,  p.  2). 

Rahonem  was  “ directress  of  the  female  players  on  the  tabour  and  of  the  female  singers  ’ 
(Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  138.  et  scq.);  Snofrfiinofir  (E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  recueillies 


THE  SERVANTS  OF  THE  PALACE — BUFFOONS  AND  DWARFS.  279 

a curious  liking  for  these  unfortunate  beings,  and  amused  themselves  by 
getting  together  the  ugliest  and  most  deformed  creatures.  They  are  often 
represented  on  the  tombs  beside  their  masters  in  company  with  his  pet  dog, 
or  a gazelle,  or  with  a monkey  which  they  sometimes  hold  in  leash,  or  some- 


MEN  AND  WOMEN  SINGERS,  FLUTE-PLAYERS,  HARPISTS,  AND  DANCERS,  FROM  THE  TOMB  OF  TI.1 

times  are  engaged  in  teasing.2  Sometimes  the  Pharaoh  bestowed  his  friend- 
ship on  his  dwarfs  and  confided  to  them  occupations  in  his  household.  One 
of  them,  Knumhotpfi,  died  superintendent  of  the  royal  linen.  The  staff 
of  servants  required  for  supplying  the  table  exceeded  all  the  others  in 
number.  It  could  scarcely  be  otherwise  if  we  consider  that  the  master  had 
to  provide  food,  not  only  for  his  regular  servants,3  but  for  all  those  of  his 

en  Egypte,  pis.  iii.,  iv.)  and  Ramiriplitah  (Mariette,  Lea  Mastabas,  pp.  154,  155)  were  beads  of  the 
musicians  and  organizers  of  the  king's  pastimes. 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  a squeeze  taken  at  Saqqara  in  1878  by  Mariette. 

2 The  figure  of  a female  dwarf  appears  among  the  female  singers  in  Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  3G; 
others  on  the  tombs  of  Knhmhotpu  and  Amenemhait  at  Beni-Hasan  (Champollion,  Monuments  de 
V Egypte,  pi.  cccxcvii.  4;  Griffith-Newberry,  Beni-Hasan,  vol.  i.  pi.  xii.),  with  several  male  dwarfs 
of  a different  type  (id.,  pi.  ccclxxxi.  bis,  3). 

3 Even  after  death  they  remained  inscribed  on  the  registers  of  the  palace,  and  had  rations  served 


280 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


employes  and  subjects  whose  business  brought  them  to  the  royal  residence  : 1 
even  those  poor  wretches  who  came  to  complain  to  him  of  some  more  or  less 
imaginary  grievance,  were  fed  at  his  expense  while  awaiting  his  judicial 
verdict.2  Head-cooks,  butlers,  pantlers,  butchers,  pastrycooks, 
fishmongers,  game  or  fruit  dealers — if  we  enumerated  them  all, 
we  should  never  come  to  an  end.  The  bakers  who  baked  the 
ordinary  bread  were  not  to  be  confounded  with  those  who  manu- 
factured biscuits.  The  makers  of  pancakes  and  dough-nuts 
took  precedence  of  the  cake-bakers,  and  those  who  concocted 
delicate  fruit  preserves  ranked  higher  than  the  common 
dryer  of  dates.3  If  one  had  held  a post  in  the  royal  house- 
hold, however  low  the  occupation,  it  was  something  to  be  proud 
of  all  one’s  life,  and  after  death  to  boast  of  in  one’s  epitaph. 

The  chiefs  to  whom  this  army  of  servants  ren- 
dered obedience,  at  times  rose  from  the  ranks;4 
on  some  occasion  their  master  had  noticed 
them  iu  the  crowd,  and  had  transferred  them, 
some  by  a single  promotion,  others  by  slow 
degrees,  to  the  highest  offices  of  the  state. 
Many  among  them,  however,  belonged  to 
old  families,  and  held  positions  in  the 
palace  which  their  fathers  and  grand- 
fathers had  occupied  before  them,  some  were 
members  of  the  provincial  nobility,  distant 
descendants  of  former  royal  princes  and 
princesses,  more  or  less  nearly  related  to  the  reigning  sovereign.6  They  had 
been  sought  out  to  be  the  companions  of  his  education  and  of  his  pastimes,  while 
he  was  still  living  an  obscure  life  in  the  “House  of  the  Children;”  he  had 


THE  DWARF  KHNOIIIOTPU,  SUPERINTENDENT 
OF  THE  ROYAL  LINEN.5 


out  to  them  every  day  as  funerary  offerings  (Dumichen,  Rcsultate,  vol.  i pi.  vii. ; E.  and  J.  de  Rouge, 
Inscriptions  hitfroglypliiques,  pi.  iii. ; Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  pp.  279,  414). 

1 Cf.  on  this  point  the  Conte  de  Kltoufoui  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires , 2nd  edit.,  p.  76)  and 
that  of  Sinulnt  (id.,  p.  128).  The  register  of  a queen  of  the  XItb  dynasty  (Mariette,  Papyrus  du 
Musde  de  Boulaq,  vol.  ii.  pis.  xiv.-lv.)  contains  a list  of  expenses  of  this  kind  (L.  Borchardt,  Ein 
Rechnungsbucli  des  Euniglichen  Hofes,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxviii.  p.  68,  et  seq.).  Sabu  was  granted 
the  right  of  replenishing  his  stores  at  the  royal  expense  during  his  travels  (E.  de  Rouge,  Becherches 
sur  les  monuments,  pjo.  112,  113). 

• E.g.  (he  peasant  whose  story  is  told  us  in  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  2 (Maspero,  Les  Contes 
populaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  48);  the  king  made  him  an  allowance  of  a loaf  and  two  pots  of  beer  per  day. 

3 See  the  list  of  persons,  iu  hierarchical  order,  on  the  second  page  of  the  Hood  Papyrus  (Maspero, 
Etudes  Egypliennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  10,  11,  61,  63;  cf.  Brugsch,  Die  JEgyptoloqie,  pp.  219-221). 

4 M.  de  Rouge  believes  this  to  have  been  so  iu  the  case  of  Ti,  whose  tomb  is  still  famous 
(Recherche s sur  les  monuments,  p.  96),  and  in  the  case  of  Snozmhhit,  surnamed  Mihi  (id.,  pp.  103, 104). 

Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey;  the  original  is  at  Gizeh. 

5 It  was  the  former  who,  I believe,  formed  the  class  of  rolchusuton  so  often  mentioned  on  the 
monuments.  This  title  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  a mark  of  relationship  with  the  royal 
family  (Erman,  ZEgypten,  p.  118).  M.  de  Rouge  proved  long  ago  that  this  was  not  so  (Recherches, 
p.  90),  and  that  functionaries  might  bear  this  title  even  though  they  were  not  blood  relations  of  the 


THE  CHIEF  OFFICERS  OF  THE  ROYAL  HOUSEHOLD. 


281 


grown  up  with  them  and  had  kept  them  about  his  person  as  his  “ sole  friends  ” 
and  counsellors.1  He  lavished  titles  and  offices  upon  them  by  the  dozeu,  accord- 
ing to  the  confidence  he  felt  in  their  capacity  or  to  the  amount  of  faithfulness 
with  which  he  credited  them.  A few  of  the  most  favoured  were  called  “ Masters 
of  the  Secret  of  the  Royal  House;  ” they  knew  all  the  innermost  recesses  of 
the  palace,  all  the  passwords  needed  in  going  from  one  part  of  it  to  another, 
the  place  where  the  royal  treasures  were  kept,  and  the  modes  of  access  to  it.2 
Several  of  them  were  “ Masters  of  the  Secret  of  all  the  Royal  Words,”  and  had 
authority  over  the  high  courtiers  of  the  palace,  which  gave  them  the  power  of 
banishing  whom  they  pleased  from  the  person  of  the  sovereign.3  Upon  others 
devolved  the  task  of  arranging  his  amusements ; they  rejoiced  the  heart  of  his 
Majesty  by  pleasant  songs,4  while  the  chiefs  of  the  sailors  and  soldiers  kept 
watch  over  his  safety.5  To  these  active  services  were  attached  honorary  privi- 
leges which  were  highly  esteemed,  such  as  the  right  to  retain  their  sandals  in 
the  palace,6  while  the  general  crowd  of  courtiers  could  only  enter  unshod ; that 
of  kissing  the  knees  and  not  the  feet  of  the  “good  god,”7  and  that  of  wearing  the 
panther’s  skin.8  Among  those  who  enjoyed  these  distinctions  were  the  physicians 
of  the  king,9  chaplains,  and  men  of  the  roll — “khri-habi.”  The  latter  did  not 
confine  themselves  to  the  task  of  guiding  Pharaoh  through  the  intricacies  of 
ritual,  nor  to  that  of  prompting  him  with  the  necessary  formulae  needed  to  make 
the  sacrifice  efficacious;  they  were  styled  “ Masters  of  the  Secrets  of  Heaven,” 
those  who  see  what  is  in  the  firmament,  on  the  earth  and  in  Hades,  those  who 
know  all  the  charms  of  the  soothsayers,  prophets,  or  magicians.10  The  laws 

Pharaohs.  It  seems  to  me  to  have  been  used  to  indicate  a class  of  courtiers  whom  the  king 
condescended  to  “know”  (rokhu)  directly,  without  the  intermediary  of  a chamberlain,  the  “persons 
known  by  the  king  ; ” the  others  were  only  his  “friends”  ( samiru ). 

1 This  was  so  in  the  case  of  Shopsisuphtah  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherclies  sur  let,  monuments,  p.  06)  and  of 
Khontemsete  (Erjian,  JEgypten,  p.  118).  Under  a king  of  the  Xth  dynasty,  Khiti,  Prince  of  Siut,  recalled 
with  pride  the  fact  that  he  had  been  brought  up  in  the  palace,  and  had  learnt  to  swim  with  the  children  of 
the  king  (Makiette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  lxix.  d\  E.  and  J.  nE  Rouge,  Inscriptions  hidroglypliiques,  pi. 
cclxxxix.;  Griffith,  The  Inscriptions  of  Siut  and  Der  Rif  eh,  pi.  xv.  1.  23).  Cf.  Lefebure,  Sur  diffdrents 
mots  et  noms  Egyptiens,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arclixology,  1890-91,  pp.  40G-4G8. 

2 Api  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  96),  and  many  others.  To  translate  the  title  as  “Royal  Secretary” 
is  too  literal  and  too  narrow  a rendering,  as  shown  by  E.  de  Rouge  ( Recherclies  sur  les  monuments,  p.  69). 

3 For  example,  ITsirnutir  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  pp.  173, 174).  Ankliumaka 
(id.,  pp.  217,  218)  ; Kai  combined  this  title  with  that  of  “ Director  of  the  Arsenal  ” (id.,  pp.  228,  229). 

* Ramiriphtah  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  154,  155),  Ranikau  (id.,  p.  313),  Snofruinohr  (id., 
pp.  395-398),  whom  I have  already  had  occasion  to  mention  in  connection  with  the  lady  Rahonem, 
on  p.  278,  note  7. 

6  Prince  Assionkhh  held  a command  in  the  infantry  and  in  the  flotilla  of  the  l?ile  (Mariette, 
Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  p.  191) ; so  did  Ji  (id , p.  162)  and  Kamtininit  (id.,  p.  188). 

6 This  was  the  favour  obtained  by  Uni  from  Pharaoh  Miriri-Papi  I.,  according  to  E.  de  Rouge' 
(Recherclies  sur  les  monuments,  p.  128),  whose  explanation  seems  to  mo  an  excellent  one. 

7 Shopsishphtah  received  this  favour  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherclies,  p.  68). 

8 This  is  the  meaning  which  I assign  to  the  somewhat  rare  title  of  Oirh  bflsit,  “Grandee  of  the 
Panther’s  Skin,”  borne,  among  others,  by  Zaufift  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  252-254)  and 
Rakaph  (id.,  pp.  275,  278). 

8 Api  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  96)  and  Sokhitnionkhrl  (id.,  pp.  202-205)  were  Pharaoh’s 
physicians. 

10  The  most  complete  form  of  their  title,  which,  up  to  the  present,  I have  been  able  to  find  under 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


28  2 

relating  to  the  government  of  the  seasons  and  the  stars  presented  no  mysteries 
to  them,  neither  were  they  ignorant  of  the  months,  days,  or  hours  propitious 
to  the  undertakings  of  everyday  life  or  the  starting  out  on  an  expedition, 
nor  of  those  times  during  which  any  action  was  dangerous.  They  drew  their 
inspirations  from  the  books  of  magic  written  by  Thot,  which  taught  them  the 
art  of  interpreting  dreams  or  of  curing  the  sick,  or  of  invoking  and  obliging 
the  gods  to  assist  them,  and  of  arresting  or  hastening  the  progress  of  the  sun 
on  the  celestial  ocean.1  Some  are  mentioned  as  being  able  to  divide  the  waters 
at  their  will,  and  to  cause  them  to  return  to  their  natural  place,  merely  by 
means  of  a short  formula.2  An  image  of  a man  or  animal  made  by  them  out 
of  enchanted  wax,  was  imbued  with  life  at  their  command,  and  became  an 
irresistible  instrument  of  their  wrath.3  Popular  stories  reveal  them  to  us  at 
work.  “Is  it  true,”  said  Ivheops  to  one  of  them,  “that  thou  canst  replace  a head 
which  has  been  cut  off?”  On  his  admitting  that  he  could  do  so,  Pharaoh 
immediately  desired  to  test  his  power.  “Bring  me  a prisoner  from  prison  and 
let  him  be  slain.”  The  magician,  at  this  proposal,  exclaimed  : “ Nay,  nay,  not 
a man,  sire  my  master;  do  not  command  that  this  sin  should  be  committed ; a 
fine  animal  will  suffice!  ” A goose  was  brought,  “its  head  was  cut  off  and  the 
goose  was  placed  on  the  right  side,  and  the  head  of  the  goose  on  the  left  side 
of  the  hall:  he  recited  what  he  recited  from  his  book  of  magic,  the  goose  began 
to  hop  about,  the  head  moved  similarly,  and,  when  one  was  united  to  the 
other,  the  goose  began  to  cackle.  A pelican  was  produced,  and  underwent  the 
same  process.  His  Majesty  then  caused  a bull  to  be  brought  forward,  and  its 
head  was  smitten  to  the  ground  : the  magician  recited  what  he  recited  from 
his  book  of  magic,  the  bull  at  once  arose,  and  he  replaced  on  it  what  had  fallen 
to  the  earth.”4  The  great  lords  themselves  deigned  to  become  initiated  into 
the  occult  sciences,  and  were  invested  with  these  formidable  powers.  A prince 
who  practised  magic  would  enjoy  amongst  us  nowadays  but  small  esteem  : in 
Egypt,  sorcery  was  not  considered  incompatible  with  royalty,  and  the  magicians 
of  Pharaoh  often  took  Pharaoh  himself  as  their  pupil.5 

the  Ancient  Empire,  is  on  the  tomb  of  Tenti  (Mariltte,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  149)  ; this  personage  was 
“ a chief  man  of  the  roll  . . . superior  of  the  secrets  of  heaven,  who  sees  the  secret  of  heaven.”  Cf. 
p.  127  of  the  present  work. 

1 See  the  story  of  Satni-Kliamois  (Maspero,  Les  Conies  populaires  de  VEgypte  Ancienue,  2nd  edit., 
p.  175)  for  a description  of  the  virtues  attributed  to  one  of  the  books  of  Thot. 

2 The  “ man  of  the  roll”  Zazamonkh,  in  the  story  of  Khufui  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires  de 
V Egypte  Ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  p.  G7),  performs  this  miracle  in  order  to  enable  a lady  who  was  in  the 
royal  barge  to  recover  a jewel  which  she  had  accidentally  dropped  into  the  waters  of  the  lake. 

3 The  “man  of  the  roll”  tTbafl-Anir,  in  the  story  of  Klihfui  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires  de  I'Egypte 
Ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  GO-63),  models  and  calls  into  life  a crocodile  who  carries  off  his  wife’s  lover  to 
the  bottom  of  the  river.  In  the  story  of  Satni  Khfl,mois  (id.,  pp.  180,  181),  Satni  constructs  a vessel 
and  its  crew,  imbues  the  latter  with  life,  and  sends  them  off  in  search  of  the  magic  book  of  Thot. 

J Erman,  Die  Miirchen  des  Papyrus  Westcar,  pi.  viii.  11.  12-2G ; cf.  Maspero,  Contes  populaires,  p.  73. 

3 We  know  the  reputation,  extending  even  to  the  classical  writers  of  antiquity,  of  the  Pharaohs 
N’echepso  and  Xectanebo  for  their  skill  in  magic.  Arab  writers  have,  moreover,  collected  a number  of 
traditions  concerning  the  marvels  which  the  sorcerers  of  Egypt  were  in  the  habit  of  performing ; as  an 


THE  KING'S  DOMAIN  AND  THE  ROYAL  SLAVES. 


283 


Such  were  the  king’s  household,  the  people  about  his  person,  and  those 
attached  to  the  service  of  his  family.  His  capital  sheltered  a still  greater  num- 
ber of  officials  and  functionaries  who  were  charged  with  the  administration  of  his 
fortune — that  is  to  say,  what  he  possessed  in  Egypt.1  In  theory  it  was  always 
supposed  that  the  whole  of  the  soil  belonged  to  him,  but  that  he  and  his  pre- 
decessors had  diverted  and  parcelled  off  such  an  amount  of  it  for  the  benefit  of 
their  favourites,  or  for  the  hereditary  lords,  that  only  half  of  the  actual  terri- 
tory remained  under  his  immediate  control.  He  governed  most  of  the  nomes 
of  the  Delta  in  person  :2  beyond  the  Fayum,  he  merely  retained  isolated  lands, 
enclosed  in  the  middle  of  feudal  principalities  and  often  at  considerable  distance 
from  each  other.  The  extent  of  the  royal  domain  varied  with  different 
dynasties,  and  even  from  reign  to  reign : if  it  sometimes  decreased,  owing  to 
too  frequently  repeated  concessions,3  its  losses  were  generally  amply  compen- 
sated by  the  confiscation  of  certain  fiefs,  or  by  their  lapsing  to  the  crown. 
The  domain  was  always  of  sufficient  extent  to  oblige  the  Pharaoh  to  confide 
the  larger  portion  of  it  to  officials  of  various  kinds,  and  to  farm  merely  a 
small  remainder  by  means  of  the  “ royal  slaves  : ” 1 in  the  latter  case,  he 
reserved  for  himself  all  the  profits,  but  at  the  expense  of  all  the  annoyance  and 
all  the  outlay ; in  the  former  case,  he  obtained  without  any  risk  the  annual 
dues,  the  amount  of  which  was  fixed  on  the  spot,  according  to  the  resources  of 
the  nome.  In  order  to  understand  the  manner  in  which  the  government  of 
Egypt  was  conducted,  we  should  never  forget  that  the  world  was  still  ignorant 
of  the  use  of  money,  and  that  gold,  silver,  and  copper,  however  abundant  we 
may  suppose  them  to  have  been,  were  mere  articles  of  exchange,  like  the  most 
common  products  of  Egyptian  soil.  Pharaoh  was  not  then,  as  the  State  is 
with  us,  a treasurer  who  calculates  the  total  of  his  receipts  and  expenses  in 
ready  money,  banks  his  revenue  in  specie  occupying  but  little  space,  and  settles 

instance,  I may  quote  the  description  given  by  Makrizi  of  one  of  their  meetings,  which  is  probably 
taken  from  some  earlier  writer  (Malax,  A Short  Story  of  the  Copts  and  of  their  Church,  pp.  13,  14). 

1 They  were  frequently  distinguished  Irom  their  proviucial  or  manorial  colleagues  by  the  addition 
of  the  word  hhonu  to  their  titles,  a term  which  indicates,  in  a general  manner,  the  royal  residence. 
They  formed  what  we  should  nowadays  call  the  departmental  staff  of  the  public  officers,  and  might 
be  deputed  to  act,  at  least  temporarily,  in  the  provinces,  or  in  the  service  of  one  of  the  feudal  princes, 
without  thereby  losing  their  status  as  functionaries  of  the  hhonu  or  central  administration. 

2 This  seems,  at  any  rate,  an  obvious  inference  from  the  almost  total  absence  of  feudal  titles  on  the 
most  ancient  monuments  of  the  Delta.  Erman,  who  was  struck  by  this  fact,  attributed  it  to  a different 
degiee  of  civilization  in  the  two  halves  of  Egypt  ( JEgypten  und  JEgyptisches  Leben  irti  Altertum,  p. 
128 ; cf.  Ed.  Meyer,  Geschichte  AEgyptens,  p.  46) ; I attribute  it  to  a difference  in  government. 
Feudal  titles  naturally  predominate  in  the  South,  royal  administrative  titles  iu  the  North. 

We  find,  at  different  periods,  persons  who  call  themselves  masters  of  new  domains  or  strongholds — 
I ahurnofir,  under  the  IIP'1  dynasty  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  259);  several  princes  of 
Ilermopolis,  under  the  l"1  and  \ IP11  (Lepsius,  Deiikm.,  ii.  112  h,  c);  Kntimhotpu  at  the  beginning  of  the 
XII  ( Grande  Inscription  de  Bdni-Hassan,  1.  69).  In  connection  with  the  last  named,  we  shall  have 
occasion,  later  on,  to  show  in  what  manner  and  with  what  rapidity  one  of  these  great  new  fiefs  was  formed. 

Lepsius,  Deiikm.,  ii.  107,  where  we  find  the  “royal  slaves  ” working  at  the  harvest  in  conjunction 
with  the  serfs  attached  to  the  tomb  of  KMnas.  prince  of  the  Gazelle  nome,  under  a king  of  the  VIth 
dynasty.  ° 


284 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


his  accounts  from  the  same  source.  His  fiscal  receipts  were  in  kind,  and  it  was 
in  kind  that  he  remunerated  his  servants  for  their  labour : cattle,  cereals,  fer- 
mented drinks,  oils,  stuffs,  common  or  precious  metals, — “all  that  the  heavens 
give,  all  that  the  earth  produces,  all  that  the  Nile  brings  from  its  mysterious 
sources,”1 — constituted  the  coinage  in  which  his  subjects  paid  him  their  con- 
tributions, and  which  he  passed  on  to  his  vassals  by  way  of  salary.  One  room, 
a few  feet  square,  and,  if  need  be,  one  safe,  would  easily  contain  the  entire 
revenue  of  one  of  our  modern  empires : the  largest  of  our  markets  would  not 
always  have  sufficed  to  hold  the  mass  of  incongruous  objects  which  represented 
the  returns  of  a single  Egyptian  province.  As  the  products  in  which  the  tax 
was  paid  took  various  forms,  it  was  necessary  to  have  an  infinite  variety  of 
special  agents  and  suitable  places  to  receive  it ; herdsmen  and  sheds  for  the 
oxen,  measurers  and  granaries  for  the  grain,  butlers  and  cellarers  for  the  wine, 
beer,  and  oils.  The  product  of  the  tax,  while  awaiting  redistribution,  could 
only  be  kept  from  deteriorating  in  value  by  incessant  labour,  in  which  a score 
of  different  classes  of  clerks  and  workmen  in  the  service  of  the  treasury  all  took 
part,  according  to  their  trades.  If  the  tax  were  received  in  oxen,  they  were 
led  to  pasturage,  or  at  times,  when  a murrain  threatened  to  destroy  them,  to  the 
slaughter-house  and  the  currier;  if  it  were  in  corn,  it  was  bolted,  ground  to  flour, 
and  made  into  bread  and  pastry  ; if  it  were  in  stuffs,  it  was  washed,  ironed,  and 
folded,  to  be  retailed  as  garments  or  in  the  piece.  The  royal  treasury  partook 
of  the  character  of  the  farm,  the  warehouse,  and  the  manufactory. 

Each  of  the  departments  which  helped  to  swell  its  contents,  occupied  within 
the  palace  enclosure  a building,  or  group  of  buildings,  which  was  called  its 
“ house,”  or,  as  we  should  say,  its  storehouse.2  There  was  the  “ White  Store- 
house,” where  the  stuffs  and  jewels  were  kept,  and  at  times  the  wine;3  the 
“ Storehouse  of  the  Oxen,”  4 the  “ Gold  Storehouse,” 5 the  “ Storehouse  for 
Preserved  Fruits,”  G the  “ Storehouse  for  Grain,” 7 the  “ Storehouse  for  liquors,”  8 

1 This  was  the  most  usual  formula  for  the  offering  on  the  funerary  stel®,  and  sums  up  more  com- 
pletely than  any  other  the  nature  of  the  tax  paid  to  the  gods  by  the  living,  and  consequently  the 
nature  of  that  paid  to  the  king;  here,  as  elsewhere,  the  domain  of  the  gods  is  modelled  on  that 
of  the  Pharaohs. 

2 Piru,  Pi : this  is  an  employment  of  the  word  similar  to  that  of  Dar,  which  was  in  use  among 
the  Patimite  Caliphs  and  the  Mameluke  Sultans  of  Egypt  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  Dak  suc- 
ceeded without  interruption  the  Pi  and  the  Ait,  of  which  we  shall  hear  more  later  on  (Maspero, 
Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  126,  et  seq.). 

3 Pi-hazd,  in  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  249,  250.  It  derived  its  name  from  the  fact 
that  its  exterior  was  painted  white,  as  is  usual  with  most  of  the  public  buildings  of  modern  Egypt. 

4 This  is  the  Pi-eiieu,  which  we  meet  everywhere  from  the  XIIth  and  XIIIth  dynasties  onwards. 

5 Pi-nubu,  in  E.  de  Kouge,  Iteclierches,  p.  104 ; cf.  Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  254,  355,  502,  etc. 

6 Pi-ashdu,  of  which  the  meaning  was  recognized  by  Dumichen,  Resultate,  vol.  i.  pi.  vii. ; cf. 
E.  and  J.  de  Kocge,  Inscriptions  Hierogly plaques  recueilles  en  Egypte,  pi.  iii. ; Mariette,  Les  Mastabas 
de  VAncien  Empire,  pp.  279,  414. 

' Pa-habu,  Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  Hieroglyphique  et  De'motique  Supplement,  pp.  749,  750,  s.  v.  Ari. 

8 Pi-arpu  (?)  “ The  Wine  Storehouse,”  possibly  that  mentioned  by  Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de 
VAncien  Empire,  p.  306. 


THE  GOVERNMENT  STOREHOUSES. 


285 


and  ten  other  storehouses  of  the  application  of  which  we  are  not  always  sure.1 
In  the  “Storehouse  of  Weapons”  (or  Armoury)2  were  ranged  thousands  of 
clubs,  maces,  pikes,  daggers,  bows,  and  bundles  of  arrows,  which  Pharaoh  dis- 
tributed to  his  recruits  whenever  a war  forced  him  to  call  out  his  army,  and 
which  were  again 
warehoused  after  the 
campaign.3  The 
“ storehouses  ” were 
further  subdivided 
into  rooms  or  store- 
chambers,4  each  re- 
served for  its  own 
category  of  objects. 

It  would  be  difficult 
to  enumerate  the  num- 

THE  PACKING  OE  THE  LINEN  AND  ITS  REMOVAL  TO  THE  WHITE  STOREHOUSE.5 

her  of  store-chambers 

in  the  outbuildings  of  the  “Storehouse  of  Provisions” — store-chambers  for 
butchers’  meat,  for  fruits,  for  beer,  bread,  and  wine,  in  which  were  deposited  as 
much  of  each  article  of  food  as  would  be  required  by  the  court  for  some  days, 
or  at  most  for  a few  weeks.  They  were  brought  there  from  the  larger  store- 
houses, the  wines  from  vaults,6  the  oxen  from  their  stalls,7  the  corn  from  the 
granaries.8  The  latter  were  vast  brick-built  receptacles,  ten  or  more  in  a row, 
circular  in  shape  and  surmounted  by  cupolas,  but  having  no  communication 
with  each  other.  They  had  only  two  openings,  one  at  the  top  for  pouring  in 
the  grain,  another  on  the  ground  level  for  drawing  it  out ; a notice  posted  up 
outside,  often  on  the  shutter  which  closed  the  chamber,  indicated  the  character 


1 For  example,  the  Pi  azO  (?)  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  258,  259),  possibly  the 
tallow  storehouse. 

2 Pi-ahuu,  the  Khaznat-ed-darak  of  the  Egyptian  caliphs  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherclies  sar  les  monu- 
ments, pp.  91,  101,  104;  Mariette,  Les  Mastcibas  de  VAncien  Empire,  pp.  217,218,  228,  259,  296,  etc.). 

2 At  Medinet-Ilabtl  we  see  the  distribution  of  arms  to  the  soldiers  of  Ramses  III.  (Champollion, 
Monuments,  pi.  ccxviii. ; Rosellini,  Mon.  Reali,  pi.  cxxv.) ; a similar  operation  seems  to  be  referred 
to  in  a passage  in  the  tlni  inscription  which  records  the  raising  of  an  army  under  the  VIth  dynasty. 

4 A!t,  ai.  Lefebure  has  collected  a number  of  passages  in  which  these  storehouses  are  mentioned, 
in  his  notes  Sur  differents  mots  et  noms  Egyptiens  ( Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arcluenlogy, 
1890-91,  p.  447,  et  seq.).  In  many  of  the  cases  which  he  quotes,  and  in  which  be  recognizes  an  office 
of  the  State,  I believe  reference  to  be  made  to  a trade:  many  of  the  ari  ait-afu,  “people  of  the 
store-chambers  for  meat,”  were  probably  butchers  ; many  of  the  ari  ait-hiqitu,  “people  of  the  store- 
chamber  for  beer,”  were  probably  keepers  of  drink-shops,  trading  on  their  own  account  in  the  town 
of  Abydos,  and  not  employes  attached  to  the  exchequer  of  Pharaoh  or  of  the  ruler  of  Thinis. 

5 Drawn  by  Fauchcr-Gudiu,  from  a chromolithograph  in  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  96. 

6 Asui,  a word  which  was  used  to  denote  warehouses  (usually  vaulted  and  built  in  pairs)  in  which 
articles  of  a heterogeneous  nature  were  stored  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  125,  223,  230,  243,  etc.). 

7 The  term  Ahu,  which  later  on  came  to  be  used  of  horses  as  well  as  oxen,  has  not,  so  far  as 
I know,  yet  been  met  with  on  any  of  the  monuments  of  the  Ancient  Empire. 

9 Shonuiti,  which,  in  the  form  Ushuneh,”  has  passed  into  use  among  the  French-speaking  peoples  of 
the  Levant  through  the  Arabic.  For  a representation  of  the  storehouses  for  grain  and  fruit  of  the  Mem- 
phite epoch,  see  Maspero,  Quatre  Anndes  de  Fouilles,  in  the  Mdmoires  de  la  Mission  Frangaise,  vol.  i.pl.  iii. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


286 


and  quantity  of  the  cereals  within.  For  the  security  and  management  of  these, 
there  were  employed  troops  of  porters,  store-keepers,  accountants,  “ primates” 
who  superintended  the  works,1  record-keepers,  and  directors.2  Great  nobles 
coveted  the  administration  of  the  “storehouses,”  and  even  the  sons  of  kinss 
did  not  think  it  derogatory  to  their  dignity  to  be  entitled  “Directors  of 
the  Granaries,”  or  “ Directors  of  the  Armoury.”  There  was  no  law  against 
pluralists,  and  more  than  one  of  them  boasts  on  his  tomb  of  having  held 

simultaneously  five  or  six  offices.3 
These  storehouses  participated, 
like  all  the  other  dependencies 
of  the  crown,  in  that  duality  which 


MEASURING  THE  WHEAT  AND  DEPOSITING  IT  IN  THE  GRANARIES.1 


characterized  the  person  of  the  Pharaoh.  They  would  be  called  in  common 
parlance,  the  Storehouse  or  the  Double  White  Storehouse,  the  Storehouse  or  the 
Double  Gold  Storehouse,  the  Double  Warehouse,  the  Double  Granary.  The 
large  towns,  as  well  as  the  capital,  possessed  their  double  storehouses  and  their 
store-chambers,  into  which  were  gathered  the  products  of  the  neighbourhood, 
but  where  a complete  staff  of  employes  was  not  always  required  : in  such  towns 
we  meet  with  “localities”5  in  which  the  commodities  were  housed  merely 
temporarily.  The  least  perishable  part  of  the  provincial  dues  was  forwarded 
by  boat  to  the  royal  residence,6  and  swelled  the  central  treasury.  The  remain- 
der was  used  on  the  spot  for  paying  workmen’s  wages,  and  for  the  needs  of  the 

1 Kncmruu;  the  word  “ primate,”  is  a literal  translation  of  the  Egyptian  term;  for  the  special 
class  of  functions  which  it  is  used  to  indicate,  cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennee,  vol.  ii.  pp.  181,  182. 

2 Miru  is  translated  with  sufficient  exactness  by  the  word  “director”  (Maspero,  Eitud.es 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  181,  182). 

3 To  mention  only  a single  instance,  Kai  combined  the  office  of  director  of  the  high  court  of 
the  palace  with  that  of  director  of  the  double  granary,  of  “ the  double  white  house,”  of  six  large 
storehouses,  and  three  different  vaults  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  p.  125). 

* Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a scene  on  the  tomb  of  Amoni  at  Beni-Hasan;  cf.  Rosellini, 
Monumenti  Civili,  pi.  xxxiv.  2 ; Griffitii-Xewberry,  Beni-Hasan,  vol.  i.  pi.  xiii.  On  the  right,  near 
the  door,  is  a heap  of  grain,  from  which  the  measurer  fills  his  measure  in  order  to  empty  it  into  the 
sack  which  one  of  the  porters  holds  open.  In  the  centre  is  a train  of  slaves  ascending  the  stairs  which 
lead  to  the  loft  above  the  granaries;  one  of  them  empties  his  sack  into  a hole  above  the  granary  in 
the  presence  of  the  overseer.  The  inscriptions  in  ink  on  the  outer  wall  of  the  receptacles,  which 
have  already  been  filled,  indicate  the  number  of  measures  which  each  one  of  them  contains. 

5 Isitu  wo  mav  translate  “localities”  for  want  of  a better  word  (Maspero,  Eludes  Egyptiennee , 
vol.  ii.  p.  128,  et  seq.). 

6 The  boats  employed  for  this  purpose  formed  a flotilla,  and  their  commanders  constituted  a 
regularly  organized  transport  corps,  who  arc  frequently  to  be  found  represented  on  the  monu- 
ments of  the  New  Empire,  carrying  tribute  to  the  residence  of  the  king  or  of  the  prince,  whose 
retainers  they  were.  An  excellent  example  may  be  seen  on  the  tomb  of  Pihiri,  at  El-Kab 


DEPOTS  FOR  THE  RECEIPT  OF  TAXES. 


287 


Administration.  We  see  from  the  inscriptions,  that  the  staff  of  officials  who 
administered  affairs  in  the  provinces  was  similar  to  that  in  the  royal  city. 
Starting  from  the  top,  and  going  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  scale,  each  func- 
tionary supervised  those  beneath  him,  while,  as  a body,  they  were  all  respon- 
sible for  their  depot.  Any  irregularity  in  the  entries  entailed  the  bastinado; 


PLAN  OF  A PRINCELY  STOREHOUSE  FOR  PROVISIONS.1 

peculators  were  punished  by  imprisonment,  mutilation,  or  death,  according  to 
the  gravity  of  the  offence.  Those  whom  illness  or  old  age  rendered  unfit  for 
work,  were  pensioned  for  the  remainder  of  their  life.2 

The  writer,3  or,  as  we  call  him,  the  scribe,  was  the  mainspring  of  all  this 

(Champollion,  Monuments  de  I’Egypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi.  cxli. ; Rosellini,  Monument i Civili,  pi.  ex. 
1,  2 ; Lepsius,  Denlcm  , iii.  11  a). 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  Lepsius,  Denlcm , iii.  95.  The  illustration  is  taken  from  one 
of  the  tombs  at  Tel  el-Amarna.  The  storehouse  consists  of  four  blocks,  isolated  by  two  avenues 
planted  with  trees,  which  intersect  each  other  in  the  form  of  a cross.  Behind  the  entrance  gate,  in 
a small  courtyard,  is  a kiosque,  in  which  the  master  sat  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  stores  or  of 
superintending  their  distribution  ; two  of  the  arms  of  the  cross  are  lined  by  porticoes,  under  which 
are  the  entrances  to  the  “chambers”  (ore)  for  the  stores,  which  are  filled  with  jars  of  wine,  linen- 
chests,  dried  fish,  and  other  articles. 

2 For  an  instance  of  an  employ?  pensioned  off  on  account  of  infirmities,  see  the  Anastasi  Papyrus, 
No.  iv.,  under  the  XIX,h  dynasty  (Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 8,  in  the  Proceedings,  1890-91, 
pp.  423-42G). 

3 Sashai  was  the  common  title  of  the  ordinary  scribe ; anu  seems  to  have  been  used  only  of 
scribes  of  high  rank,  at  any  rate  under  the  Memphite  empire,  if  we  are  to  credit  E.  de  Rouge 


288 


TI1E  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


machinery.  We  come  across  him  in  all  grades  of  the  staff:  an  insignificant 
registrar  of  oxen,  a clerk  of  the  Double  White  Storehouse,  ragged,  humble,  and 
badly  paid,  was  a scribe  just  as  much  as  the  noble,  the  priest,  or  the  king’s  son.1 
Tlius  the  title  of  scribe  was  of  no  value  in  itself,  and  did  not  designate,  as  one 
might  naturally  think,  a savant  educated  in  a school  of  high  culture,  or  a man 
of  the  world,  versed  in  the  sciences  and  the  literature  of  his  time ; 2 every  one 
was  a scribe  who  knew  how  to  read,  write,  and  cipher,  was  fairly  proficient  in 
wording  the  administrative  formulas,  and  could  easily  apply  the  elementary 
rules  of  book-keeping.  There  was  no  public  school  in  which  the  scribe  could 
be  prepared  for  his  future  career ; but  as  soon  as  a child  had  acquired  the  first 
rudiments  of  letters  with  some  old  pedagogue,  his  father  took  him  with  him  to 
his  office,  or  entrusted  him  to  some  friend  who  agreed  to  undertake  his  educa- 
tion. The  apprentice  observed  what  went  on  around  him,  imitated  the  mode 
of  procedure  of  the  employes,  copied  in  his  spare  time  old  papers,  letters,  bills, 
flowerily- worded  petitions,  reports,  complimentary  addresses  to  his  superiors  or 
to  the  Pharaoh,  all  of  which  his  patron  examined  and  corrected,  noting  on  the 
margin  letters  or  words  imperfectly  written,  improving  the  style,  and  recasting 
or  completing  the  incorrect  expressions.3  As  soon  as  he  could  put  together  a 
certain  number  of  sentences  or  figures  without  a mistake,  he  was  allowed  to 
draw  up  bills,  or  to  have  the  sole  superintendence  of  some  department  of  the 
treasury,  his  work  being  gradually  increased  in  amount  and  difficulty  ; when 
he  was  considered  to  be  sufficiently  au  courant  with  the  ordinary  business,  his 
education  was  declared  to  be  finished,  and  a situation  was  found  for  him  either 
in  the  place  where  he  had  begun  his  probation,  or  in  some  neighbouring  office.4 

(Cours  du  College  de  France , 18G9) ; later  ou  this  distinction  was  less  observed,  and  the  word  anu 
disappeared  before  saldiu  (soldi  derived  from  sasliai). 

1 The  three  sons  of  Kafrionkhft,  graudcliildren  of  the  king,  are  represented  exercising  their 
functions  as  scribes  in  the  presence  of  their  father,  their  tablets  in  the  left  hand,  the  reed  behind 
the  ear  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  11)  : similarly  the  eldest  son  of  Ankhaftuka,  “ friend,  commanding  tlio 
palace”  under  the  first  kings  of  the  Vth  dynasty  (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  305-309);  so,  too, 
the  brother  of  Tapfimonkhu  (id.,  p.  193),  and  several  of  the  sons  of  Sakhemphtah  (id.,  p.  253),  about 
the  same  period. 

2 This  is  the  type  which  we  find  most  frequently  represented  in  modern  works  on  Egypt,  in  the 
romances  of  G.  Ebers,  for  instance,  e g.  the  Pentaur  and  the  Nefersekhet  of  Uarda  ; it  is  also  the  type 
most  easily  realized  from  a study  of  the  literary  papyri  of  the  XIXth  and  XXth  dynasties,  in  which 
the  profession  of  scribe  is  exalted  at  the  expense  of  other  professions  (cf.  the  panegyric  of  the 
scribe  in  the  Anastasi  Papyrus,  No.  i.,  pis.  i.-xiii. ; Chabas,  Le  Voyage  d’un  Egyptien,  pp.  31-47). 

3 We  still  possess  school  exercises  of  the  XIXth  and  XXth  dynasties,  e.g.  the  Papyrus  Anastasi, 
No.  iv.,  and  the  Anastasi  Papyrus,  No.  v.,  in  which  we  find  a whole  string  of  pieces  of  every  possible 
style  and  description — business  letters,  requests  for  leave  of  absence,  complimentary  verses  addressed 
to  a superior,  all  probably  a collection  of  exercises  compiled  by  some  professor,  and  copied  by  his  pupils 
in  order  to  complete  their  education  as  scribes ; the  master’s  corrections  are  made  at  the  top  and 
bottom  of  the  pages  in  a bold  and  skilful  hand,  very  different  from  that  of  the  pupil,  though  the 
writing  of  the  latter  is  generally  more  legible  to  our  modern  eyes  (Select  Papyri,  vol.  i.  pis.  lxxxiii.- 
exxi.). 

* Evidence  of  this  state  of  things  seems  to  be  furnished  by  all  the  biographies  of  scribes  with  which 
we  are  acquainted,  e.g.  that  of  Amtesi ; it  is,  moreover,  what  took  place  regularly  throughout  the  whole 
of  Egypt,  down  to  the  latest  times,  and  what  probably  still  occurs  in  those  parts  of  the  country  where  Euro- 
pean ideas  have  not  yet  made  any  deep  impression  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  123-126). 


THE  SCRIBE,  HIS  EDUCATION,  HIS  PROSPECTS  OF  PROMOTION.  289 


Thus  equipped,  the  young  man  ended  usually  by  succeeding  his  father  or  his 
patron : in  most  of  the  government  administrations,  we  find  whole  dynasties  of 
scribes  on  a small  scale,  whose  members  inherited  the  same  post  for  several 
centuries.1  The  position  was  an  insignificant  one,  and  the  salary  poor,  but  the 
means  of  existence  were  assured,  the  occupant  was  exempted  from  forced  labour 
and  from  military  service,  and  he  exercised  a certain  authority  in  the  narrow 


THE  STAFF  OF  A GOVERNMENT  OFFICE  IN  THE  TIME  OF  THE  MEMPHITE  DYNASTIES.2 

world  in  which  he  lived : it  sufficed  to  make  him  think  himself  happy,  and 
in  fact  to  be  so.  “ One  has  only  to  be  a scribe,”  said  the  wise  man,  “ for  the 
scribe  takes  the  lead  of  all.”8  Sometimes,  however,  one  of  these  contented 
officials,  more  intelligent  or  ambitious  than  his  fellows,  succeeded  in  rising 
above  the  common  mediocrity  : his  fine  handwriting,  the  happy  choice  of  his 
sentences,  his  activity,  his  obliging  manner,  his  honesty — perhaps  also  his 
discreet  dishonesty — attracted  the  attention  of  his  superiors  and  were  the  cause 
of  his  promotion.  The  son  of  a peasant  or  of  some  poor  wretch,  who  had  begun 

1 This  statement  may  be  easily  verified  by  a reference  to  Mariette’s  Catalogue  general  des  Monu- 
ments d’Abydos.  The  number  of  instances  would  be  still  larger,  had  not  Mariette,  in  order  to  keep 
the  size  of  his  book  within  limits,  suppressed  the  titles  and  functions  of  the  majority  of  the  persons 
who  are  mentioned  by  the  dozen  on  the  votive  stelae  in  the  Gizeh  Museum. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a wall-painting  on  the  tomb  of  Khunas  (cf.  Rosellint,  Monu- 
menti  Civili,  pi.  xxxv.  4 ; Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  107).  Two  scribes  are  writing  on  tablets.  Before  the 
scribe  in  the  upper  part  of  the  picture  we  see  a palette,  with  two  saucers,  on  a vessel  which  serves 
as  an  ink-bottle,  and  a packet  of  tablets  tied  together,  the  whole  supported  by  a bundle  of  archives. 
The  scribe  in  the  lower  part  rests  his  tablet  against  an  ink-bottle,  a box  for  archives  being  placed 
before  him.  Behind  them  a naldit-lchrou  announces  the  delivery  of  a tablet  covered  with  figures 
whioh  the  third  scribe  is  presenting  to  the  master. 

3 This  is  the  refrain  which  occurs  constantly  in  all  the  exercises  for  style  given  to  scholars  under 
the  New  Empire  (Maspero,  Du  Genre  Epistolaire,  pp.  28,  35,  38,  40,  49,  50,  66,  72,  etc.). 

U 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


200 


life  by  keeping  a register  of  the  bread  and  vegetables  in  some  provincial 
government  office,  bad  been  often  known  to  crown  his  long  and  successful 
career  by  exercising  a kind  of  vice-regency  over  the  half  of  Egypt.  Ilis 
granaries  overflowed  with  corn,  his  storehouses  were  always  full  of  gold, 
tine  stuffs,  and  precious  vases,  his  stalls  “ multiplied  the  backs  ” of  his  oxen  ; 1 
the  sons  of  his  early  patrons,  having  now  become  in  turn  his  proteges,  did 
not  venture  to  approach  him  except  with  bowed  head  and  bended  knee. 

No  doubt  the  Amten  whose  tomb  was  removed  to  Berlin  by  Lepsius,  and 


THE  CRIEIi  ANNOUNCES  THE  ARRIVAL  OF  FIVE  REGISTRARS  OF  THE  TEMl'LE  OF  KING 
USIRNIRI,  OF  THE  Vth  DYNASTY.2 

put  together  piece  by  piece  in  the  museum,  was  a parvenu  of  this  kind.3 
He  was  born  rather  more  than  four  thousand  years  before  our  era,  under 
one  of  the  last  kings  of  the  IIIrd  dynasty,  and  he  lived  until  the  reign 
of  the  first  king  of  the  IVth  dynasty,  Snofriii.  He  probably  came  from 
the  Nome  of  the  Bull,  if  not  from  Xois  itself,  in  the  heart  of  the  Delta. 
His  father,  the  scribe  Anupumonkhir,  held,  in  addition  to  his  office,  several 
landed  estates,  producing  large  returns;  but  his  mother,  Nibsomt,  who 
appears  to  have  been  merely  a concubine,  had  no  personal  fortune,  and 
would  have  been  unable  even  to  give  her  child  an  education.  Anupumonkhu 
made  himself  entirely  responsible  for  the  necessary  expenses,  “ giving  him 
all  the  necessities  of  life,  at  a time  when  he  had  not  as  yet  either  corn, 
barley,  income,  house,  men  or  women  servants,  or  troops  of  asses,  pigs, 
or  oxen.” 4 As  soon  as  he  was  in  a condition  to  provide  for  himself,  his 

1 The  expression  is  borrowed  from  one  of  the  letters  in  the  Anastasi  Papyrus,  No.  iv.,  pi.  ix.  1.  1. 

2 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a picture  in  the  tomb  of  Shopsisuri  (Lepsics,  Denlcm.,  ii.  63). 
The  naldit-lthrou,  the  crier,  is  on  the  spectator’s  left ; four  registrars  of  the  funerary  temple  of  flsirniii 
advance  in  a crawling  posture  towards  the  master,  the  fifth  has  just  risen  and  holds  himself  in  a 
stooping  attitude,  while  an  usher  introduces  him  and  transmits  to  him  an  order  to  send  in  his  accounts. 

3 It  has  been  published  in  Lepsius,  Denltm.,  ii.  4-7.  Its  texts  have  been  analysed  in  a more  or 
less  summary  fashion  by  E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  monuments,  pp.  39,  40 ; by  Birch,  in  Bunsen, 
Egypt's  Place,  vol.  v.  pp.  723,  724;  by  Pierret,  Explication  des  Monuments  de  I'Egypte,  pp.  9-11;  by 
Erman,  JEgypten,  pp.  126-128;  they  have  been  translated  and  commented  on  by  Maspero,  La 
Carriere  administrative  de  deux  hauts  fonctionnaires  Cgypliens,  in  the  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  113-272.  It  is  from  this  last  source  that  I have  borrowed,  in  a condensed  form,  the  principal 
features  in  the  biography  of  Amten. 

4 Lepsius,  JJenlcm.,  ii.  5,  1.  1 ; cf.  Maspeiio,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  120,  et  seq. 


THE  CAREER  OF  AMTEN. 


29  L 


father  obtained  for  him,  in  his  native  Nome,  the  post  of  chief  scribe  attached 


to  one  of  the  “localities”  which  belonged  to  the  Administration  of  Provisions. 
On  behalf  of  the  Pharaoh,  the  young  man  received,  registered,  and  distributed 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  LErsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  3.  Amten  is  portrayed  standing  upright 
in  the  recess  and  on  the  doorposts  of  the  false  door,  as  well  as  on  the  wall;  to  right  and  left  he 
bears  a mace  and  a long  staff  in  his  hands ; on  the  right  a slave  serves  the  funeral  banquet ; on  the 
left  a jerboa,  a hare,  a porcupine,  a weasel,  and  another  quadruped  of  undecided  shape  represent  the 


292 


TI1E  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


the  meat,  cakes,  fruits,  and  fresh  vegetables  which  constituted  the  taxes,  all  on 
his  own  responsibility,  except  that  he  had  to  give  an  account  of  them  to  the 
“ Director  of  the  Storehouse  ” who  was  nearest  to  him.  We  are  not  told  how 
long  he  remained  in  this  occupation;  we  see  merely  that  he  was  raised  suc- 
cessively to  posts  of  an  analogous  kind,  but  of  increasing  importance.  The 
provincial  offices  comprised  a small  staff  of  employes,  consisting  always  of  the 
same  officials: — a chief,  whose  ordinary  functiou  was  “Director  of  the  Store- 
house ; ” a few  scribes  to  keep  the  accounts,  one  or  two  of  whom  added  to  his 
ordinary  calling  that  of  keeper  of  the  archives ; paid  ushers  to  introduce 
clients,  and,  if  need  be,  to  bastinado  them  summarily  at  the  order  of  the 
“director;”  lastly,  the  “strong  of  voice,”  the  criers,  who  superintended  the 
incomings  and  outgoings,  and  proclaimed  the  account  of  them  to  the  scribes 
to  be  noted  down  forthwith.1  A vigilant  and  honest  crier  was  a man 
of  great  value.  He  obliged  the  taxpayer  not  only  to  deliver  the  exact 
number  of  measures  prescribed  as  his  quota,  but  also  compelled  him  to 
deliver  good  measure  in  each  case ; a dishonest  crier,  on  the  contrary,  could 
easily  favour  cheating,  provided  that  he  shared  in  the  spoil.  Amten  was 
at  once  “ crier  ” and  “ taxer  of  the  colonists  ” to  the  civil  administrator 
of  the  Xoite  nome : he  announced  the  names  of  the  peasants  and  the 
payments  they  made,  then  estimated  the  amount  of  the  local  tax  which 
each,  according  to  his  income,  had  to  pay.  He  distinguished  himself  so 
pre-eminently  in  these  delicate  duties,  that  the  civil  administrator  of  Xois 
made  him  one  of  his  subordinates.  He  became  “ Chief  of  the  Ushers,” 
afterwards  “ Master  Crier,”  then  “ Director  of  all  the  King’s  flax  ” in  the  Xoite 
nome — an  office  which  entailed  on  him  the  supervision  of  the  culture, 
cutting,  and  general  preparation  of  flax  for  the  manufacture  which  was 
carried  on  in  Pharaoh’s  own  domain.  It  was  one  of  the  highest  offices 
in  the  Provincial  Administration,  and  Amten  must  have  congratulated  himself 
on  his  appointment. 

From  that  moment  his  career  became  a great  one,  and  he  advanced  quickly. 
Up  to  that  time  he  had  been  confined  in  offices;  he  now  left  them  to  perform 
more  active  service.  The  Pharaohs,  extremely  jealous  of  their  own  authority, 
usually  avoided  placing  at  the  head  of  the  nomes  in  their  domain,  a single 

animals  which  he  was  wont  to  pursue  in  the  Libyan  desert  in  his  capacity  of  Grand  Huntsman.  In 
the  upper  part  of  the  picture  he  is  seated,  and  once  more  partakes  of  the  funeral  repast.  The  lengthy 
inscription  in  short  columns,  which  occupies  the  upper  part  of  the  wall,  enumerates  his  principal  ' 
titles,  his  estates  in  the  Delta,  and  mentions  some  of  the  honours  conferred  on  him  by  his  sovereign 
in  the  course  of  his  long  career. 

1 With  regard  to  these  criers — called  in  Egyptian  naldit-lchrud — see  Maspero,  Etudes  Egijptienves, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  135,  139.  Representations  of  Offices  will  be  found  in  the  tomb  of  Shopsisurh,  at  Saqqara 
(Lepsitjs,  Denltm.,  ii.,  62,  63,  64),  in  the  tomb  of  Phtalihotpu  (id.,  pi.  103  a),  and  in  several  others 
(id.,  pi.  71  a,  74,  etc.) ; cf.  an  administrative  office  in  the  nome  of  the  Gazelle,  under  the  VIth  dynasty, 
p.  289  of  the  present  work. 


AM  TEN'S  SUCCESSIVE  APPOINTMENTS. 


293 


ruler,  who  would  have  appeared  too  much  like  a prince ; they  preferred  liaving 
in  each  centre  of  civil  administration,  governors  of  the  town  or  province, 
as  well  as  military  commanders  who  were  jealous  of  one  another,  supervised 
one  another,  counterbalanced  one  another,  and  did  not  remain  long  enough 
in  office  to  become  dangerous.  Amten  held  all  these  posts  successively 
in  most  of  the  nomes  situated  in  the  centre  or  to  the  west  of  the  Delta. 
His  first  appointment  was  to  the  government  of  the  village 
of  Pidosu,  an  unimportant  post  in  itself,  but  one  which 
entitled  him  to  a staff  of  office,  and  in  consequence  pro- 
cured for  him  one  of  the  greatest  indulgences  of  vanity 
that  an  Egyptian  could  enjoy.1  The  staff  was,  in  fact,  a 
symbol  of  command  which  only  the  nobles,  and  the 
officials  associated  with  the  nobility,  could  carry 
without  transgressing  custom  ; the  assumption  of  it, 
as  that  of  the  sword  with  us,  showed  every  one  that 
the  bearer  was  a member  of  a privileged  class. 

Amten  was  no  sooner  ennobled,  than  his  functions 
began  to  extend ; villages  were  rapidly  added 
to  villages,  then  towns  to  towns,  including 
such  an  important  one  as  Buto,  and  finally 
the  nomes  of  the  Harpoon,  of  the  Bull,  of 
tiie  Silurus,  the  western  half  of  the  Saite 
nome,  the  nome  of  the  Haunch,  and  a part 
of  the  Fayum  came  within  his  jurisdiction. 

The  western  half  of  the  Saite  nome,  where 
he  long  resided,  corresponded  with  what 
was  called  later  the  Libyan  nome. 
reached  nearly  from  the  apex  of  the  Delta 
to  the  sea,  and  was  bounded  on  one  side  by  the  Canopic  branch  of  the  Nile, 
on  the  other  by  the  Libyan  range;  a part  of  the  desert  as  well  as  the  Oases 
fell  under  its  rule.  It  included  among  its  population,  as  did  many  of  the 
provinces  of  Upper  Egypt,  regiments  composed  of  nomad  hunters,  who  were 
compelled  to  pay  their  tribute  in  living  or  dead  game.  Amten  was 
metamorphosed  into  Chief  Huntsman,  scoured  the  mountains  with  his 
men,  and  thereupon  became  one  of  the  most  important  personages  in  the 
defence  of  the  country.  The  Pharaohs  had  built  fortified  stations,  and  had 
from  time  to  time  constructed  walls  at  certain  points  where  the  roads  entered 
the  valley — at  Syene,  at  Coptos,  and  at  the  entrance  to  the  Wady  Tumilat. 

' Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes , vol.  ii.  pp.  165,  166. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Lepsius,  Denlim.,  ii.  120  a ; the  original  is  in  the  Berlin  Museum. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


294 

Amten  having  been  proclaimed  “Primate  of  the  Western  Gate,”  that  is, 
governor  of  the  Libyan  marches,  undertook  to  protect  the  frontier  against 
the  wandering  Bedouin  from  the  other  side  of  Lake  Mareotis.  Ilis  duties 
as  Chief  Huntsman  had  been  the  best  preparation  he  could  have  bad  for  this 
arduous  task.  They  had  forced  him  to  make  incessant  expeditions  among 
the  mountains,  to  explore  the  gorges  and  ravines,  to  be  acquainted  with 
the  routes  marked  out  by  wells  which  the  marauders  were  obliged  to  follow 
in  their  incursions,  and  the  pathways  and  passes  by  which  they  could 
descend  into  the  plain  of  the  Delta;  in  running  the  game  to  earth,  he 
had  gained  all  the  knowledge  needful  for  repulsing  the  enemy.1  Such 
a combination  of  capabilities  made  Amten  the  most  important  noble  in  this 
part  of  Egypt.  When  old  age  at  last  prevented  him  from  leading  an 
active  life,  he  accepted,  by  way  of  a pension,  the  governorship  of  the  nome 
of  the  Haunch : with  civil  authority,  military  command,  local  priestly 
functions,  and  honorary  distinctions,  he  lacked  only  one  thing  to  make  him 
the  equal  of  the  nobles  of  ancient  family,  and  that  was  permission  to  bequeath 
without  restriction  his  towns  and  offices  to  his  children. 

His  private  fortune  was  not  as  great  as  we  might  be  led  to  think. 
He  inherited  from  his  father  only  one  estate,2  but  had  acquired  twelve  others 
in  the  nomes  of  the  Delta  whither  his  successive  appointments  had  led  him 
— namely,  in  the  Saite,  Xoi'te,  and  Letopolite  nomes.3  He  received  subse- 
quently, as  a reward  for  his  services,  two  hundred  portions  of  cultivated 
land,  with  numerous  peasants,  both  male  and  female,  and  an  income  of 
one  hundred  loaves  daily,  a first  charge  upon  the  funeral  provision  of 
Queen  Hapunimait.4  He  took  advantage  of  this  windfall  to  endow  his 
family  suitably.  His  only  son  was  already  provided  for,  thanks  to  the 
munificence  of  Pharaoh ; he  had  begun  his  administrative  career  by  holding 
the  same  post  of  scribe,  in  addition  to  the  office  of  provision  registrar, 
which  his  father  had  held,  and  over  and  above  these  he  received  by  royal 
grant,  four  portions  of  cornland  with  their  population  and  stock.5  Amten 
gave  twelve  portions  to  his  other  children  and  fifty  to  his  mother  Nibsonit, 
by  means  of  which  she  lived  comfortably  in  her  old  age,  and  left  an 
annuity  for  maintaining  worship  at  her  tomb.3  He  built  upon  the  remainder 
of  the  land  a magnificent  villa,  of  which  he  has  considerately  left  us  the 

’ Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  177-181,  188-191. 

2 Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  7 a,  1.  5;  of.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  238-211. 

3 Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  6,  1.  4 ; cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  217-219. 

4 Lepsios,  Denlcm.,  ii.  6,  11.  5,  6 ; cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  220,  226.  Queeu 
HapflnimS.it  seems  to  have  been  the  mother  of  Snofrui,  the  first  Pharaoh  of  the  IVth  dynasty  of  Manetho. 

5 Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  6,  1.  2 ; cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  213-217. 

0 Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  3,  11.  13-18;  cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  226-230.  The 
area  of  these  portions  of  land  is  given,  but  the  interpretation  of  the  measures  is  still  open  to  dispute. 


THE  VALVE  OF  AMTEN' S PROPERTY  AT  HIS  DEATH. 


295 


description.  The  boundary  wall  formed  a square  of  350  feet  on  each  face,  and 
consequently  contained  a superficies  of  122,500  square  feet.  The  well-built 
dwelling-house,  completely  furnished  with  all  the  necessities  of  life,  was 
surrounded  by  ornamental  and  fruit- bearing  trees, — the  common  palm,  the 


n.AN  OF  THE  VILLA  OF  A GREAT  EGYPTIAN  NOBLE.' 


nebbek,  fig  trees,  and  acacias ; several  ponds,  neatly  bordered  with  greenery, 
afforded  a habitat  for  aquatic  birds;  trellised  vines,  according  to  custom, 
ran  in  front  of  the  house,  and  two  plots  of  ground,  planted  with  vines  in 
full  bearing,  amply  supplied  the  owner  with  wine  every  year.2  It  was 
there,  doubtless,  that  Amten  ended  his  days  in  peace  and  quietude  of 
mind.  The  tableland  whereon  the  Sphinx  has  watched  for  so  many  centuries 
was  then  crowned  by  no  pyramids,  but  mastabas  of  fine  white  stone  rose 

1 This  plan  is  taken  from  a Theban  tomb  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  (Champollion,  Monuments  de 
I’Egypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi.  cclxi.;  Rosellini,  Mommenti  Siorici,  pi.  lxix. ; Wilkinson,  Manners  and 
Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  877);  but  it  corresponds  exactly  with  the  description  which  Amten  has 
left  us  of  his  villa. 

2 Lefsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  7 6 ; cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  230-238. 


29f> 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


here  and  there  from  out  of  the  sand : that  in  which  the  mummy  of  Amten 
was  to  be  enclosed  was  situated  not  far  from  the  modern  village  of  Abusir, 
on  the  coufines  of  the  noiue  of  the  Haunch,  and  almost  in  sight  of  the 
mansion  in  which  his  declining  years  were  spent.1 

The  number  of  persons  of  obscure  origin,  who  in  this  manner  had  risen 
in  a few  years  to  the  highest  honours,  and  died  governors  of  provinces  or 
ministers  of  Pharaoh,  must  have  been  considerable.  Their  descendants 
followed  in  their  fathers’  footsteps,  until  the  day  came  when  royal  favour 
or  an  advantageous  marriage  secured  them  the  possession  of  an  hereditary 
fief,  and  transformed  the  son  or  grandson  of  a prosperous  scribe  into  a 
feudal  lord.  It  was  from  people  of  this  class,  and  from  the  children  of 
the  Pharaoh,  that  the  nobility  was  mostly  recruited.  In  the  Delta,  where  the 
authority  of  the  Pharaoh  was  almost  everywhere  directly  felt,  the  power 
of  the  nobility  was  weakened  and  much  curtailed ; in  Middle  Egypt  it 
gained  ground,  and  became  stronger  and  stronger  in  proportion  as  one 
advanced  southward.  The  nobles  held  the  principalities  of  the  Gazelle,2 
of  the  Hare,3  of  the  Serpent  Mountain,4  of  Akhmim,5  of  Thinis,G  of  Qasr-es- 
Sayad,7  of  El-Kab,8  of  Aswan,9  and  doubtless  others  of  which  we  shall  some 
day  discover  the  monuments.  They  accepted  without  difficulty  the  fiction 
according  to  which  Pharaoh  claimed  to  be  absolute  master  of  the  soil,  and 
ceded  to  his  subjects  only  the  usufruct  of  their  fiefs ; but  apart  from  the 
admission  of  the  principle,  each  lord  proclaimed  himself  sovereign  in  his  own 

1 The  site  of  Amten’s  manorial  mansion  is  nowhere  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions;  but  the 
custom  of  the  Egyptians  to  construct  their  tombs  as  near  as  possible  to  the  places  where  they 
resided,  leads  me  to  consider  it  as  almost  certain  that  we  ought  to  look  for  its  site  in  the 
Memphite  plain,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town  of  Abusir,  but  in  a northern  direction,  so  as  to  keep 
within  the  territory  of  the  Letopolite  nome,  where  Amten  governed  in  the  name  of  the  king. 

2 Tomb  of  Khunas,  prince  of  the  Gazelle  nome,  at  Zawyet-el-Meiyetiu  (Champollion,  Monuments 
de  V Egypt  et  de  la  Nubie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  441-454;  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  105,  106)  ; we  find  in  the  same 
locality,  and  at  Sheikh-Said,  the  semi-ruinous  tombs  of  other  princes  of  this  same  nome,  contempo- 
raries for  the  most  part  of  the  VIth  and  VIIIth  dynasties  (Lepsius,  Denliin.,  ii.  110,  111). 

3 Tombs  of  the  princes  of  the  Hare  at  Sheikh-Said  and  at  Bersheh  (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  112, 113). 

4 Tomb  of  Zau  I.,  prince  of  Thinis  and  of  the  Serpent  Mountain,  in  Sayce,  Gleanings  from  the 
Land  of  Egypt  ( Eecueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  65-67) ; cf.  for  an  interpretation  of  the  text  published 
by  Sayce,  Maspero,  Sur  V inscription  de  Zaou,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  68-71. 

5 Tombs  of  the  princes  of  Ahmim,  in  Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  xxi.  b,  p.  6,  of  the  text, 
and  in  E.  Schiaparelli,  Chemmis- Achmim  e la  sua  antica  necropoli  (in  the  Etudes  ArchCologiques 
dCdiCes  a M.  le  Dr.  C.  Leemans,  pp.  85-88). 

6 Tombs  of  the  princes  of  Thinis  at  Meslieikh,  opposite  Girgeh  (Sayce,  Gleanings  from  the  Land  of 
Egypt,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  63,  64;  Nestor  L’hote,  in  the  Becueil,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  71,  72); 
many  others  may  be  met  with  further  north,  towards  Ber.i-Mokammed-el-Kufur  (Sayce,  ibid.,  p.  67). 

7 Tombs  of  the  princes  of  Qasr-es-Sayad,  partly  copied  by  Nestor  L’hote,  incompletely  published 
in  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  113, 114,  and  in  Yillieus-Stuart,  Nile  Gleanings,  pp.  305-307,  pis.  xxxvi.-xxxviii. 

8 Several  princes  of  El-Kab  are  mentioned  in  the  graffiti  collected  and  published  by  L.  Stern, 
Die  Cultusstdtte  der  Lucina,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1875,  p.  65,  et  seq. 

8 The  tombs  of  the  princes  of  Aswan,  excavated  between  1886  and  1892,  have  been  published  by  U. 
Bouriant  (Les  Tombeaux  d' Assouan,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  x.  p.  182,  et  seq.)  and  by  Budge  ( Ex- 
cavations made  at  Asivan,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  1887-88,  p.  4,  et  seq.). 


STATUS  OF  THE  FEUDAL  LORDS,  29 7 

domain,  and  exercised  in  it,  on  a small  scale,  complete  royal  authority.  Every- 
thing within  the  limits  of  this  petty  state  belonged  to  him— wroods,  canals, 
fields,  even  the  desert-sand : 1 after  the  example  of  the  Pharaoh,  he  farmed  a 
part  himself,  and  let  out  the  remainder,  either  in  farms  or  as  fiefs,  to  those  of 
his  followers  who  had  gained  his  confidence  or  his  friendship.  After  the 
example  of  Pharaoh,  also,  he  was  a priest,  and  exercised  priestly  functions 


HUNTING  WITH  THE  BOOMERANG  AND  FISHING  WITH  THE  DOUBLE  HARPOON  IN  A MARSH  OR  POOL.2 

in  relation  to  all  the  gods — that  is,  not  of  all  Egypt,  but  of  all  the  deities 
of  the  nome.  He  was  an  administrator  of  civil  and  criminal  law,  received 
the  complaints  of  his  vassals  and  serfs  at  the  gate  of  his  palace,  and 
against  his  decisions  there  was  no  appeal.  He  kept  up  a flotilla,  and  raised 
on  his  estate  a small  army,  of  which  he  was  commander-in-chief  by 
hereditary  right.  He  inhabited  a fortified  mansion,  situated  sometimes 

1 Grande  Inscription  de  Beni-Hassan,  11.  46-53.  The  extent  of  the  feudal  power  and  organization 
of  the  nomes  were  defined  for  the  first  time  by  Maspero  in  La  Grande  Inscription  de  Beni-Ilassan 
( Recueil , vol.  i.  pp.  179-181 ; cf.  Erman,  /Egypten,  p.  135,  et  seq. ; Ed.  Meyer,  Gescliiclite  JEgyptens, 
p.  156,  et  seq.). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Gayet ; cf.  Maspero,  Le  Tombeau  de  Nalihti, 
in  the  Memoires  publics  par  les  Membres  de  la  Mission  frangaise  du  Caire,  vol.  v.  p.  480. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


298 

within  the  capital  of  the  principality  itself,  sometimes  in  its  neighbour- 
hood, and  in  which  the  arrangements  of  the  royal  city1  were  reproduced 
on  a smaller  scale.  Side  by  side  with  the  reception  halls,  was  the  harem, 
where  the  legitimate  wife,  often  a princess  of  solar  rank,  played  the 
role  of  queen,  surrounded  by  concubines,  dancers,  and  slaves.  The  offices 
of  the  various  departments  were  crowded  into  the  enclosure,  with  their 
directors,  governors,  scribes  of  all  ranks,  custodians,  and  workmen,  who 


PRINCE  API,  BORNE  IN  A TALANQUIN,  INSPECTS  HIS  FUNERARY  DOMAIN.2 

bore  the  same  titles  as  the  corresponding  employes  in  the  departments  of 
the  State : their  White  Storehouse,  their  Gold  Storehouse,  their  Granary, 
were  at  times  called  the  Double  White  Storehouse,  the  Double  Gold  Store- 
house, the  Double  Granary,  as  were  those  of  the  Pharaoh.  Amusements  at 
the  court  of  the  vassal  did  not  differ  from  those  at  that  of  the  sovereign  : 
hunting  in  the  desert  and  the  marshes,  fishing,  inspection  of  agricultural 
works,  military  exercises,  games,  songs,  dancing,  doubtless  the  recital  of  long 
stories,  and  exhibitions  of  magic,  even  down  to  the  contortions  of  the  court 

1 Maspero,  Sur  le  sens  des  mots  Nouit  et  Edit,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archxology,  vol.  xii.,  1889-90,  p.  252,  et  seq. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugseh-Bey.  The  tomb  of  Api  was  dis- 
covered at  Saqqara  in  1884.  It  had  been  pulled  down  in  ancient  times,  and  a new  tomb  built  on  its 
ruins,  about  the  time  of  the  XII"1  dynasty;  all  that  remains  of  it  is  now  in  the  museum  at  Gizeh. 


THE  AMUSEMENTS  OF  TEE  FEUDAL  LORDS. 


299 


buffoon  and  the  grimaces  of  the  dwarfs.  It  amused  the  prince  to  see  one 
of  these  wretched  favourites  leading  to  him  by  the  paw  a cynocephalus 
larger  than  himself,  while  a mischievous  monkey  slyly  pulled  a tame  and 


A DWARF  PLAYING  WITH  CYNOCEPHALI  AND  A TAME  IBTS.1 


stately  ibis  by  the  tail.  From  time  to  time  the  great  lord  proceeded  to 
inspect  his  domain  : on  these  occasions  he  travelled  in  a kind  of  sedan 
chair,  supported  by  two  mules  yoked  together;  or  he  was  borne  in  a 
palanquin  by  some  thirty  men,  while  fanned  by  large  flabella ; or  he  went 


IN  A NILE  BOAT. 

up  the  Nile  and  the  canals,  perhaps,  in  his  beautiful  painted  barge.  The 
life  of  the  Egyptian  lords  may  be  aptly  described  as  in  every  respect 
an  exact  reproduction  of  the  life  of  the  Pharaoh  on  a smaller  scale.2 

Inheritance  in  a direct  or  indirect  line  was  the  rule,  but  in  every  case  of 
transmission  the  new  lord  had  to  receive  the  investiture  of  the  sovereign  either 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a chromolithograph  in  Flinders  Petrie’s  Medum,  pi.  xxiv. 

2 The  tombs  of  Beni-Hassan,  which  belong  to  the  latter  end  of  the  XIth  and  early  part  of  the 
XIIth  dynasties,  furnish  us  with  the  most  complete  picture  of  this  feudal  life  (Champollion,  Monu- 
ments de  rEijypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  334-436;  Lepsius,  Denbrn , ii.  123,  et  seq.).  All  the 
features  of  which  it  was  composed,  are  to  be  found  singly  on  monumenis  of  the  Memphite  epoch. 


300 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


by  letter  or  in  person.1  The  duties  enforced  by  tbe  feudal  state  do  not  appear 
to  have  been  onerous.  In  the  first  place,  there  was  the  regular  payment  of 
a tribute,  proportionate  to  the  extent  and  resources  of  the  fief.  In  the  next 
place,  there  was  military  service  : the  vassal  agreed  to  supply,  when  called 
upon,  a fixed  number  of  armed  men,  whom  he  himself  commanded,  unless  he 
could  offer  a reasonable  excuse  such  as  illness  or  senile  incapacity.2  Presence 
at  court  was  not  obligatory  : we  notice,  however,  many  nobles  about  the  person 
of  Pharaoh,  and  there  are  numerous  examples  of  priuces,  with  whose  lives  we 
are  familiar,  filling  offices  which  appear  to  have  demanded  at  least  a tem- 
porary residence  in  the  palace,  as,  for  instance,  the  charge  of  the  royal  wardrobe.3 
When  the  king  travelled,  the  great  vassals  were  compelled  to  entertain  him  and 
his  suite,  and  to  escort  him  to  the  frontier  of  their  domain.4  On  the  occasion 
of  such  visits,  the  king  would  often  take  away  with  him  one  of  their  sons  to  be 
brought  up  with  his  own  children : an  act  which  they  on  their  part  considered 
a great  honour,  while  the  king  on  his  had  a guarantee  of  their  fidelity  in  the 
person  of  these  hostages.5  Such  of  these  young  people  as  returned  to  their 
fathers’  roof  when  their  education  was  finished,  were  usually  most  loyal  to  the 
reigning  dynasty.  They  often  brought  back  with  them  some  maiden  born  in 
the  purple,  who  consented  to  share  their  little  provincial  sovereignty,6  while 
in  exchange  one  or  more  of  their  sisters  entered  the  harem  of  the  Pharaoh. 
Marriages  made  and  marred  in  their  turn  the  fortunes  of  the  great  feudal 
houses.7  Whether  she  were  a princess  or  not,  each  woman  received  as  her 
dowry  a portion  of  territory,  and  enlarged  by  that  amount  her  husband’s  little 
state ; but  the  property  she  brought,  her  daughters  in  a few  years  might  take 
as  their  portions  to  enrich  other  houses.  The  fief  seldom  could  bear  up  against 
such  dismemberment;  it  fell  away  piecemeal,  and  by  the  third  or  fourth 

1 For  instance,  this  was  so  in  the  case  of  the  princes  of  the  Gazelle  nome,  as  is  shown  by  various 
passages  in  the  Great  Inscription  of  Beni-Easan,  11.  13-24,  24-36,  54-62,  71-79. 

2 Prince  Amoui,  of  the  Gazelle  nome,  led  a body  of  four  hundred  men  and  another  body  of  six 
hundred,  levied  in  his  principality,  into  Ethiopia  under  these  conditions ; the  first  time  that  he  served 
in  the  royal  army,  was  as  a substitute  for  his  father,  who  had  grown  too  old  (Maspero,  La  Grande 
Inscription  de  Beni-Hassan,  in  the  Becueil,  vol.  i.  pp.  171-173).  Similarly,  under  the  XVIIIth 
dynasty,  Ahmosis  of  El-Kab  commanded  the  war-ship,  the  Calf,  in  place  of  his  father  (Lepsius, 
Denlcm.,  12  a,  11.  5,  6).  The  fini  inscription  furnishes  us  with  an  instance  of  a general  levy  of  the 
feudal  contingents  in  the  time  of  the  VIth  dynasty  (1.  14,  et  seq.). 

3 E.g.  Thotliotpu,  prince  of  the  Hare  nome,  under  the  XII1'1  dynasty  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  pi.  135), 
and  Papinakhti,  lord  of  Abydos,  towards  the  end  of  the  VIth  (Mariette,  Catalogue  gCnCral,  p.  191,  No.  531). 

* An  indication  of  this  fact  is  furnished  by  the  texts  referring  to  the  course  of  the  dead  sun  in 
Hades  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  el  d’ Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  44,  45). 

5 Khiti  I.,  prince  of  Siut,  was  taken  when  quite  young  and  brought  up  with  the  “royal  children” 
at  the  court  of  an  Heracleopolitan  Pharaoh  of  the  Xth  dynasty  (Maspero,  in  the  Bevue  Critique, 
1889,  vol.  ii.  pp.  414,  415). 

6 Prince  Zauti  of  Qasr-es-Sayad  had  married  a princess  of  the  Papi  family  (Villiers-Stuart,  Nile 
Gleanings,  pi.  xxxviii.) ; so,  too,  had  a prince  of  Girgeh  (Nestor  L’hote,  in  the  Becueil,  vol.  xiii.  p.  72). 

7 The  history  of  the  Gazelle  nome  furnishes  us  with  a striking  example  of  the  rapid  growth  of  a prin- 
cipality through  the  marriages  of  its  rulers  (Maspero,  La  Grande  Inscription  de  Beni-Hassan , in  the 
Becueil,  vol.  i.  p.  170,  et  seq.).  I shall  have  occasion  to  tell  it  in  detail  in  Chap.  VI.  of  the  present  work. 


DUTIES  OF  THE  NOBLES  TO  THEIR  SUZERAIN. 


301 


generation  had  disappeared.  Sometimes,  however,  it  gained  more  than  it  lost 
in  this  matrimonial  game,  and  extended  its  borders  till  they  encroached  on 
neighbouring  nomes  or  else  completely  absorbed  them.  There  were  always  in 
the  course  of  each  reign  several  great  principalities  formed,  or  in  the  process  of 
formation,  whose  chiefs  might  be  said  to  hold  in  their  hands  the  destinies  of 
the  country.  Pharaoh  himself  was  obliged  to  treat  them  with  deference,  and 
he  purchased  their  allegiance  by  renewed  and  ever-increasing  concessions. 
Their  ambition  was  never  satisfied;  when  they  were  loaded  with  favours,  and 
did  not  venture  to  ask  for  more  for  themselves,  they  impudently  demanded 
them  for  such  of  their  children  as  they  thought  were  poorly  provided  for. 
Their  eldest  son  “ knew  not  the  high  favours  which  came  from  the  king.  Other 
princes  were  his  privy  counsellors,  his  chosen  friends,  or  foremost  among  his 
friends ! ” he  had  no  share  in  all  this.1  Pharaoh  took  good  care  not  to  reject  a 
petition  presented  so  humbly  : he  proceeded  to  lavish  appointments,  titles,  and 
estates  on  the  son  in  question ; if  necessity  required  it,  he  would  even  seek  out 
a wife  for  him,  who  might  give  him,  together  with  her  hand,  a property  equal 
to  that  of  his  father.  The  majority  of  these  great  vassals  secretly  aspired  to 
the  crown : they  frequently  had  reason  to  believe  that  they  had  some  right  to 
it,  either  through  their  mother  or  one  of  their  ancestors.  Had  they  combined 
against  the  reigning  house,  they  could  easily  have  gained  the  upper  hand,  but 
their  mutual  jealousies  prevented  this,  and  the  overthrow  of  a dynasty  to  which 
they  owed  so  much  would,  for  the  most  part,  have  profited  them  but  little : as 
soon  as  one  of  them  revolted,  the  remainder  took  arms  in  Pharaoh’s  defence, 
led  his  armies  and  fought  his  battles.2  If  at  times  their  ambition  and  greed 
harassed  their  suzerain,  at  least  their  power  was  at  his  service,  and  their  self- 
interested  allegiance  was  often  the  means  of  delaying  the  downfall  of  his  house. 

Two  things  were  specially  needful  both  for  them  and  for  Pharaoh  in  order 
to  maintain  or  increase  their  authority — the  protection  of  the  gods,  and  a 
military  organization  which  enabled  them  to  mobilize  the  whole  of  their 
forces  at  the  first  signal.  The  celestial  world  was  the  faithful  image  of  our 
own ; it  had  its  empires  and  its  feudal  organization,  the  arrangement  of 
which  corresponded  to  that  of  the  terrestrial  world.3  The  gods  who  inhabited 
it  were  dependent  upon  the  gifts  of  mortals,  and  the  resources  of  each 

1 La  Grande  Inscription  de  Beni-Hassan,  11.  148-160.  These  are  the  identical  words  used  by 
Khnumhotpft,  lord  of  the  Gazelle  uome,  when  trying  to  obtain  an  office  or  a grant  of  land  on  behalf 
of  his  son  Nakhti.  We  learn  from  the  context  that  Usirtasen  II.  at  once  granted  his  request. 

2 Tefabi,  Prince  of  Siut,  and  his  immediate  successors,  did  so  on  behalf  of  the  Pharaohs  of  the 
Xth  Heracleopolitan  dynasty,  against  tlie  first  Theban  Pharaohs  of  the  Antuf  family  (Masrero,  in 
the  Revue  Critique,  1889,  vol.  ii.  pp.  415-419).  On  the  other  hand,  it  appears  that  the  neighbouring 
family  of  Khnhmhotph,  in  the  nome  of  the  Gazelle,  took  the  part  of  the  Thebans,  and  owed  their 
subsequent  greatness  to  them. 

8 Of.  p.  98  of  the  present  work,  for  what  has  been  said  on  the  nature  and  origin  of  the  feudal 
system  of  the  Egyptian  gods. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


302 

individual  deity,  and  consequently  bis  power,  depended  on  the  wealth  and 
number  of  his  worshippers;  anything  influencing  one  had  an  immediate  effect 
on  the  other.  The  gods  dispensed  happiness,  health,  and  vigour;1  to  those 
who  made  them  large  offerings  and  instituted  pious  foundations,  they  lent 
their  own  weapons,  and  inspired  them  with  needful  strength  to  overcome 
their  enemies.2  They  even  came  down  to  assist  in  battle,  and  every  great 
encounter  of  armies  involved  an  invisible  struggle  among  the  immortals.8  The 
gods  of  the  side  which  was  victorious  shared  with  it  in  the  triumph,  and 
received  a tithe  of  the  spoil  as  the  price  of  their  help;  the  gods  of  the 
vanquished  were  so  much  the  poorer,  their  priests  and  their  statues  were 
reduced  to  slavery,  and  the  destruction  of  their  people  entailed  their  own 
downfall.  It  was,  therefore,  to  the  special  interest  of  every  one  in  Egypt,  from 
the  Pharaoh  to  the  humblest  of  his  vassals,  to  maintain  the  good  will  and 
power  of  the  gods,  so  that  their  protection  might  be  effectively  ensured 
in  the  hour  of  danger.  Pains  were  taken  to  embellish  their  temples  witli 
obelisks,  colossi,  altars,  and  bas-reliefs  ; new  buildings  were  added  to  the  old ; 
the  parts  threatened  with  ruin  were  restored  or  entirely  rebuilt ; daily  gifts 
were  brought  of  every  kind — animals  which  were  sacrificed  on  the  spot,  bread, 
flowers,  fruit,  drinks,  as  well  as  perfumes,  stuffs,  vases,  jewels,  bricks  or  bars  of 
gold,  silver,  lapis-lazuli,  which  were  all  heaped  up  in  the  treasury  within  the 
recesses  of  the  crypts.4  If  a dignitary  of  high  rank  wished  to  perpetuate  the 
remembrance  of  his  honours  or  his  services,  and  at  the  same  time  to  procure  for 
his  double  the  benefit  of  endless  prayers  and  sacrifices,  he  placed  “ by  special 
permission”5  a statue  of  himself  on  a votive  stele  in  the  part  of  the  temple 
reserved  for  this  purpose, — in  a courtyard,  chamber,  encircling  passage,  as  at 
Karnak,6  or  on  the  staircase  of  Osiris  as  in  that  leading  up  to  the  terrace  in  the 

1 I may  here  remind  my  readers  of  the  numberless  bas-reliefs  and  stelae  on  which  the  king  is 
represented  as  making  an  offering  to  a god,  who  replies  in  some  such  formula  as  the  following:  “I 
give  thee  health  and  strength  ; ” or,  “ I give  thee  joy  and  life  for  millions  of  years.” 

2 See,  for  instance,  at  Medinet-Habh,  Amon  and  other  gods  handing  to  Ramses  III.  the  great 
curved  sword,  the  “khopshu”  (Dumichen,  Historische  Inschri/ten,  vol.  i.  pis.  vii.,  xi.,xii.,xiii.,  xvi , xvii.). 

3 In  the  “ Poem  of  Pentauint,”  Amon  comes  from  Hermonthis  in  the  Thebaid  to  Qodshu  in  the 
heart  of  Syria,  in  order  to  help  Ramses  II.  in  battle,  and  rescue  him  from  the  peril  into  which  he 
had  been  plunged  by  the  desertion  of  his  supporters  (E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Le  Foeme  de  Fentaour, 
in  the  Hevue  Egyptologique,  vol.  v.  pp.  158,  159). 

4 See  the  “Poem  of  Pentauint”  (E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  in  the  Revue  Ngyptologique,  vol.  v.  p.  15, 
et  seq.)  for  the  grounds  on  which  Ramses  II.  bases  his  imperative  appeal  to  Amon  for  help  : “ Have  I 
not  made  thee  numerous  offerings?  I have  filled  thy  temple  with  my  prisoners.  I have  built  thee 
an  everlasting  temple,  and  have  not  spared  my  wealth  in  endowing  it  for  thee;  I lay  the  whole  world 
under  contribution  in  order  to  stock  thy  domain.  ...  I have  built  thee  whole  pylons  in  stone,  and 
have  myself  reared  the  fiagstaffs  which  adorn  them;  I have  brought  thee  obelisks  from  Elephantine.” 

3 The  majority  of  the  votive  statues  were  lodged  in  a temple  “ by  special  favour  of  a king  ” — 
em  hositu  nte  khir  suton — as  a recompense  for  services  rendered  (Mariette,  Catalogue  des  prin- 
cipaux  monuments  du  Mustfe  de  Boulaq,  1864,  p.  65 ; and  Karnak , text,  p.  42,  et  seq.).  Some  only  of 
the  stelae  bear  an  inscription  to  the  above  effect  (Mariette,  Catalogue  des  principaux  monuments, 
1861,  p.  65);  no  authorization  from  the  king  was  required  for  the  consecration  of  a stele  in  a temple. 

c It  was  in  the  encircling  passage  of  the  limestone  temple  built  by  the  kings  of  the  XII'1' 


GIFTS  TO  THE  TEMPLES  AND  POSSESSIONS  IN  MORTMAIN.  303 


sanctuary  of  Abydos;1  he  then  sealed  a formal  agreement  with  the  priests,  by 
which  the  latter  engaged  to  perform  a service  in  his  name,  in  front  of  this  com- 
memorative monument,  a stated  number  of  times  in  the  year,  on  the  days  fixed 
by  universal  observance  or  by  local  custom.2  For  this  purpose  he  assigned  to 
them  annuities  in  kind,  charges  on  his  patrimonial  estates,  or  in  some  cases, 
if  he  were  a great  lord,  on  the  revenues  of  his  fief,3- — such  as  a fixed  quantity 
of  loaves  and  drinks  for  each  of  the  celebrants,  a fourth  part  of  the  sacrificial 
victim,  a garment,  frequently  also  lands  with  their  cattle,  serfs,  existing  build- 
ings, farming  implements  and  produce,  along  with  the  conditions  of  service  with 
which  the  lands  were  burdened.  These  gifts  to  the  god — “nutir  hotpuu’’ — were, 
it  appears,  effected  by  agreements  analogous  to  those  dealing  with  property  in 
mortmain  in  modern  Egypt ; in  each  nome  they  constituted,  in  addition  to  the 
original  temporalities  of  the  temple,  a considerable  domain,  constantly  enlarged 
by  fresh  endowments.  The  gods  had  no  daughters  for  whom  to  provide,  nor 
sons  among  whom  to  divide  their  inheritance ; all  which  fell  to  them  remained 
theirs  for  ever,  and  in  the  contracts  were  inserted  imprecations  threatening 
with  terrible  ills,  in  this  world  and  the  next,  those  who  should  abstract  the 
smallest  portion  from  them.4  Such  menaces  did  not  always  prevent  the  king 
or  the  lords  from  laying  hands  on  the  temple  revenues : had  this  not  been 
the  case,  Egypt  would  soon  have  become  a sacerdotal  country  from  one  end  to 
the  other.  Even  when  reduced  by  periodic  usurpations,  the  domain  of  the 
gods  formed,  at  all  periods,  about  one-third  of  the  whole  country.5 

Its  administration  was  not  vested  in  a single  body  of  Priests,  representing 

dynasty,  and  now  completely  destroyed,  that  all  the  Karuak  votive  statues  were  discovered 
(Mariette,  Karnalc,  text,  p.  42,  et  seq.).  Some  of  them  still  rest  on  the  stone  ledge  on  which  they 
were  placed  by  the  priests  of  the  god  at  the  moment  of  consecration. 

1 The  majority  of  the  stelae  collected  in  the  temple  of  Osiris  at  Abydos  were  supposed  to  have 
come  from  “ the  staircase  of  the  great  god.”  In  reference  to  this  staircase,  the  tomb  of  Osiris  to  which 
it  led,  and  the  fruitless  efforts  made  by  Mariette  to  discover  it,  see  Maspero’s  remaiks  in  the  Revue 
Critique,  1881,  vol.  i.  p.  83,  and  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  128,  129. 

2 The  great  Siut  inscription,  translated  by  Maspero  ( Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archtfologie 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  53-75)  and  by  Erman  (Zehn  Vertrage  aus  dem  mittleren  Reich,  in  the 
Zeitschrift,  1882,  pp.  159-184),  has  preserved  for  us  in  its  entirety  one  of  these  contracts  between 
a prince  and  the  priest  of  tJapuaitft. 

3 This  is  proved  by  the  passages  in  the  Siut  inscription  (11.  24,  28,  41,  43,  53),  in  which  Hapizaftfi 
draws  a distinction  between  the  revenues  which  he  assigns  to  the  priests  “on  the  house  of  his 
father,”  i.e.  on  his  patrimonial  estates,  and  those  revenues  which  he  grants  “on  the  house  of  the 
prince  ” or  on  his  princely  fief. 

* The  foundation  stele  of  the  temple  at  Deir-el-Medineh  is  half  filled  with  imprecations  of 
this  kind  (S.  Birch,  Sur  une  Stele  Hieratique,  in  Chabas’  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  2nd  series,  pp. 
324-343,  and  Inscriptions  in  the  Hieratic  and  Demotic  Character,  pi.  xxix.).  We  possess  two  frag- 
ments of  similar  inscriptions  belonging  to  the  time  of  the  Ancient  Empire,  but  in  such  a mutilated 
state  as  to  defy  translation  (Mariette,  Les  Mastdbas  de  V Ancien  Empire,  p.  318;  E.  and  J.  de 
Rouge,  Inscriptions  hie'roglyphiques,  pi.  i.). 

4 The  tradition  handed  down  by  Diodorus  (i.  § 21)  tells  us  that  the  goddess  Isis  assigned  a third 
of  the  country  to  the  priests ; the  whole  of  Egypt  is  said  to  have  been  divided  into  three  equal 
parts,  the  first  of  which  belonged  to  the  priests,  the  second  to  the  kings,  and  the  third  to  the 
warrior  class  (id.,  § 73).  When  we  read,  in  the  great  Harris  Papyrus,  the  list  of  the  property 
possessed  by  the  temple  of  the  Theban  Amon  alone,  all  over  Egypt,  under  Ramses  III.,  we  can 
readily  believe  that  the  tradition  of  the  Greek  epoch  in  no  way  exaggerated  matters. 


304 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EG  TI  T. 


the  whole  of  Egypt  and  recruited  or  ruled  everywhere  in  the  same  fashion. 
There  were  as  many  bodies  of  priests  as  there  were  temples,  and  every  temple 
preserved  its  independent  constitution  with  which  the  clergy  of  the  neighbouring 
temples  had  nothing  to  do  : the  only  master  they  acknowledged  was  the  lord  of 
the  territory  on  which  the  temple  was  built,  either  Pharaoh  or  one  of  his  nobles. 
The  tradition  which  made  Pharaoh  the  head  of  the  different  worships  in  Egypt 
prevailed  everywhere,  but  Pharaoh  soared  too  far  above  this  world  to  confine 
himself  to  the  functions  of  any  one  particular  order  of  priests : 1 he  officiated 
before  all  the  gods  without  being  specially  the  minister  of  any,  and  only  exerted 
his  supremacy  in  order  to  make  appointments  to  important  sacerdotal  posts  in 
his  domain.2  He  reserved  the  high  priesthood  of  the  Memphite  Pthah  and  that 
of  Ka  of  Heliopolis  either  for  the  princes  of  his  own  family  or  more  often  for  his 
most  faithful  servants;3  they  were  the  docile  instruments  of  his  will,  through 
whom  he  exerted  the  influence  of  the  gods,  and  disposed  of  their  property  without 
having  the  trouble  of  administrating  it.  The  feudal  lords,  less  removed  from 
mortal  affairs  than  the  Pharaoh,  did  not  disdain  to  combine  the  priesthood  of 
the  temples  dependent  on  them  with  the  general  supervision  of  the  different 
worships  practised  on  their  lands.  The  princes  of  the  Gazelle  nome,  for  instance, 
bore  the  title  of  “ Directors  of  the  Prophets  of  all  the  Gods,”  but  were,  correctly 
speaking,  prophets  of  Horus,  of  lvhnumu  master  of  Haoirit,  and  of  Pakhit  mis- 
tress of  the  Speos-Artemidos.4  The  religious  suzerainty  of  such  princes  vTas  the 
complement  of  their  civil  and  military  power,  and  their  ordinary  income  was 
augmented  by  some  portion  at  least  of  the  revenues  which  the  lands  in  mort- 
main furnished  annually.  The  subordinate  sacerdotal  functions  were  filled  by 
professional  priests  whose  status  varied  according  to  the  gods  they  served  and 

1 The  only  exception  to  this  rule  was  in  the  case  of  the  Theban  kings  of  the  XXIst  dynasty, 
and  even  here  the  exception  is  more  apparent  than  real.  As  a matter  of  fact,  these  kings,  Hrihor 
and  Pinozmh,  began  by  being  high  priests  of  Amon  before  ascending  the  throne ; they  were 
pontiffs  who  became  Pharaohs,  not  Pharaohs  who  created  themselves  pontiffs.  Possibly  we  ought  to 
place  Smonkhari  of  the  XIVth  dynasty  in  the  same  category,  if,  as  Brugsch  assures  us  ( Geschichte 
JEgyptens,  p.  181,  et  seep  ; cf.  Wiedemann,  JEgyptische  Geschichte,  p.  267),  his  name,  Mir-mashau,  is 
identical  with  the  title  of  the  high  priest  of  Osiris  at  Mendes,  thus  proving  that  he  was  pontiff  of 
Osiris  in  that  town  before  he  became  king. 

2 Among  other  instances,  we  have  that  of  the  king  of  the  XXIst  Tanite  dynasty,  who  appointed 
Mankhopirn,  high  priest  of  the  Theban  Amon  (Brugsch,  Eecueil  de  monuments,  vol.  i.  pi.  xxii., 
the  stele  is  now  in  the  Louvre),  and  that  of  the  last  king  of  the  same  dynasty,  Pshsennes  II.,  who 
conferred  the  same  office  on  prince  Aftptiti,  son  of  Sheshonqu  (Maspero,  Lee  Momies  royales  de  Deir- 
el-Baliari,  in  the  Mdmoires  de  la  Mission  du  Cairo,  vol.  i.  p.  730,  et  seq.).  The  kiug’s  right  of  nomi- 
nation harmonized  very  well  with  the  hereditary  transmission  of  the  priestly  office  through  members 
of  the  same  family,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  show  later  on. 

3 A list,  as  yet  very  incomplete,  of  the  high  priests  of  Plitah  at  Memphis,  was  drawn  up  by 
E.  Schiaparelli  in  his  Catalogue  of  the  Egyptian  Museum  at  Florence  (pp.  201-203).  One  of  them, 
Shopsisfiphtah  I.,  married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Pharaoh  Shopsiskaf  of  the  IVth  dynasty  (E.  de 
PiOUGe,  Eecherches  sur  les  monuments  qu’on  peut  atlribucr  aux  six  premieres  dynasties  de  Mandtlion, 
pp.  67-71);  Khamoisit,  one  of  the  favourite  sons  of  Kamses  II.,  was  also  high  priest  of  the  Memphite 
Phtah  during  the  greater  part  of  his  father’s  reign. 

4 See  their  titles  collected  in  Maspego’s  La  Grande  Inscription  de  Beni-Hassan  {Eecueil  de 
Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  179,  180) ; the  sacerdotal  titles  borne  by  the  princes  and  princesses  of  Thebes 
under  the  XXth  dynasty  will  be  found  in  Maspero,  Les  Momies  royales  de  Deir-el-Baliarl. 


TEE  PRIESTHOOD,  AND  TEE  METHOD  OF  RECRUITING  ITS  RANKS.  305 


the  provinces  in  which  they  were  located.1  Although  between  the  mere  priest 
and  the  chief  prophet  there  were  a number  of  grades  to  which  the  majority  never 
attained,  still  the  temples  attracted  many  people  from  divers  sources,  who,  once 
established  in  this  calling  of  life,  not  only  never  left  it,  but  never  rested  until 
they  had  introduced  into  it  the  members  of  their  families.  The  offices  they 
filled  were  not  necessarily  hereditary,  but  the  children,  born  and  bred  in  the 
shelter  of  the  sanctuary,  almost  always  succeeded  to  the  positions  of  their  fathers, 
and  certain  families  being  thus  continued  in  the  same  occupation  for  generations, 
at  last  came  to  be  established  as  a sort  of  sacerdotal  nobility.2  The  sacrifices 
supplied  them  with  daily  meat  and  drink ; the  temple  buildings  provided  them 
with  their  lodging,  and  its  revenues  furnished  them  with  a salary  proportionate 
to  their  position.  They  were  exempted  from  the  ordinary  taxes,  from  military 
service  and  from  forced  labour ; it  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  those  who 
were  not  actually  members  of  the  priestly  families  strove  to  have  at  least  a share 
in  their  advantages.  The  servitors,  the  workmen  and  the  employes  who  congre- 
gated about  them  and  constituted  the  temple  corporation,3  the  scribes  attached 
to  the  administration  of  the  domains,  and  to  the  receipt  of  offerings,  shared  de 
facto  if  not  de  jure  in  the  immunity  of  the  priesthood;  as  a body  they  formed 
a separate  religious  society,  side  by  side,  but  distinct  from,  the  civil  population’ 
and  freed  from  most  of  the  burdens  which  weighed  so  heavily  on  the  latter.4 

The  soldiers  were  far  from  possessing  the  wealth  and  influence  of  the  clergy. 
Military  service  in  Egypt  was  not  universally  compulsory,  but  rather  the 
profession  and  privilege  of  a special  class  of  whose  origin  but  little  is  known.6 
Perhaps  originally  it  comprised  only  the  descendants  of  the  conquering  race,  but 
in  historic  times  it  was  not  exclusively  confined  to  the  latter,  and  recruits  were 

1 The  only  hierarchy  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge  is  that  of  the  Theban  Amon,  at  Karnak, 
tiianks  to  the  inscription  in  which  Bokftnikhonsft  has  told  us  of  the  advance  in  his  career  under  Seti 
I.  and  Ramses  I.  from  the  rank  of  priest  to  that  of  “First  Prophet,”  i.e.  of  High  Priest  of  Amon 
(Th.  Deveria,  Le  Monument  biographique  de  Bakenkhonsou,  pp.  12-14;  cf.  A.  Baillet,  De  V Election 
du  Grand  Pretre  cl’ Ammon,  in  the  Revue  Archiologique,  2nd  series,  1862,  vol.  iii.). 

2 We  possess  the  coffins  of  the  priests  of  the  Theban  Montu  for  nearly  thirty  generations,  viz.  from 
the  XXVth  dynasty  to  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies.  The  inscriptions  give  us  their  genealogies,  as  well 
as  their  intermarriages,  and  show  us  that  they  belonged  almost  exclusively  to  two  or  three  important 
families  who  intermarried  with  one  another  or  took  their  wives  from  the  families  of  the  priests  of  Amon. 

3 These  were  the  Qonbitiu,  who  are  so  frequently  mentioned  in  the  great  inscription  of  Siut 
(Maspero,  Egyptian  Documents,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arclixology,  vol.  vii. 
p.  14) ; we  have  already  seen  Qonbitiu  as  forming  part  of  the  entourage  of  kings  (see  p.  277,  note  3). 

1 We  know  what  the  organization  of  the  temples  during  the  Ptolemaic  epoch  was,  and  its  main 
features  are  set  forth  summarily  in  Lumbroso’s  Economic  politique  de  I’Egypte  sous  lea  Lagides, 
pp.  270-274.  A study  of  the  information  which  we  glean  here  and  there  from  the  monuments  of 
a previous  epoch,  shows  us  that  it  was  very  nearly  identical  with  the  organization  of  the  Pharaonic 
temples;  the  only  difference  being  that  there  was  more  regularity  and  precision  in  the  distribution 
of  the  priests  into  classes. 

5 This  class  was  called  Monfitu  in  Ancient  Egypt  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptienne$,v ol.  ii.  pp.  35, 36;  cf. 
Brtjgsch,  Die  JEjyptologie,  pp.  232,  233).  The  Greek  historians,  from  the  time  of  Herodotus  onwards, 
generally  designated  them  by  the  term  p.&xmoi  (Herodotus,  ii.  164, 168 ; Diodorus  Sioulus,  i.  28,  73, 
74 ; cf.  Papyrus  No.  LX  til.  du  Louvre,  in  Letronne,  Les  Papyrus  Grecs  du  Louvre,  p.  360,  et  seq). 


X 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


30  G 

raised  everywhere  among  the  fellahs,1  the  Bedouin  of  the  neighbourhood,  the 
negroes,*2  the  Nubians,8  and  even  from  among  the  prisoners  of  war,  or  adventurers 
from  beyond  the  sea.4  This  motley  collection  of  foreign  mercenaries  composed 
ordinarily  the  body-guard  of  the  king  or  of  his  barons,  the  permanent  nucleus 
round  which  in  times  of  war  the  levies  of  native  recruits  were  rallied.  Every 
Egyptian  soldier  received  from  the  chief  to  whom  he  was  attached,  a holding  of 
land  for  the  maintenance  of  himself  and  his  family.  In  the  fifth  century  B.C. 
twelve  arurse  of  arable  land  was  estimated  as  ample  pay  for  each  man,5  and 
tradition  attributes  to  the  fabulous  Sesostris  6 the  law  which  fixed  the  pay  at 
this  rate.  The  soldiers  were  not  taxed,  and  were  exempt  from  forced  labour 
during  the  time  that  they  were  away  from  home  on  active  service  ; with  this 
exception  they  were  liable  to  the  same  charges  as  the  rest  of  the  population. 
Many  among  them  possessed  no  other  income,  and  lived  the  precarious  life  of 
the  fellah, — tilling,  reaping,  drawing  water,  and  pasturing  their  cattle, — in  the 
interval  between  two  musters.7  Others  possessed  of  private  fortunes  let  their 
holdings  out  at  a moderate  rental,  which  formed  an  addition  to  their  patrimonial 
income.8  Lest  they  should  forget  the  conditions  upon  which  they  possessed  this 

1 This  is  shown,  inter  alia , by  the  real  or  supposititious  letters  in  which  the  master-scribe  endeavours 
to  deter  his  pupil  from  adopting  a military  career  (Maspero,  Du  Genre  Epistolaire , pp.  40-44 ; cf.  Erman, 
LEgypten  und  JEgyptisches  Leben  im  Altertum,  pp.  721,  722),  recommending  that  of  a scribe  in  preference. 

2 Lni,  under  Papi  I.,  recruited  his  army  from  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole  of  Egypt,  from  Ele- 
phantine to  Letopolis  at  the  mouth  of  the  Delta,  aud  as  faras  the  Mediterranean,  from  among  the  Bedouin 
of  Lybia  and  of  the  Isthmus,  and  even  from  the  six  negro  races  of  Nubia  ( Inscription  d’Ouni,  11. 14-19). 

3 The  Nubian  tribe  of  the  Mazaiu,  afterwards  known  as  the  Lybian  tribe  of  the  Maskauasha, 
furnished  troops  to  the  Egyptian  kings  and  princes  for  centuries ; indeed,  the  Mazaiu  formed  such 
an  integral  part  of  the  Egyptian  armies  that  their  name  came  to  be  used  in  Coptic  as  a synonym  for 
soldier,  under  the  form  “matoi.” 

4 Later  on  we  shall  come  across  the  Skardana  of  the  Royal  Guard  under  Ramses  II.  (E.  de  Rouge, 
Exlrait  d’un  mdnoire  sur  les  attaques,  p.  5) ; later  still,  the  Ionians,  Carians,  and  Greek  mercenaries 
will  be  found  to  play  a decisive  part  in  the  history  of  the  Sa'itc  dynasties. 

5 Herodotus,  ii.  168.  The  arura  being  equal  to  27  82  ares  [an  are  = 100  square  metres],  the 
military  fief  contained  27  82  x 12  = 333-8i  ares.  [The  “arura,”  according  to  F.  L.  Griffith,  was 
a square  of  100  Egyptian  cubits,  making  about  3 of  an  acre,  or  2600  square  metres  ( Proceedings  of  the 
Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  vols.  xiv.,  xv.). — Trs.]  The  chiflilts  created  by  Mohammed-Ali,  with 
a view  to  bringing  the  abandoned  districts  into  cultivation,  allotted  to  each  labourer  who  offered  to 
reclaim  it,  a plot  of  land  varying  from  one  to  three  feddans,  i.e.  from  4200'83  square  metres  to 
12602T9  square  metres,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  necessities  of  each  family  (Chelu, 
Le  Nil,  le  Soudan,  VEgypte,  p.  210).  The  military  fiefs  of  ancient  Egypt  were,  therefore,  nearly  three 
times  as  great  in  extent  as  these  abadiyehs,  which  were  considered,  in  modern  Egypt,  sufficient  to 
supply  the  wants  of  a whole  family  of  peasants  ; they  must,  therefore,  have  secured  not  merely 
a bare  subsistence,  but  ample  provision  for  their  proprietors. 

6 Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  54,  73,  93;  cf.  Aristotle,  Polit.,  vii.  9.  No  Egyptian  monument  contains 
any  reference  to  the  passing  of  such  a law.  The  passage  in  the  “ Poem  of  Pentattirtt,”  which  has 
been  quoted  in  this  connection  (Revillout,  La  Caste  Militaire  organise  par  Ramses  II.  d'apres 
Diodore  de  Sidle  et  le  Poeme  de  Penlaour,  in  the  Revue  Egyptologique,  vol.  iii.  pp.  101-104),  does  not 
contain  any  statement  to  this  effect.  It  merely  makes  a general  allusion  to  the  favours  with  which 
the  king  loaded  his  generals  and  soldiers. 

7 This  follows  from  the  expressions  used  in  Papyrus  No.  LX1II.  du  Louvre , and  from  the  recom- 
mendations addressed  by  the  ministers  of  the  Ptolemies  to  the  royal  administrators  in  regard  to 
soldiers  who  had  sunk  into  pauperism. 

8 Diodorus  Siculus  says  in  so  many  words  (i.  74)  that  “ the  farmers  spent  their  life  in  cultivating 
lands  which  had  been  let  to  them  at  a moderate  rent  by  the  king,  by  the  priests,  and  by  the  warriors.'” 


FOREIGN  MERCENARIES  AND  THE  NATIVE  MILITIA. 


307 


military  holding,  and  should  regard  themselves  as  absolute  masters  of  it,  they 
were  seldom  left  long  in  possession  of  the  same  place : Herodotus  asserts  that 
their  allotments  were  taken  away  yearly  and  replaced  by  others  of  equal  extent.1 
It  is  difficult  to  say  if  this  law  of  perpetual  change  was  always  in  force ; at  any 
rate,  it  did  not  prevent  the  soldiers  from  forming  themselves  in  time  into  a kind 
of  aristocracy,  which  even  kings  and  barons  of  highest  rank  could  not  ignore. 
They  were  enrolled  in  special  registers,  with  the  indication  of  the  holding  which 


SOME  OF  THE  MILITARY  ATHLETIC  EXERCISES.2 


was  temporarily  assigned  to  them.  A military  scribe  kept  this  register  in  every 
royal  nome  or  principality.  He  superintended  the  redistribution  of  tho  lands, 
the  registration  of  privileges,  and  in  addition  to  his  administrative  functions,  he 
had  in  time  of  war  the  command  of  the  troops  furnished  by  his  own  district;  in 
which  case  he  was  assisted  by  a “ lieutenant,”  who  as  opportunity  offered  acted 
as  his  substitute  in  the  office  or  on  the  battle-field.3  Military  service  was  not 
hereditary,  but  its  advantages,  however  trifling  they  may  appear  to  us,  seemed 
in  the  eyes  of  the  fellahs  so  great,  that  for  the  most  part  those  who  were 
engaged  in  it  had  their  children  also  enrolled.  While  still  young  the  latter 
were  taken  to  the  barracks,  where  they  were  taught  not  only  the  use  of  the 
bow,  the  battle-axe,  the  mace,  the  lance,  and  the  shield,  but  were  all  instructed 


in  such  exercises  as  rendered  the  body  supple,  and  prepared  them  for 
manoeuvring,  regimental  marching,  running,  jumping,  and  wrestling  either 
with  closed  or  open  hand.1  They  prepared  themselves  for  battle  by  a regular 
war-dance,  pirouetting,  leaping,  and  braudishing  their  bows  and  quivers  in  the 

1 Herodotus,  ii.  168;  cf.  Wiedemann,  Herodots  Zweites  i>p,  578-580.  - - * 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-GudiD,  from  a scene  in  the  tomb  of  Ainoni-Amenemhait  at  Beni-Hasan 
(cf.  Griffith  and  Newberry,  Beni-Hasan,  vol.  i.  pi.  xvi.). 

3 This  organization  was  first  defined  by  G.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  31,  et  seq. 
While  the  name  of  the  class  liable  to  be  called  on  for  military  service  was  Monfitu,  later  auu,  the 
soldiers  collected  into  troops,  the  men  on  active  service  were  called  mdshau,  the  “marchers”  or 
“ foot-soldiers.” 

4 See,  on  the  subject  of  military  education,  the  curious  passages  in  the-  Anastasi  Papyrus  III. 
(pi.  v.  1.  5,  pi.  vi.),  and  Anastasi  IV.  (pi.  ix.  1.  4,  et  seq.),  translated  in  Maspero’s  Du  Genre  Episto- 
laire,  pp.  40-44;  cf.  Erman,  AEgypten  und  AEgypimeh'es  Leben  im  Altertum,  pp.  721,  722.  The 
exercises  are  represented  on  several  tombs  at  Beni-Hasan  (Champollion,  Monuments  da  I’Egypte 
et  de  la  Nubie , pi.  ccclxiv.,  and  Texte,  vol.  ii.  p.  348,  et  seq. ; Rosellini,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  cxi. 
et  seq.). 


.‘508 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


air.  Their  training  being  finished,  they  were  incorporated  into  local  companies, 
and  invested  with  their  privileges.  When  they  were  required  for  service,  part 
or  the  whole  of  the  class  Mas  mustered  ; arms  kept  in  the  arsenal  M’ere  dis- 
tributed among  them,  and  they  were  conveyed  in  boats  to  the  scene  of  action. 
The  Egyptians  were  not  martial  by  temperament ; they  became  soldiers  rather 
from  interest  than  inclination.1 

The  power  of  Pharaoh  and  his  barons  rested  entirely  upon  these  two  classes, 
the  priests  and  the  soldiers  ; the  remainder,  the  commonalty  and  the  peasantry, 
were,  in  their  hands,  merely  an  inert  mass,  to  be  taxed  and  subjected  to  forced 
labour  at  will.  The  slaves  were  probably  regarded  as  of  little  importance;  the 
bulk  of  the  people  consisted  of  free  families  who  were  at  liberty  to  dispose  of 
themselves  and  their  goods.  Every  fellah  and  townsman  in  the  service  of  the 
king,  or  of  one  of  his  great  nobles,  could  leave  his  work  and  his  village  when  he 
pleased,  could  pass  from  the  domain  in  which  he  Mas  born  into  a different  one, 
and  could  traverse  the  country  from  one  end  to  the  other,  as  the  Egyptians 
of  to-day  still  do.2  His  absence  entailed  neither  loss  of  goods,  nor  persecution 
of  the  relatives  he  left  behind,  and  he  himself  had  punishment  to  fear  only 
Mhen  he  left  the  Nile  Valley  without  permission,  to  reside  for  some  time  in  a 
foreign  land.3  But  although  this  independence  and  liberty  Mere  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  land,  yet  they  gave  rise  to  inconveniences 
from  M'hicli  it  M'as  difficult  to  escape  in  practical  life.  Every  Egyptian,  the 
king  excepted,  was  obliged,  in  order  to  get  on  in  life,  to  depend  on  one  more 
powerful  than  himself,  whom  he  called  his  master.  The  feudal  lord  was  proud 

1 With  regard  to  the  unwarlike  character  of  the  Egyptians,  see  what  Strabo  says,  lib.  xvii.  § 53, 
p.  819.  Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  73,  expressly  states  that  fiefs  were  given  to  the  fighting-men  “in  order 
that  the  possession  of  this  landed  property  might  render  them  more  zealous  in  risking  their  lives  on 
behalf  of  their  country.” 

2 In  the  “Instructions  of  Khiti,  son  of  Duauf,  to  his  son  Papi”  (Maspero,  Du  Style  Cpistolaire , 
p.  48,  et  seq. ; Lauth,  Die  altdgyptische  Hochsch ule  zu  Chennu,  in  the  Sitzungsberichle  of  the  Academy 
of  Munich,  1872,  i.  p.  37,  et  seq.),  the  scribe  shows  us  the  working  classes  as  being  always  on  the 
move  ; first  of  all  the  boatman  (§  vii .),  then  the  husbandman  (§  xii.),  the  armourer  (§  xiv.),  the  courier 
(§  xv.).  I may  mention  here  those  wandering  priests  of  Isis  or  Osiris,  who,  in  the  second  century  of 
our  era,  hawked  about  their  tabernacles  and  catch-penny  oracles  all  over  the  provinces  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  and  whose  traces  are  found  even  so  far  afield  as  the  remote  parts  of  the  Island  of  Britain. 

3 The  treaty  between  Ramses  and  the  Prince  of  Khiti  contains  a formal  extradition  clause  in 
reference  to  Egyptians  or  Hittites,  who  had  quitted  their  native  country,  of  course  without  the 
permission  of  their  sovereign  (E.  dii  Rouge,  Traits  entre  Ramses  II.  et  le  prince  de  Kliet,  in  the 
Revue  Archdologique,  2nd  series,  vol.  iv.  p.  268,  and  in  Egger,  Etudes  sur  les  trait €s  publics,  pp.  243, 
252;  Chabas,  Le  Voyage  d’un  Egyptien,  p.  332,  et  seq.).  The  two  contracting  parties  expressly 
stipulate  that  persons  extradited  on  one  side  or  the  other  shall  not  be  punished  for  having  emigrated, 
that  their  property  is  not  to  be  confiscated,  nor  are  their  families  to  be  held  responsible  for  their 
flight  (11.  22-36,  in  the  edition  of  Bouriant’s  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  156-158,  and  vol.  xiv. 
pp.  68,  69).  From  this  clause  it  follows  that  in  ordinary  times  unauthorized  emigration  brought  upon 
the  culprit  corporal  chastisement  and  the  confiscation  of  his  goods,  as  well  as  various  penalties  on 
his  family.  The  way  in  which  Sintthit  makes  excuses  for  his  flight,  the  fact  of  his  asking  pardon 
before  returning  to  Egypt  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  109,  et  seq.),  the  very  terms 
of  the  letter  in  which  the  king  recalls  him  and  assures  him  of  impunity,  show  us  that  the  laws 
against  emigration  were  in  full  force  under  the  XIIth  dynasty. 


PEOPLE  OF  THE  TOWNS:  SLAVES,  MEN  WITHOUT  A M A STEP.  309 


to  recognize  Pharaoh  as  his  master,  and  he  himself  was  master  of  the  soldiers 
and  priests  in  his  own  petty  state.1  From  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  social 
scale  every  free  man  acknowledged  a master,  who  secured  to  him  justice  and 
protection  in  exchange  for  his  obedience  and  fealty.  The  moment  an  Egyp- 
tian tried  to  withdraw  himself  from  this  subjection,  the  peace  of  his  life  was  at 
an  end ; he  became  a man  without  a master,  and  therefore  without  a recognized 
protector.2  Any  one  might  stop  him  on  the  way,  steal  his  cattle,  merchandise, 
or  property  on  the  most  trivial  pretext,  and  if  he  attempted  to  protest,  might 


WAR-DANCE  PERFORMED  BY  EGYPTIAN  SOLDIERS  BEFORE  A BATTLE.3 

beat  him  with  almost  certain  impunity.  The  only  resource  of  the  victim 
was  to  sit  at  the  gate  of  the  palace,  waiting  to  appeal  for  justice  till  the 
lord  or  the  king  should  appear.  If  by  chance,  after  many  rebuffs,  his  humble 
petition  were  granted,  it  was  only  the  beginning  of  fresh  troubles.  Even  if 
the  justice  of  the  cause  were  indisputable,  the  fact  that  he  was  a man  without 
home  or  master  inspired  his  judges  with  an  obstinate  mistrust,  and  delayed 
the  satisfaction  of  his  claims.  In  vain  he  followed  his  judges  with  his  com- 
plaints and  flatteries,  chanting  their  virtues  in  every  key  : “ Thou  art  the 
father  of  the  unfortunate,  the  husband  of  the  widow,  the  brother  of  the  orphan, 
the  clothing  of  the  motherless : enable  me  to  proclaim  thy  name  as  a law 
throughout  the  land.  Good  lord,  guide  without  caprice,  great  without  little- 
ness, thou  who  destroyest  falsehood  and  causest  truth  to  be,  come  at  the  words 
of  my  mouth  ; I speak,  listen  and  do  justice.  0 generous  one,  generous  of 
the  generous,  destroy  the  cause  of  my  trouble;  here  I am,  uplift  me;  judge 

1 The  expressions  which  bear  witness  to  this  fact  are  very  numerous:  Miri  nibuf  = “He  who 
loves  his  master ; ” Aqu  Haiti  ni  nibtjf  = “ He  who  enters  into  the  heart  of  his  master,”  etc.  They 
recur  so  frequently  in  the  texts  in  the  case  of  persons  of  all  ranks,  that  it  was  thought  no  importance 
ought  to  be  attached  to  them.  But  the  constant  repetition  of  the  word  NIB,  “master,”  shows  that 
wc  must  alter  this  view,  and  give  these  phrases  their  full  meaning. 

2 The  expression,  “a  man  without  a master,”  occurs  several  times  in  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  ii. 
For  instance,  the  peasant  who  is  the  hero  of  the  story,  says  of  the  lord  Miruitensi,  that  he  is 
“the  rudder  of  heaven,  the  guide  of  the  earth,  the  balance  which  carries  the  offerings,  the  buttress 
of  tottering  walls,  the  support  of  that  which  falls,  the  great  master  who  takes  whoever  is  without 
a master  to  lavish  on  him  the  goods  of  his  house,  a jug  of  beer  and  three  loaves  ” each  day  (II.  90-95). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  tomb  of  Khiti  at  Beni-Hasan  (Champollion,  Monuments, 
ccclxiv.  2;  Rosellini,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  cxvii.  2).  These  are  soldiers  of  the  nome  of  the  Gazelle. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


310 

me,  for  behold  me  a suppliant  before  thee.”  1 If  he  were  an  eloquent  speaker 
and  the  judge  were  inclined  to  listen,  he  was  willingly  heard,  but  his  cause 
made  no  progress,  and  delays,  counted  on  by  his  adversary,  effected  his  ruin. 
The  religious  law,  no  doubt,  prescribed  equitable  treatment  for  all  devotees 
of  Osiris,  and  condemned  the  slightest  departure  from  justice  as  one  of  the 
gravest  sins,  even  in  the  case  of  a great  noble,  or  in  that  of  the  king  himself;2 
but  hew  could  impartiality  be  shown  when  the  one  was  the  recognized  protector, 
the  “ master  ” of  the  culprit,  while  the  plaintiff  was  a vagabond,  attached  to 
no  one,  a “ man  without  a master  ” ! 3 

The  population  of  the  towns  included  many  privileged  persons  other  than 
the  soldiers,  priests,  or  those  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  temples.  Those 
employed  in  royal  or  feudal  administration,  from  the  “ superintendent  of  the 
storehouse  ” to  the  humblest  scribe,  though  perhaps  not  entirely  exempt  from 
forced  labour,  had  but  a small  part  of  it  to  bear.4  These  employes  constituted 
a middle  class  of  several  grades,  and  enjoyed  a fixed  income  and  regular 
employment : they  were  fairly  well  educated,  very  self-satisfied,  and  always 
ready  to  declare  loudly  their  superiority  over  any  who  were  obliged  to  gain 
their  living  by  manual  labour.  Each  class  of  workmen  recognized  one  or 
more  chiefs, — the  shoemakers,  their  master-shoemakers,  the  masons,  their 
master-masons,  the  blacksmiths,  their  master-blacksmiths, — who  looked  after 
their  interests  and  represented  them  before  the  local  authorities.5  It  was 
said  among  the  Greeks,  that  even  robbers  were  united  in  a corporation  like 
the  others,  and  maintained  an  accredited  superior  as  their  representative 
with  the  police,  to  discuss  the  somewhat  delicate  questions  which  the  prac- 
tice of  their  trade  gave  occasion  to.  When  the  members  of  the  association 

1 MAsrERO,  Les  Contes  popnlaires  de  V Egypt e Aveienne,  2nd  edit.,  p.  4G. 

2 See,  on  this  point,  the  “ Negative  Confession  ” in  chap.  cxxv.  of  the  Booh  of  the  Dead,  a complete 
translation  of  which  lias  been  given  on  pp.  188-191  of  the  present  work. 

3 The  whole  of  this  picture  is  taken  from  the  “ History  of  the  Peasant,”  which  has  been  preserved 
to  us  in  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  ii.  (Chabas,  Les  Papyrus  hieraligues  de  Berlin,  p.  5,  et  seq. ; 
Goodwin  in  Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  2nd  series,  p.  249,  et  seq. ; Maspeuo,  Les  Contes 
populaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  33,  et  seq.).  The  Egyptian  writer  has  placed  the  time  of  his  story  under 
a king  of  the  Heracleopolitan  dynasties,  the  IXth  and  the  Xth ; but  what  is  true  of  that  epoch  is 
equally  true  of  the  Ancient  Empire,  as  may  be  proved  by  comparing  what  he  says  with  the  data 
which  can  be  gleaned  from  an  examination  of  the  paintings  on  the  Memphite  tombs. 

4 This  is  a fair  inference  from  the  indirect  testimony  of  the  Letters : the  writer,  in  enumerating 
the  liabilities  of  the  various  professions,  implies  by  contrast  that  the  scribe  (t.e.  the  employe  in 
general)  is  not  subject  to  them,  or  is  subject  to  a less  onerous  share  of  them  than  others.  The 
beginning  and  end  of  the  instructions  of  Khiti  would  in  themselves  be  sufficient  to  show  us  the 
advantages  which  the  middle  classes  under  the  XIIth  dynasty  believed  they  could  derive  from 
adopting  the  profession  of  scribe  (Maspero,  Du  Genre  Epistolaire,  pp.  49,  50,  00,  et  seq.). 

5 The  stelae  of  Abydos  are  very  useful  to  those  who  desire  to  study  the  populations  of  a small 
town.  They  give  us  the  names  of  the  head-men  of  trades  of  all  kinds:  the  head-mason  Didiu 
(Mabiette,  Catalogue  general,  p.  129,  Nos.  593  and  339,  No.  947),  the  master-mason  Aa  (id.,  p.  161, 
No.  G40),  the  master-shoemaker  Kahikhonti  (Botjriant,  Petits  Monuments  et  petits  textes,  in  the 
Recueil,  vol.  vii.  p.  127,  No.  19),  the  head-smiths  Tsirtasen  Tati,  Ilotpft,  Hotpftrekhsft  (Mariette, 
Catalogue  general,  p.  287,  No,  856),  etc. 


WORKMEN  AND  ARTISANS:  CORPORATIONS. 


311 


had  stolen  any  object  of  value,  it  was  to  this  superior  that  the  person  robbed 
resorted,  in  order  to  regain  possession  of  it : it  was  he  who  fixed  the  amount 
required  for  its  redemption,  and  returned  it  without  fail,  upon  the  payment 
of  this  sum.1  Most  of  the  workmen  who  formed  a state  corporation,  lodged, 
or  at  least  all  of  them  had  their  stalls,  in  the  same  quarter  or  street,  under  the 
direction  of  their  chief.2  Besides  the  poll  and  the  house  tax,3  they  were  subject 


to  a special  toll,  a trade  licence  which  they  paid  in  products  of  their  commerce 
or  industry.5  Their  lot  was  a hard  one,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  description 
which  ancient  writers  have  handed  down  to  us  : “ I have  never  seen  a black- 
smith on  an  embassy — nor  a smelter  sent  on  a mission — but  what  I have  seen 
is  the  metal  worker  at  his  toil, — at  the  mouth  of  the  furnace  of  his  forge, — 
his  fingers  as  rugged  as  the  crocodile, — and  stinking  more  than  fish-spawn. — 

1 Diodoetjs  Sicdltjs,  i.  80;  cf.  Aulus  Gellius,  xi.  cap.  xviii.  § 16,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
the  jurisconsultus  Aristo,  haudquaquam  indocti  riri.  According  to  De  Pauw,  Recherches  philosophiques 
sur  les  Rgyptiens  et  sur  les  Chinois  (Berlin,  1731),  vol.  ii.  pt.  4,  p.  93,  et  seq.,  the  regulations  in 
regard  to  theft  and  thieves  were  merely  a treaty  concluded  with  the  Bedouin,  in  order  to  obtain 
from  them,  on  payment  of  a ransom,  the  restoration  of  objects  which  they  had  carried  off  in  the 
course  of  their  raids. 

2 A.  Baillet,  Divisions  et  Administration  d’une  Yille  Eqyntienne,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux, 
vol.  xi.  pp.  34-36. 

3 These  two  taxes  are  expressly  mentioned  under  Amenbthes  III.  (Brugsch,  Die  JEgyptologie, 
pp.  297-299).  Allusion  is  made  to  it  in  several  inscriptions  of  the  Middle  Empire. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Rosellini,  Monument!  Civili,  pi.  2 a;  cf.  Yiret,  Le  Tombeau 
de  ReJdimard,  in  the  Mdmoires  de  la  Mission  frangaise  du  Caire,  vol.  v.  pis.  xiii.,  xiv. 

5 The  registers  (for  the  most  part  unpublished)  which  are  contained  in  European  museums  show 
us  that  fishermen  paid  in  fish,  gardeners  in  flowers  and  vegetables,  etc.,  the  taxes  or  tribute  which 
they  owed  to  their  lords.  For  the  Greek  period,  see  what  Lumbroso  says  in  his  Economie  politique 
de  I'Rgypte,  p.  297,  et  seq.  In  the  great  inscription  of  Abydos  (Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  i.  pi.  viii. 
1.  88)  the  weavers  attached  to  the  temple  of  Seti  I.  are  stated  to  have  paid  their  tribute  in  stuffs. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


312 

The  artisan  of  any  kind  who  handles  the  chisel, — does  not  employ  so  much 
movement  as  he  who  handles  the  hoe  ; 1 — but  for  him  his  fields  are  the 
timber,  his  business  is  the  metal, — and  at  night  when  the  other  is  free, — he, 
lie  works  with  his  hands  over  and  above  what  he  has  already  done, — for  at 
night,  he  works  at  home  by  the  lamp. — The  stone-cutter  who  seeks  his  living 
by  working  in  all  kinds  of  durable  stone, — when  at  last  he  has  earned  some- 
thing— and  his  two  arms  are  worn  out,  he  stops  ; — but  if  at  sunrise  he  remain 


STONE-CUTTERS  FINISHING  THE  DRESSING  OF  LIMESTONE  CLOCKS.2 


sitting, — his  legs  are  tied  to  his  back.8 — The  barber  who  shaves  until  the 
evening, — when  he  falls  to  and  eats,  it  is  without  sitting  down  4 — while  running 
from  street  to  street  to  seek  custom ; — if  he  is  constant  [at  work]  his  two  arms 
fill  his  belly — as  the  bee  eats  in  proportion  to  its  toil. — Shall  I tell  thee  of  the 
mason — how  lie  endures  misery  ? — Exposed  to  all  the  winds— while  he  builds 
without  any  garment  but  a belt — and  while  the  bunch  of  lotus-flowers  [which 

1 The  literal  translation  would  be,  “The  artisan  of  all  kinds  who  handles  the  chisel  is  more 
motionless  than  he  who  haudles  the  hoe.”  Both  here,  and  in  several  other  passages  of  this  little 
satiric  poem,  I have  been  obliged  to  paraphrase  the  text  in  order  to  render  it  intelligible  to  tbe 
modern  reader. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Rosellini,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  xlviii.  2. 

3 This  is  an  allusion  to  the  cruel  manner  in  which  the  Egyptians  were  accustomed  to  bind  their 
prisoners,  as  it  were  in  a bundle,  with  the  legs  bent  backward  along  the  back  and  attached  to  the 
arms.  The  working-day  commenced  then,  as  now,  at  sunrise,  and  lasted  till  sunset,  with  a short 
interval  of  one  or  two  hours  at  midday  for  the  workmen’s  dinner  and  siesta. 

4 Literally,  “ He  places  himself  on  his  elbow.”  The  metaphor  seems  to  me  to  be  taken  from  the 
practice  of  the  trade  itself : the  barber  keeps  his  elbow  raised  when  shaving  and  lowers  it  when  he 
is  eating. 


MISERY  OF  HANDICRAFTSMEN. 


313 


is  fixed]  on  the  [completed]  houses — is  still  far  out  of  his  reach,1 — his  two 
arms  are  worn  out  with  work ; his  provisions  are  placed  higgledy  piggledy 
amongst  his  refuse, — he  consumes  himself,  for  he  has  no  other  bread  than  his 
fiDgers — and  he  becomes  wearied  all  at  once. — He  is  much  and  dreadfully 
exhausted — for  there  is  [always]  a block  [to  be  dragged]  in  this  or  that 
building, — a block  of  ten  cubits  by  six, — there  is  [always]  a block  [to  be 
dragged]  in  this  or  that  month  [as  far  as  the]  scaffolding  poles  [to  which 
is  fixed]  the  bunch  of  lotus-flowers  on  the  [completed]  houses. — When  the 


A WORKSHOP  WITH  SHOEMAKERS  MANUFACTURING  SANDALS.2 

work  is  quite  finished, — if  he  has  bread,  he  returns  home, — and  his  children 
have  been  beaten  unmercifully  [during  his  absence].3 — The  weaver  within 
doors  is  worse  off  there  than  a woman  squatting,  his  knees  against  his 
chest, — he  does  not  breathe. — If  during  the  day  he  slackens  weaving, — he  is 
bound  fast  as  the  lotuses  of  the  lake  ; — and  it  is  by  giving  bread  to  the 
doorkeeper,  that  the  latter  permits  him  to  see  the  light.4 — The  dyer,  his 
fingers  reeking — and  their  smell  is  that  of  fish-spawn ; — his  two  eyes  are 
oppressed  with  fatigue, — his  hand  does  not  stop, — and,  as  he  spends  his  time 
in  cutting  out  rags— he  has  a hatred  of  garments.5 — The  shoemaker  is  very 
unfortunate  ; — he  moans  ceaselessly, — his  health  is  the  health  of  the  spawning 

1 This  passage  is  conjecturally  translated.  I suppose  that  the  Egyptian  masons  had  a custom 
analogous  to  that  of  our  own,  and  attached  a bunch  of  lotus  to  the  highest  part  of  a building  they 
had  just  finished : nothing,  however,  has  come  to  light  to  confirm  this  conjecture. 

2 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  Champollion’s  Monuments  de  I’Egypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi. 
clxvi.  3 ; cf.  Kosellini,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  lxiv.  1 ; Virey,  Le  Tombeau  de  Relchmara,  in  the 
Memoires  publics  par  les  Membres  de  la  Mission  du  Cairo,  vol.  v.  pis.  xiii.,  xv.  This  picture  belongs  to 
the  XVIIIth  dynasty;  but  the  sandals  figured  in  it  are,  however,  quite  like  those  to  be  seen  on  more 
ancient  monuments. 

3 Saltier  Papyrus,  No.  ii.,  pi.  iv.  1.  6,  pi.  v.  1.  5 ; cf.  Maspero,  Du  Genre  Tipis  tolaire  chez  les 
Anciens  Egyptians  de  Vdpoque  pharaonique,  pp.  50,  51 ; Lauth,  Die  Altdgyptische  Hochschule  zu  Chennu, 
in  the  Comptes  Rendus  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Munich,  1872,  vol.  i.  p.  37,  et  seq. 

* Sallier  Papyrus,  No.  ii.,  pi.  vi.  11.  1-5;  cf.  Maspero,  Du  Genre  Fpistolaire,  pp.  53,  55,  and 
Chabas,  Recherche s pour  servir  a Vhistoire  de  la  XIX''  dynastie  egyptienne,  pp.  144,  145. 

5 Sallier  Papyrus,  No.  ii.,  pi.  vii.  11.  2,  3. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


314 

fish, — and  he  gnaws  the  leather.1— The  baker  makes  (lough,— subjects  the 
loaves  to  the  fire; — while  his  head  is  inside  the  oven, — his  son  holds  him 
by  the  legs ; — if  lie  slips  from  the  hands  of  his  son, — he  falls  there  into  the 
flames.  “ These  are  miseries  inherent  to  the  trades  themselves : the  levying 

of  the  tax  added  to  the  cata- 
logue a long  sequel  of  vexa- 
tions and  annoyances,  which 
were  renewed  several  times 
in  the  year  at  regular  inter- 
vals. Even  at  the  present 
day,  the  fellah  does  not  pay 
his  contributions  except 
under  protest  and  by  com- 
pulsion, but  the  determina- 
tion not  to  meet  obligations 
except  beneath  the  stick, 
was  proverbial  from  ancient 
times  : whoever  paid  his  dues 

THE  BAKER  MAKING  HIS  BREAD  AND  PLACING  IT  IN  THE  OVEN.3 

before  he  had  received  a 
merciless  beating  would  be  overwhelmed  with  reproaches  by  his  family,  and 
jeered  at  without  pity  by  his  neighbours.4  The  time  when  the  tax  fell  due, 
came  upon  the  nomes  as  a terrible  crisis  which  affected  the  whole  population. 
For  several  days  there  wras  nothing  to  be  heard  but  protestations,  threats, 
beating,  cries  of  pain  from  the  tax-payers,  and  piercing  lamentations  from 
women  and  children.  The  performance  over,  calm  was  re-established,  and  the 
good  people,  binding  up  their  wounds,  resumed  their  round  of  daily  life  until 
the  next  tax-e;atherine:. 

The  towms  of  this  period  presented  nearly  the  same  confined  and  mysterious 
appearance  as  those  of  the  present  day.5  They  were  grouped  around  one 
or  more  temples,  each  of  which  was  surrounded  by  its  own  brick  enclosing 
wall,  with  its  enormous  gateways:  the  gods  dwelt  there  iu  real  castles,  or,  if 

1 SaJlier  Papyrus,  No.  ii , pi.  vii.  1.  9,  pi.  viii.  1.  2. 

2 Ancistasi  Papyrus,  No.  ii.,  pi.  vii.  11.  3-5,  with  a duplicate  of  the  same  passage  in  the  Sallier 
Papyrus,  No.  i.  pi.  vii.  11.  7-9  ; cf.  Maspero,  du  Genre  Epistolaire  cliez  les  Anciens  figyptiens,  p.  35. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  painted  picture  in  one  of  the  small  antechambers  of  the 
tomb  of  Eamses  III.,  at  Bab-el-Moluk  (Bosellini,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  lxxxvi.  8). 

4 Ammiands  Marcellinus,  bk.  xxii.  chap.  16,  § 23  : “ Erubescit  apud  eos,  si  quis  non  infitiando 
tributa,  plurimas  in  corpore  vibices  ostendat ; ” cf.  JSltan,  Var.  Hist.,  vii.  18.  For  modern  timep, 
read  the  curious  account  given  by  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  306,  307. 

5 I have  had  occasion  to  make  “ soundings  ” or  excavations  at  various  points  iu  very  ancient  towns 
and  villages,  at  Thebes,  Abydos  and  Mataniyeh,  and  I give  here  a resume  of  my  observations.  Pro- 
fessor Petrie  has  brought  to  light  and  regularly  explored  several  cities  of  the  XIIth  and  XVIIIth 
dynasties,  situated  at  the  entrance  to  the  Fayum.  I have  borrowed  many  points  in  my  description 
from  the  various  works  which  he  has  published  on  the  subject,  Kahun,  Gurob  and  Hawara,  1890 ; and 
Illahun,  Kaliun  and  Gurob,  1891, 


ASPECT  OF  TEE  TOWNS. 


315 


this  word  appears  too  ambitious,  redouts,  in  which  the  population  could  take 
refuge  in  cases  of  sudden  attack,  and  where  they  could  be  in  safety.1  The 
towns,  which  had  all  been 
built  at  one  period  by  some 
king  or  prince,  were  on  a 
tolerably  regular  ground 
plan ; the  streets  were  paved 
and  fairly  wide ; they  crossed 
each  other  at  right  angles, 
and  were  bordered  with  the  house  of  a great  Egyptian  lord.2 

buildings  on  the  same  line  of  frontage.  The  cities  of  ancient  origin,  which  had 
increased  with  the  chance  growth  of  centuries,  presented  a totally  different 
aspect.  A network  of  lanes  and  blind  alleys,  narrow,  dark,  damp,  and 


water  for  their  households ; then  followed  an  open  space  of  irregular  shape,  shaded 

1 For  the  description  of  the  castles  of  princes  and  governors  of  nomes,  see  Maspero,  Sur  le  sens 
ties  mots  Nouit  et  Halt,  p.  13,  et  seq.  (extracted  from  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archxological 
Society,  1889-90);  for  that  of  the  houses,  see  ArchCologie  Egyplienne,  pp.  13,  14. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a water-colour  by  Boussac,  Le  Tombeau  d’Anna,  in  the  MCnioires 
de  la  Mission  Franfaise.  The  house  was  situated  at  Thebes,  and  belonged  to  the  XVIIIth  dynasty. 
The  remains  of  the  houses,  which  were  brought  to  light  by  Mariette  at  Abydos,  enabled  him  to 
reinstate  an  Egyptian  dwelling  on  the  occasion  of  the  Universal  Exhibition  (Paris,  1877),  and 
belonging  to  the  type  of  the  XIIth  dynasty,  date  back  to  that  period.  The  picture  of  the  tomb  of 
Anna  reproduces  in  most  respects,  we  may  therefore  assume,  the  appearance  of  a nobleman’s 
dwelling  at  all  periods.  At  the  side  of  the  main  building  we  see  two  corn  granaries  with  conical 
roofs,  and  a great  storehouse  for  provisions. 

3 From  a plan  made  and  published  by  Professor  Flinders  Petrie,  Illahun,  Kahun  and  Gurob,  pi.  xiv. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


316 

by  acacias  or  sycamores,  where  the  country-folk  of  the  suburbs  held  their  market 
on  certain  days,  twice  or  thrice  a month  ; then  came  waste  ground  covered  with 
filth  and  refuse,  over  which  the  dogs  of  the  neighbourhood  fought  with  hawks 
and  vultures.  The  residence  of  the  prince  or  royal  governor,  and  the  houses 
of  rich  private  persons,  covered  a considerable  area,  and  generally  presented 
to  the  street  a long  extent  of  bare  walls,  crenellated  like  those  of  a fortress  : 

the’only  ornament  admitted 
on  them,  consisted  of  angular 
grooves,  each  surmounted  by 
two  open  lotus  flowers  having 
their  stems  intertwined. 
Within  these  walls  domestic 
life  was  entirely  secluded, 
and  as  it  were  confined  to  its 
own  resources ; the  pleasure 
of  watching  passers-by  was 
sacrificed  to  the  advantage  of 
not  being  seen  from  outside. 
The  entrance  alone  denoted 
at  times  the  importance  of 
the  great  man  who  concealed 
himself  within  the  enclosure. 
Two  or  three  steps  led  up  to 
the  door,  which  sometimes 
had  a columned  portico,  orna- 
mented with  statues,  lending 
an  air  of  importance  to  the  building.  The  houses  of  the  citizens  were  small,  and 
built  of  brick  ; they  contained,  however,  some  half-dozen  rooms,  either  vaulted, 
or  having  flat  roofs,  and  communicating  with  each  other  usually  by  arched 
doorways.  A few  houses  boasted  of  two  or  three  stories;  all  possessed  a terrace, 
on  which  the  Egyptians  of  old,  like  those  of  to-day,  passed  most  of  their  time, 
attending  to  household  cares  or  gossiping  with  their  neighbours  over  the 
party  wall  or  across  the  street.  The  hearth  was  hollowed  out  in  the  ground, 
usually  against  a wall,  and  the  smoke  escaped  through  a hole  in  the  ceiling: 
they  made  their  fires  of  sticks,  wood  charcoal,  and  the  dung  of  oxen  and 
asses.  In  the  houses  of  the  rich  we  meet  with  state  apartments,  lighted 
in  the  centre  by  a square  opening,  and  supported  by  rows  of  wooden  columns; 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey.  The  monument  is  the  stele  of 
Sitft  (IVth  dynasty),  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (Maspero,  Guide  du  Yhiteur,  pp.  33,  208,  114, 
No.  1043. 


STELE  OF  SItO,  REPRESENTING  THE  FRONT  OF  A HOUSE.1 


HOUSES  AND  THEIR  FURNITURE. 


317 


the  shafts,  which  were  octagonal,  measured  ten  inches  in  diameter,  and  were 
fixed  into  fiat  circular  stone  bases. 


A STREET  IN  THE  HIGHER  QUARTER  OF  MODERN  SIUT.1 


The  family  crowded  themselves  together  into  two  or  three  rooms  in  winter, 
and  slept  on  the  roof  in  the  open  air  in  summer,  in  spite  of  risk  from 


A HALL  with  COLUMNS  in  ONE  OF  THE  XIIth  DYNASTY  HOUSES  AT  GVROJ5,2 

affections  of  the  stomach  and  eyes ; the  remainder  of  the  dwelling  was  used 
for  stables  or  warehouses.  The  store-chambers  were  often  built  in  pairs; 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph,  taken  in  1884,  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Professor  Petrie,  lllahun,  Kahun  and  Gurob, 
pi.  xvi.  3. 


318 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


they  were  of  brick,  carefully  limewashed  internally,  and  usually  assumed  the 
form  of  an  elongated  cone,  in  imitation  of  the  Government  storehouses.1 2  For 
the  valuables  which  constituted  the  wealth  of  each  house- 
hold— wedges  of  gold  or  silver,  precious  6tones, 
ornaments  for  men  or  women — there  were  places  of 
concealment,  in  which  the  possessors  attempted  to 
hide  them  from  robbers  or  from  the  tax-col- 
lectors. But  the  latter,  accustomed 


WOODEN  HEAD-REST.  - 


to  the  craft  of  the  citizens,  evinced 
a peculiar  aptitude  for  ferreting  out 
the  hoard : they  tapped  the  walls, 


PIGEON  ON  WHEELS.’ 


lifted  and  pierced  the  roofs,  dug  down  into  the  soil  below  the  foundations, 
and  often  brought  to  light,  not  only  the  treasure  of  the  owner,  but  all  the  sur- 
roundings of  the  grave  and  human  corruption.  It  was 
actually  the  custom,  among  the  lower  and  middle  classes, 
to  bury  in  the  middle  of  the  house  children  who  had  died 
at  the  breast.  The  little  body  w'as  placed  in 
an  old  tool  or  lineu  box,  without  any 
attempt  at  embalming,  and  its  favour- 
ite playthings  and  amulets  were  buried 
with  it : two  or  three  infants  are  often 
found  occupying  the  same  coffin.4 5  The 
playthings  were  of  an  artless  but  very 
varied  character ; dolls  of  limestone, 
enamelled  pottery  or  wood,  with  mov- 
able arms  and  w'igs  of  artificial  hair ; 
pigs,  crocodiles,  ducks,  and  pigeons  on 
wheels,  pottery  boats,  miniature  sets  of 
household  furniture,  skin  balls  filled  with 
hay,  marbles,  and  stone  bowls.  However 
strange  it  may  appear,  we  have  to  fancy  the 
small  boys  of  ancient  Egypt  as  playing  at 


APPARATUS  FOR  STRIKING  A LIGHT.3 


1 Fl.  Petrie,  Eahun,  Gurob  and  Hawara,  pp.  23,  24 ; and  Illaliun,  Kaliun  and  Gurob,  pp.  6-S. 
An  instance  of  twin  storehouses  may  be  seen  to  the  right  of  the  house  of  Anna  on  p.  315  of  this 
History. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a head-rest  in  my  possession  obtained  at  Gebelen  (XIlh 
dynasty) : the  foot  of  the  head-rest  is  usually  solid,  and  cut  out  of  a single  piece  of  wood. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Petrie,  Hawara,  Biahmu  and  Arsinoe,  pi.  xiii.  21. 
The  original,  of  rough  wood,  is  now  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum  at  Oxford. 

1 Fl.  Petrie,  Kaliun,  Gurob  and  Illaliun,  p.  24. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  published  in  Fl.  Petrie,  Illahun,  Kaliun  and  Gurob, 
pi.  vii.  The  bow  is  represented  in  the  centre;  on  the  left,  at  the  top,  is  the  nut;  below  it  the 


WOMEN  IN  FAMILY  LIFE. 


319 


bowls  like  ours,  or  impudently  whipping  their  tops  along  the  streets  without 
respect  for  the  legs  of  the  passers-hv.1 

Some  care  was  employed  upon  the  decoration  of  the  chambers.  The  rough- 
casting of  mud  often  preserves  its  original  grey  colour ; sometimes,  however, 
it  was  whitewashed  with  chalk,  coloured  with  red  or  yellow,  or  decorated 
with  pictures  of  jars,  provisions,  and  the  interiors  as  well  as  the  exteriors 
of  houses.2  The  bed  was  not  on  legs,  but  consisted  of  a low  framework,  like 


■mimmmirnnniiriTTmiTTrTrrimi 


miiipinimiiiiiMuiiBini 


MURAL  PAINTINGS  IN  THE  RUINS  OF  AN  ANCIENT  HOUSE  AT  KAHUN.3 

the  “angarebs”  of  the  modern  Nubians,  or  of  mats  which  were  folded  up  in  the 
daytime,  but  upon  which  they  lay  in  their  clothes  during  the  night,  the  head 
being  supported  by  a head-rest  of  pottery,  limestone,  or  wood : the  remaining 
articles  of  furniture  consisted  of  one  or  two  roughly  hewn  seats  of  stone, 
a few  lion-legged  chairs  or  stools,  boxes  and  trunks  of  varying  sizes  for  linen 
and  implements,4  kohl,  or  perfume,  pots  of  alabaster  or  porcelain,5  and  lastly, 
the  fire-stick  with  the  bow  by  which  it  was  set  in  motion,6  and  some  roughly 

fire-stick,  which  was  attached  to  the  end  of  the  stock ; at  the  bottom  and  right,  two  pieces  of  wood 
with  round  carbonized  holes,  which  took  fire  from  the  friction  of  the  rapidly  rotating  stick. 

1 Fl.  Petrie,  Kahun,  Gurob  and  lllahun,  pp.  21,  30,  and  31  ; Hawara,  Biahmu  and  Arsinoe, 

pp.  11,  12. 

2 Fl.  Petrie,  Kahun,  Gurob  and  lllahun,  p.  21 ; and  lllahun,  Kahun  and  Gurob,  p.  7,  and  pi.  xvi. 
4,  5,  6.  The  front  of  the  house  is  represented  on  the  lower  part,  the  interior  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  picture. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  facsimile  in  Petrie’s  lllahun , Kahun  and  Gurob,  pi.  xvi.  6. 
* Fl.  Petrie,  Kahun,  Gurob  and  Hawara,  p.  24  ; aud  lllahun,  Kahun  and  Gurob,  pp.  8-11,  12,  13. 

5 Fl.  Petrie,  Kahun,  Gurob  and  Hawara,  pp.  29,  30. 

6 Fl.  Petrie,  Kahun,  Gurob  and  Hawara,  p.  29,  pi.  ix.  b ; and  lllahun,  Kahun  and  Gurob,  p.  12, 
pi.  vii.  24,  25,  26.  I found  several  of  these  fire-sticks  at  Thebes,  in  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city. 


320 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


made  pots  and  pans  of  clay  or  bronze.1  Men  rarely  entered  their  houses 
except  to  eat  and  sleep  ; their  employments  or  handicrafts  were  such  as  to 
require  them  for  the  most  part  to  work  out-of-doors.  The  middle-class 
families  owned,  almost  always,  one  or  two  slaves — either  purchased  or  born 
in  the  house — who  did  all  the  hard  work : they  looked  after  the  cattle, 
watched  over  the  children,  acted  as  cooks,  and  fetched  water  from  the  nearest 
pool  or  well.  Among  the  poor  the  drudgery  of  the  house- 
hold fell  entirely  upon  the  woman.  She  spun,  wove,  cut 
out  and  mended  garments,  fetched  fresh  water  and  pro- 
visions, cooked  the  dinner,  and  made  the 
daily  bread.  She  spread  some  handfuls 
of  grain  upon  an  oblong  slab  of  stone, 
slightly  hollowed  on  its  upper  surface, 
and  proceeded  to  crush  them  with  a 
smaller  stone  like  a painter’s  muller, 
which  she  moistened  from  time  to 
time.  For  an  hour  and  more  she 
laboured  with  her  arms,  shoulders, 
loins,  in  fact,  all  her  body ; but  an  in- 
different result  followed  from  such  great 
woman  grinding  grain.3  exertion.  The  flour,  made  to  undergo 

several  grindings  in  this  rustic  mortar, 
was  coarse,  uneven,  mixed  with  bran,  or  whole  grains,  which  had  escaped 
the  pestle,  and  contaminated  with  dust  and  abraded  particles  of  the  stone. 
She  kneaded  it  with  a little  water,  blended  with  it,  as  a sort  of  yeast,  a piece  of 
stale  dough  of  the  day  before,  and  made  from  the  mass  round  cakes,  about 
half  an  inch  thick  and  some  four  inches  in  diameter,  which  she  placed  upon  a 
flat  flint,  covering  them  with  hot  ashes.  The  bread,  imperfectly  raised,  often 
badly  cooked,  borrowed,  from  the  organic  fuel  under  which  it  was  buried,  a 
special  odour,  and  a taste  to  which  strangers  did  not  readily  accustom  them- 
selves. The  impurities  which  it  contained  were  sufficient  in  the  long  run 
to  ruin  the  strongest  teeth ; eating  it  was  an  action  of  grinding  rather  than 
chewing,  and  old  men  were  not  unfrequently  met  with  whose  teeth  had 
been  gradually  worn  away  to  the  level  of  the  gums,  like  those  of  an  aged  ass 
or  ox.8 


1 Fl.  Petrie,  Kahun,  Gurob  and  Hawara,  pp.  24-26;  and  Illahun,  Kahun  and  Gurdb,  pp.  8-11, 
12,  13.  Earthen  pots  are  more  common  than  those  of  bronze. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Beehard  (cf.  Mariette,  Album  photographique  du 
Mue&  de  Boulaq,  pi.  20 ; Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur,  p.  220,  Nos.  1012,  1013). 

3 The  description  of  the  woman  grinding  grain  and  kneading  dough  is  founded  on  statues  in  the 
Gizeh  Museum  (Mariette,  Notice  des  principaux  monuments,  1864,  p.  202,  Nos.  30-35,  and  Album 
photographique  du  Musfe  de  Boulaq , pi.  20;  Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur,  p.  220,  Nos.  1012,  1013). 


SOLEMN  FESTIVALS. 


321 


Movement  and  animation  were  not  lacking  at  certain  hours  of  the  day, 
particularly  during  the  morning,  in  the  markets  and  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  temples  and  government  buildings : there  was  but  little  traffic 
auywhere  else;  the  streets  were  silent,  and  the  town  dull  and  sleepy.  It  woke 
up  completely  only  three  or  four  times  a year,  at  seasons  of  solemn  assemblies 
“of  heaven  and  earth:”  the  houses  were  then  opened  and  their  inhabitants 


TWO  WOMEN  WEAVING  LINEN  AT  A HORIZONTAL  LOOM.1 


streamed  forth,  the  lively  crowd  thronging  the  squares  and  crossways. 
To  begin  with,  there  was  New  Year’s  Day,  quickly  followed  by  the  Festival 
of  the  Dead,  the  “ Uagait.”  On  the  night  of  the  17th  of  Thot,  the  priests 
kindled  before  the  statues  in  the  sanctuaries  and  sepulchral  chapels,  the  fire 
for  the  use  of  the  gods  and  doubles  during  the  twelve  ensuing  months. 
Almost  at  the  same  moment  the  whole  country  was  lit  up  from  one  end  to 


All  the  European  museums  possess  numerous  specimens  of  the  bread  in  question  (Champollion, 
Notice  descriptive  des  monuments  du  Musde  Egyptien,  1827,  p.  97),  and  the  effect  which  it  produces 
in  the  long  run  on  the  teeth  of  those  who  habitually  used  it  as  an  article  of  diet,  has  been  observed 
in  mummies  of  the  most  important  personage!  (Maspero,  Les  Momies  royales  de  Deir  el  Baltari,  in 
the  Mgmoires  de  la  Mission  Frangaise,  vol.  i.  p.  581). 

1 Drawn  by  Eaucher-Gudin,  from  a picture  on  the  tomb  of  KnhmuhotpQ  at  Beni-Hasan  (cf. 
Champollion,  Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi.  ccclxxxi.  bis,  4 ; Kosellini,  Monumenti 
civili,  pi.  xli.  6;  Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  126).  This  is  the  loom  which  was  reconstructed  in  1889  for 
the  Paris  Exhibition,  and  which  is  now  to  be  seen  in  the  galleries  of  the  Trocadero. 


Y 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


the  other:  there  was  scarcely  a family,  however  poor,  who  did  not  place  in 
front  of  their  door  a new  lamp  in  which  burned  an  oil  saturated  with  salt,  and 
who  did  not  spend  the  whole  night  in  feasting  and  gossiping.1  The  festivals 
of  the  living  gods  attracted  considerable  crowds,  who  came  not  only  from  the 
nearest  nomes,  but  also  from  great  distances  in  caravans  and  in  boats  laden 
with  merchandise,  for  religious  sentiment  did  not  exclude  commercial  interests, 
and  the  pilgrimage  ended  in  a fair.  For  several  days  the  people  occupied 
themselves  solely  in  prayers,  sacrifices,  and  processions,  in  which  the  faithful, 
clad  in  white,  with  palms  in  their  hands,  chanted  hymns  as  they  escorted 
the  priests  on  their  way.  “ The  gods  of  heaven  exclaim  ‘ Ah ! ah ! ’ in 
satisfaction,  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  full  of  gladness,  the  Hathors  beat 
their  tabors,  the  great  ladies  wave  their  mystic  whips,  all  those  who  are 
gathered  together  in  the  town  are  drunk  with  wine  and  crowned  with  flowers ; 
the  tradespeople  of  the  place  wulk  joyously  about,  their  heads  scented  with 
perfumed  oils,  all  the  children  rejoice  in  honour  of  the  goddess,  from  the  rising 
to  the  setting  of  the  sun.” 2 The  nights  were  as  noisy  as  the  days : for  a few 
hours,  they  made  up  energetically  for  long  months  of  torpor  and  monotonous 
existence.  The  god  having  re-entered  the  temple  and  the  pilgrims  taken 
their  departure,  the  regular  routine  was  resumed  and  dragged  on  its  tedious 
course,  interrupted  only  by  the  weekly  market.  At  an  early  hour  on  that  day, 
the  peasant  folk  came  in  from  the  surrounding  country  in  an  interminable 
stream,  and  installed  themselves  in  some  open  space,  reserved  from  time 
immemorial  for  their  use.  The  sheep,  geese,  goats,  and  large-horned  cattle 
were  grouped  in  the  centre,  awaiting  purchasers.  Market-gardeners,  fishermen, 
fowlers,  and  gazelle-hunters,  potters,  and  small  tradesmen,  squatted  on  the 
roadsides  or  against  the  houses,  and  offered  their  wares  for  the  inspection  of 
their  customers,  heaped  up  in  reed  baskets,  or  piled  on  low  round  tables: 
vegetables  and  fruits,  loaves  or  cakes  baked  during  the  night,  meat  either  raw 
or  cooked  in  various  ways,  stuffs,  perfumes,  ornaments, — all  the  necessities  and 
luxuries  of  daily  life.  It  was  a good  opportunity  for  the  workpeople,  as  well 
as  for  the  townsfolk,  to  lay  in  a store  of  provisions  at  a cheaper  rate  than  from 
the  ordinary  shops  ; and  they  took  advantage  of  it,  each  according  to  his  means. 


1 The  night  of  the  17th  Thot — which,  according  to  our  computation,  would  be  the  night  of  the 
16th  to  the  17th — was,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  Great  Inscription  of  Siut  (1.  36,  et  seq.),  appointed 
for  the  ceremony  of  “ lighting  the  fire  ” before  the  statues  of  the  dead  and  of  the  gods.  As  at  the 
“Feast  of  Lamps”  mentioned  by  Herodotus  (ii.  62),  the  religious  ceremony  was  accompanied  by  a 
general  illumination  which  lasted  all  the  night;  the  object  of  this,  probably,  was  to  facilitate  the 
visit  which  the  souls  of  the  dead  were  supposed  to  pay  at  this  time  to  the  family  residence. 

2 Dumichen,  Dendera,  pi.  xxxviii.  11.  15-19.  The  people  of  Dendera  crudely  enough  called 
this  the  “Feast  of  Drunkenness.”  From  what  we  know  of  the  earlier  epochs,  we  are  justified  in 
making  this  description  a general  one,  and  in  applying  it,  as  I have  done  here,  to  all  the  festivals  of 
other  towns  than  Dendera. 


PERIODIC  MARKETS. 


323 


Business  was  mostly  carried  on  by  barter.1  The  purchasers  brought  with 
them  some  product  of  their  toil — a new  tool,  a pair  of  shoes,  a reed  mat, 
pots  of  unguents  or  cordials;  often,  too,  rows  of  cowries  and  a small  box  full  of 
rings,  each  weighing  a “ tabnu,”  made  of  copper,  silver,  or  even  gold,  all  destined 
to  be  bartered  for  such  things  as  they  needed.2  When  it  came  to  be  a question 
of  some  large  animal  or  of  objects  of  considerable  value,  the  discussions  which 
arose  were  keen  and  stormy  : it  was  necessary  to  be  agreed  not  only  as  to  the 
amount,  but  as  to  the  nature  of  the  payment  to  be  made,  and  to  draw  up  a sort 
of  invoice,  or  in  fact  an  inventory,  in  which  beds,  sticks,  honey,  oil,  pick-axes, 
and  garments,  all  figure  as  equivalents  for  a bull  or  a ske-ass.3  Smaller  retail 
bargains  did  not  demand  so  many  or  such  complicated  calculations.  Two 
townsfolk  stop  for  a moment  in  front  of  a fellah  who  offers  onions  and  corn  in 
a basket  for  sale.  The  first  appears  to  possess  no  other  circulating  medium 
than  two  necklaces  made  of  glass  beads  or  many-coloured  enamelled  terra- 
cotta ; the  other  flourishes  about  a circular  fan  with  a wooden  handle,  and  one 
of  those  triangular  contrivances  used  by  cooks  for  blowing  up  the  fire.  “ Here 
is  a fine  necklace  which  will  suit  you,”  cries  the  former,  “ it  is  just  what  you 
are  wanting ; ” while  the  other  breaks  in  with  : “ Here  is  a fan  and  a venti- 
lator.” The  fellah,  however,  does  not  let  himself  be  disconcerted  by  this  double 
attack,  and  proceeding  methodically,  he  takes  one  of  the  necklaces  to  examine 
it  at  his  leisure  : “ Give  it  to  me  to  look  at,  that  I may  fix  the  price.”  The 
one  asks  too  much,  the  other  offers  too  little ; after  many  concessions,  they  at 
last  come  to  an  agreement,  and  settle  on  the  number  of  onions  or  the  quantity 
of  grain  which  corresponds  exactly  with  the  value  of  the  necklace  or  the  fan. 
A little  further  on,  a customer  wishes  to  get  some  perfumes  in  exchange  for  a 
pair  of  sandals,  and  conscientiously  praises  his  wares : “ Here,”  says  he,  “ is  a 
strong  pair  of  shoes.”  But  the  merchant  has  no  wish  to  be  shod  just  then, 

1 The  scenes  of  market  life  here  described  are  borrowed  from  a tomb  at  Saqqara  (Lepsius, 
Derikvn .,  ii.  96).  Attention  was  drawn  to  them  in  my  lectures  at  the  College  of  France  in  1876,  and 
they  were  reproduced  among  the  pictures  of  Egyptian  customs  collected  by  Mariette  for  the  Paris 
Exhibition  of  1878  (Mariette,  La  Galerie  de  I'Egypte  ancienne  a V Exposition  retrospective  du  Troca- 
d€ro,  p.  41);  I published  them  about  the  same  time  in  the  Gazette  Archdulogique,  1880,  p.  97,  et  seq. 
M.  Chabas  had,  indeed,  recognized  in  them  scenes  of  market  life  ( Recherches  sur  les  Folds,  Mesures  et 
Monnaies  des  Anciens  Egyptiens,  pp.  15,  16),  but  did  not  fully  understand  their  detail  and  composition. 

2 The  name  deciphered  as  utnu,  “ ten,”  must,  since  the  researches  of  Chabas,  be  read  tabnu  (W. 
Spjegelberg,  Die  Lesung  des  Gewichtes  Tabnu,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xy.  pp.  145,  146). 
The  researches  of  Chabas  (Note  sur  un  Pouts  egyptien  de  la  collection  de  M.  Harris  d’ Alexandrie,  in 
the  Reiue  Archdologique,  1861,  2nd  series,  vol.  iii.  p.  12,  et  seq. ; Determination  metrique  de  deux 
Mesures  egyptiennes  de  capacite,  1857 ; Recherches  sur  les  Poids,  Mesures  et  Monnaies  des  Anciens 
Egyptiens,  in  the  Memoires  de  I’Academie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  Savants  etrangers,  vol. 
xxvii.)  have  established  the  fact  that  the  average  weight  of  the  tabnh  varied  from  91  to  92  grammes 
[about  3|  ozs.  avoirdupois. — Trs.]  ; these  results  have  been  confirmed  with  but  trifling  differences  by 
the  tests  of  Professor  Flinders  Petrie. 

3 Several  invoices  of  this  nature  will  be  found  translated  in  Chabas,  Recherches  sur  les  Poids, 
Mesures  et  Monnaies  des  Anciens  Egyptiens,  p.  17,  et  seq.  They  are  all  of  the  XXth  dynasty,  and  are  in 
the  possession  of  the  British  Museum  (S.  Birch,  Inscriptions  in  the  Hieratic  and  Demotic  Character,  pi. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


324 

and  demands  a row  of  cowries  for  Lis  little  pots  : “ You  have  merely  to  take  a 
few  drops  oi  this  to  see  how  delicious  it  is,”  he  urges  in  a persuasive  tone.  A 
seated  customer  has  two  jars  thrust  under  his  nose  by  a woman — they  probably 

contain  some  kind  of  unguent:  “ Here  is 
something  which  smells  good  enough  to 
tempt  you.”  Behind  this  group  two  men 
are  discussing  the  relative  merits  of  a brace- 
let and  a bundle  of  fish-hooks;  a woman, 
with  a small  box  in  her  hand,  is  having  an 
argument  with  a merchant  selling  necklaces  ; 
another  woman  seeks  to  obtain  a reduction 
in  the  price  of  a fish  which  is  being  scraped 
in  front  of  her.  Exchanging  commodities 
for  metal  necessitated  two  or  three  opera- 
tions not  required  in  ordinary  barter.  The 
rings  or  thin  bent  strips  of  metal  which 
formed  the  “tabnu  ” and  its  multiples,1  did 
not  always  contain  the  regulation  amount  of 
gold  or  silver,  and  were  often  of  light  weight. 
They  had  to  be  weighed  at  every  fresh  trans- 
action in  order  to  estimate  their  true  value, 
and  the  interested  parties  never  missed  this 
excellent  opportunity  for  a heated  discus- 
sion : after  having  declared  for  a quarter  of 

ONE  OF  THE  FORMS  OF  EGYPTIAN  SCALES.2 

an  hour  that  the  scales  were  out  of  order,  that 

the  weighing  had  been  carelessly  performed,  and  that  it  should  be  done  over 

again,  they  at  last  came  to  terms,  exhausted  with  wrangling,  and  then  went 

their  way  fairly  satisfied  with  one  another.3  It  sometimes  happened  that  a 

xvi.,  Nos.  5633,  5636).  The  invoice  of  the  bull  (Birch,  Inscriptions  in  the  Hieratic  and  Demotic  Charac- 
ter, pi.  xv.,  No.  5649)  has  been  translated  and  commented  on  by  Chabas,  in  his  Melanges  Egyptologiques, 
3rd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  217,  et  seq.  The  invoice  of  the  she-ass  is  preserved  on  the  Berlin  ostracon,  No. 
6241 ; it  has  been  referred  to  by  Erman,  JEgypten  und  LEgyptisches  Leben  in  Allertum,  pp.  657,  658. 

1 The  rings  of  gold  in  the  Museum  at  Leyden  (Leemans,  Monuments  Egyptiens , vol.  ii.  pi.  xli., 
No.  296),  which  were  used  as  a basis  of  exchange  (Brandis,  Das  Miinz-  Mass-  und  Gemchtsicesen 
in  Vorder-Asien,  p.  82),  are  made  on  the  Chald;eo -Baby Ionian  pattern,  and  belong  to  the  Asiatic 
system  (Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Monnaie  dans  V Antiquity  vol.  i.  pp.  103,  104).  We  must,  perhaps, 
agree  with  Fr.  Lenormant  (pp.  cit.,  pp.  104,  105),  in  his  conclusion  that  the  only  kind  of  national 
metal  of  exchange  in  use  iu  Egypt  was  a copper  wire  or  plate  bent  thus  s => , c=?,  this  being  the 
sign  invariably  used  in  the  hieroglyphics  in  writing  the  word  tabnu. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  after  a sketch  by  Kosellini,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  lii.  1.  As  to  the  con- 
struction of  the  Egypt  ian  scales,  and  the  working  of  their  various  parts,  see  Flinders  Petrie’s  remarks  in 
A Season  in  Egypt,  p.  42,  and  the  drawings  which  he  has  brought  together  on  pi.  xx.  of  the  same  work. 

3 The  weighing  of  rings  is  often  represented  on  the  monuments  from  the  XVIIIth  dynasty 
onwards  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  iii.  10  a,  39  a,  d,  etc.).  I am  not  acquainted  with  any  instance  of  this  on 
the  bas-reliefs  of  the  Ancient  Empire.  The  giving  of  false  weight  is  alluded  to  in  the  paragraph  iu 
the  “ Negative  Confession,”  in  which  the  dead  man  declares  that  he  has  not  interfered  with  the 
beam  of  the  scales  (cf.  p.  189  of  the  present  work). 


Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a chromolithograph  by  Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.'9G. 


326 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


dealer  too  clever  or  too  unscrupulous  would  alloy  the  rings,  and  mix  with  the 
precious  metal  as  much  of  a baser  sort  as  would  be  possible  without  danger  of 
detection.  The  honest  merchant  who  thought  he  was  receiving  in  payment  for 
some  article,  say  eight  tabnu  of  fine  gold,  and  who  had  handed  to  him  eight 
tabnu  of  some  alloy  resembling  gold,  but  containing  one-third  of  silver,  lost  in 
a single  transaction,  without  suspecting  it,  almost  one-third  of  his  goods.  The 
fear  of  such  counterfeits  was  instrumental  in  restraining  the  use  of  tabnu  for 
a long  time  among  the  people,  and  restricted  the  buying  and  selling  in  the 
markets  to  exchange  in  natural  products  or  manufactured  objects. 

The  present  rural  population  of  Egypt  scarcely  ever  live  in  isolated  and 
scattered  farms ; they  are  almost  all  concentrated  in  hamlets  and  villages  of 
considerable  extent,  divided  into  quarters  often  at  some  distance  from  each 
other.1  The  same  state  of  things  existed  in  ancient  times,  and  those  who  would 
realize  what  a village  in  the  past  was  like,  have  only  to  visit  any  one  of  the 
modern  market  towns  scattered  at  intervals  along  the  valley  of  the  Nile: — 
half  a dozen  fairly  built  houses,  inhabited  by  the  principal  people  of  the  place; 
groups  of  brick  or  clay  cottages  thatched  with  dourah  stalks,  so  low  that  a man 
standing  upright  almost  touches  the  roof  with  his  head;  courtyards  filled  with 
tall  mud-built  circular  sheds,  in  which  the  corn  and  dourah  for  the  house- 
hold is  carefully  stored,  and  wherever  we  turn,  pigeons,  ducks,  geese,  and  animals 
all  living  higgledy-piggledy  with  the  family.  The  majority  of  the  peasantry 
were  of  the  lower  class,  but  they  were  not  everywhere  subjected  to  the  same 
degree  of  servitude.  The  slaves,  properly  so  called,  came  from  other  countries ; 
they  had  been  bought  from  foreign  merchants,  or  they  had  been  seized  in  a raid 
and  had  lost  their  liberty  by  the  fortune  of  war.2  Their  master  removed  them 
from  place  to  place,  sold  them,  used  them  as  he  pleased,  pursued  them  if  they 
succeeded  in  escaping,  and  had  the  right  of  recapturing  them  as  soon  as  he 
received  information  of  their  whereabouts.  They  worked  for  him  under  his 
overseer’s  orders,  receiving  no  regular  wages,  and  with  no  hope  of  recovering 
their  liberty.3  Many  chose  concubines  from  their  own  class,  or  intermarried 

1 Maspeko,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  164,  172. 

2 Tlie  first  allusion  to  prisoners  of  war  brought  back  to  Egypt,  is  found  in  the  biography  of  Tni 
(11.  26,  27).  The  method  in  which  they  were  distributed  among  the  officers  and  soldiers  is  indicated 
in  several  inscriptions  of  the  New  Empire,  in  that  of  Ahmes  Pennekhabit  (Lefsids,  Auswahl  der 
wichtigsten  Vrkunden,  pi.  xiv.  a,  11.  5,  7,  10;  cf.  Prisse  d’Avennes,  Monuments  de  VEgypte,  pi.  ix., 
and  especially  Maspeko,  Notes  sur  quelques  points  de  Grammaire  et  d’Histoire,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1883, 
pp.  77,  78,  where  a complete  text  is  given),  in  that  of  Ahmosis  si-Abina  (Lepsics,  Denlcm.,  iii.  12, 
where  one  of  the  inscriptions  contains  a list  of  slaves,  some  of  whom  are  foreigners),  in  that  of 
Amenemhabi  (Ebers,  Zeit  und  Tliaten  Tutmes  III.,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1873,  pp.  1-9  and  G3,  et  seq.). 
We  may  form  some  idea  of  the  number  of  slaves  in  Egypt  from  the  fact  that  in  thirty  years  Ramses 
III.  presented  113,433  of  them  to  the  temples  alone  (Brugsch,  Die  JEgyptologie,  pp.  264,  265;  Erman, 
JEgypten,  p.  40G).  The  “Directors  of  the  Royal  Slaves,”  at  all  periods,  occupied  an  important 
position  at  the  court  of  the  Pharaohs  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  8,  39). 

3 A scene  reproduced  by  Lepsius  (Denlcm.,  ii.  107)  shows  us,  about  the  time  of  the  VIth  dynasty, 


TEE  VILLAGES,  SERFS,  AND  FREE  PEASANTRY. 


32  7 


with  the  natives  and  had  families : at  the  end  of  two  or  three  generations 
their  descendants  became  assimilated  with  the  indigenous  race,  and  were 
neither  more  nor  less  than  actual  serfs  attached  to  the  soil,  who  were  made 
over  or  exchanged  with  it.1  The  landed  proprietors,  lords,  kings,  or  gods, 


PART  OF  THE  MODERN  VILLAGE  OF  KARNAK,  TO  THE  WEST  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  ATIT.2 

accommodated  this  population  either  in  the  outbuildings  belonging  to  their 

residences,  or  in  villages  built  for  the  purpose,  where  everything  belonged 

to  them,  both  houses  and  people.3  The  condition  of  the  free  agricultural 

labourer  was  in  many  respects  analogous  to  that  of  the  modern  fellah.  Some 

of  them  possessed  no  other  property  than  a mud  cabin,  just  large  enough  for 

a man  and  his  wife,  and  hired  themselves  out  by  the  day  or  the  year  as  farm 

the  harvest  gathered  by  the  “ royal  slaves  ” in  concert  with  the  tenants  of  the  dead  man  (Maspero, 
Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  86).  One  of  the  petty  princes  defeated  by  the  Ethiopian  Pionkhi  Miamun 
proclaims  himself  to  be  “ one  of  the  royal  slaves  who  pay  tribute  in  kind  to  the  royal  treasury  ” 
(E.  de  Rouge,  La  Stele  du  roi  etliiopien  Pianltlii-Meriamen,  p.  31,  1.  8).  Amten  repeatedly  mentions 
slaves  of  this  kind,  “ sfitiu”  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  168,  1.  13;  p.  211,  1.  4). 

1 This  is  the  status  of  serfs,  or  miritiu,  as  shown  in  the  texts  of  every  period.  They  are 
mentioned  along  with  the  fields  or  cattle  attached  to  a temple  or  belonging  to  a noble.  Ramses  II. 
granted  to  the  temple  of  Abydos  “an  appanage  in  cultivated  lands,  in  serfs  (miritiu),  in  cattle” 
(Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  i.  pi.  vii.  1.  72).  The  scribe  Anna  sees  in  his  tomb  “stalls  of  bulls,  of  oxen, 
of  calves,  of  milch  cows,  as  well  as  serfs,  in  the  mortmain  of  Amon  ” (Brugsch,  Recueil  de  Monu- 
ments, vol.  i.  pi.  xxxvi.  2,  11.  1,  2).  Ptolemy  I.  returned  to  the  temple  at  Buto  “the  domains,  the 
boroughs,  the  serfs,  the  tillage,  the  water  supply,  the  cattle,  the  geese,  the  Hocks,  all  the  things  ” 
which  Xerxes  had  taken  away  from  Kabbisha  (Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  xiii.  11.  13,  14). 
The  expression  passed  into  the  language,  as  a word  used  to  express  the  condition  of  a subject  race; 
“I  cause,”  said  Thutmosis  III.,  “Egypt  to  be  a sovereign  ( hint ) to  whom  all  the  earth  is  a slave” 
(mil  itd)  (Brugsch,  Diet.  Uier.,  pp.  672,  673). 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Beato,  taken  in  1886. 

3 The  arritu,  so  frequently  mentioned  in  the  texts,  and  the  pi-habu  acted  as  ergasluli,  and 
included,  among  others,  the  slaves  of  the  kings  and  of  the  gods  (Brugsch,  Diet.  Hitr.,  pp.  749,  750  ; 
cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  29,  30,  and  the  Hypog&s  royaux  de  Thebes,  p.  26). 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


328 

servants.1  Others  were  emboldened  to  lease  land  from  the  lord  or  from  a soldier 
in  the  neighbourhood.2  The  most  fortunate  acquired  some  domain  of  which  they 
were  supposed  to  receive  only  the  product,  the  freehold  of  the  property  remaining 
primarily  in  the  hands  of  the  Pharaoh,  and  secondarily  in  that  of  lay  or  religious 
feudatories  who  held  it  of  the  sovereign  : they  could,  moreover,  bequeath,  give, 
or  sell  these  lands  and  buy  fresh  ones  without  any  opposition.3  They  paid,  besides 
the  capitation  tax,  a ground  rent  proportionate  to  the  extent  of  their  property, 
and  to  the  kind  of  land  of  which  it  was  composed.4  It  was  not  without  reason 
that  all  the  ancients  attributed  the  invention  of  geometry  to  the  Egyptians/’ 
The  perpetual  encroachments  of  the  Nile  and  the  displacements  it  occasioned, 
the  facility  with  which  it  effaced  the  boundaries  of  the  fields,  and  in  one  summer 
modified  the  whole  face  of  a noine,  had  forced  them  from  early  times  to  measure 
with  the  greatest  exactitude  the  ground  to  which  they  owed  their  sustenance.0 
The  territory  belonging  to  each  town  and  nome  was  subjected  to  repeated  surveys 
made  and  co-ordinated  by  the  Royal  Administration,  thus  enabling  Pharaoh  to 
know  the  exact  area  of  his  estates.  The  unit  of  measurement  was  the  arura ; that 
is  to  say,  a square  of  a hundred  cubits,  comprising  in  round  numbers  twenty- 
eight  ares.*  A considerable  staff  of  scribes  and  surveyors  was  continually  occu- 
pied in  verifying  the  old  measurements  or  in  making  fresh  ones,  and  in  recording 
in  the  State  registers  any  changes  which  might  have  taken  place.7  Each  estate 

1 They  are  mentioned  in  the  Sallier  Papyrus,  No.  ii.,  p.  5,  11.  7-9;  cf.  Maspero,  Le  Genre 
Epislolaire,  p.  52. 

2 Diodorus,  i.  74.  As  to  the  letting  of  royal  or  other  lauds  during  the  Ptolemaic  period,  see  the 
remarks  of  Lumbroso,  Recherches  sur  V Economie  politique  de  VEgypte,  pp.  91,  95. 

* Amten  had  inherited  a domain  from  his  father  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptienncs,  vol.  ii.  pp.  238,  239). 
He  gave  fifty  arurx  to  his  mother  (id.,  pp.  228-230),  and  other  lands  to  his  children  (cf.  p.  294  of  the  pre- 
sent work).  It  was  to  these  proprietors  that  Arnold,  Prince  of  Mihit,  alluded,  when  lie  said  that  “ the 
masters  of  the  fields  were  becoming  masters  of  all  hinds  of  property ,”  i.e.  were  becoming  rich,  thanks  to 
their  good  management  (Maspero,  La  Grande  Inscription  de  Beni-Hassan,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  i.  p.  174). 

4 The  capitation  tax,  the  ground  rent,  and  the  house  duty  of  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies,  already 
existed  under  the  rule  of  the  native  Pharaohs.  Brugscli  ( Die  JEgyplologie,  pp.  297-299)  has  shown 
that  these  taxes  are  mentioned  in  an  inscription  of  the  time  of  Amenothes  III.  (Mariette,  Karnah, 
pi.  xxxvii.  1.  31). 

5 Herodotus,  ii.  103;  according  to  Plato  ( Phxdrus , § 1 ix. , Didot's  edition,  vol.  i.  p.  733),  Tliot 
was  supposed  to  have  been  the  inventor  of  the  art  of  surveying;  Jamblichus  (Life  of  Pythagoras, 

§ 29)  traces  the  discovery  back  to  the  time  of  the  gods. 

u Servius,  Ad  Virgilii  Eclog.,  iii.  41  : “ Inventa  enim  lime  ars  est  tempore  quo  Nilus,  plus  aequo 
crescens,  confudit  terminos  possessionum,  ad  quos  innovandos  adhibiti  sunt  philosoplii,  qui  lineis 
diviserunt  agros  ; inde  geometria  dicitur.” 

[*  One  “are”  equals  100  square  metres. — Tk.] 

7 A series  of  inscriptions  of  Edfii,  published  and  explained  by  Lepsius  (Ueher  eine  hieroglyphische 
Inschrift  am  Tempel  von  Edfu,  Apollinopolis  Magna,  in  welcher  der  Besitz  dieses  Tempels  an  Liinder- 
I'ien  unter  der  Regierung  Ptolemxus  VI  Alexander  I verzeiehnel  ist,  in  the  Mdmoires  de  V Academic 
des  Science  de  Berlin,  1855,  p.  69,  et  seq.),  and  more  recently  by  Brugscli  ( Thesaurus  Inscriptionum 
JEgyptiacarum,  iii.  pp.  531-607),  shows  what  these  Registers  of  Surveys  must  have  been  like.  Some 
information  as  to  the  organization  of  this  department  and  its  staff  may  be  found  on  p.  592,  et  seq- 
of  Brugsch’s  Thesaurus.  We  learn  from  the  expressions  employed  in  the  great  inscription  of  Beni- 
Iiasan  (11.  13-58,  131-148)  that  the  cadastral  survey  had  existed  from  the  very  earliest  times  ; there 
are  references  in  it  to  previous  surveys.  We  find  a surveying  scene  on  the  tomb  of  Zosirkerisonbu 
at  Thebes,  under  the  XVIIIth  dynasty.  Two  persons  are  measuring  a field  of  wheat  by  means  of 
a cord  ; a third  notes  down  the  result  of  their  work  (Scheil,  Le  Tomheau  de  Raserhasenh,  in  the 
Mdmoires  de  la  Mission  Frangaise,  vol.  v.). 


RURAL  DOMAINS — THE  SURVEY. 


329 


had  its  boundaries  marked  out  by  a line  of  stelse  which  frequently  bore  the  name 
of  the  tenant  at  the  time,  and  the  date  when  the  landmarks 
were  last  fixed.1  Once  set  up,  the  stele  received  a 
name  which  gave  it,  as  it  were,  a living  and  in- 
dependent personality.2  It  sometimes  recorded 
the  nature  of  the  soil,  its  situation,  or  some 
characteristic  which  made  it  remarkable — the 
“ Lake  of  the  South,”  3 the  “ Eastern  Meadow,”  4 
the  “ Green  Island,” 5 the  “ Fisher’s  Pool,” 6 the 
“Willow  Plot,”  the  “Vineyard,”7  the  “Vine 
Arbour,”  8 the  “ Sycamore ; sometimes  also  it 
bore  the  name  of  the  first  master  or  the  Pharaoh 
under  whom  it  had  been  erected— the  “ Nurse- 
Phtahhotpu,”  10  the  “ Verdure-Kheops,”  11  the 
“Meadow-Didifri,”12  the“Abundance-Sahuri,”13 
“ Khafri-Great-among-the  Doubles.”  14  The 
name  once  given,  it  clung  to  it  for  centuries, 
and  neither  sales,  nor  redistributions,  nor  revo- 
lutions, nor  changes  of  dynasty,  could  cause  it 

° J J A BOUNDARY  STELE.111 

to  be  forgotten.15  The  officers  of  the  survey  in- 
scribed it  in  their  books,  together  with  the  name  of  the  proprietor,  those  of  the 

1 The  great  inscription  of  Beni-IIasan  tells  us  of  the  stelae  which  bounded  the  principality 
of  the  Gazelle  on  the  North  aud  South  (II.  21-24,  32,  33,  47-49),  and  of  those  in  the  plain  which 
marked  the  northern  boundary  of  the  nome  of  the  Jackal  (1.  139)  ; we  also  possess  three  other 
stelae  which  were  used  by  Amenothes  IV.  to  indicate  the  extreme  limits  of  his  new  city  of 
Khutniaton  (Prisse  d’Avennes,  Monuments  de  VEgypte,  pis.  xiii.-xv. ; Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iii.  91  a, 

1 19  b ; Daressy,  Tombeaux  et  steles-limites  de  Hagi-Kandil,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  pp. 
36-62).  In  addition  to  the  above  stele,  we  also  know  of  two  others  belonging  to  the  XII11'  dynasty 
which  marked  the  boundaries  of  a private  estate,  and  which  are  reproduced,  one  on  plate  106,  the 
other  in  the  text  of  Monuments  divers,  p.  30;  also  the  stele  of  Buhani  under  Thutmosis  IV.  (Crum, 
&telx  from  Wady  Haifa,  in  the  Proceedings,  vol.  xvi.,  1893-94,  pp.  18,  19). 

2 As  to  the  constitution  of  these  domains,  see  Maspero,  Sur  le  sens  des  mots  Nouitet  Halt,  p.  2,  et  seq. 
(extracted  from  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  1889-90,  vol.  xii.  p.  236,  et  seq  ). 

3 Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  I’Ancien  Empire,  p.  317,  under  tsirkaf,  on  the  tomb  of  Sannuonkhu. 

4 Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  V Ancien  Empire,  p.  300,  under  Sahiiri,  on  the  tomb  of  Pirsenvt. 

5 Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  V Ancien  Empire,  p.  474,  under  Tsirkaf,  ou  the  tomb  of  Sannuonkhu. 

11  Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  V Ancien  Empire,  p.  317,  on  the  tomb  of  Nofirmait  at  Medum,  under 

Snofrui,  about  the  close  of  the  IIInl  or  beginning  of  the  IVth  Memphite  dynasty. 

7 Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  I’Ancien  Empire,  pp.  181,  186,  ou  the  tombs  of  Kamri  and  Khonu. 

8 Lepsius,  Denkm  , ii.  61,  on  the  tomb  of  Shopsisuri. 

0 Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  46,  47  ; Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  V Ancien  Empire,  pp.  186,  276,  325. 

10  Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  V Ancien  Empire,  p.  353,  under  Assi,  on  the  tomb  of  Phtahhotpu. 

11  Lepsius,  Denkm  , ii.  23,  under  Ivhephren,  on  the  tomb  of  Safkliitabuihotpu. 

12  Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  V Ancien  Empire,  p.  300,  under  Sahuri,  in  the  tomb  of  Pirscuu. 

13  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  80;  Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de  V Ancien  Empire,  p.  306. 

14  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  12,  on  the  tomb  of  Nibumkhuit,  under  KhephreD. 

15  Maspero,  Sur  le  sens  des  mots  Nouit  et  Halt,  pp.  11,  12  (in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Biblical  Archxology  of  London,  vol.  xii.,  1889-90,  pp.  246,  247,  from  which  this  nomenclature  is  taken). 

10  Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  given  by  Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  47  a. 
The  stele  marked  the  boundary  of  the  estate  given  to  a priest  of  the  Theban  Amon  by  Pharaoh 
Thutmosis  IV.  of  the  XVIII11'  dynasty.  The  original  is  now  in  the  Museum  at  Gizeh. 


330 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


owners  of  adjoining  lands,  and  the  area  and  nature  of  the  ground.  They  noted 
down,  to  within  a few  cubits,  the  extent  of  the  sand,  marshland,  pools,  canals, 
groups  of  palms,  gardens  or  orchards,  vineyards  and  cornfields,1  which  it 
contained.  The  cornland  in  its  turn  was  divided  into  several  classes,  according 
to  whether  it  was  regularly  inundated,  or  situated  above  the  highest  rise  of  the 
water,  and  consequently  dependent  on  a more  or  less  costly  system  of  artificial 
irrigation.  All  this  was  so  much  information  of  which  the  scribes  took  advan- 
tage in  regulating  the  assessment  of  the  land-tax. 

Everything  tends  to  make  us  believe  that  this  tax  represented  one-tenth  of 
the  gross  produce,  but  the  amount  of  the  latter  varied.2  It  depended  on  the 
annual  rise  of  the  Nile,  and  it  followed  the  course  of  it  with  almost  mathematical 
exactitude  : if  there  were  too  much  or  too  little  water,  it  was  immediately 
lessened,  and  might  even  be  reduced  to  nothing  in  extreme  cases.  The  king  in 
his  capital  and  the  great  lords  in  their  fiefs  had  set  up  nilometers,  by  means  of 
which,  in  the  critical  weeks,  the  height  of  the  rising  or  subsiding  flood  was  taken 
daily.  Messengers  carried  the  news  of  it  over  the  country  : the  people,  kept  regu- 
larly informed  of  what  was  happening,  soon  knew  what  kind  of  season  to  expect, 
and  they  could  calculate  to  within  very  little  what  they  would  have  to  pay.3  In 
theory,  the  collecting  of  the  tax  was  based  on  the  actual  amount  of  land  covered 
by  the  water,  and  the  produce  of  it  was  constantly  varying.  In  practice,  it  was 
regulated  by  taking  the  average  of  preceding  years,  and  deducting  from  that  a 
fixed  sum,  which  was  never  departed  from  except  in  extraordinarycircumstances.4 
The  year  would  have  to  be  a very  bad  one  before  the  authorities  would  lower  the 
ordinary  rate : the  State  in  ancient  times  was  not  more  willing  to  deduct  any- 
thing from  its  revenue  than  the  modern  State  would  be.5 6  The  payment  of  taxes 


1 See  in  the  great  inscription  of  Beni-Hasan  the  passage  in  which  are  enumerated  at  full  length, 
in  a legal  document,  the  constituent  parts  of  the  principality  of  the  Gazelle,  “ its  watercourses,  its 
fields,  its  trees,  its  sands,  from  the  river  to  the  mountain  of  the  West”  (11.  40-53). 

2 The  tithe  is  referred  to  in  the  Philar  inscription  (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iv.  27  6)  during  the  Ptolemaic 
period  (Biuigsch,  Die  LEgyptologie,  pp.  260-277),  and  all  the  evidence  seems  to  point  to  its  having 
already  been  in  existence  under  the  earliest  Pharaohs  (Lumbroso,  Reclierckes  sur  VEconomie 
politique , p.  288,  et  seq.). 

3 Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  36  ; Strabo,  lib.  xvii.  p.  817,  who  mentions  the  two  nilometers  of  Memphis 
and  Elephantine  ; IIeliodorus,  JEthiopica,  lib.  ix.,  speaks  of  the  nilometer  which  had  been 
described  by  Strabo,  but  which  he  places  at  Syene.  On  the  subject  of  nilometers,  cf.  Girard, 
Me'moire  sur  le  Nilometre  d’ Elephantine  et  les  Mcsures  Egyptiennes  (in  the  Desorption  de  V Egypt  e, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  1-96),  and  Marcel,  Me’moire  sur  le  Meqyas  de  Vile  de  Roudah  (in  the  Description  de 
VEgypte,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  1-135,  387-582).  Every  temple  had  its  well  which  served  as  a udometer; 
the  well  of  the  temple  of  Edfh  was  employed  for  this  purpose. 

4 We  know  that  this  was  so,  in  so  far  as  the  Roman  period  is  concerned,  from  a passage  in  the 
edict  of  Tiberius  Alexander  (11.  55,  56).  The  practice  was  such  a natural  one,  that  I have  no  hesi- 
tation in  trac'ng  it  back  to  the  time  of  the  Ancient  Empire ; repeatedly  condemned  as  a piece  of 
bad  administration,  it  reappeared  continually.  At  Beni-Hasan,  the  nomarch  Amoni  (1. 21)  boasts  that, 
“ when  there  had  been  abundant  Niles,  and  the  owners  of  wheat  and  barley  crops  had  thriven,  he 
had  not  increased  the  rate  of  the  land-tax,”  which  seems  to  indicate  that,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned, 

he  had  fixed  the  tax  on  land  at  a permanent  figure,  based  on  the  average  of  good  and  bad  harvests. 

6 The  two  decrees  of  Rosetta  (11.  12,  13,  28,  29)  and  of  Canopus  (11.  13-17),  however,  mention 
reductions  granted  by  the  Ptolemies  after  an  insufficient  rise  of  the  Nile. 


331 


THE  TAX  ON  LAND  AND  ON  TEE  CULTIVATORS. 

was  exacted  in  wheat,  dourah,  beans,  and  field  produce,  which  were  stoied  in  the 
granaries  of  the  nomed  It  would  seem  that  the  previous  deduction  of  one-tenth 
of  the  gross  amount  of  the  harvest  could  not  be  a heavy  burden,  and  that  the 
wretched  fellah  ought  to  have  been  in  a position  to  pay  his  dues  without  difficulty. 
It  was  not  so,  however,  and  the  same  writers  who  have  given  us  such  a lamentable 
picture  of  the  condition  of  the  workmen  in  the  towns,  have  painted  for  us  in 
even  darker  colours  the  miseries  which  overwhelmed  the  country  people.  “ Dost 
thou  not  recall  the  picture  of  the  farmer,  when  the  tenth  of  his  grain  is  levied  ? 


'fAucmfr  q’oV'C-  . 


THE  LEVYING  OF  THE  TAX : THE  TAXPAYER  IN  TIIE  SCRIBE’S  OFFICE.2 

Worms  have  destroyed  half  of  the  wheat,  and  the  hippopotami  have  eaten  the 
rest;  there  are  swarms  of  rats  in  the  fields,  the  grasshoppers  alight  there,  the 
cattle  devour,  the  little  birds  pilfer,  and  if  the  farmer  lose  sight  for  an  instant 
of  what  remains  upon  the  ground,  it  is  carried  off  by  robbers  ; 3 the  thongs,  more- 
over, which  bind  the  iron  and  the  hoe  are  worn  out,  and  the  team  has  died  at 
the  plough.  It  is  then  that  the  scribe  steps  out  of  the  boat  at  the  landing-place 
to  levy  the  tithe,  and  there  come  the  keepers  of  the  doors  of  the  granary  with 
cudgels  and  the  negroes  with  ribs  of  palm-leaves,  who  come  crying  : ‘ Come  now, 
corn  ! ’ There  is  none,  and  they  throw  the  cultivator  full  length  upon  the  ground  ; 
bound,  dragged  to  the  canal,  they  fling  him  in  head  first ; 4 his  wife  is  bound  with 

1 The  inscription  of  Bosetta  represents  the  tax  as  being  paid  in  wheat,  in  linen,  or  in  wine  (11. 11, 14, 
15,  28-31),  even  in  the  time  of  the  Ptolemies,  when  the  use  of  money  had  become  general  in  Egypt. 
See  inWilcken  ( Die  Griechischen  Ostraka , in  the  Jahrbuch  des  Vereinsvon  Altertumsfreunde  in  Rheinland, 
vol.  Ixxxvi.  pp.  240-245)  receipts  of  the  Eomau  period  in  which  the  tax  is  paid  in  wheat  and  barley. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a picture  at  Beni-Hasnn  (cf.  Chaiipollion,  Monuments, 
cccxc.  4,  cccxci.  1 ; Bosellini,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  cxxiv.  a).  This  picture  and  those  which 
follow  it  represent  a census  in  the  principality  of  the  Gazelle  under  the  XIIth  dynasty  as  well  as  the 
collection  of  a tax. 

3 This  last  danger  survives  eveu  to  the  present  day.  During  part  of  the  year  the  fellahiu  spend 
the  night  in  their  fields ; if  they  did  not  see  to  it,  their  neighbours  would  not  hesitate  to  come  and 
cut  their  wheat  before  the  harvest,  or  root  up  their  vegetables  while  still  immature. 

4 The  same  kind  of  torture  is  mentioned  in  the  decree  of  Harmhabi  ( Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  vi. 
p.  44, 1.  26),  in  which  the  lawless  soldiery  are  represented  as  “running  from  house  to  house,  dealing 
blows  right  and  left  with  their  sticks,  ducking  the  fellahin  head  downwards  in  the  water,  and  not 
leaving  one  of  them  with  a whole  skin”  (Brugsch,  Die  JEgyptologie,  p.  87).  This  treatment  was 
resorted  to  in  Egypt  not  long  ago,  in  order  to  extract  money  from  those  taxpayers  whom  beatings 
had  failed  to  bring  to  reason. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


332 

him,  his  children  are  put  into  chains;  the  neighbours,  in  the  mean  time,  leave  him 
and  fly  to  save  their  grain.” 1 One  might  be  tempted  to  declare  that  the  picture  is 
too  dark  a one  to  be  true,  did  one  not  know  from  other  sources  of  the  brutal  ways 
of  Ailing  the  treasury  which  Egypt  has  retained  even  to  the  present  day.2  In 
the  same  way  as  in  the  town,  the  stick  facilitated  the  operations  of  the  tax-collector 
in  the  country  : it  quickly  opened  the  granaries  of  the  rich,  it  revealed  resources 
to  the  poor  of  which  he  had  been  ignorant,  and  it  only  failed  in  the  case  of  those 


LEVYING  rJJ)E  TAX:  THE  TAXPAYER  IN  THE  HANDS  OF  T11E  EXACTORS.3 


who  had  really  nothing  to  give.  Those  who  were  insolvent  were  not  let  off  even 
when  they  had  been  more  than  half  killed  : they  and  their  families  were  sent  to 
prison,  and  they  had  to  work  out  in  forced  labour  the  amount  which  they  had  failed 
to  pay  in  current  merchandise.4  The  collection  of  the  taxes  was  usually  terminated 
by  a rapid  revision  of  the  survey.  The  scribe  once  more  recorded  the  dimensions 
and  character  of  the  domain  lands  in  order  to  determine  afresh  the  amount  of  the 
tax  which  should  be  imposed  upon  them.  It  often  happened,  indeed,  that,  owing 
to  some  freak  of  the  Nile,  a tract  of  ground  which  had  been  fertile  enough  the  pre- 
ceding year  would  be  buried  under  a gravel  bed,  or  transformed  into  a marsh.  The 
owners  who  thus  suffered  were  allowed  an  equivalent  deduction ; as  for  the  farmers, 
no  deductions  of  the  burden  were  permitted  in  their  case,  but  a tract  equalling  in 
value  that  of  the  part  they  had  lost  was  granted  to  them  out  of  the  royal  or 
seignorial  domain,  and  their  property  was  thus  made  up  to  its  original  worth.5 

1 Sallier  Papyrus,  No.  i.,  pi.  vi.  11.  2-8 ; Anas/asi  Papyrus,  v.,  pi.  xv.  1.  8,  xvii.  1.  2 ; cf.  Goodwin- 
Ciiahas,  Sur  les  Papyrus  hieratiques  (2nd  article),  pp.  10-19  ; Maspeho,  Du  Genre  Epistolaire  cliez 
les  Anciens  Egyptiens,  pp.  38-40 ; Erman,  JEgypten,  pp.  590,  591 ; ISituGSCii,  Die  JEgyptolugie,  p.  86. 

2 See  the  picture,  drawn  by  Charles-Edmond,  Ztphyrin  Cazavan  en  Egypte,  p.  395,  et  seq.,  of  the 
collection  of  taxes  in  Egypt  forty  years  ago,  under  Abbas-Pasha,  which,  though  apparently  fictitious, 
is  really  a sober  relation  of  facts. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a picture  on  (he  tomb  of  Khiti  nt  Beni-Hasan  (cf.  Cham- 
poli.ion,  Monuments  de  V Egypte,  pi.  cccxc.  4 ; Rosellini,  Monument i civili,  pi.  exxiv.  n). 

4 This  is  evident  from  a passage  in  the  Sallier  Papyrus,  No.  i.,  quoted  above,  in  which  we  see 
the  taxpayer  in  fetters,  dragged  out  to  clean  the  canals,  his  whole  family,  wife  and  children,  accom- 
panying him  in  bonds. 

5 Herodotus,  ii.  109,  who  attributes  the  establishment  of  this  regulation  to  the  inevitablo, 
legendary  Sesostris. 


THE  BASTINADO. 


333 


What  the  collection  of  the  taxes  had  begun  was  almost  always  brought  to  a 
climax  by  the  corvees.  However  numerous  the  royal  and  seignorial  slaves  might 
have  been,  they  were  insufficient  for  the  cultivation  of  all  the  lands  of  the  domains, 
and  a part  of  Egypt  must  always  have  lain  fallow,  had  not  the  number  of  workers 
been  augmented  by  the  addition  of  those  who  were  in  the  position  of  freemen. 
This  excess  of  cultivable  laud  was  subdivided  into  portions  of  equal  dimensions, 
which  were  distributed  among  the  inhabitants  of  neighbouring  villages  by  the 
officers  of  a “ regent  ” nominated  for  that  purpose.1  Those  dispensed  from  agri- 


M \ 

LEVYING  THE  TAX  : THE  BASTINADO.2 

cultural  service  were — the  destitute,  soldiers  on  service  and  their  families,  certain 
employes  of  the  public  works,  and  servitors  of  the  temples;3  all  other  country-folk 
without  exception  had  to  submit  to  it,  and  one  or  more  portions  were  allotted  to 
each,  according  to  his  capabilities.4  Orders  issued  at  fixed  periods  called  them 
together,  themselves,  their  servants  and  their  beasts  of  burden,  to  dig,  sow,  keep 
watch  in  the  fields  while  the  harvest  was  proceeding,  to  cut  and  to  carry  the  crops, 
the  whole  work  being  done  at  their  own  expense  and  to  the  detriment  of  their 
own  interests.5  As  a sort  of  indemnity,  a few  allotments  were  left  uncultivated 

1 These  lots  are  the  ahu!t,  so  often  mentioned  in  the  texts,  and  the  persons  requisitioned  to 
work  them  are  the  ahuitiu,  a name  applied  by  extension  to  non-proprietary  farmers.  The 
“ regents  ” — hiqu  ahuitiu — are  frequently  referred  to  on  the  monuments  of  the  Ancient  Empire,  and 
Amten,  whose  history  I have  already  recounted  (cf.  pp.  290-296  of  the  present  work),  was  “ regent ; ” 
or,  to  use  the  almost  equivalent  language  of  Arabian  Egypt,  “ multezim  ” of  royal  lands  cultivated 
by  enforced  labour  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  173-177). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a picture  on  the  tomb  of  Khiti  at  Beni-Hasan  (cf.  Ciiampollion, 
Monuments  de  VEgypte,  pi.  cccxc.  4 ; Kosellini,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  cxxiv.  a-b). 

3 That  the  scribes,  i.e.  the  employes  of  the  royal  or  princely  government,  were  exempt  from 
enforced  labour,  is  manifest  from  the  contrast  drawn  by  the  letter-writers  of  the  Sallier  and  Anastasi 
Papyri  between  themselves  and  the  peasants,  or  persons  belonging  to  other  professions  who  were 
liable  to  it.  The  circular  of  Dorion  defines  the  classes  of  soldiers  who  were  either  temporarily  or 
permanently  exempt  under  the  Greek  kings  (Lumbroso,  Del  Papiro  Greco  LXII1  del  Louvre  sulla 
Seminatura  delle  terre  regie  in  Egitto,  p.  10,  et  seq.  Extract  from  the  Atti  of  the  Academy  of 
Sciences  of  Turin,  vol.  v.,  1869). 

4 Several  fragments  of  the  Turin  papyri  contain  memoranda  of  enforced  labour  performed  on 
behalf  of  the  temples,  and  of  lists  of  persons  liable  to  be  called  on  for  such  labour.  A very  complete 
list  is  to  be  found  in  a papyrus  of  the  XXth  dynasty,  translated  by  Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques, 
3rd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  131-137. 

5 All  these  details  are  set  forth  in  the  Ptolemaic  period,  in  the  letter  to  Dorion  which  refers  to 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EOT  FT. 


o O f 

oo  4 

for  their  benefit:1  to  these  they  sent  their  fiocks  after  the  subsidence  of  the 
inundation,  for  the  pasturage  on  them  was  so  rich  that  the  sheep  were  doubly 
productive  in  wool  and  offspring.2  This  was  a mere  apology  for  a wage:  the 
forced  labour  for  the  irrigation  brought  them  no  compensation.  The  dykes 
which  separated  the  basins,  and  the  network  of  canals  for  distributing  the  water 
and  irrigating  the  land,  demand  continual  attention:  every  year  some  need 
strengthening,  others  re-excavating  or  cleaning  out.  The  men  employed  in 
this  work  pass  whole  days  standing  in  the  water,  scraping  up  the  mud  with  both 
hands  in  order  to  fill  the  baskets  of  platted  leaves,  which  boys  and  girls  lift 
on  to  their  heads  and  carry  to  the  top  of  the  bank  : the  semi-liquid  contents 
ooze  through  the  basket,  trickle  over  their  faces  and  soon  coat  their  bodies 
with  a black  shining  mess,  disgusting  even  to  look  at.  Sheikhs  preside 
over  the  work,  and  urge  it  on  with  abuse  and  blows : 3 when  the  gangs  of 
workmen  had  toiled  all  day,  with  only  an  interval  of  two  hours  about  noon 
for  a siesta  and  a meagre  pittance  of  food,  the  poor  wretches  slept  on  the  spot, 
in  the  open  air,  huddled  one  against  another  and  but  ill  protected  by  their 
rags  from  the  chilly  nights.  The  task  was  so  hard  a one,  that  malefactors, 
bankrupts,  and  prisoners  of  war  were  condemned  to  it ; it  wore  out  so  many 
hands  that  the  free  peasantry  were  scarcely  ever  exempt.4  Having  returned 
to  their  homes,  they  were  not  called  until  the  next  year  to  any  established 
or  periodic  corvee,  but  many  an  irregular  one  came  and  surprised  them  in  the 
midst  of  their  work,  and  forced  them  to  abandon  everything  to  attend  to  the 
affairs  of  king  or  lord.  Was  a new  chamber  to  be  added  to  some  neighbouring 
temple,  were  materials  wanted  to  strengthen  or  rebuild  some  piece  of  wall 
which  had  been  undermined  by  the  inundation,  orders  were  issued  to  the 
engineers  to  go  and  fetch  a stated  quantity  of  limestone  or  sandstone,  and  the 
peasants  were  commanded  to  assemble  at  the  nearest  quarry  to  cut  the  blocks 

a royal  edict.  As  Signor  Lumbroso  has  well  remarked  ( op . cit.,  p.  4,  et  seq.,  and  Eecherches  sur 
VEconomie  'politique,  p.  75,  et  seq.),  the  Ptolemies  merely  copied  exactly  the  misdeeds  of  the  old 
native  governments.  Indeed,  we  come  across  frequent  allusions  to  the  enforced  labour  of  men  and 
beasts  in  inscriptions  of  the  Middle  Empire  at  Beui-Hasan  or  at  Si ut ; many  cf  the  pictures  on  the 
Memphite  tombs  show  bands  of  such  labourers  at  work  in  the  fields  of  the  great  landowners  or  of 
the  king. 

1 Louvre  Papyrus  B,  II.  170-172,  where  I follow  the  explanation  of  the  passage  suggested 
by  Signor  Lumbroso  (11  papiro  LXI1I  del  Louvre,  p.  18  a,  and  Eecherches  sur  VEconomie  politique, 
p.  93). 

2 Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  36. 

3 The  corve'es  of  the  Ptolemaic  period  were  superintended  by  old  men,  oi  irpea^vrepoi  (Louvre 
Papyrus  66,  1.  21),  i.e.  by  the  sheikhs,  and  by  the  ruduu,  nazirs,  as  well  as  by  the  da  asitiu  or  reises 
of  the  works  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  44,  45).  The  shaicishes  (exactors)  of  our 
time  are  the  rabdophori  or  rabdidi  of  the  Greek  period  (Louvre  Papyrus  66,  1.  19 ; Schow,  Charta 
papyracea,  § 4,  11.  11,  12),  whose  duty  it  was  to  stimulate  the  workmen  with  blows. 

4 In  the  papyrus  published  by  Schow,  we  notice,  side  by  side  with  the  slaves,  peasants 
(1.  7,  1.  15,  11,  1.  18),  cowherds,  and  shepherds  (3,  1.  16,  5,  11.  1,  2),  ass-drivers  (2,  1.  16),  and  work- 
men belonging  to  various  trades — potters  (6,  11.  21,  22),  mat-makers  (11,  1.  8),  fullers  (7,  1.  26), 
masons  (10, 1.  4),  barbers  (3,  1.  26). 


Diawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  Wilkinson,  A Popular  Account  of  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii.,  frontispiece. 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


330 

from  it,  and  if  needful  to  ship  and  convey  them  to  their  destination.1  Or 
perhaps  the  sovereign  had  caused  a gigantic  statue  of  himself  to  be  carved, 
and  a few  hundred  men  were  requisitioned  to  haul  it  to  the  place  where  he 
» ished  it  to  be  set  up.2  The  undertaking  ended  in  a gala,  and  doubtless 
in  a distribution  of  food  and  drink:  the  unfortunate  creatures  who  had  been 
got  together  to  execute  the  work  could  not  have  always  felt  litly  compensated 
for  the  precious  time  they  had  lost,  by  one  day  of  drunkenness  and  rejoicing. 

We  may  ask  if  all  these  corvees  were  equally  legal  ? Even  if  some  of  them 
were  illegal,  the  peasant  on  whom  they  fell  could  not  have  found  the  means 
to  escape  from  them,  nor  could  he  have  demanded  legal  reparation  for  the 
injury  which  they  caused  him.  Justice,  in  Egypt  and  in  the  whole  Oriental 
world,  necessarily  emanates  from  political  authority,  and  is  only  one  branch 
of  the  administration  amongst  others,  in  the  hands  of  the  lord  and  his 
representatives.3  Professional  magistrates  were  unknown — men  brought  up 
to  the  study  of  law,  whose  duty  it  was  to  ensure  the  observance  of  it,  apart 
from  any  other  calling — but  the  same  men  who  commanded  armies,  offered 
sacrifices,  and  assessed  or  received  taxes,  investigated  the  disputes  of  ordinary 
citizens,  or  settled  the  differences  which  arose  between  them  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  lords  or  of  the  Pharaoh.  In  every  town  and  village,  those 
who  held  by  birth  or  favour  the  position  of  governor  were  ex-officio  invested 
with  the  right  of  administering  justice.  For  a certain  number  of  days  in  the 
month,  they  sat  at  the  gate  of  the  town  or  of  the  building  which  served  as  their 
residence,  and  all  those  in  the  town  or  neighbourhood  possessed  of  any  title, 
position,  or  property,  the  superior  priesthood  of  the  temples,  scribes  who  had 
advanced  or  grown  old  in  office,  those  in  command  of  the  militia  or  the  police, 
the  heads  of  divisions  or  corporations,  the  “ qonbitiu,”  the  “ people  of  the 
angle,”  might  if  they  thought  fit  take  their  place  beside  them,  and  help  them 
to  decide  ordinary  lawsuits.4  The  police  were  mostly  recruited  from  foreigners 

1 This  was  the  course  adopted  by  King  Smendes  of  the  XXI'1  dynasty,  in  order  to  promptly 
and  cheaply  restore  a porlion  of  the  temple  of  Karnak,  which  had  been  sapped  by  water  and 
threatened  to  fall  into  ruins  (G.  Daressy,  Leg  Carriires  de  Gdbdlein  et  le  roi  Smendes,  in  the  Recueil 
de  Travaux,  vol.  x.  pp.  133-138;  and  Maspeuo,  A Stele  of  King  Smendes,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past, 
2nd  series,  vol.  v.  pp.  17-21). 

2 E.g.  in  the  tomb  of  Thothotph  at  el-Bersbeh  (Wilkinson,  A Popular  Account  of  the  Ancient 
Egyptians,  1851,  frontispiece  of  vol.  ii. ; and  G.  Rawlinson,  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  p.  151 ; Lepsius, 
Denlcm.,  ii.  pi.  cxxxiv. ; cf.  Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques,  3rd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  103-119;  Maspero, 
Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d' Arche'ologie  Egyptienncs,  vol.  i.  pp.  55-61 ; Brugsch,  Die  JEgypiologie, 
pp.  293,  294). 

3 As  to  the  actual  nature  of  certain  offices,  such  as  Sotmu  uushu  ni  isit  mail  and  Sabu,  in  which 
some  writers  seek  to  recognize  judicial  functions,  cf.  Maspero,  Rapport  a M.  Jules  Ferry,  Minislre  de 
V Instruction  publique  sur  une  Mission  en  Italie,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  ii.  pp.  159-166;  and 
Etudes  Egyptienncs,  vol.  ii.  pp.  143-118  ; cf.  Brugsch,  Die  TEgyptologie,  p.  301,  et  scq.;  W.  Spikgel- 
beug,  Studien  ur,d  Materialien  zum  Rechtswesen  des  Pharaonenreiches,  pp.  60-63). 

1 The  name  of  these  personages,  at  first  read  tait,  taitu,  rather  at  haphazard,  has  been  deciphered 


RELATIONS  BETWEEN  PEASANTS  AND  THEIR  LORDS. 


337 


and  negroes,  or  from  Bedouin  belonging  to  the  Nubian  tribe  of  the  Mazaiu. 
The  litigants  appeared  at  the  tribunal,  and  waited  under  the  superintendence 
of  the  police  until  their  turn  came  to  speak  : the  majority  of  the  questions 
were  decided  in  a few  minutes  by  a judgment  from  which  there  was  no  appeal; 
only  the  more  serious  cases  necessitated  a cross-examination  and  prolonged 
discussion.  All  else  was  carried  on  before  this  patriarchal  jury  as  in  our 
own  courts  of  justice,  except  that  the  inevitable  stick  too  often  elucidated 
the  truth  and  cut  short  discussions : the  depositions  of  the  witnesses,  the 
speeches  on  both  sides,  the  examination  of  the  documents,  could  not  proceed 
without  the  frequent  taking  of  oaths  “by  the  life  of  the  king”  or  “by  the 
favour  of  the  gods,”  in  which  the  truth  often  suffered  severely.1  Penalties  were 
varied  somewhat — the  bastinado,  imprisonment,  additional  days  of  work  for 
the  corvee,  and,  for  grave  offences,  forced  labour  in  the  Ethiopian  mines,2  the 
loss  of  nose  and  ears,3  and  finally,  death  by  strangulation,  by  beheading,4  by 
empalement,5  and  at  the  stake.6  Criminals  of  high  rank  obtained  permission 
to  carry  out  on  themselves  the  sentence  passed  upon  them,  and  thus  avoided 
by  suicide  the  shame  of  public  execution.7  Before  tribunals  thus  constituted, 
the  fellah  who  came  to  appeal  against  the  exactions  of  which  he  was  the  victim 
had  little  chance  of  obtaining  a hearing  : had  not  the  scribe  who  had  overtaxed 
him,  or  who  had  imposed  a fresh  corvee  upon  him,  the  right  to  appear  among  the 
Judges  to  whom  he  addressed  himself?  Nothing,  indeed,  prevented  him  from 
appealing  from  the  latter  to  his  feudal  lord,  and  from  him  to  Pharaoh,  but 
such  an  appeal  would  be  for  him  a mere  delusion.  When  he  had  left  his 
village  and  presented  his  petition,8  he  had  many  delays  to  encounter  before 

correctly  by  Griffith,  The  Qr.bt  (in  tbe  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  vol.  xiii., 
1890-91,  p.  140),  whose  conclusions  have  been  endorsed  by  Spiegelberg,  Studien  und  Materialen , 
p.  13,  et  seq.  Their  name,  “ people  of  the  corner,”  is  probably  due  to  a metaphor  analogous  to 
that  which  gave  rise  to  the  title  of  Omdah,  or  “columns”  of  the  administration,  which  was  bestowed 
on  the  notables  of  Egyptian  towns. 

1 As  to  the  judicial  oath,  see  W.  Spiegelberg,  Studien  und  Materialen,  p.  71,  et  seq. 

Cf.  the  instances  collected  by  W.  Spiegelberg,  Studien  und  Materialen,  pp.  69-71,  75,  76,  which 
confirm  the  remarks  of  Agatharchides  ( De  Mari  Erytlirxo,  § 24-29,  in  Muli.er-Didot,  Fragm.  Geogr. 
Grxc.,  vol.  i.  pp.  124-129)  and  of  Diodorus  Siculus  (iii.  12-14)  in  regard  to  the  gold-mines  of 
Ethiopia. 

3 Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  60,  78  (cf.  Herodotus,  ii.  212);  Deveria,  Le  Papyrus  judiciaire  de  Turin, 
pp.  64,  65,  116-121 ; Maspero,  Une  enquete  judiciaire,  p.  86;  W.  Spiegelberg,  Studien,  pp.  67,  68. 

* The  only  known  instance  of  an  execution  by  hanging  is  that  of  Pharaoh’s  chief  baker,  in  Gen.  xl. 
19,  22,  xli.  13;  but  in  a tomb  at  Thebes  we  see  two  human  victims  executed  by  strangulation 
(Maspero,  Le  Tombeau  de  Montuhilchopshuf,  in  the  M€ moires  de  la  Mission  Franyaise,  vol.  v.  p.  452, 
et  seq.).  The  Egyptian  hell  contains  men  who  have  been  decapitated  ( Description  de  VEgypte,  Ant., 
vol.  ii.  pi.  lxxxvi.),  and  the  block  on  which  the  damned  were  beheaded  is  frequently  mentioned  in 
the  texts. 

5 So  Erman  conjectures  ( Beitrdge  zur  Kenntniss  des  dgyptischen  Gerichtsverfuhren,  in  the  Zeit- 
tclirift,  1879,  p.  83,  note  1 ; cf.  the  objections  of  W.  Spiegelberg,  Studien,  pp.  76-78,  125,  126). 

8 For  adulteresses  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  63;  cf.  Herodotus,  ii.  111). 

The  Turin  Papyrus  mentions  these  suicides  (W.  Spiegelberg,  Studien,  pp.  67,  121;  Erjian, 
Beitrdge  zur  Kenntniss  des  dgyptischen  Gerichtsverfahrens,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1879,  p.  77,  rote  1). 

8 Like  the  peasant  whose  story  is  told  us  in  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  ii.  (Maspero,  Les  Contes 

Z 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


338 

a solution  could  be  arrived  at;  and  if  the  adverse  party  were  at  all  in  favour  at 
court,  or  could  command  any  influence,  the  sovereign  decision  would  confirm, 
even  if  it  did  not  aggravate,  the  sentence  of  the  previous  judges.  In  the 
mean  while  the  peasants’  land  remained  uncultivated,  his  wife  and  children 
bewailed  their  wretchedness,  and  the  last  resources  of  the  family  were  consumed 
in  proceedings  and  delays:  it  would  have  been  better  for  him  at  the  outset  to 
have  made  up  his  mind  to  submit  without  resistance  to  a fate  from  which  he 
could  not  escape. 

In  spite  of  taxes,  requisitions,  and  forced  labour,  the  fellahin  came  off 
fairly  well,  when  the  chief  to  whom  they  belonged  proved  a kind  master,  and 
did  not  add  the  exactions  of  his  own  personal  caprice  to  those  of  the  State.  The 
inscriptions  which  princes  caused  to  be  devoted  to  their  own  glorification,  are  so 
many  enthusiastic  panegyrics  dealing  only  with  their  uprightness  and  kindness 
towards  the  poor  and  lowly.  Every  one  of  them  represents  himself  as  faultless: 
“ the  staff  of  support  to  the  aged,  the  foster  father  of  the  children,  the  counsellor 
of  the  unfortunate,  the  refuge  in  which  those  who  suffer  from  the  cold  in 
Thebes  may  warm  themselves,  the  bread  of  the  afflicted  which  never  failed  in 
the  city  of  the  South.” 1 Their  solicitude  embraced  everybody  and  everything : 
“I  have  caused  no  child  of  tender  age  to  mourn ; I have  despoiled  no  widow  ; 
I have  driven  away  no  tiller  of  the  soil ; I have  taken  no  workmen  away  from 
their  foreman  for  the  public  works ; none  have  been  unfortunate  about  me, 
nor  starving  in  my  time.  When  years  of  scarcity  arose,  as  I had  culti- 
vated all  the  lands  of  the  nome  of  the  Gazelle  to  its  northern  and  southern 
boundaries,  causing  its  inhabitants  to  live,  and  creating  provisions,  none 
who  were  hungry  were  found  there,  for  I gave  to  the  widow  as  well  as  to  the 
woman  who  had  a husband,  and  I made  no  distinction  between  high  and  low 
in  all  that  I gave.  If,  on  the  contrary,  there  were  high  Niles,  the  possessors 
of  lands  became  rich  in  all  things,  for  I did  not  raise  the  rate  of  the  tax 
upon  the  fields.”2  The  canals  engrossed  all  the  prince’s  attention  ; he  cleaned 
them  out,  enlarged  them,  and  dug  fresh  ones,  which  were  the  means  of  bringing 
fertility  and  plenty  into  the  most  remote  corners  of  his  property.  His  serfs 
had  a constant  supply  of  clean  water  at  their  door,  and  were  no  longer  content 
with  such  food  as  dourah  ; they  ate  wheaten  bread  daily.3  His  vigilance  and 
severity  were  such  that  the  brigands  dared  no  more  to  appear  within  reach  of 

populaires  de  V Egypt  c ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  43,  et  seq.);  see  what  has  been  said  about  “men 
without  a master  ” on  pp.  309,  310  of  the  present  work. 

1 Stele  C 1 da  Louvre,  published  by  Maspero,  Un  Gouverneur  de  Thebes  sous  la  XIP  dynastie,  in 
the  Memoires  du  Congres  International  des  Orientalistes  de  Paris,  vol.  ii.  pp.  53-55. 

t Maspero,  La  Grande  Inscription  de  Beni-Hassan,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  173,  174 

3 Griffith,  The  Inscriptions  of  Siut,  pi.  xv.  11.  3-7;  cf.  Maspero,  Revue  Critique,  1889,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  414,  415. 


MISERY  OF  THE  PEASANTRY. 


339 


liis  arm,  and  his  soldiers  kept  strict  discipline : “ When  night  fell,  whoever 
slept  by  the  roadside  blessed  me,  and  was  [in  safety]  as  a man  in  his  own 
house ; the  fear  of  my  police  protected  him,  the  cattle  remained  in  the  fields 
as  in  the  stable ; the  thief  was  as  the  abomination  of  the  god,  and  he  no  more 
fell  upon  the  vassal,  so  that  the  latter  no  more  complained,  but  paid  exactly 
the  dues  of  his  domain,  for  love”  of  the  master  who  had  procured  for  him  this 
freedom  from  care.1  This  theme  might  be  pursued  at  length,  for  the  composers 
of  epitaphs  varied  it  with  remarkable  cleverness  and  versatility  of  imagination. 
The  very  zeal  which  they  display  in  describing  the  lord’s  virtues  betrays  how 
precarious  was  the  condition  of  his  subjects.  There  was  nothing  to  hinder  the 
unjust  prince  or  the  prevaricating  officer  from  ruining  and  ill-treating  as  he 
chose  the  people  who  were  under  his  authority.  He  had  only  to  give  an  order, 
and  the  corvee  fell  upon  the  proprietors  of  a village,  carried  off  their  slaves  and 
obliged  them  to  leave  their  lands  uncultivated ; should  they  declare  that  they 
were  incapable  of  paying  the  contributions  laid  on  them,  the  prison  opened  for 
them  and  their  families.  If  a dyke  were  cut,  or  the  course  of  a channel  altered, 
the  nome  was  deprived  of  water : 2 prompt  and  inevitable  ruin  came  upon  the 
unfortunate  inhabitants,  and  their  property,  confiscated  by  the  treasury  in  pay- 
ment of  the  tax,  passed  for  a small  consideration  into  the  hands  of  the  scribe 
or  of  the  dishonest  administrator.  Two  or  three  years  of  neglect  were  almost 
enough  to  destroy  a system  of  irrigation : the  canals  became  filled  with  mud, 
the  banks  crumbled,  the  inundation  either  failed  to  reach  the  ground,  or  spread 
over  it  too  quickly  and  lay  upon  it  too  long.  Famine  soon  followed  with  its 
attendant  sicknesses  :3  men  and  animals  died  by  the  hundred,  and  it  was  the 
work  of  nearly  a whole  generation  to  restore  prosperity  to  the  district. 

The  lot  of  the  fellah  of  old  was,  as  we  have  seen,  as  hard  as  that  of  the 
fellah  of  to-day.  He  himself  felt  the  bitterness  of  it,  and  complained  at  times* 
or  rather  the  scribes  complained  for  him,  when  with  selfish  complacency  they 
contrasted  their  calling  with  his.  He  had  to  toil  the  whole  year  round,— 
digging,  sowing,  working  the  shadouf  from  morning  to  night  for  weeks, 
hastening  at  the  first  requisition  to  the  corvee,  paying  a heavy  and  cruel 
tax, — all  without  even  the  certainty  of  enjoying  what  remained  to  him  in 
peace,  or  of  seeing  his  wife  and  children  profit  by  it.  So  great,  however,  was 

1 Griffith,  The  Inscriptions  of  Siut,  pi.  11,  11.  7-12;  cf.  Maspero,  Revue  Critique,  1889,  vol.  ii. 
p.  417. 

2 To  cut  off  or  divert  a watercourse  was  one  of  the  transgressions  provided  for  in  the  “ Negative 
Confession”  in  chap.  cxxv.  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  (Naville’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pi.  cxxxiii.  1.  19);  cf. 
p.  189  of  the  present  work. 

3 Mention  of  famines  is  made  on  the  Egyptian  monuments,  at  Beui-Hasan  (Maspero,  La  Grande 
Inscription  de  Btni-Hassan,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  p.  174),  at  El-Kab  (Brugsch, 
JEgyptische  Gescliiclite,  p.  216),  at  Elephantine  (Brugsuh,  Die  Biblischen  sieben  Jahre  der  Hungers- 
noth,  p.  131,  et  seq.). 


THE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


340 

the  elasticity  of  his  temperament  that  his  misery  was  not  suflicient  to  depress 
him  : those  monuments  upon  which  his  life  is  portrayed  in  all  its  minutiae, 
represent  him  as  animated  with  inexhaustible  cheerfulness.  The  summer 
months  ended,  the  ground  again  becomes  visible,  the  river  retires  into  its 
bed,  the  time  of  sowing  is  at  hand  : the  peasant  takes  his  team  and  his 
implements  with  him  and  goes  off  to  the  fields.1  In  many  places,  the  soil, 
softened  by  the  water,  offers  no  resistance,  and  the  hoe  easily  turns  it  up; 
elsewhere  it  is  hard,  and  only  yields  to  the  plough.  While  one  of  the  farm- 
servants,  almost  bent  double,  leans  his  whole  weight  on  the  handles  to  force 


TWO  FELLAHIN  WORK  THE  SHADOUF  IN  A GARDEN.2 

the  ploughshare  deep  into  the  soil,  his  comrade  drives  the  oxen  and  encourages 
them  by  his  songs  : these  are  only  two  or  three  short  sentences,  set  to  an 
unvarying  chant,  and  with  the  time  beaten  on  the  back  of  the  nearest  animal.3 
Now  and  again  he  turns  round  towards  his  comrade  and  encourages  him  : 
“ Lean  hard ! ” — “ Hold  fast ! ” The  sower  follows  behind  and  throws  handfuls 
of  grain  into  the  furrow : a flock  of  sheep  or  goats  brings  up  the  rear,  and  as 
they  walk,  they  tread  the  seed  into  the  ground.  The  herdsmen  crack  their 
whips  and  sing  some  country  song  at  the  top  of  their  voices, — based  on  the 
complaint  of  some  fellah  seized  by  the  corvee  to  clean  out  a canal.  “The 
digger  is  in  the  water  with  the  fish, — he  talks  to  the  silurus,  and  exchanges 
greetings  with  the  oxyrrhynchus : — West!  your  digger  is  a digger  from  the 
West  !”4  All  this  takes  place  under  the  vigilant  eye  of  the  master:  as  soon 

1 Maspero,  Notes  sur  quelques  points  cle  Grammaire  et  d' Histoire,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1879,  p.  58. 
et  seq 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  (cf.  Schell,  Le  Tombcau  de  Zozirlcerisonbou,  in  the 
Memoires  de  la  Mission  Fran  raise,  vol.  v.). 

3 Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  74-78  ; cf.  the  woodcut  o:i  p 192  of  the  present  work. 

1 The  test  of  this  couplet  is  given  in  Brcgsoh,  Die  TEgyptische  Graberwelt,  pi.  i.  35,  36;  the 

translation  in  Bilegsch,  Diet.  Ilirfr.,  p.  59;  in  Erman,  ZEgypten , p.  515;  and  in  Maspero,  Etudes 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  73,  74.  The  silurus  is  the  electrical  fish  of  the  Nile  ( Description  de  VEgypte, 
vol.  xxiv.  p.  299,  et  seq.).  The  text  ironically  hints  that  the  digger,  up  to  his  waist  in  water, 
engaged  in  dredging  the  dykes  or  repairing  a bank  swept  away  by  an  inundation,  is  liable  at  any 
moment  to  salute,  i.e.  to  meet  with  a silurus  or  an  oxyrrhynchus  ready  to  attack  him  ; he  is  doomed 
to  death,  and  this  fact  the  couplet  expresses  by  the  words,  “ West ! your  digger  is  a digger  from  the 
West.”  The  West  was  the  region  of  the  tombs;  and  the  digger,  owing  to  the  dangers  of  his  calling, 
was  on  his  way  thither. 


CUTTING  AND  CARRYING  OF  THE  HARVEST. 


342 


TEE  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


as  his  attention  is  relaxed,  the  work  slackens,  quarrels  arise,  and  the  spirit 
of  idleness  and  theft  gains  the  ascendency.  Two  men  have  unharnessed 
their  team.  One  of  them  quickly  milks  one  of  the  cows,  the  other  holds  the 
animal  and  impatiently  awaits  his  turn  : “ Be  quick,  while  the  farmer  is  not 
there.”  They  run  the  risk  of  a beating  for  a potful  of  milk.1  The  weeks  pass, 
the  corn  has  ripened,  the  harvest  begins.  The  fellahin,  armed  with  a short 
sickle,  cut  or  rather  saw  the  stalks,  a handful  at  a time.  As  they  advance  in 
line,  a flute-player  plays  them  captivating  tunes,  a man  joins  in  with  his  voice 
marking  the  rhythm  by  clapping  his  hands,  the  foreman  throwing  in  now  and 
then  a few  words  of  exhortation : “ What  lad  among  you,  when  the  season 
is  over,  can  say  : ‘ It  is  I who  say  it,  to  thee  and  to  my  comrades,  you  are  all 
of  you  but  idlers  ! ’ — Who  among  you  can  say  : ‘ An  active  lad  for  the  job  am 
I ! ’ ” 2 A servant  moves  among  the  gang  with  a tall  jar  of  beer,  offering 
it  to  those  who  wish  for  it.  “ Is  it  not  good  ! ” says  he ; and  the  one  who  drinks 
answers  politely  : “ ’Tis  true,  the  master’s  beer  is  better  than  a cake  of 
dourah  ! ” 3 The  sheaves  once  bound,  are  carried  to  the  singing  of  fresh  songs 
addressed  to  the  donkeys  who  bear  them : “ Those  who  quit  the  ranks  will  be 
tied,  those  who  roll  on  the  ground  will  be  beaten, — Geeho  ! then.”  And  thus 
threatened,  the  ass  trots  forward.4  Even  when  a tragic  element  enters  the 
scene,  and  the  bastinado  is  represented,  the  sculptor,  catching  the  bantering 
spirit  of  the  people  among  whom  he  lives,  manages  to  insinuate  a vein  of 
comedy.  A peasant,  summarily  condemned  for  some  misdeed,  lies  flat  upon 
the  ground  with  bared  back : two  friends  take  hold  of  his  arms,  and  two  others 
his  legs,  to  keep  him  in  the  proper  position.  His  wife  or  his  son  intercedes 
for  him  to  the  man  with  the  stick:  “For  mercy’s  sake  strike  on  the  ground!” 
And  as  a fact,  the  bastinado  was  commonly  rather  a mere  form  of  chastisement 
than  an  actual  punishment:  the  blows,  dealt  with  apparent  ferocity,  missed 
their  aim  and  fell  upon  the  earth ; 5 the  culprit  howled  loudly,  but  was  let  off 
with  only  a few  bruises. 

An  Arab  writer  of  the  Middle  Ages  remarks,  not  without  irony,  that  the 
Egyptians  were  perhaps  the  only  people  in  the  world  who  never  kept  any 
stores  of  provisions  by  them,  but  each  one  went  daily  to  the  market  to  buy 

1 The  scene  is  represented  on  the  tomb  of  Ti  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  78-80). 

2 The  text  is  in  Brugsch,  Die  JEgyptische  Graberwelt,  pi.  v.,  165-168;  and  Dumichen,  Resultate, 
vol.  i.  pi.  x.,  and  pp.  14,  15;  the  interpretation  in  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes , vol.  ii.  pp.  81-84. 

3 Lepsius,  Denltm.,  ii.  9 ; Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  347 ; Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes , vol.  ii. 
pp.  84,  85. 

4 Brugsch,  Die  JEgyptische  Graberwelt , pi.  v.  162;  Dumichen,  Die  Resultate,  vol.  i.  pi.  x. ; Mas- 
pero, Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  87-90.  The  song  will  be  found  above  the  train  of  asses. 

5 The  scene  is  to  be  found  in  the  tomb  of  Baftkit  at  Beni-Hasan  (Champollion,  Monuments, 
pi.  ccclxxxi.  1,  and  Text,  vol.  ii.  pp.  371-373;  Boselllnt,  Monumenti  civili,  pi.  cxxii.  B,  and  Text, 
vol.  iii.  pp.  271-273;  Wilkinson,  Manners  and  Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  305). 


CHEERFULNESS  AND  IMPROVIDENCE  OF  THE  PEASANTRY.  343 


the  pittance  for  his  family.1  The  improvidence  which  he  laments  over  in 
his  contemporaries  had  been  handed  down  from  their  most  remote  ancestors. 
Workmen,  fellahin,  employes,  small  townsfolk,  all  lived  from  hand  to  mouth 
in  the  Egypt  of  the  Pharaohs.  Pay-days  were  almost  everywhere  days  of 
rejoicing  and  extra  eating : no  one  spared  either  the  grain,  oil,  or  beer 
of  the  treasury,  and  copious  feasting  continued  unsparingly,  as  long  as 
anything  was  left  of  their  wages.  As  their  resources  were  almost  always 
exhausted  before  the  day  of  distribution  once  more  came  round,  beggary 


A FLOCK  OF  GOATS  AND  THE  SONG  OF  A GOATHERD.2 


succeeded  to  fulness  of  living,  and  a part  of  the  population  was  literally 
starving  for  several  days.  This  almost  constant  alternation  of  abundance  and 
dearth  had  a reactionary  influence  on  daily  work : there  were  scarcely  any 
seignorial  workshops  or  undertakings  which  did  not  come  to  a standstill  every 
month  on  account  of  the  exhaustion  of  the  workmen,  and  help  had  to  be 
provided  for  the  starving  in  order  to  avoid  popular  seditions.3  Their 
improvidence,  like  their  cheerfulness,  was  perhaps  an  innate  trait  in  the 
national  character:  it  was  certainly  fostered  and  developed  by  the  system 
of  government  adopted  by  Egypt  from  the  earliest  times.  What  incentive  was 
there  for  a man  of  the  people  to  calculate  his  resources  and  to  lay  up  for  the 
future,  when  he  knew  that  his  wife,  his  children,  his  cattle,  his  goods,  all  that 
belonged  to  him,  and  himself  to  boot,  might  be  carried  off  at  any  moment, 
without  his  having  the  right  or  the  power  to  resent  it?  He  was  born,  he 
lived,  and  he  died  in  the  possession  of  a master.  The  lands  or  houses  which  his 
father  had  left  him,  were  his  merely  on  sufferance,  and  he  enjoyed  them  only 
by  permission  of  his  lord.  Those  which  he  acquired  by  his  own  labour 
went  to  swell  his  master’s  domain.  If  he  married  and  had  sons,  they  were  but 
servants  for  the  master  from  the  moment  they  were  brought  into  the  world. 

1 In  Makrizi,  Hittat,  vol.  i.  pp.  49,  50,  Bulaq  edition. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brngsch-Bey.  The  picture  is  taken 
from  the  tomb  of  Ti ; cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  81-84. 

8 The  only  documents  we  possess  on  this  subject  belong  to  the  Bamesside  period ; further  on  I 
shall  have  to  give  the  history  of  these  stoppages  of  work  and  of  the  strikes  which  accompanied  them. 


77//?  POLITICAL  CONSTITUTION  OF  EGYPT. 


344 

Whatever  he  might  enjoy  to-day,  would  his  master  allow  him  possession  of  it 
to-morrow?  Even  life  in  the  world  beyond  did  not  offer  him  much  more 
security  or  liberty  : he  only  entered  it  in  his  master’s  service  and  to  do  his 
bidding;  he  existed  in  it  on  tolerance,  as  he  had  lived  upon  this  earth,  and 
he  found  there  no  rest  or  freedom  unless  he  provided  himself  abundantly  with 
“ respondents  ” and  charmed  statuettes.  He  therefore  concentrated  his  mind 
and  energies  on  the  present  moment,  to  make  the  most  of  it  as  of  almost 
the  only  thing  which  belonged  to  him  : he  left  to  his  master  the  task  of 
anticipating  and  providing  for  the  future.  In  truth,  his  masters  were  often 
changed  ; now  the  lord  of  one  town,  now  that  of  another  ; now  a Pharaoh  of  the 
Memphite  or  Theban  dynasties,  now  a stranger  installed  by  chance  upon  the 
throne  of  Horus.  The  condition  of  the  people  never  changed  ; the  burden 
which  crushed  them  never  lightened,  and  whatever  hand  happened  to  hold 
the  stick,  it  never  fell  the  less  heavily  upon  their  backs. 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


THE  ROYAL  PYRAMID  BUILDERS:  KHEOPS,  KHEPHREN,  MYKERINOS — MEMPHITE  LITERATURE 
AND  ART — EXTENSION  OF  EGYPT  TOWARDS  THE  SOUTH,  AND  THE  CONQUEST  OF  NUBIA 
BY  THE  PHARAOHS. 

SnofrAi — The  desert  which  separates  Africa  from  Asia:  its  physical  configuration,  its 
inhabitants,  their  incursions  into  Egypt,  and  their  relations  with  the  Egyptians — The  peninsula 
of  Sinai : the  turquoise  and  copper  mines,  the  mining  works  of  the  Pharaohs — The  two  tombs 
of  SnofrAi:  the  pyramid  and  the  mastabas  of  Med  Am,  the  statues  of  RahotpA  and  his 
wife  Nofrit. 

Kheops,  Khephren,  and  Mykerinos — The  Great  Pyramid  : its  construction  and  internal 
arrangements — The  pyramids  of  Khephren  and  Mykerinos ; the  rifling  of  than — Legend  about 
the  royal  pyramid  builders:  the  impiety  of  Kheops  and  Khephren,  the  piety  of  Mykerinos; 
the  brick  pyramid  of  Asycliis — The  materials  employed  in  building,  and  the  quarries  of 
Turah ; the  plans,  the  worship  of  the  royal  u double ; ” the  Arab  legends  about  the  guardian 
genii  of  the  pyramids. 

The  kings  of  the  fifth  dynasty:  Usirkaf,  SahAri,  KakiA,  and  the  romance  aboid  their 
advent — The  relations  of  the  Delta  to  the  peoples  of  the  North  : the  shipping  and  maritime 
commerce  of  the  Egyptians — Nubia  and  its  tribes:  the  UaA  id  and  the  MazaiA,  PAanit,  the 
dwarfs  and  the  Danga — Egyptian  literature:  the  Proverbs  of  PhtahhotpA — The  arts:  archi- 
tecture, statuary  and  its  chief  examples,  bas-reliefs,  painting,  industrial  art, 


( 340  ) 

The  development  of  Egyptian  feudalism,  and  the  advent  of  the  sixth  dynasty  : Ati,  Imhotpu, 

A 

Teti — Tapi  I.  and  his  minister  Uni:  the  affair  of  Queen  Amiisi ; the  wars  against  the  Hirtl- 
SlniitA  and  the  country  of  Tiba — MetesAphis  I.  and  the  second  Tapi:  progress  of  the  Egyptian 
power  in  Nubia , — The  lords  of  Elephantine  ; HirkhAf,  Papinakhiti : the  way  for  conquest 
prepared  by  their  explorations,  the  occupation  of  the  Oases — The  pyramids  of  Saqqdra  : 
Metesilph  is  the  Second — Nitokris  and  the  legend  concerning  her — Preponderance  of  the  feudal 
lords,  and  fall  of  the  Memphite  dynasty. 


THE  PYRAMID  OF  SNOFRUI  AT  MEDUM.1 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 

The  royal  pyramid  builders : Kheops,  Khepbren,  Mykerinos — Memphite  literature  and  art — 
Extension  of  Egypt  towards  the  South,  and  the  conquest  of  Nubia  by  the  Pharaohs. 

T that  time  2 “ the  Majesty  of  King  Huni  died,  and 
the  Majesty  of  King  Snofrui  arose  to  be  a sove- 
reign  benefactor  over  this  whole  earth.”  3 All 
that  we  know  of  him  is  contained  in  one  sentence : 
he  fought  against  the  nomads  of  Sinai,  con- 
structed fortresses  to  protect  the  eastern  frontier 
of  the  Delta,  and  made  for  himself  a tomb  in 
the  form  of  a pyramid. 

The  almost  uninhabited  country  which  con- 
nects Africa  with  Asia  is  flanked  towards  the 
south  by  two  chains  of  hills  which  unite  at  right 
lgles,  and  together  form  the  so-called  Gebel  et- 
This  country  is  a table-land,  gently  inclined 
from  south  to  north,  bare,  sombre,  covered  with  flint-shingle,  and  siliceous 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  the  chromolithograph  in  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  i.  pi.  45.  The  vignette, 
also  by  Boudier,  represents  Rahotph,  a dignitary  of  Medhm,  of  whom  mention  is  made  further  on 
(cf.  p.  363  of  this  History) ; the  drawing  is  made  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey. 

2 About  b.o.  4100,  with  the  possibility  of  an  error  of  several  centuries  more  or  less. 

3 Prisse  Papyrus,  pi.  ii.  11.  7,  8 (Virey’s  edition,  p.  24).  The  fragments  of  the  Royal  Canon  of 
Turin  appear  to  attribute  to  Hhni  and  Snofrui  reigns  of  equal  length,  namely,  of  twenty-four  years 
(E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  monuments  qu’on  pent  attribuer  avx  six  premieres  dynasties  do 
Mqnfthon,  p.  154,  note  2). 


THE  MEMPHITE  EM  PI  PE. 


o4K 

rocks,  and  breaking  out  at  frequent  intervals  into  long  low  chalky  hills, 
seamed  with  wadys,  the  largest  of  which — that  of  El-Arish — having  drained 
all  the  others  into  itself,  opens  into  the  Mediterranean  halfway  between 
Pelusium  and  Gaza.1  Torrents  of  rain  are  not  infrequent  in  winter  and  spring, 
but  the  small  quantity  of  water  which  they  furnish  is  quickly  evaporated,  and 
barely  keeps  alive  the  meagre  vegetation  in  the  bottom  of  the  valleys.  Some- 
times, after  months  of  absolute  drought,  a tempest  breaks  over  the  more  elevated 
parts  of  the  desert.2 * * * 6  The  wind  rises  suddenly  in  squall-like  blasts  ; thick  clouds, 
borne  one  knows  not  whence,  are  riven  by  lightning  to  the  incessant  accom- 
paniment of  thunder;  it  would  seem  as  if  tbe  heavens  had  broken  up  and  were 
crashing  down  upon  the  mountains.  In  a few  moments  streams  of  muddy 
water  rushing  down  the  ravines,  through  the  gulleys  and  along  the  slightest 
depressions,  hurry  to  the  low  grounds,  and  meeting  there  in  a foaming  concourse, 
follow  the  fall  of  the  land ; a few  minutes  later,  and  the  space  between  one  hill- 
side and  the  other  is  occupied  by  a deep  river,  flowing  with  terrible  velocity 
and  irresistible  force.  At  the  end  of  eight  or  ten  hours  the  air  becomes  clear, 
the  wind  falls,  the  rain  ceases  ; the  hastily  formed  river  dwindles,  and  for  lack 
of  supply  is  exhausted  ; the  inundation  comes  to  an  end  almost  as  quickly  as  it 
began.  In  a short  time  nothing  remains  of  it  but  some  shallow  pools  scattered 
in  the  hollows,  or  here  and  there  small  streamlets  which  rapidly  dry  up.  The 
flood,  however,  accelerated  by  its  acquired  velocity,  continues  to  descend  towards 
the  sea.  The  devastated  flanks  of  the  hills,  their  torn  and  corroded  bases,  the 
accumulated  masses  of  shingle  left  by  the  eddies,  the  long  lines  of  rocks  and 
sand,  mark  its  route  and  bear  evidence  everywhere  of  its  power.  The  in- 
habitants, taught  by  experience,  avoid  a sojourn  in  places  where  tempests  have 
once  occurred.  It  is  in  vain  that  the  sky  is  serene  above  them  and  the  sun 
shines  overhead ; they  always  fear  that  at  the  moment  in  which  danger  seems 
least  likely  to  threaten  them,  the  torrent,  taking  its  origin  some  twenty  leagues 
off,  may  be  on  its  headlong  way  to  surprise  them.  And,  indeed,  it  comes  so 
suddenly  and  so  violently  that  nothing  in  its  course  can  escape  it : men  and 
beasts,  before  there  is  time  to  fly,  often  even  before  they  are  aware  of  its  approach, 

1 Our  acquaintance  with  Sinai  and  the  neighbouring  countries  is  due  to  the  work  of  the  English 
commission,  Ordnance  Survey  of  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai,  3 vols.  fol.  of  photographs,  1 vol.  of  maps 
and  plans,  1 vol.  of  text.  It  has  been  popularized  by  E.  H.  Pai.mek,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus, 

2 vols.  octavo,  1871 ; and  by  H.  Sp.  Palmer,  Sinai,  from,  the  IV"'  Egyptian  Dynasty  to  the  present  day, 

18mo,  1878. 

2 In  chap.  viii.  of  the  Account  of  the  Survey,  pp.  226-228,  Mr.  Holland  describes  a sudden  rain- 

storm or  “ seil  ” on  December  3,  1867,  which  drowned  thirty  persons,  destroyed  droves  of  camels  and 
asses,  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats,  and  swept  away,  in  the  Wady  Feiran,  a thousand  palm  trees  and 
a grove  of  tamarisks,  two  miles  in  length.  Towards  4.30  in  the  afternoon,  a few  drops  of  rain  began 
to  fall,  but  the  storm  did  not  break  till  5 p.m.  At  5.15  it  was  at  its  height,  and  it  was  not  over  till 
9.30.  The  torrent,  which  at  8 p.m.  was  10  feet  deep,  and  was  about  1000  feet  in  width,  was,  at 

6 a.m.  the  next  day,  reduced  to  a small  streamlet. 


THE  DESERT  WHICH  SEPARATES  AFRICA  FROM  ASIA. 


349 


are  swept  away  and  pitilessly  destroyed.  The  Egyptians  applied  to  the  entire 
country  the  characteristic  epithet  of  To-Shuit,  the  land  of  Emptiness,  the  land 


of  Aridity.1  They  divided  it  into  various  districts — the  upper  and  lower  Tonu,2 

1 Dumichen,  Historische  Inschriften,  vol.  ii.  pi.  is.  b ; E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  et  Notices 
recueillies  a Edfou,  pi.  cxv.  7 ; cf.  Brugsch,  Ein  Geograpliisches  Unicum,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1865,  pp. 
28,  29,  and  Die  Altdgyptische  Volkertafel,  in  the  Abliandlungen  des  IVtes  Orientalisten-Congresses, 
Afrilcanische  Seldion,  p.  75.  This  text,  which  had  already  been  interpreted  by  J.  de  Rouge'  ( Textes 
ge'ographiques  du  temple  d’ Edfou,  pp.  15,  16),  identifies  the  “ Barbarians  of  the  land  of  Shui”  with  the 
Shaftsti,  the  Bedouin  of  the  desert  between  Syria  and  Egypt.  The  gloss,  “ they  live  on  the  water 
of  the  Nile  and  of  the  streams,”  shows  that  they  were  spread  even  to  the  extreme  fiontiers  of  Egypt. 
The  “ To-Shuit”  of  the  tomb  of  Khnu  nhotpu  (Champolljon,  Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie, 
pi.  ccclxii. ; Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  138;  Griffith  and  Newberry,  Beni- Hasan,  vol.  i.  pi.  xxxviii.  2) 
is  identical  with  the  country  of  these  “Barbarians;”  it  is,  as  W.  Max  Muller  has  translated  it,  “the 
dry  country,”  the  desert  (Asien  und  Europa  nach  Altagyptischen  Denkmalern,  p.  16). 

2 Upper  Tonft  is  mentioned  only  in  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,1.  31,  along  with  Tonvt,  taken  generally 
(11.  100,  109,  129,  etc.).  Chabas  ( Les  Papyrus  luYratiques  de  Berlin,  p.  87)  placed  this  country  beyond 
Edom,  either  in  Judaea  or  in  the  countries  situated  to  the  east  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Subsequently  he 
thought  that  there  must  have  been  access  to  it  by  sea;  this  led  him  to  identify  it  with  the  maritime 
part  of  Palestine  ( Etudes  sur  VAntiquite  historiqne,  2 id  edit.,  pp.  100,  102).  Mr.  Max  Miiller  (Asien 
und  Europa,  p.  47)  believes  tliatTonft  is  a scribe’s  error  for  Rotcntl,  and,  with  Chabas,  decides  in  favour 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


350 

Aia,1  Kaduma.2  They  called  its  inhabitants  Hiru-Shaitu,  the  lords  of  the 
Sands;  Nomiu-Shaitu,  the  rovers  of  the  Sands;3  aud  they  associated  them 
with  the  Ainfl — that  is  to  say,  with  a race  which  we  recognize  as  Semitic.4  The 
type  of  these  barbarians,  indeed,  reminds  one  of  the  Semitic  massive  head, 
aquiline  nose,  retreating  forehead,  long  beard,  thick  and  not  infrequently  crisp 
hair.5  They  went  barefoot,  and  the  monuments  represent  them  as  girt  with 
a short  kilt,  though  they  also  wore  the  abayah.  Their  arms  were  those  commonly 
used  by  the  Egyptians— the  bow,  lance,  club,  knife,  battle-axe,  and  shield.6 
They  possessed  great  flocks  of  goats  or  sheep,7  but  the  horse  and  camel  were 
unknown  to  them,  as  well  as  to  their  African  neighbours.  They  lived  chiefly 
upon  the  milk  of  their  flocks,  and  the  fruit  of  the  date-palm.  A section  of 
them  tilled  the  soil : settled  around  springs  or  wells,  they  managed  by  indus- 
trious labour  to  cultivate  moderately  sized  but  fertile  fields,  flourishing  orchards, 
groups  of  palms,  fig  and  olive  trees,  and  vines.8  In  spite  of  all  this  their 
resources  were  insufficient,  and  their  position  would  have  been  precarious  if 
they  had  not  been  able  to  supplement  their  stock  of  provisions  from  Egypt  or 
Southern  Syria.  They  bartered  at  the  frontier  markets  their  honey,  wool,  gums, 
manna,  and  small  quantities  of  charcoal,  for  the  products  of  local  manufacture, 

of  Palestine.  Tonu.  appears  to  me  to  be  the  territory  which  belonged  later  on  to  the  tribe  of  Simeon, 
extending  to  Arabah  aud  to  the  middle  course  of  the  Wady  Arish  (Les  Contes  populaires  de  VEgypte 
Ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  p.  9t). 

1 Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  1.  81,  where  a description  of  the  country  will  be  found;  cf.  p.  471  of 
this  History. 

■ This  name  had  been  read  Adima,  Adhma,  aud  identified  with  that  of  Edom  by  Chabas  (Les 
Papyrus  liiifratiques  de  Berlin,  pp.  40,  75),  an  identification  which  was  adopted  by  all  Egyptologists. 
Messrs.  Ed.  Meyer  ( Geschichte  PEgyptens,  p.  182,  note  3)  aud  Erman  ( JEgypten  und  AEgyptisclies 
Leben  in  AUertum,  p.  495),  followed  by  Mr.  Max  Muller  (Asien  und  Europa,  pp.  415,  47),  read  it 
“Kaduma” — -possibly  the  Hebrew  “ Kedem  ; ” Mr.  Max  Muller  places  this  country  of  “Kaduma* 
Kedem  ” to  the  south-east  or  east  of  the  Dead  Sea. 

3 The  Hiru-Shaitu  were  pointed  out  for  the  first  time  by  Birch  (On  a new  historical  Tablet  of  the 
reign  of  Thothmes  III.,  pp.  9,  10,  taken  from  the  Arclixologia,  vol.  xxxviii.)  as  being  probably  the 
inhabitants  of  the  desert.  This  sense,  adopted  and  expanded  by  E.  de  Rouge'  ( Eecherches  sur  les 
monuments,  pp.  122,  127)  and  by  Chabas  (Etudes  sur  V Antiquity  historique,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  114-119),  is 
now  admitted  to  be  correct  by  all  Egyptologists.  Tho  variant  “ NomiO-Shaitu  ” occurs  only,  to  my 
knowledge,  in  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  1.  73,  and  in  Mariette,  Karnak,  pi.  xxxvii.  1.  33  (cf.  E. 
and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  recueillies  en  Egypte,  pi.  xxvi.  1.  14),  in  a text  of  the  second  Theban 
Empire. 

* The  Inscription  of  Papinalchiti,  which  will  be  mentioned  later  on,  pp.  434,  435  of  this  History, 
in  connection  with  the  journeys  undertaken  by  the  princes  of  Elephantine,  says  that  the  Hiru-Shaitu 
were  Amu. 

5 The  pictures  of  the  Monitu,  in  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  39  a,  116  a,  152  a (cf.  p.  351  of  this  History), 
give  an  idea  of  the  appearance  of  the  Hirh-Shaith,  with  whom  they  are  often  confounded. 

6 A description  of  a Tonu  warrior,  prepared  for  war,  occurs  in  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  11. 
127-129,  134,  135  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  108  ; cf.  p.  472  of  this  History). 

7 Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  11.  112,  117-128,  where  the  hero  includes  cats  in  the  enumeration  of  his 
cattle,  probably  tame  cats,  which  were  carried  from  Egypt  into  Asiatic  countries. 

8 Of.  the  description  of  Aia,  in  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  11.  79-92  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  popu- 
laires, 2nd  edit.,  pp.  104-108;  cf.  p.  471  of  this  History).  The  narrative  given  by  tlni  of  his  cam- 
paigns against  the  Hiru-Shaith,  under  Papi  I.  (1.  23,  et  seq. ; cf.  pp.  419-421),  is  a confirmation  of 
the  picture  traced  by  Sinhhit  of  the  country,  and  shows  that  the  conditions  of  it  had  not  changed 
between  the  Memphites  and  the  XIlth  dynasty. 


the  INHABITANTS  OF  THE  ARABIAN  DESERT. 


351 


Gulf  of  Suez  and  the  mountain- 
ous rampart  of  Gebel  Geneffeh 
in  the  south,  and  the  marshes 
of  Pelusium  on  the  north,  pro- 
tected almost  completely  the 
eastern  boundary  of  the  Delta ; 
but  the  Wady  Tumilat  laid  open 
the  heart  of  the  country  to  the 
invaders.  The  Pharaohs  of  the 
divine  dynasties2  in  the  first 
place,  and  then  those  of  the 
human  dynasties,  had  fortified 
this  natural  opening,  some  say 
by  a continuous  wall,  others  by 
a line  of  military  posts,  flanked 
on  the  one  side  by  the  waters  of 
the  gulf.8  Snofiui  restored  or 
constructed  several  castles  in 
for  a long  time  after  his  death.5 


this  district,  which  perpetuated  his  name 
These  had  the  square  or  rectangular  form 


but  especially  for  wheat,  or  the  cereals  of  which  they  stood  in  need.1  The  sight 
of  the  riches  gathered  together  in  the  eastern  plain,  from  Tanis  to  Bubastis, 
excited  their  pillaging  instincts,  and  awoke  in  them  an  irrepressible  covetous- 
ness. The  Egyptian  annals  make  mention  of  their  incursions  at  the  very  com- 
mencement of  history,  and  they 
maintained  that  even  the  gods 
had  to  take  steps  to  protect 
themselves  from  them.  The 


A BARBARIAN  MONITI  FROM  SINAI.4 


1 These  are,  with  scarcely  any  difference,  the  products  which  the  Bedouin  of  those  parts  used  to 
bring  regularly  to  the  Egyptian  frontier  at  the  beginning  of  our  century  (J.  M.  J.  Coutelle,  Observa- 
tions s ur  la  topographie  de  la  presqu’ile  da  Sinai,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  J 85-187). 

2 See  p.  170  of  this  History  for  informatiun  on  the  forts  built  by  the  god  Ra,  on  the  east  of  the  Delta. 

3 The  existence  of  the  wall,  or  of  the  line  of  military  posts,  is  of  very  ancient  date,  for  the  name 
Kim-Oirit  is  already  followed  by  the  hieroglyph  of  the  wall  ( Papi  1.,  1.  27;  Mirniri,  1.  38;  Teti, 
1.  274),  or  by  that  of  a fortified  enclosure  ( Mirniri , 1.  142)  in  the  texts  of  the  Pyramids.  The  expression 
Kim-Oirit,  “ the  very  black,”  is  applied  to  the  northern  part  of  the  Red  Sea,  in  contradistinction  to 
flaz-Oirit,  flazit-Oirit,  “the  very  green,”  the  Mediterranean  (Euman,  Zur  Erlc'arung  der  Pyramiden- 
texte,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxix.  pp.  44,  45 ; cf.  Max  Muller,  Asien  and  Europa  nacli  Altdgyptisclien 
Denlcmdlern,  p.  40,  et  seq.) ; a town,  probably  built  at  a short  distance  from  the  village  of  Maghfar, 
had  taken  its  name  from  the  gulf  on  which  it  was  situated,  and  was  also  called  Kim-Oirit. 

4 Drawn  by  Fauchcr-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Petrie.  The  original  is  of  the  time  of  Necta- 
nebo,  and  is  at  Karnak ; I have  chosen  it  for  reproduction  in  preference  to  the  heads  of  the  time  of 
the  Ancient  Empire,  which  are  less  well  preserved,  and  of  which  this  is  only  the  traditional  copy. 

6 Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  11.  16,  17  (cf.  Chabas,  Les  Papyrus  hidratiques  de  Berlin,  pp.  38,  39), 
and  St.  Petersburg  Papyrus,  No.  1,  quoted  and  analyzed  by  Golenischeff  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1876, 
p.  110  ; Inscription  of  Uni,  1.  21.  In  the  latter  text  Snofrfti  is  designated  only  by  his  name  of  Horus, 
“ Ilorh  nib  mait  ” (cf.  Sethe,  Ein  neuer  Horusname,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxx.  p.  62). 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


of  the  towers,  whose  mins  are  still  to  be  seen  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile. 
Standing  night  and  day  upon  the  battlements,  the  sentinels  kept  a strict  look- 
out over  the  desert,  ready  to  give  alarm  at  the  slightest  suspicious  movement. 
The  marauders  took  advantage  of  any  inequality  in  the  ground  to  approach 
unperceived,  and  they  were  often  successful  in  getting  through  the  lines;1  they 
scattered  themselves  over  the  country,  surprised  a village  or  two,  bore  off  such 
women  and  children  as  they  could  lay  their  hands  on,  took  possession  of  herds 
of  animals,  and,  without  carrying  their  depredations  further,  hastened  to  regain 
their  solitudes  before  information  of  their  exploits  could  have  reached  the 


TWO  REFUGE  TOWERS  OF  THE  HIRU-SHAiTU,  IN  THE  WADY  B1AR.2 

garrison.  If  their  expeditions  became  numerous,  the  general  of  the  Eastern 
Marches,  or  the  Pharaoh  himself,  at  the  head  of  a small  army,  started  on  a 
campaign  of  reprisals  against  them.  The  marauders  did  not  await  to  be 
attacked,  but  betook  themselves  to  refuges  constructed  by  them  beforehand  at 
certain  points  in  their  territory.  They  erected  here  and  there,  on  the  crest  of 
some  steep  hill,  or  at  the  confluence  of  several  wadys,  stoue  towers  put  together 
without  mortar,  and  rounded  at  the  top  like  so  many  beehives,  in  unequal 
groups  of  three,  ten,  or  thirty;  here  they  massed  themselves  as  well  as  they  could, 
and  defended  the  position  with  the  greatest  obstinacy,  in  the  hope  that  their 
assailants,  from  the  lack  of  water  and  provisions,  would  soon  be  forced  to  retreat.3 
Elsewhere  they  possessed  fortified  “ duars,”  where  not  only  their  families  but 

' We  find  in  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  1.  16,  et  seq.  (Maspero,  Les  Contes  pnpulaires,  2nd  edit., 
p.  99),  the  description  of  one  of  these  forls,  and  the  manner  in  which  Sinfthtt  concealed  his  advance 
from  the  watch  ; he  lay  hidden  in  the  neighbouring  brushwood  during  the  day,  and  resumed  his 
march  only  at  nightfall. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  vignette  by  E.  II.  Palmer,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  p.  317. 

3 The  members  of  the  English  Commission  do  not  hesitate  to  attribute  the  construction  of  these 


THE  PENINSULA  OF  SINAI. 


353 


also  their  herds  could  find  a refuge — circular  or  oval  enclosures,  surrounded 
by  low  walls  of  massive  rough  stones  crowned  by  a thick  rampart  made  of 
branches  of  acacia  interlaced  with  spiny  bushes,  the  tents  or  huts  being  ranged 
behind,  while  in  the  centre  was  an  empty  space  for  the  cattle.1  These  primitive 
fortresses  were  strong  enough  to  overawe  nomads ; regular  troops  made  short 
work  of  them.  The  Egyptians  took  them  by  assault,  overturned  them,  cut 
down  the  fruit  trees,  burned  the  crops,  and  retreated  in  security,  after  having 
destroyed  everything  in  their  march.  Each  of  their  campaigns,  which  hardly 


VIEW  OF  THE  OASIS  OF  WADY  FEIRAN  IN  THE  PENINSULA  OF  SINAI.2 


lasted  more  than  a few  days,  secured  the  tranquillity  of  the  frontier  for  some 
years.3 

To  the  south  of  G-ebel  et-Tih,  and  cut  off  from  it  almost  completely  by  a 
moat  of  wadys,  a triangular  group  of  mountains  known  as  Sinai  thrusts  a wedge- 
shaped  spur  into  the  Eed  Sea,  forcing  back  its  waters  to  the  right  and  left  into 
two  narrow  gulfs,  that  of  Akabah  and  that  of  Suez.  Gebel  Katherin  stands 
up  from  the  centre  and  overlooks  the  whole  peninsula.  A sinuous  chain 
detaches  itself  from  it  and  ends  at  Gebel  Serbal,  at  some  distance  to  the  north- 
west; another  trends  to  the  south,  and  after  attaining  in  Gebel  Umm-Shomer 
an  elevation  equal  to  that  of  Gebel  Katherin,  gradually  diminishes  in  height. 


towers  to  the  remotest  antiquity  (E.  H.  Palmer,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  p.  309,  et  seq.,  316, 
et  seq.;  Account  of  the  Survey,  pp.  66,  194,  195,  and  pi.  is.  1):  the  Bedouin  call  them  ‘namhs,” 
plur.  “ nawamis,”  mosquito-houses,  and  they  say  that  the  children  of  Israel  built  them  as  a shelter 
during  the  night  from  mosquitos  at  the  time  of  the  Exodus.  The  resemblance  of  these  buildings  to 
the  “ Talayot  ” of  the  Balearic  Isles,  and  to  the  Scotch  beehive-shaped  houses,  has  struck  all 
travellers. 

1 E.  H.  Palmer,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  pp.  320-322 ; Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 30, 
in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  vol.  xiv.,  1891-92,  pp.  326,  327. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  the  water-colour  drawing  published  by  Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  i.  7,  No.  2. 

3 The  inscription  of  fjni  (11.  22-32)  furnishes  us  with  the  invariable  type  of  the  Egyptian  cam- 
paigns against  the  Hirh-Shaith : the  bas-reliefs  of  Karnak  might  serve  to  illustrate  it,  as  they 

2 A 


T11E  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


354 

and  plunges  into  the  sea  at  Ras-Mohammed.  A complicated  system  of  gorges 
and  valleys — Wady  Nash,  Wady  Kidd,  Wady  Hebran,  Wady  Baba — furrows 
the  country  and  holds  it  as  in  a network  of  unequal  meshes.  Wady 
Feiran  contains  the  most  fertile  oasis  in  the  peninsula.  A never-failing 
stream  waters  it  for  about  two  or  three  miles  of  its  length ; quite  a little 
forest  of  palms  enlivens  both  banks — somewhat  meagre  and  thin,  it  is  true, 
but  intermingled  with  acacias,  tamarisks,  nabecas,  carob  trees,  and  willows. 
Birds  sing  amid  their  branches,  sheep  wander  in  the  pastures,  while  the 
huts  of  the  inhabitants  peep  out  at  intervals  from  among  the  trees. 
Valleys  and  plains,  even  in  some  places  the  slopes  of  the  hills,  are  sparsely 
covered  with  those  delicate  aromatic  herbs  which  affect  a stony  soil.  Their 
life  is  a perpetual  struggle  against  the  sun  : scorched,  dried  up,  to  all  appear- 
ance dead,  and  so  friable  that  they  crumble  to  pieces  in  the  fingers  when  one 
attempts  to  gather  them,  the  spring  rains  annually  infuse  into  them  new  life, 
and  bestow  upon  them,  almost  before  one’s  eyes,  a green  and  perfumed  youth 
of  some  days’  duration.  The  summits  of  the  hills  remain  always  naked,  and 
no  vegetation  softens  the  ruggedness  of  their  outlines,  or  the  glare  of  their 
colouring.  The  core  of  the  peninsula  is  hewn,  as  it  were,  out  of  a block  of 
granite,  in  which  white,  rose-colour,  brown,  or  black  predominate,  according 
to  the  quantities  of  felspar,  quartz,  or  oxides  of  iron  which  the  rocks  contain. 
Towards  the  north,  the  masses  of  saudstone  which  join  on  to  Gebel  et-Tih 
assume  all  possible  shades  of  red  and  grey,  from  a delicate  lilac  neutral  tint 
to  dark  purple.  The  tones  of  colour,  although  placed  crudely  side  by 
side,  present  nothing  jarring  nor  offensive  to  the  eye;  the  sun  floods  all, 
and  blends  them  in  his  light.  The  Sinaitic  peninsula  is  at  intervals  swept, 
like  the  desert  to  the  east  of  Egypt,  by  terrible  tempests,  which  denude  its 
mountains  and  transform  its  wadys  into  so  many  ephemeral  torrents.  The 
Monitu  who  frequented  this  region  from  the  dawn  of  history  did  not  differ 
much  from  the  “ Lords  of  the  Sands ; ” 1 they  were  of  the  same  type,  had  the 
same  costume,  the  same  arms,  the  same  nomadic  instincts,  and  in  districts  where 
the  soil  permitted  it,  made  similar  brief  efforts  to  cultivate  it.  They  wor- 
shipped a god  and  a goddess  whom  the  Egyptians  identified  with  Horus  and 
Hathor ; one  of  these  appeared  to  represent  the  light,  perhaps  the  sun,  the 
other  the  heavens.2  They  had  discovered  at  an  early  period  in  the  sides  of 

represent  the  great  raid  led  by  Seti  I.  into  the  territory  of  the  Shausus  and  their  allies,  between 
the  frontier  of  Egypt  and  the  town  of  Hebron  (Champollion,  Monuments  de  I'Pgypte  et  de  la 
Nubie,  pis.  cclxxxix.-cccii. ; Rosellini,  Monumenti  Reali,  pis.  xlvi.-lxi. ; Lepsius,  DenJcm.,  iii. 
12G,  127). 

1 For  information  on  the  Monitu,  cf.  Max  Muller,  Asien  und  Europa  nach  Altdgyptisclien 
Denlcmdlern,  pp.  17-21. 

2 These  are  the  divinities  most  frequently  invoked  in  the  religious  worship  of  the  Egyptian 
officers  and  miners  residing  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  mines  of  Mafkait  (Lepsius,  Denlcrn.,  ii.  137). 


THE  TURQUOISE  AND  COPPER  MINES. 


355 


the  hills  rich  metalliferous  veins,  and  strata,  bearing  precious  stones ; from 
these  they  learned  to  extract  iron,  oxides  of  copper  and  manganese,  and 
turquoises,  which  they  exported  to  the  Delta.  The  fame  of  their  riches,  carried 
to  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  excited  the  cupidity  of  the  Pharaohs;  expeditions 
started  from  different  points  of  the  valley,  swept  down  upon  the  peninsula, 
and  established  themselves  by  main  force  in  the  midst  of  the  districts  where 
the  mines  lay.1  These  were  situated  to  the  north-west,  in  the  region  of 
sandstone,  between  the  western  branch  of  Gebel  et-Tih  and  the  Gulf  of  Suez. 
They  were  collectively  called  Mafkait,  the  country  of  turquoises,  a fact  which 
accounts  for  the  application  of  the  local  epithet,  lady  of  Mafkait,  to  Hatkor. 
The  earliest  district  explored,  that  which  the  Egyptians  first  attacked,  was 
separated  from  the  coast  by  a narrow  plain  and  a single  range  of  hills  : the 
produce  of  the  mines  could  be  thence  transported  to  the  sea  in  a few  hours 
without  difficulty.  Pharaoh’s  labourers  called  this  region  the  district  of  Bait, 
the  mine  far  excellence,  or  of  Bebit,  the  country  of  grottoes,  from  the 
numerous  tunnels  which  their  predecessors  had  made  there  : the  name  Wady 
Maghara,  Valley  of  the  Cavern,  by  which  the  site  is  now  designated,  is  simply 
an  Arabic  translation  of  the  old  Egyptian  word.2 

The  Monitu  did  not  accept  this  usurpation  of  their  rights  without  a 
struggle,  and  the  Egyptians  who  came  to  work  among  them  had  either  to 
purchase  their  forbearance  by  a tribute,  or  to  hold  themselves  always  in 
readiness  to  repulse  the  assaults  of  the  Monitu  by  force  of  arms.  Zosiri  had 
already  taken  steps  to  ensure  the  safety  of  the  turquoise-seekers 3 at  their  work  ; 
Snofrui  was  not,  therefore,  the  first  Pharaoh  who  passed  that  way,  but  none  of 
his  predecessors  had  left  so  many  traces  of  his  presence  as  he  did  in  this  out- 
of-the-way  corner  of  the  empire.  There  may  still  be  seen,  on  the  north-west 
slope  of  the  Wady  Maghara,  the  bas-relief  which  one  of  his  lieutenants 
engraved  there  in  memory  of  a victory  gained  over  the  Monitu.  A Bedouin 
sheikh  fallen  on  his  knees  prays  for  mercy  with  suppliant  gesture,  but  Pharaoh 
has  already  seized  him  by  his  long  hair,  and  brandishes  above  his  head  a 
white  stone  mace  to  fell  him  with  a single  blow.4  The  workmen,  partly 

1 The  history  of  the  Egyptian  mining  works  in  the  Siuaitic  peninsula  has  been  elucidated  by 
G.  Ebers,  Durcli  Gosen  zum  Sinai,  and  by  Brugsch,  Wanderung  nach  der  Turkis-Minen ; the 
majority  of  the  inscriptions  will  be  found  briefly  translated  by  Birch  in  the  seventh  chapter  of 
the  Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  168,  et  seq. 

2 The  actual  form  of  the  Egyptian  name  appears  to  have  clung  to  one  of  the  smaller  wadys  which 
connect  the  mines  of  Wady  Maghara  with  those  of  Sarbut  el-Khadim — the  Wady  Babah  (Ebers, 
Burch  Gosen  zum  Sinai,  pp.  130,  535 ; Brugsch,  Wanderung  nach  der  Turkis-Minen  und  dcr  Sinai- 
Halbimel,  pp.  81,  82).  The  Bedouin  usually  call  the  Wady  Maghara,  the  Wady  Genneh  or  Wady 
Igneh  (E.  H.  Paljier,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  p.  195). 

3 Benedite,  Le  nom  d’Cpervier  du  roi  Sozir,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xvi.  p.  101 ; cf.  above, 

p.  212. 

4 Leon  de  Laborde,  Voyage  de  VArabie  PtfrA:,  pi.  5,  No.  3;  Lottin  de  Laval,  Voyage  dans  la 


35G 


THE  MEMPIUTE  EMPIRE. 


recruited  from  the  country  itself,  partly  despatched  from  the  banks  of  the 
Nile,  dwelt  in  an  entrenched  camp  upon  an  isolated  peak  at  the  confluence  of 
Wady  Genneh  and  Wady  Maghara.1  A zigzag  pathway  on  its  smoothest 
slope  ends,  about  seventeen  feet  below  the  summit,  at  the  extremity  of  a small 
and  slightly  inclined  table-land,  upon  which  are  found  the  ruins  of  a large 

village  ; this  is  the  High  Castle — 
Hait-Qait2  of  the  ancient  inscriptions. 
Two  hundred  habitations  can  still  be 
made  out  here,  some  round,  some 
rectangular,  constructed  of  sandstone 
blocks  without  mortar,  and  not  larger 
than  the  huts  of  the  fellahin : in 
former  times  a flat  roof  of  wickerwork 
and  puddled  clay  extended  over  each. 
The  entrance  was  not  so  much  a door 
as  a narrow  opening,  through  which  a 
fat  man  would  find  it  difficult  to  pass ; 
the  interior  consisted  of  a single  cham- 
ber, except  in  the  case  of  the  chief  of 
the  works,  whose  dwelling  contained 
two.  A rough  stone  bench  from  two 
to  two  and  a half  feet  high  surrounds 
the  plateau  on  which  the  village 
stands ; a cheval  de  frise  made  of 
thorny  brushwood  probably  completed  the  defence,  as  in  the  duars  of  the 
desert.  The  position  was  very  strong  and  easily  defended.  Watchmen 
scattered  over  the  neighbouring  summits  kept  an  outlook  over  the  distant 
plain  and  the  defiles  of  the  mountains.  Whenever  the  cries  of  these  sentinels 
announced  the  approach  of  the  foe,  the  workmen  immediately  deserted  the 
mine  and  took  refuge  in  their  citadel,  which  a handful  of  resolute  men  could 
successfully  hold,  as  long  as  hunger  and  thirst  did  not  enter  into  the  question. 
As  the  ordinary  springs  and  wells  would  not  have  been  sufficient  to  supply 

P&ninmle  Arabique  et  VEgypte  moyenne,  Ins.  liie'r.,  pi.  1,  No.  1 ; Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  5 ; Bihch,  in  the 
Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  171. 

1 The  description  of  the  Egyptian  ruins  and  of  the  turquoise  mines  in  their  neighbourhood  is 
taken  from  J.  Keast  Lokd,  The  Peninsula  of  Sinai  (in  the  Leisure  Hour,  1870),  of  which  M.  Chabas 
has  already  felicitously  made  use  in  his  Recherclies  sur  V Antiquity  liistorique,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  318-363 ; 
an  analogous  description  is  found  in  the  Account  of  the  Survey,  pp.  222-224. 

2 Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie  der  Alten  JEgypter,  pp.  567,  568;  Hait-Qait  is  again 
mentioned  in  the  middle  of  the  Ptolemaic  Period,  in  Dumichen,  Geographische  Inschriften,  vol.  iii. 
pi.  li. 

3 Plan  made  by  Thuillier,  from  the  sketch  by  Brugsch,  Wanderung  nach  den  Tiirlcie-Mineu, 
p.  70. 


THE  MINING  WORKS  OF  WADY  MAGHARA.3 


TEE  MINING  WORKS  OF  TEE  PEARAOES. 


357 


the  needs  of  the  colony,  they  had  transformed  the  bottom  of  the  valley  into 
an  artificial  lake.  A dam  thrown  across  it  prevented  the  escape  of  the 
waters,  which  filled  the  reservoir  more  or  less  completely  according  to  the 
season.  It  never  became  empty,  and  several  species  of  shellfish  flourished 
in  it — among  others,  a kind  of  large  mussel  which  the  inhabitants  generally 
used  as  food,  which  with  dates,  milk,  oil,  coarse  bread,  a few  vegetables,  and 
from  time  to  time  a fowl  or  a joint  of  meat,  made  up  their  scanty  fare.  Other 


THE  HIGH  CASTLE  OF  THE  MINERS — HAIT-QAIT — AT  THE  CONFLUENCE  OF  WADY  GENNEII  AND 

WADY  MAGHARA.1 


things  were  of  the  same  primitive  character.  The  tools  found  in  the  village  are 
all  of  flint : knives,  scrapers,  saws,  hammers,  and  heads  of  lances  and  arrows.  A 
few  vases  brought  from  Egypt  are  distinguished  by  the  fineness  of  the  material 
and  the  purity  of  the  design ; but  the  pottery  in  common  use  was  made  on  the 
spot  from  coarse  clay  without  care,  and  regardless  of  beauty.  As  for  jewellery, 
the  villagers  had  beads  of  glass  or  blue  enamel,  and  necklaces  of  strung  cowrie- 
shells.  In  the  mines,  as  in  their  own  houses,  the  workmen  employed  stone 
tools  only,  with  handles  of  wood,  or  of  plaited  willow  twigs,  but  their  chisels  or 
hammers  were  more  than  sufficient  to  cut  the  yellow  sandstone,  coarse-grained 
and  very  friable  as  it  was,  in  the  midst  of  which  they  worked.1 2  The  tunnels 
running  straight  into  the  mountain  were  low  and  wide,  and  were  supported  at 
intervals  by  pillars  of  sandstone  left  in  situ.  These  tunnels  led  into  chambers  of 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  the  photograph  published  in  the  Ordnance  Survey  of  the  Peninsula 
of  Sinai,  Photographs,  vol.  ii.  pis.  59,  60. 

2 E.  H.  Palmer,  however,  from  his  observations,  is  of  opinion  that  the  work  in  the  tunnels  of  the 
mines  was  executed  entirely  by  means  of  bronze  chisels  and  tools;  the  flint  implements  serving  only 
to  incise  the  scenes  which  cover  the  surfaces  of  the  rocks  ( The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  p.  197). 


358 


TTIE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


variable  size,  whence  they  followed  the  lead  of  the  veins  of  precious  mineral. 
The  turquoise  sparkled  on  every  side — on  the  ceiling  and  on  the  walls — and 
the  miners,  profiting  by  the  slightest  fissures,  cut  round  it,  and  then  with 
forcible  blows  detached  the  blocks,  and  reduced  them  to  small  fragments,  which 
they  crushed,  and  carefully  sifted  so  as  not  to  lose  a particle  of  the  gem.  The 
oxides  of  copper  and  of  manganese  which  they  met  with  here  and  elsewhere 
in  moderate  quantities,  were  used  in  the  manufacture  of  those  beautiful  blue 
enamels  of  various  shades  which  the  Egyptians  esteemed  so  highly.  The  few 
hundreds  of  men  of  which  the  permanent  population  was  composed,  provided 
for  the  daily  exigencies  of  industry  and  commerce.  Royal  inspectors 
arrived  from  time  to  time  to  examine  into  their  condition,  to  rekindle  their 
zeal,  and  to  collect  the  product  of  their  toil.  When  Pharaoh  had  need  of  a 
greater  quantity  than  usual  of  minerals  or  turquoises,  he  sent  thither  one  of 
his  officers,  with  a select  body  of  carriers,  mining  experts,  and  stone-dressers. 
Sometimes  as  many  as  two  or  three  thousand  men  poured  suddenly  into  the 
peninsula,  and  remained  there  one  or  two  months ; the  work  went  briskly 
forward,  and  the  occasion  was  taken  advantage  of  to  extract  and  transport  to 
Egypt  beautiful  blocks  of  diorite,  serpentine  or  granite,  to  be  afterwards  manu- 
factured there  into  sarcophagi  or  statues.  Engraved  stelae,  to  be  seen  on 
the  sides  of  the  mountains,  recorded  the  names  of  the  principal  chiefs,  the 
different  bodies  of  handicraftsmen  who  had  participated  in  the  campaign, 
the  name  of  the  sovereign  who  had  ordered  it  and  often  the  year  of  his  reign. 

It  was  not  one  tomb  only  which  Snofrui  had  caused  to  be  built,  but  two.1 
He  called  them  “Ivha,”  the  Rising,  the  place  where  the  dead  Pharaoh, 
identified  with  the  sun,  is  raised  above  the  world  for  ever.  One  of  these  was 
probably  situated  near  Dahshur ; the  other,  the  “ Kba  risi,”  the  Southern  Rising, 
appears  to  be  identical  with  the  monument  of  Medum.  The  pyramid,  like 
the  mastaba,2  represents  a tumulus  with  four  sides,  in  which  the  earthwork 


1 These  tombs  are  mentioned  in  a certain  number  of  inscriptions  (Maspero,  Quatre  Annges  de 
fouilles,  in  the  Memoires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  i.  p.  190)  : the  name  is  determined  in  several 
cases  by  two  pyramids,  and  in  one  instance  at  least,  at  Dahshur,  the  “southern  pyramid  Klia”  is 
mentioned.  As  was  the  case  with  the  Pharaoh  Ai,  towards  the  end  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty,  so  it 
must  have  been  with  Snofrui : after  having  prepared  a tomb  for  himself  on  the  Dahshur  site,  he 
must,  owing  to  a change  of  residence,  have  relinquished  the  idea  of  occupying  it,  and  must  have 
constructed  a second  one  at  Medfttn. 

2 No  satisfactory  etymon  for  the  word  -pyramid  has  as  yet  been  proposed : the  least  far-fetched 
is  that  put  forward  by  Cantor-Eisenlohr  (Eiseni.ohr,  Ties  Mesures  egyptiennes,  in  the  Transactions  of 
the  International  Congress  of  Orientalists,  1874,  p.  288,  and  Ein  Mathematisch.es  Handhuch  der  Alten 
AEgypter,  p.  116),  according  to  which  pyramid  is  the  Greek  form,  irvpa/xls,  of  the  compound  term 
“ piri-m-uisi,”  which  in  Egyptian  mathematical  phraseology  designates  the  salient  angle,  the  ridge 
or  height  of  the  pyramid  (L.  Rodet,  Sur  un  Manuel  du  Calculateur  dtcouvert  dans  un  papyrus 
Cgyptien,  p.  8;  taken  from  the  Bulletin  de  la  Society  mathCmatique  de  France,  1878,  vol.  vi.  p.  146 
E.  Revilloct,  Note  sur  Vequerre  fgyptienne  et  son  emploi,  d'apjres  le  Papyrus  MathCmatique,  in  the 
Revue  Egyptologique,  vol.  ii.  p.  309 ; L.  Borchardt,  Die  Boscliungen  der  Pyramiden,  in  the  Zeitschrift, 
vol.  xxxi.  p.  14). 


THE  PYRAMID  OF  MEDUM. 


359 


is  replaced  by  a structure  of  stone  or  brick.1  It  indicates  the  place  in  which 
lies  a prince,  chief,  or  person  of  rank  in  his  tribe  or  province.  It  was  built 
on  a base  of  varying  area,  and  was  raised  to  a greater  or  less  elevation 
according:  to  the  fortune  of  the  deceased  or  of  his  family. “ The  fashion  of 
burying  in  a pyramid  was  not  adopted  in  the  environs  of  Memphis  until 
tolerably  late  times,  and  the  Pharaohs  of  the  primitive  dynasties  were  interred, 
as  their  subjects  were,  in  sepulchral  chambers  or  mastabas. 

Zosiri  was  the  only  exception,  if  the  step-pyramid  of 
Saqqara,  as  is  probable,  served  for  his  tomb.3  The 
motive  which  determined  Snofrui’s  choice  of  Medum 
as  a site,  is  unknown  to  us:  perhaps  he  dwelt  in 
that  city  of  Heracleopolis,  which  in  course  of  ■/'■•■■■  f 

time  frequently  became  the  favourite  residence 


THE  PYRAMID  OF  MEDUM.4 


of  the  kings  : perhaps  he  improvised  for  him- 
self a city  in  the  plain  between  El-Wastah 
and  Kafr  el-Ayat.  His  pyramid,  at  the 
present  time,  is  composed  of  three  large 

unequal  cubes  with  slightly  inclined  sides,  arranged  in  steps  one  above  the 
other.  Some  centuries  ago 5 five  could  be  still  determined,  and  in  ancient 
times,  before  ruin  had  set  in,  as  many  as  seven.6  Each  block  marked  a 
progressive  increase  of  the  total  mass,  and  had  its  external  face  polished — a 
fact  which  we  can  still  determine  by  examining  the  slabs  one  behind  another ; 
a facing  of  large  blocks,  of  which  many  of  the  courses  still  exist  towards 
the  base,  covered  the  whole,  at  one  angle  from  the  apex  to  the  foot,  and 
brought  it  into  conformity  with  the  type  of  the  classic  pyramid.  The 
passage  had  its  orifice  in  the  middle  of  the  north  face  about  sixty  feet 
above  the  ground:7  it  is  five  feet  high,  and  dips  at  a tolerably  steep  angle 


1 Barry  de  Merval,  Etudes  sur  V Architecture  (gyptienne,  p.  122,  et  seq. ; Perrot-Chipiez, 
Bistoire  de  I’Art  dans  V Antiquite,  vol.  i.  p.  200,  et  seq.;  Maspero,  At clteologie  €gyptienne,  p.  125. 

2 The  brick  pyramids  of  Abydos  were  all  built  for  private  persons  (Mariette,  Alydos,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
38,  39,  42-44).  The  word  “ mirit,”  which  designates  a pyramid  in  the  texts,  is  elsewhere  applied 
to  the  tombs  of  nobles  and  commoners  as  well  as  to  those  of  kings. 

3 It  is  difficult  to  admit  that  a pyramid  of  considerable  dimensions  could  have  disappeared  without 
leaving  any  traces  behind,  especially  when  we  see  the  enormous  masses  of  masonry  which  still  mark 
the  sites  of  those  which  have  been  most  injured ; besides,  the  inscriptions  connect  none  of  the  prede- 
cessors of  Suofmi  with  a pyramid,  unless  it  be  Zosiri  (cf.  pp.  242-244  of  this  History).  The  step- 
pyramid  of  Saqqara,  which  is  attributed  to  the  latter,  belongs  to  the  same  type  as  that  of  Medum ; 
so  does  also  the  pyramid  of  Kigah,  whose  occupant  is  unknown.  If  we  admit  that  this  last-mentioned 
pyramid  served  as  a tomb  to  some  intermediate  Pharaoh  between  Zosiri  and  Snofrui — for  instance, 
Huni — the  use  of  pyramids  would  be  merely  exceptional  for  sovereigns  anterior  to  the  IVth  dynasty, 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  plans  of  Flinders  Petrie,  Medum,  pi.  ii. 

5 Makriz!,  Description  de  VEgypte  et  du  Caire,  Boulaq  edition,  vol.  i.  p.  116  : “There  is  another 
pyramid,  called  the  Pyramid  of  Medum,  which  is  like  a mountain,  and  has  five  stories ; ” he  cites 
as  his  authority  for  this  statement  the  Sheikh  Abu- Mohammed  Abdallah,  son  of  Abderrahim  el-Qaisi. 

6 W.  Fl.  Petrie,  Medum,  p.  5,  et  seq.,  where  the  testimony  of  various  authorities  is  briefly  given. 

7 The  pyramid  of  Medftm  was  opened  in  1882  by  Maspero  ( Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archfologie, 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


360 

through  the  solid  masonry.  At  a deptli  of  a hundred  and  ninety-seven  feet 
it  becomes  level,  without  increasing  in  aperture,  runs  for  forty  feet  on  this 
plane,  traversing  two  low  and  narrow  chambers,  then  making  a sharp  turn 
it  ascends  perpendicularly  until  it  reaches  the  floor  of  the  vault.  The 
latter  is  hewn  out  of  the  mountain  rock,  and  is  small,  rough,  and  devoid  of 
ornament:  the  ceiling  appears  to  be  in  three  heavy  horizontal  courses  of 
masonry,  which  project  one  beyond  the  other  corbel-wise,  and  give  the 
impression  of  a sort  of  acutely  pointed  arch.  Snofrui  slept  there  for  ages ; 
then  robbers  found  a way  to  him,  despoiled  and  broke  up  his  mummy, 
scattered  the  fragments  of  his  coffin  upon  the  ground,  and  carried  off  the  stone 
sarcophagus.  The  apparatus  of  beams  and  cords  of  which  they  made  use 
for  the  descent,  hung  in  their  place  above  the  mouth  of  the  shaft  until  ten 
years  ago.  The  rifling  of  the  tomb  took  place  at  a remote  date,  for  from 
the  XX1U  dynasty  onwards  the  curious  were  accustomed  to  penetrate  into 
the  passage : two  scribes  have  scrawled  their  names  in  ink  on  the  back  of  the 
framework  in  which  the  stone  cover  was  originally  inserted.1  The  sepulchral 
chapel  was  built  a little  in  front  of  the  east  face ; it  consisted  of  two  small- 
sized rooms  with  bare  surfaces,  a court  whose  walls  abutted  on  the  pyramid, 
and  in  the  court,  facing  the  door,  a massive  table  of  offerings  flanked  by  two 
large  stelm  without  inscriptions,  as  if  the  death  of  the  king  had  put  a stop 
to  the  decoration  before  the  period  determined  on  by  the  architects.  It  was 
still  accessible  to  any  one  during  the  XVIIL,h  dynasty,  and  people  came  there 
to  render  homage  to  the  memory  of  Snofrui  or  his  wife  Mirisonkhu.  Visitors 
recorded  in  ink  on  the  walls  their  enthusiastic,  but  stereotyped  impres- 
sions : they  compared  the  “ Castle  of  Snofrui  ” with  the  firmament,  “ when 
the  sun  arises  in  it ; the  heaven  rains  incense  there  and  pours  out  perfumes 
on  the  roof.” 2 ltamses  II.,  who  had  little  respect  for  the  works  of  his 
predecessors,  demolished  a part  of  the  pyramid  in  order  to  procure  cheaply 
the  materials  necessary  for  the  buildings  which  he  restored  at  Heracleopolis. 
His  workmen  threw  down  the  waste  stone  and  mortar  beneath  the  place  where 
they  were  working,  without  troubling  themselves  as  to  what  might  be  beneath  ; 
the  court  became  choked  up,  the  sand  borne  by  the  wind  gradually  invaded 
the  chambers,  the  chapel  disappeared,  and  remained  buried  for  more  than 
three  thousand  years.3 

The  officers  of  Snofrui,  his  servants,  and  the  people  of  his  city  wished, 

vol.  i.  pp.  149,  150 ; cf.  ArcMologie  t'jijpliemie,  p.  138).  It  was  explored  afresh,  nine  years  later,  by 
Professor  Petrie,  who  measured  its  dimensions  with  scrupulous  exactness  ( Medum , pp.  10,  11). 

1 Maspeko,  Etudes  de  My'hologie  et  d'  Archcolngie  dgyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  149. 

2 W.  Fl.  Petrie,  Medum,  pi.  xxxiii.  II.  8-10,  and  p.  40. 

3 It  was  discovered  by  Professor  Petrie,  Medum,  pp.  8-10,  pi.  iv. ; and  Ten  Years'  Digging  in  Egypt, 
pp.  140,  151.  Mr.  Petrie  on  leaving  filled  up  the  place  again  to  protect  it  from  the  Arabs  and 
tourists. 


THE  MAST  ABAS  OF  MEDUM. 


361 


according  to  custom,  to  rest  beside  him,  and  thus  to  form  a court  for  him  in 
the  other  world  as  they  had  done  in  this.  The  menials  were  buried  in 
roughly  made  trenches,  frequently  in  the  ground  merely,  without  coffins 
or  sarcophagi.  The  body  was  not  laid  out  its  whole  length  on  its  back 
in  the  attitude  of  repose  : it  more  frequently  rested  on  its  left  side,  the  head 
to  the  north,  the  face  to  the  east,  the  legs  bent,  the  right  arm  brought  up 


THE  COURT  AND  THE  TWO  STELiE  OF  THE  CHAPEL  ADJOINING  THE  PYRAMID  OF  MEDUM.1 

against  the  breast,  the  left  following  the  outline  of  the  chest  and  legs.2  It  is 
possible  that  the  people  who  were  interred  in  a posture  so  different  from 
that  with  which  we  are  familiar  in  the  case  of  ordinary  mummies,  belonged 
to  a foreign  race,  who  had  retained  even  in  the  treatment  of  their  dead  some 
of  the  customs  of  their  native  country.  The  Pharaohs  often  peopled  their 
royal  cities  with  prisoners  of  war,  captured  on  the  field  of  battle,  or  picked 
up  in  an  expedition  through  an  enemy’s  country.  Snofrui  may  have  been 
able  to  populate  his  city  with  Libyan  or  Monitu  captives.3  The  body  having 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  a sketch  by  Fl.  Petrie,  Ten  Years'  Digging  in  Egypt,  p.  141. 

2 W.  Fl.  Petrie,  Medum,  pp.  21,  22.  Many  of  these  mummies  were  mutilated,  some  lacking 
a leg,  others  an  arm  or  a hand  ; these  were  probably  workmen  who  had  fallen  victims  to  an  accident 
during  the  building  of  the  pyramid.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the  detached  limb  had  been  carefully 
placed  with  the  body,  doubtless  in  order  that  the  double  might  find  it  in  the  other  world,  and 
complete  himself  when  he  pleased  for  the  exigencies  of  his  new  existence. 

3 Petrie  thinks  that  the  people  who  were  interred  in  a contracted  position  belonged  to  the 
aboriginal  race  of  the  valley,  reduced  to  a condition  of  servitude  by  a race  who  had  come  from  Asia, 


362 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


been  placed  in  the  grave,  the  relatives  who  bad  taken  part  in  the  mourning 
heaped  together  in  a neighbouring  hole  the  funerary  furniture,  flint 
implements,  copper  needles,  miniature  pots  and  pans  made  of  rough  and 
badly  burned  clay,  bread,  dates,  and  eatables  in  dishes  wrapped  up  in  linen.1 
The  nobles  ranged  their  mastabas  in  a single  line  to  the  north  of  the 
pyramid  ; these  form  fine-looking  masses  of  considerable  size,  but  they  are 
for  the  most  part  unfinished  and  empty.2  Snofrui  having  disappeared  from 
the  scene,  Kheops  who  succeeded  him  forsook  the  place,  and  his  courtiers, 
abandoning  their  unfinished  tombs,  went  off  to  construct  for  themselves  others 
around  that  of  the  new  king.  We  rarely  find  at  Medum  finished  and  occupied 
sepulchres  except  those  of  individuals  who  had  died  before  or  shortly  after 
Snofrui.3  The  mummy  of  Banofir,  found  in  one  of  them,  shows  how  far 
the  Egyptians  had  carried  the  art  of  embalming  at  this  period.  His  body, 
though  much  shrunken,  is  well  preserved  : it  had  been  clothed  in  some  fine 
stuff,  then  covered  over  with  a layer  of  resin,  which  a clever  sculptor  had 
modelled  in  such  a manner  as  to  present  an  image  resembling  the  deceased  ; 
it  was  then  rolled  in  three  or  four  folds  of  thin  and  almost  transparent  gauze.4 
Of  these  tombs  the  most  important  belonged  to  the  Prince  Nofirmait  and 
his  wife  Atiti : it  is  decorated  with  bas-reliefs  of  a peculiar  composition  ; the 
figures  have  been  cut  in  outline  in  the  limestone,  and  the  hollows  thus  made 
are  filled  in  with  a mosaic  of  tinted  pastes  which  show  the  moulding  and 
colour  of  the  parts.5  Everywhere  else  the  ordinary  methods  of  sculpture  have 
been  employed,  the  bas-reliefs  being  enhanced  by  brilliant  colouring  in  a 
simple  and  delicate  manner.  The  figures  of  men  and  animals  are  portrayed 
with  a vivacity  of  manner  which  is  astonishing ; and  the  other  objects,  even 
the  hieroglyphs,  are  rendered  with  an  accuracy  which  does  not  neglect  the 
smallest  detail.6  The  statues  of  Bahotpu  and  of  the  lady  Nofrit,  discovered 
in  a half* ruined  mastaba,  have  fortunately  reached  us  without  having  suffered 
the  least  damage,  almost  without  losing  anything  of  their  original  freshness;7 

and  who  liad  established  the  kingdom  of  Egypt.  The  latter  were  represented  by  the  mummies 
disposed  at  full  length  {Medum,  p.  21). 

1 W.  Fl.  Petrie,  Medum,  pp.  18,  20,  21,  pis.  xix  -xxi. 

2 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archdulogie  i’gyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  173. 

3 These  mastabas  were  explored  for  the  first  time  and  described  by  Mariette,  Les  Mastabas  de 
VAncien  Empire,  pp.  468-482, and  Monuments  divers , pis.  xvii.-xix. ; cf.  Villiers-Stuart,  Nile  Gleanings, 
pp.  27-39,  and  Egypt  after  the  War,  pp.  469-472.  They  have  been  excavated  afresh  by  W.  Fn.  Petrie, 
Medum,  1892,  who  has  carefully  reproduced  in  colour  the  most  interesting  fragments  of  the  decoration. 

4 W.  Fl.  Petrie,  Medum,  pp.  17, 18.  Professor  Petrie  has  presented  this  mummy,  the  most  ancient 
specimen  perhaps  in  existence,  to  the  Anatomical  Museum  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  Loudon. 

5 Mr.  Spurrell  has  made,  for  Mr.  Petrie,  in  a most  complete  manner,  a chemical  analysis  and 
technical  study  of  these  coloured  pastes  {Medum,  pp.  28,  29). 

6 Mr.  Petrie  has  devoted  to  the  hieroglyphs  of  these  sepulchres  a most  searching  examination, 
and  has  reproduced  a considerable  number  of  them  in  the  coloured  plates  which  accompany  his 
volume  {Medum,  pp.  29-33). 

7 See  the  head  of  Kahotpft  at  p.  347  of  this  History,  where  it  serves  as  the  initial  vignette  of  this 
chapter. 


KHEOPS,  KEEPHEEN,  AND  MYKEEINOS. 


363 


they  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  just  as  they  were  when  they  left 
the  hands  of  the  workman.1  Bahotpu  was  the  son  of  a king,  perhaps  of  Sno- 
frhi : but  in  spite  of  his  high  origin,  I find  something  humble  and  retiring  in 
his  physiognomy.  Nofrit,  on  the  contrary,  has  an 
imposing  appearance : an  indescribable  air  of  reso- 
lution and  command  invests  her  whole  person,  and 
the  sculptor  has  cleverly  given  expression  to  it. 

in  the  front : the  shoulders,  the  bosom,  waist,  and 
hips,  are  shown  under  the  material  of  the  dress 
with  a purity  and  delicate  grace  which  one  does  not 
always  find  in  more  modern  works  of  art.  The  wig, 
secured  on  the  forehead  by  a richly  embroidered 
band,  frames  with  its  somewhat  heavy  masses  the 
firm  and  rather  plump  face : the  eyes  are  living, 
the  nostrils  breathe,  the  mouth  smiles  and  is  about 
to  speak.  The  art  of  Egypt  has  at  times  been  as 
fully  inspired  ; it  has  never  been  more  so  than  on 
the  day  in  which  it  produced  the  statue  of  Nofrit. 

The  worship  of  Snofrui  was  perpetuated  from 
century  to  century.  After  the  fall  of  the  Memphite 
empire  it  passed  through  periods  of  intermittence, 
during  which  it  ceased  to  be  observed,  or  was  observed 
only  in  an  irregular  way ; it  reappeared  under  the 
Ptolemies3  for  the  last  time  before  becoming  extinct 
for  ever.  Snofrui  was  probably,  therefore,  one  of  the  most  popular  kings  of 
the  good  old  times;  but  his  fame,  however  great  it  may  have  been  among 
the  Egyptians,  has  been  eclipsed  in  our  eyes  by  that  of  the  Pharaohs  who 
immediately  followed  him — Kheops,  Khephren,  and  Mykerinos.  Not  that 
we  are  really  better  acquainted  with  their  history.  All  we  know  of  them  is 
made  up  of  two  or  three  series  of  facts,  always  the  same,  which  the  con- 
temporaneous monuments  teach  us  concerning  these  rulers.  Klmumu-Khufui,4 

1 The  discovery  of  these  statues  has  been  described  by  Daninos-Pasha,  Letter  to  M.  G.  Maspero, 
in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  viii.  pp.  69-73.  They  are  reproduced  in  Maeiette,  Monuments 
divers,  pi.  20. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  taken  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey. 

3 We  have  evidence  that  his  worship  was  observed  under  the  Vth  dynasty  (Maeiette,  Les 
Mcistabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  p.  198;  cf.  possibly  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  152),  later  under  the  XIIth 
(Maeiette,  Catalogue  gdnfral  des  monuments  d’Abijdos,  p.  588),  and  lastly  under  the  Ptolemies 
(Louvre,  D 13,  and  Leemans,  Lettre  a M.  Frangois  Salvolini,  p.  Ill,  pi.  xxviii.  No.  284). 

4 The  existence  of  the  two  cartouches  Khufui  and  Khnumu-Khufui  on  the  same  monuments  has 
caused  much  embarrassment  to  Egyptologists : the  majority  have  been  inclined  to  see  here  two 
different  kings,  the  second  of  whom,  according  to  M.  Eobiou,  would  have  been  the  person  who 


She  is  represented  in  a robe  with  a pointed  opening 


NOFRIT,  LADY  OF  MED  UAL2 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


3(54 


abbreviated  into  Khufui,  the  Kheops1  of  the  Greeks,  was  probably  the 
son  of  Snofrui.2  lie  reigned  twenty-three  years,3  and  success- 
fully defended  the  mines  of  the  Sinaitic  peninsula  against  the 
Bedouin;  he  may  still  be  seen  on  the  face  of  the  rocks  in  the 
Wady  Maghara  sacrificing  his  Asiatic  prisoners,  now  before 
the  jackal  Anubis,  now  before  the  ibis-headed  Thot.4  The 
gods  reaped  advantage  from  his  activity  and  riches ; he 
restored  the  temple  of  Hathor  at  Dendera,5  embel- 
lished that  of  Bubastis,3  built  a stone  sanctuary  to 
the  Isis  of  the  Sphinx,  and  consecrated  there 
gold,  silver,  bronze,  and  wooden  statues  of 
Horus,  Neplithys,  Selkit,  Phtah,  Sokhit, 
Osiris,  Thot,  and  Hapis.  Scores  of  other 
Pharaohs  had  done  as  much  or  more, 
on  whom  no  one  bestowed  a thought  a 
century  after  their  death,  and  Kheops 
would  have  succumbed  to  the  same 
indifference  had  he  not  forcibly 
attracted  the  continuous  attention  of 
posterity  by  the  immensity  of  bis 
tomb.8  The  Egyptians  of  the  Theban 
alabaster  STATUE  of  KiiEops.7  period  were  compelled  to  form  their 


bore  the  prenomen  of  Dadufri  (Le  Souphis  II.  de  Mandlhon,  in  the  litcueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp. 
138,  139).  Khnumu-Khuffii  signifies  “the  god  Khnumu  protects  me”  (Max  Muller,  Bemerhung 
iiber  einige  ESnigsnamen,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  ix.  p.  176). 

1 Kheops  is  the  usual  form,  borrowed  from  the  account  of  Herodotus  (ii.  124);  Diodorus  writes 
Khembes  or  Khemmes  (i.  63),  Eratosthenes  Saophis,  and  Manetho  Souphis  (Unger’s  edition,  pp.  90, 93). 

2 The  story  in  the  Westcar  papyrus  speaks  of  Snofrfii  as  father  of  Khufui  (Erman,  Die  Miirchen 
des  Papyrus  Westcar,  pi.  iv.  1.  19,  pi.  vi.  1.  16);  but  this  is  a title  of  honour,  and  proves  nothing.  The 
few  records  which  we  have  of  this  peiiod  give  one  the  impression  that  Kheops  was  the  son  of  Suofrui, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  hesitation  of  de  Rouge'  ( Reclierclies  sur  les  monuments,  pp.  37,  38),  this  affiliation 
is  adopted  by  the  majority  of  modern  historians  (Ed.  M ever,  Gescliichte  des  Alien  TEgypten «,  p.  104). 

3 This  is  tlie  figure  furnished  by  the  fragment  of  the  Turin  Papyrus,  according  to  the  arrange- 
ment which  lias  been  proposed  by  E.  de  Rouge  ( Reclierclies  sur  les  monuments,  p.  154,  note  2),  and 
which  appears  to  me  indisputable. 

4 Laborde,  Voyage  de  V Arable,  pi  5,  No.  2;  Lepsiuf,  Denhm.,  ii.  2 5,  c;  Lottin  de  Laval,  Voyage 
dans  la  peninsule  Arabique  Insc.  bier.,  pi.  1,  No.  2,  pi.  2,  No.  1;  Ordnance  Survey,  Photographs,  vol. 
iii.  pi.  5,  and  Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  172.  The  picture  which  accompanies  h is  entirely  destroyed. 

5 Dumichen,  Bauurkunde  der  Tempelanlagen  von  Dendera,  p 15,  et  seq.,  pi.  xvi.  a,  h ; Chabas,  Sur 
Vantiquite  de  Dende'ra,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1845,  p.  91,  et  seq. ; Mariette,  Denderah,  vol.  iii.  pi.  lxxviii.  h, 
and  Text,  pp  55,  56.  Petrie  found  in  1894,  at  Coptos,  fragments  of  buildings  with  the  name  of  Kheops. 

6 Naville,  Bubastis,  i.  pp.  3,  5,  6,  10,  pis.  viii.,  xxxii.  a. 

7 Drawn  by  Buudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey  ; cf.  Grebaut,  Le  MusCe  Egyplien, 
pi.  xii.  The  statue  bears  no  cartouche,  and  considerations  purely  artistic  cause  me  to  attribute  it 
to  Kheops  ( Revue  Critique,  1890,  vol.  ii.  pp.  416,  417);  it  may  equally  well  represent  Dadufri,  the 
successor  of  Kheops,  or  Shopsiskaf,  who  followed  Mykerinos. 

8 All  the  details  relating  to  the  Isis  of  the  Sphinx  are  furnished  by  a stele  of  the  daughter  of 
Kheops,  discovered  iu  the  little  temple  of  the  XXI'1  dynasty,  situated  to  the  west  of  the  Great 


THE  GREAT  PYRAMID  OF  GIZEH. 


3G5 


opinions  of  the  Pharaohs  of  the  Memphite  dynasties  in  the  same  way  as  we  do, 
less  by  the  positive  evidence  of  their  acts  than  by  the  size  and  number  of  their 
monuments  : they  measured  the  magnificence  of  Kheops  by  the  dimensions  of 
his  pyramid,  and  all  nations  having  followed  this  example,  Kheops  has  con- 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  BAS-RELIEFS  OF  KHEOPS  ON  THE  ROCKS  OF  WADY  MAGHARA.1 

tinued  to  be  one  of  the  three  or  four  names  of  former  times  which  sound 
familiar  to  our  ears.  The  hills  of  Gizeh  in  his  time  terminated  in  a bare  wind- 
swept table-land.  A few  solitary  mastabas  were  scattered  here  and  there  on 
its  surface,  similar  to  those  whose  ruins  still  crown  the  hill  of  Dahshur.2  The 
Sphinx,  buried  even  in  ancient  times  to  its  shoulders,  raised  its  head  half-way 

Pyramid  (Mariette,  Le  S&rapium  de  Memphis , Maspero’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pp.  99,  100),  and  preserved 
in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  53).  It  was  not  a work  entirely  of  the 
XXIst  dynasty,  as  Mr.  Petrie  asserts  ( Pyramids  of  Gizeh,  pp.  49,  65,  et  seq.),  hut  the  inscription, 
barely  readable,  engraved  on  the  face  of  the  plinth,  indicates  that  it  was  remade  by  a king  of  the 
Sa'ite  period,  perhaps  by  Sabaco,  in  order  to  replace  an  ancient  stele  of  the  same  import  which  had 
fallen  into  decay  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherclies  sur  les  monuments,  p.  46,  et  seq.;  Maspero,  Guide  du 
Visiteur,  pp.  207,  208). 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  published  in  the  Ordnance  Surrey,  Photographs, 
vol.  iii.  pi.  5.  On  the  left  stands  the  Pharaoh,  and  knocks  down  a Moniti  before  the  Ibis-headed 
Tliot;  upon  the  right  the  picture  is  destroyed,  and  we  see  the  royal  titles  only,  without  figures. 

2 No  one  has  noticed,  I believe,  that  several  of  the  mastabas  constructed  under  Kheops,  around 
the  pyramid,  contain  in  the  masonry  fragments  of  stone  belonging  to  more  ancient  structures.  Those 
which  I saw  bore  carvings  of  the  same  style  as  those  on  the  beautiful  mastabas  of  Dahshur  (Maspero, 
Quatre  Annies  de  fouilles,  in  the  Memo  ires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  i.  p.  149,  et  si_q.). 


3GG 


TEE  MEMPUITE  EMPIRE. 


down  the  eastern  slope,  at  its  southern  angle;1  beside  him2  the  temple  of 
Osiris,  lord  of  the  Necropolis,  was  fast  disappearing  under  the  sand  ; and  still 


further  back  old  abandoned 
tombs  honey  - combed  the 
rock.3  Kheops  chose  a site 
for  his  Pyramid  on  the 
northern  edge  of  the  plateau, 
whence  a view  of  the  city 
of  the  White  Wall,  and  at 
the  same  time  of  the  holy 
city  of  Heliopolis,  could  be 
obtained.4  A small  mound 
which  commanded  this  pro- 
spect was  roughly  squared, 
and  incorporated  into  the 
masonry ; the  rest  of  the  site 
was  levelled  to  receive  the 
first  course  of  stones.  The 
pyramid  when  completed 
had  a height  of  476  feet  on 
a base  7G4  feet  square;  but 
the  decaying  influence  of  time  has  reduced  these  dimensions  to  450  and  730 
feet  respectively.  It  possessed,  up  to  the  Arab  conquest,  its  polished  facing, 
coloured  by  age,  and  so  subtilly  jointed  that  one  would  have  said  that  it  was 


1 Tlie  stele  of  the  Sphinx  bears,  on  line  13,  the  cartouche  of  Khephren  in  the  middle  of  a blank 
(Yyse-Peeing,  Appendix  to  Operations  carried  on  at  tlie  Pyramids  of  Gizeh,  vol . iii.  pi.  B,  facing  page 
115;  Lepsius,  Denltm.,  iii.  63;  Young,  Hieroglyphics,  pi.  lxxx.).  We  have  here,  I believe,  an  indica- 
tion of  the  clearing  of  the  Sphinx  effected  under  this  prince,  consequently  an  almost  certain  proof 
that  the  Sphinx  was  already  buried  in  sand  in  the  time  of  Kheops  and  his  predecessors. 

2 Mariette  identifies  the  temple  which  he  discovered  to  the  south  of  the  Sphinx  with  that  of 
Osiris,  lord  of  the  Necropolis,  which  is  mentioned  in  the  inscription  of  the  daughter  of  Kheops 
(Le  Sdrapeum  de  Memphis,  Maspero’s  edition,  vol.  i.  pp.  99,  100).  This  temple  is  so  placed  that  it 
must  have  been  sanded  up  at  the  same  time  as  the  Sphinx ; I believe,  therefore,  that  the  restoration 
effected  by  Kheops,  according  to  the  inscription,  was  merely  a clearing  away  of  the  sand  from  the 
Sphinx  analogous  to  that  accomplished  by  Khephren. 

3 These  sepulchral  chambers,  several  illustrations  of  which  are  to  be  found  in  Mariette  (Les 
Mastabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  p.  543,  et  seq.),  are  not  decorated  in  the  majority  of  instances.  The 
careful  scrutiny  to  which  I subjected  them  in  1885-86  causes  me  to  believe  that  many  of  them 
must  be  almost  contemporaneous  with  the  Sphinx ; that  is  to  say,  that  they  had  been  hollowed  out 
and  occupied  a considerable  time  before  the  period  of  the  IVth  dynasty. 

4 The  pyramids  have  been  the  source  of  so  large  a literature  that  I am  not  able  to  draw  up  here 
its  bibliography.  Since  the  beginning  of  the  century  they  have  been  studied  by  Grobert  ( Description 
de s Pyramides  de  GhizC,  de  la  ville  du  Caire  et  de  ses  environs,  1801),  by  Jomard  ( Description  gdmfrale 
de  Memphis  et  des  Pyramides,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  v.  pp.  592-657),  by  Belzoni  (Narra- 
tive of  the  Operations  and  Recent  Discoveries  within  the  Pyramids,  etc.,  1820,  pp.  255-282),  by  Yyse 
and  Perring  ( The  Pyramids  of  Gizeh,  1839-42,  and  Operations  at  the  Pyramids  of  Gizeh  in  1S37 
(1840-42),  by  Piazzi-Smith  ( Life  and  Work  at  the  Great  Pyramid,  1867),  and  finally  by  Petrie  ( The 
Pyramids  and  Tempos  of  Gizeh,  1883),  who  leaves  but  little  to  be  done  by  his  successors. 


THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  GREAT  PYRAMID. 


367 


a single  slab  from  top  to  bottom.1  The  work  of  facing  the  pyramid  began 
at  the  top;  that  of  the  point  was  first  placed  in  position,  then  the  courses  were 
successively  covered  until  the  bottom  was  reached.3 

In  the  interior  every  device  had  been  employed  to  conceal  the  exact 


KHulT,  THE  GREAT  PYRAMID  OF  GIZEH,  THE  SPHINX,  AND  THE  TEMPLE  OF  THE  SPHINX.3 


position  of  the  sarcophagus,  and  to  discourage  the  excavators  whom  chance  or 
persistent  search  might  have  put  upon  the  right  track.  Their  first  difficulty 
would  be  to  discover  the  entrance  under  the  limestone  casing.  It  lay  hidden 
almost  in  the  middle  of  the  northern  face,  on  the  level  of  the  eighteenth  course, 
at  about  forty-five  feet  above  the  ground.  A movable  flagstone,  working  on  a 
stone  pivot,  disguised  it  so  effectively  that  no  one  except  the  priests  and 

1 The  blocks  which  still  exist  are  of  white  limestone  (Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  i.  pp.  261,  262; 
Petrie,  The  Pyramids,  pp.  29,  30).  Letronne,  after  having  asserted  in  his  youth  ( Recherches  sur 
Dicuil,  p.  107),  on  the  authority  of  a fragment  attributed  to  Philo  of  Byzantium,  that  the  facing  was 
formed  of  polychromatic  zones  of  granite,  of  green  breccia  and  other  different  kinds  of  stone, 
renounced  this  view  owing  to  the  evidence  of  Vyse  ( Sur  le  revetement  des  Pyramides  de  Gizeh,  in 
the  CEuvres  choisies,  1st  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  438,  439).  Perrot  and  Ohipiez  ( Histoire  de  VArt,  vol.  i. 
pp.  230-232)  have  revived  it,  with  some  hesitation. 

2 Herodotus,  ii.  125.  The  word  “ point  ” should  not  be  taken  literally.  The  Great  Pyramid  termi- 
nated, like  its  neighbour  (Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  ii.  p.  117),  in  a platform,  of  which  each  side  measured 
nine  English  feet  (six  cubits,  according  to  Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  63),  and  which  has  become  larger  in 
the  process  of  time,  especially  since  the  destruction  of  the  facing.  The  summit  viewed  from  below 
must  have  appeared  as  a sharp  point.  “ Haviug  regard  to  the  size  of  the  monument,  a platform  of 
three  metres  square  would  have  been  a more  pointed  extremity  than  that  which  terminates  the  obe* 
lisks  ” (Letronne,  Sur  le  revetement  des  Pyramides,  in  the  CEuvres  choisies,  1st  series,  vol.  i.  p.  427). 

3 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey.  The  temple  of  the  Sphinx  is  in  the 
foreground,  covered  with  sand  up  to  the  top  of  the  walls.  The  second  of  the  little  pyramids  below 
the  large  one  is  that  whose  construction  is  attributed  to  Honitsonft,  the  daughter  of  Kheops,  and  with 
regard  to  which  the  dragomans  of  the  Saite  period  told  such  strange  stories  to  Herodotus  (ii.  124, 125). 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


368 


custodians  could  have  distinguished  this  stone  from  its  neighbours.  When 
it  was  tilted  up,  a yawning  passage  was  revealed,1  three  and  a 
half  feet  in  height,  with  a breadth  of  four  feet.  The  passage 
is  an  inclined  plane,  extending  partly  through  the 
masonry  and  partly  through  the  solid  rock  for  a dis- 
tance of  318  feet;  it  passes  through  an  unfinished 
chamber  and  ends  in  a cul-de-sac  59  feet  further 
on.  The  blocks  are  so  nicely  adjusted,  and 
the  movable  FLAGSTONE  at  the  the  surface  so  finely  polished,  that  the  joints 
entrance  to  the  great  pyramid.2  can  be  determined  only  with  difficulty.  The 

corridor  which  leads  to  the  sepulchral  chamber  meets  the  roof  at  an  angle  of 

120°  to  the  descending  passage,  and  at  a dis- 
tance of  62  feet  from  the  entrance.  It 
ascends  for  108  feet  to  a wide  landing- 
place,  where  it  divides  into  two 

branches.  One  of  these  penetrates 

straight  towards  the  centre,  and 
terminates  in  a granite  chamber 
with  a high-pitched  roof. 

This  is  called,  but  without 

reason,  the  “ Chamber  of  the  Queen.”  The 
the  interior  OF  the  other  passage  continues  to  ascend,  but  its 
great  pyramid.3  form  and  appearance  are  altered.  It  now 
becomes  a gallery  148  feet  long  and  some  11  feet  high,  constructed  of  beautiful 


1 Strabo  expressly  states  that  in  liis  time  the  subterranean  parts  of  the  Great  Pyramid  were 
accessible : “It  has  on  its  side,  at  a moderate  elevation,  a stone  which  can  be  moved,  \l6ov  i^aipetripov. 
When  it  has  been  lifted  up,  a tortuous  passage  is  seen  which  leads  to  the  tomb”  (bk.  xvii.  p.  808). 
The  meaning  of  Strabo’s  statement  had  not  been  mastered  (Jomard,  Description  generate  de  Memphis 
et  des  Pyramides,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  ix.  p.  444)  until  Mr.  Petrie  showed,  what 
we  may  still  see,  at  the  entrance  of  one  of  the  pyramids  of  Dahshur,  arrangements  which  bore  witness 
to  the  existence  of  a movable  stone  mounted  on  a pivot  to  serve  as  a door  (The  Pyramids  and 
Temples  of  Gizeh,  pp.  145,  146).  It  was  a method  of  closing  of  the  same  kind  as  that  described 
by  Strabo,  perhaps  after  lie  had  seen  it  himself,  or  had  heard  of  it  from  the  guides,  and  like  that 
which  Mr.  Petrie  has  reinstated,  with  much  probabil  ty,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Great  Pyramid 
(Op.  cit.,  pp.  167-169,  and  pi.  xi.). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Petrie’s  The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  pi.  xi. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  pi.  ix.,  Petrie,  The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh.  A is 
the  descending  passage,  B the  unfinished  chamber,  and  C the  horizontal  passage  pierced  in  the 
rock.  D is  the  narrow  passage  which  provides  a communication  between  chamber  B and  the  landing 
where  the  roads  divide,  and  with  the  passage  FG  leading  to  the  “ Chamber  of  the  Queen.”  E is 
the  ascending  passage,  II  the  high  gallery,  I and  J the  chamber  of  barriers,  K the  sepulchral  vault, 
L indicates  the  chambers  for  relieving  the  stress ; finally,  a,  a are  vents  which  served  for  the 
aeration  of  the  chambers  during  construction,  and  through  which  libations  were  introduced  on 
certain  feast-days  in  honour  of  Kheops.  The  draughtsman  has  endeavoured  to  render,  by  lines  of 
unequal  thickness,  the  varying  height  of  the  courses  of  masonry;  the  facing,  which  is  now  wanting, 
has  been  reinstated,  and  the  broken  line  behind  it  indicates  the  visible  ending  of  the  courses  which 
now  form  the  northern  face  of  the  pyramid. 


THE  INTERNAL  ARRANGEMENTS  OF  THE  GREAT  PYRAMID.  369 


Mokattam  stone.  The  lower  courses  are  placed  perpendicularly  one  on  the  top 
of  the  other  ; each  of  the  upper  courses 
projects  above  the  one  beneath,  and  the 
last  two,  which  support  the  ceiling,  are 
only  about  1 foot  8 inches  distant  from 
each  other.  The  small  horizontal 
passage  which  separates  the  upper- 
landing  from  the  sarcophagus  chamber 
itself,  presents  features  imperfectly 
explained.  It  is  intersected  almost  in 
the  middle  by  a kind  of  depressed  hall, 
whose  walls  are  channelled  at  equal 
intervals  on  each  side  by  four  longi- 
tudinal grooves.  The  first  of  these  still 
supports  a fine  flagstone  of  granite 
which  seems  to  hang  3 feet  7 inches 
above  the  ground,  and  the  three  others 
were  probably  intended  to  receive 
similar  slabs.  Four  barriers  in  all  were 
thus  interposed  between  the  external 
world  and  the  vault.1  The  latter  is  a 
kind  of  rectangular  granite  box,  with  a 
flat  roof,  19  feet  10  inches  high,  1 foot 
5 inches  deep,  and  17  feet  broad.  No 
figures  or  hieroglyphs  are  to  be  seen, 
but  merely  a mutilated  granite  sarco- 
phagus without  a cover.  Such  were 
the  precautions  taken  against  man:  the 
result  witnessed  to  their  efficacy,  for 
the  pyramid  preserved  its  contents 
intact  for  more  than  four  thousand 


1 This  appears  to  me  to  follow  from  the  analo- 
gous arrangements  which  I met  with  in  the  pyra- 
mids of  Saqqara.  Mr.  Petrie  refuses  to  recognize 
here  a harrier  chamber  (cf.  the  notes  which  he  has 
appended  to  the  English  translation  of  my  ArcM- 
ologie  tgyptienne,  p.  327,  note  27),  but  he  confesses 
that  the  arrangement  of  the  grooves  and  of  the 
flagstone  is  still  an  enigma  to  him.  Perhaps  only 

one  of  the  four  intended  barriers  was  inserted  in  THE  ascending  passage  of  the  great  pyramid.2 
its  place — that  which  still  remains. 

Facsimile  by  Boudier  of  a drawing  published  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  Ant.,  vol. 
pi.  xiii.  2. 


v. 


370 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


years.1  But  a more  serious  danger  threatened  them  in  the  great  weight  of  the 
materials  above.  In  order  to  prevent  the  vault  from  being  crushed  under  the 
burden  of  the  hundred  metres  of  limestone  which  surmounted  it,  they  arranged 
above  it  five  low  chambers  placed  exactly  one  above  the  other  in  order  to  relieve 
the  superincumbent  stress.  The  highest  of  these  was  protected  by  a pointed 
roof  consisting  of  enormous  blocks  made  to  lean  against  each  other  at  the  top : 
this  ingenious  device  served  to  transfer  the  perpendicular  thrust  almost  entirely 
to  the  lateral  faces  of  the  blocks.  Although  an  earthquake  has  to  some  extent 
dislocated  the  mass  of  masonry,  not  one  of  the  stones  which  encase  the  chamber 
of  the  king  has  been  crushed,  not  one  has  yielded  by  a hair’s-breadth,  since 
the  day  when  the  workmen  fixed  it  in  its  place. 

The  Great  Pyramid  was  called  Khuit,  the  “ Horizon  ” in  which  Khufui  had  to 
be  swallowed  up,  as  his  father  the  Sun  was  engulfed  every  evening  in  the  horizon 
of  the  west.2  It  contained  only  the  chambers  of  the  deceased,  without  a word  of 
inscription,  and  we  should  not  know  to  whom  it  belonged,  if  the  masons,  during  its 
construction,  had  not  daubed  here  and  there  in  red  paint  among  their  private 
marks  the  name  of  the  king,  and  the  dates  of  his  reign.3  Worship  was  rendered  to 
this  Pharaoh  in  a temple  constructed  a little  in  front  of  the  eastern  side  of  the 
pyramid,  but  of  which  nothing  remains  but  a mass  of  ruins.4  Pharaoh  had  no  need 
to  wait  until  he  was  mummified  before  he  became  a god  ; religious  rites  in  his 
honour  were  established  on  his  accession  ; and  many  of  the  individuals  who  made 
up  his  court  attached  themselves  to  his  double  long  before  his  double  had  become 
disembodied.5  They  served  him  faithfully  during  their  life,  to  repose  finally  in 
his  shadow  in  the  little  pyramids  and  mastabas  which  clustered  around  him.6  Of 
Dadufri,his  immediate  successor,  we  can  probablysay  that  he  reigned  eight  years;7 

1 Professor  Petrie  thinks  (The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  pp.  158,  217)  that  the  pyramids  of 
Gizeli  were  rifled,  and  the  mummies  which  they  contained  destroyed  during  the  long  civil  wars  which 
raged  in  the  interval  between  the  VP1'  and  XIIth  dynasties.  If  this  be  true,  it  will  be  necessary  to  admit 
that  the  kings  of  one  of  the  subsequent  dynasties  must  have  restored  what  had  been  damaged,  for  the 
workmen  of  the  Caliph  Al-Mamoun  brought  from  the  sepulchral  chamber  of  the  “Horizon”  “a  stone 
trough,  in  which  lay  a stone  statue  in  human  form,  enclosing  a man  who  had  on  his  breast  a golden 
pectoral,  adorned  with  precious  stones,  and  a sword  of  inestimable  value,  and  on  his  head  a carbuncle 
of  the  size  of  an  egg,  brilliaut  as  the  sun,  having  characters  which  no  man  can  read.”  All  the  Arab 
authors,  whose  accounts  have  been  collected  by  Jomard,  relate  in  general  the  same  story  ( Description 
gdndrale  de  Memphis  et  des  Pyramides,  in  the  Description  de  l'  Egypte,  vol.  ix.  p.  451,  et  seq.);  one  can 
easily  recognize  from  this  description  the  sarcophagus  (cure)  still  in  its  place,  a stone  case  in  human 
shape,  and  the  mummy  of  Kheops  loaded  with  jewels  and  arms,  like  the  body  of  Queen  Alihotpfl  I. 

2 E.  de  Rouge,  Recherclies  sur  les  monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties,  p.  42. 

3 The  workmen  often  drew  on  the  stones  the  cartouches  of  the  Pharaoh  under  whose  reign  they 
had  been  taken  from  the  quarry,  with  the  exact  date  of  their  extraction ; the  inscribed  blocks  of  the 
pyramid  of  Kheops  bear,  among  others,  a date  of  the  year  XVI.  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  1 g). 

4 Professor  Petrie  thinks  that  the  slabs  of  basalt  which  may  be  seen  at  the  foot  of  the  eastern 
front  of  the  pyramid  belonged  to  the  funereal  temple  ( The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  pp.  134, 135). 

5 Thus  Khomtini  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  26),  Prince  Mirabfl  (id.,  22,  c),  Khiifui-ka-iriu  (Lepsius, 
Denkm.,  ii.  17  d ; cf.  E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  monuments  qu'on  peut  rapporter  aux  six  premieres 
dynasties,  p.  50),  who  was  superintendent  of  the  whole  district  in  which  the  pyramid  was  built. 

6 E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties,  p.  41. 

7 According  to  the  arrangement  proposed  by  E.  de  Rouge  (Recherches  sur  les  monuments,  p.  156, 


THE  PYRAMID  OF  KHEPHREN. 


37] 


but  Kliephren,  the  next  son  who  succeeded  to  the  throne,1  erected  temples2  and 
a gigantic  pyramid,  like  his  father.  He  placed  it  some  394  feet  to  the  south-west 
of  that  of  Kheops ; 3 and  called  it  Uiru,4  the  Great.  It  is,  however,  smaller  than 
its  neighbour,  and  attains  a height  of  only  443  feet,5  but  at  a distance  the  difference 
in  height  disappears,  and  many  travellers  have  thus  been  led  to  attribute  the 


same  elevation  to  the  two.  The  facing,  of  which  about  one-fourth  exists  from 
the  summit  downwards,  is  of  nummulite  limestone,  compact,  hard,  and  more 
homogeneous  than  that  of  the  courses,  with  rusty  patches  here  and  there  due 
to  masses  of  a reddish  lichen,  but  grey  elsewhere,  and  with  a low  polish  which, 
at  a distance,  reflects  the  sun’s  rays.7  Thick  walls  of  unwrought  stone  enclose 

note  2)  for  the  fragments  of  the  Turin  Canon.  E.  de  Rouge'  reads  the  name  Ra-tot-ef,  and  proposes 
to  identify  it  with  tlie  Ratoises  of  the  lists  of  Manetho,  which  the  copyists  had  erroneously  put  out 
of  its  proper  place  (ibid.,  pp.  52-54).  This  identification  has  been  generally  accepted  (Wiedemann, 
lEgyptische  Geschiehte,  p.  186).  Analogy  compels  us  to  read  Dadufri,  like  Khafri,  Menkauri,  in 
which  case  the  hypothesis  of  de  Rouge  falls  to  the  ground.  The  worship  of  Dadufri  was 
renewed  towards  the  Sa'ite  period,  together  with  that  of  Kheops  and  Khephren  (E.  de  Rouge, 
Recherches,  p.  53),  according  to  some  tradition  which  connected  his  reign  with  that  of  these  two 
kings. 

1 The  Westcar  Papyrus  (Erman,  Die  Marchen  des  Papyrus  Westcar,  p.  18)  considers  Khafri  to  be 
the  son  of  Khftfu;  this  falls  in  with  information  given  us,  in  this  respect,  by  Diodorus  Siculus 
(i.  64).  The  form  which  this  historian  assigns — I do  not  know  on  what  authority — to  the  name  of 
the  king,  Khabryies,  is  nearer  the  original  than  the  Khephren  of  Herodotus. 

2 Naville  found  at  Bubastis  fragments  of  an  old  temple,  constructed  or  repaired  by  Khephren, 
which  had  been  several  times,  in  the  course  of  the  centuries,  re-used  (Bubastis,  i.,  pi.  xxxii.  b, 
pp.  3,  5,  6). 

3 Jomard,  Description  gfndrale  de  Memphis  et  des  Pyramides,  iu  the  Description,  vol.  v.  p.  638. 

4 E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches,  etc.,  p.  56. 

5 Jomard,  op.  cit.  in  the  Description,  vol.  v.  p.  642. 

6 Facsimile  by  Faucher-Gudin  of  sketches  in  Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.,  1 c. 

7 Jomard,  op.  cit.  in  the  Description,  vol.  v.  pp.  639,  640,  644-646.  Jomard  thought  that  the 
lower  part  of  the  facing  was  in  red  granite  (p.  640),  and  his  surmise  was  confirmed  by  Vyse,  who 
brought  to  light  two  courses  still  in  situ  (Operations,  vol.  i.  pp.  261,  262;  cf.  Professor  Petrie,  The 
Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  p.  96). 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


3 7-1 


the  monument  on  three  sides,  and  there  may  be  seen  behind  the  west  front,  in 
an  oblong  enclosure,  a row  of  stone  sheds  hastily  constructed  of  limestone  and 
Nile  mud.1  Here  the  labourers  employed  on  the  works  came  every  evening  to 
huddle  together,  and  the  refuse  of  their  occupation  still 
encumbers  the  ruins  of  their  dwellings,  potsherds,  chips  of 
L-J&L  ^ various  kinds  of  hard  stone  which  they  had  been  cutting, 
wv  'y'  \ granite,  alabaster,  diorite,  fragments  of  statues  broken  in  the 
process  of  sculpture,  and  blocks  of  smooth  granite  ready  for 
use.  The  chapel  commauds  a view  of  the  eastern  face  of  the 
pyramid,  and  communicated  by  a paved  causeway  with  the 
temple  of  the  Sphinx,  to  which  it  must  have  borne 
a striking  resemblance.2  The  plan  of  it  can 
be  still  clearly  traced  on  the  ground,3  and 
the  rubbish  cannot  be  disturbed  without 
bringing  to  light  portions  of  statues, 
vases,  and  tables  of  offerings,  some 
of  them  covered  with  hieroglyphs, 
like  the  mace-head  of  white  stone 
which  belonged  iu  its  day  to  Khe- 
phren  himself.4  The  iuternal  ar- 
rangements of  the  pyramid  are  of 
the  simplest  character  ; they  con- 
sist of  a granite-built  passage  care- 
fully concealed  in  the  north  face, 
running  at  first  at  an  angle  of  25°, 
and  then  horizontally,  until  stopped  by  a granite  barrier  at  a point  which  indi- 
cates a change  of  direction ; a second  passage,  which  begins  on  the  outside,  at  a 
distance  of  some  yards  in  advance  of  the  base  of  the  pyramid,  and  proceeds, 
after  passing  through  an  unfinished  chamber,  to  rejoin  the  first;  finally, a chamber 


ALABASTER  STATUE  OF.  KHEl'HBEN.5 


1 These  stone  sheds  had  been  somewhat  superficially  examined  by  former  explorers ; Professor 
Petrie  cleared  them  out  partly,  and  was  the  first  to  recognize  their  use,  having  turned  over  the 
rubbish  with  particular  care  ( The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeli,  pp.  101-103). 

2 The  connection  of  the  temple  of  the  Sphinx  with  that  of  the  second  pyramid  was  discovered 
in  December,  1880,  during  the  last  diggings  of  Mariette.  I ought  to  say  that  the  whole  of  that 
part  of  the  building  into  which  the  passage  leads  shows  traces  of  having  been  hastily  executed, 
and  at  a time  long  after  the  construction  of  the  rest  of  the  edifice;  it  is  possible  that  the  present 
condition  of  the  place  does  not  date  back  further  than  the  time  of  the  Antonines,  when  the  Sphinx 
was  cleared  for  the  last  time  in  ancient  days. 

3 The  temple  was  in  tolerably  good  condition  at  the  end  of  the  XVIIth  century,  as  appears  from  a 
contemporary  description  (Le  Mascrier  et  de  Maillet,  Description  de  V Egypte,  1735,  first  part,  p.  223). 

4 Fl.  Petrie,  Ten  Years'  Digging  in  Egypt,  pp.  22,  23.  1 have  put  it  together,  and  have  had  the 

restoration  of  the  whole  reproduced  as  a tail-piece  to  p.  442  of  this  History. 

5 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey  (cf.  Grebaut,  Le  Musfe  Egyptien, 
pi.  viii.).  See  on  p.  379  of  this  History  the  carefully  executed  drawing  of  the  best  preserved  among 
the  diorite  statues  which  the  Gizeh  Museum  now  possesses  of  this  Pharaoh. 


THE  PYRAMID  OF  KHEPHREN,  SEEN  FROM  THE  SOUTH-EAST. 

Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Beato. 


374 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


hollowed  in  the  rock,  hut  surmounted  by  a pointed  roof  of  fine  limestone  slabs. 
I he  sarcophagus  was  of  granite,  and,  like  that  of  Kheops,  bore  neither  the  name 
of  a king  nor  the  representation  of  a god.  The  cover  was  fitted  so  firmly  to 
the  trough  that  the  Arabs  could  not  succeed  in  detaching  it  when 
they  rifled  the  tomb  in  the  year  1200  of  our  era;  they  were, 
therefore,  compelled  to  break  through  one  of  the  sides  with  a 
hammer  before  they  could  reach  the  coffin  and  take  from  it 
the  mummy  of  the  Pharaoh.1  Of  Khephren’s  sons,  Menkauri 
(Mykerinos),  who  was  his  successor,  could  scarcely 
dream  of  excelling  his  father  and  grandfather;2 
his  pyramid,  the  Supreme — Hiru  3 — barely 
attained  an  elevation  of  210  feet,  and  was 
exceeded  in  height  by  those  which  were 
built  at  a later  date.4  Up  to  one-fourth 
of  its  height  it  was  faced  with  syenite, 
and  the  remainder,  up  to  the  summit, 
with  limestone.5  For  lack  of  time, 
doubtless,  the  dressing  of  the  granite 
was  not  completed,  but  the  lime- 
stone received  all  the  polish  it  was 
capable  of  taking.6  The  enclosing 
wall  was  extended  to  the  north  so  as 
to  meet,  and  become  one  with,  that  of 
the  second  pyramid.8  The  temple  was 
connected  with  the  plain  by  a long  and  almost  straight  causeway,  which  ran  for  the 


DIORITE  STATL'E  OP  MENKAURI. 


1 Hie  second  pyramid  was  opened  to  Europeans  in  1816  by  Bclzoni  ( Narrative  of  the  Operations 
and  Recent  Discoveries  in  Egypt  and  Nubia,  p.  225,  et  seq.).  The  exact  date  of  the  entrance  of  the 
Arabs  is  given  us  by  an  inscription,  written  in  ink,  on  one  of  the  walls  of  the  sarcophagus  chamber  : 
“ Mohammed  Ahmed  Effendi,  the  quarrymau,  opened  it ; Othman  Effendi  was  present,  as  well  as 
the  King  Ali  Mohammed,  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  closing.”  The  King  Ali  Mohammed  was  the 
sou  and  successor  of  Saladin. 

2 Classical  tradition  makes  Mykerinos  the  son  of  Kheops  (Herodotus,  ii.  129;  Diodorus,  i.  63). 
■Egyptian  tradition  regards  him  as  the  sou  of  Khephren,  and  witli  this  agrees  a passage  in  the  Westcar 
l’apyrus  (Erjian,  Die  Mdrchen  des  Papyrus  Westcar,  i.  pi.  ix.  1.  14,  p.  19),  in  which  a magician 
prophesies  that  after  Kheops  his  son  (Khafri)  will  yet  reign,  then  the  son  of  the  latter  (Menkafiri), 
then  a prince  of  another  family. 

3 E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches,  p.  64.  An  inscription,  unfortunately  much  mutilated,  from  the  tomb 
of  Tabhfini  (Lepsius,  Denhm .,  ii.  37  b ),  gives  an  account  of  the  construction  of  the  pyramid,  and  of 
the  transport  of  the  sarcophagus. 

4 Professor  Petrie  reckons  the  exact  height  of  the  pyramid  at  2564  ± 15  or  2580  feet  8 i 2 inches ; 
that  is  to  say,  214  or  215  feet  in  round  numbers  (The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeli,  p.  112). 

5 According  to  Herodotus  (ii.  134),  the  casing  of  granite  extended  to  half  the  height.  Diodorus 
(i.  63)  states  that  it  did  not  go  beyond  the  fifteenth  course.  Professor  Petrie  discovered  that  there 
were  actually  sixteen  lower  courses  in  red  granite  (The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  p.  113). 

6 Petrie,  The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  pp.  79,  80. 

Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey : this  statue,  preserved  in  the 
Museum  of  Gizeh,  has  been  photographed  and  published  in  the  Mustfe  Egyptien  (Grebaut),  pi.  ix. 

8 Petrie,  The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  pp.  101-114. 


TEE  PYRAMID  OF  MYKERINOS. 


375 


greater  part  of  its  course 1 upon  an  embankment  raised  above  tbe  neighbouring 
ground.  This  temple  was  in  fair  condition  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century,2  and  so  much  of  it  as  has  escaped  the  ravages  of  the  Mameluks,  bears 
witness  to  the  scrupulous  care  and  refined  art  employed  in  its  construction. 
Coming  from  the  plain,  we  first  meet  with  an  immense  halting-place  measuring 
100  feet  by  46  feet,  and  afterwards  enter  a large  court  with  an  egress  on  each 
side  : beyond  this  we  can  distinguish  the  ground-plan  only  of  five  chambers, 
the  central  one,  which  is  in  continuation  with  the  hall,  terminating  at  a 
distance  of  some  42  feet  from  the  pyramid,  exactly  opposite  the  middle  point 
of  the  eastern  face.  The  whole  mass  of  the  building  covers  a rectangular  area 
184  feet  long  by  a little  over  177  feet  broad.  Its  walls,  like  those  of  the  temple 
of  the  Sphinx,  contained  a core  of  limestone  7 feet  10  inches  thick,  of  which  the 
blocks  have  been  so  ingeniously  put  together  as  to  suggest  the  idea  that  the 
whole  is  cut  out  of  the  rock.  This  core  was  covered  with  a casing  of  granite 
and  alabaster,  of  which  the  remains  preserve  no  trace  of  hieroglyphs 3 or  of  wall 
scenes : the  founder  had  caused  his  name  to  be  inscribed  on  the  statues,  which 
received,  on  his  behalf,  the  offerings,  and  also  on  the  northern  face  of  the  pyramid, 
where  it  was  still  shown  to  the  curious  towards  the  first  century  of  our  era.4 
The  arrangement  of  the  interior  of  the  pyramid  is  somewhat  complicated,  and 
bears  witness  to  changes  brought  unexpectedly  about  in  the  course  of  con- 
struction.5 The  original  central  mass  probably  did  not  exceed  180  feet  in  breadth 
at  the  base,  with  a vertical  height  of  154  feet.  It  contained  a sloping  passage 
cut  into  the  hill  itself,  and  an  oblong  low-roofed  cell  devoid  of  ornament.6 
The  main  bulk  of  the  work  had  been  already  completed,  and  the  casing  not 

1 Jomard,  Description  generate  de  Memphis,  etc.,  in  tlie  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  v.  pp.  653-655. 
This  causeway  should  not  be  confounded,  as  is  frequently  done,  with  that  which  may  be  seen  at 
some  distance  to  the  east  in  the  plain:  the  latter  led  to  limestone  quarries  in  the  mountain  to  the 
south  of  the  plateau  on  which  the  pyramids  stand.  These  quarries  were  worked  in  very  ancient  times 
(Petkie,  The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  pp.  115,  116). 

2 Benoit  de  Maillet  visited  this  temple  between  1692  and  1708.  “It  is  almost  square  in  form. 
There  are  to  be  found  inside  four  pillars  which  doubtless  supported  a vaulted  roof  covering  the  altar 
of  the  idol,  and  one  moved  around  these  pillars  as  in  an  ambulatory.  These  stones  were  cased  with 
granitic  marble.  I found  some  'pieces  still  unbroken  which  had  been  attached  to  the  stones  with 
mastic.  I believe  that  the  exterior  as  well  as  the  interior  of  the  temple  was  cased  with  this 
marble  ” (Le  Mascrier,  Description  de  VEgypte,  1735,  pp.  223,  221).  Fourmont  had  no  scruple  in 
copying  this  passage,  almost  word  for  word,  in  his  Description  historique  et  geographique  des  plaines 
d' Heliopolis  et  de  Memphis,  1755,  pp.  259-261. 

3 Jomard,  Description  generate  de  Memphis,  etc.,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  v.  pp. 
652,  653  ; Petrie,  The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  p.  115. 

4 Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  63.  The  name,  or  the  inscription  which  contained  the  name,  must  have 
been  traced,  not  above  the  entrance  itself,  which  never  w as  decorated,  but  on  one  of  the  courses — 
now  lost — of  the  limestone  casing  (Petrie,  The  Pyramids,  etc.,  p.  117). 

5 The  third  pyramid  was  opened  by  Colonel  Howard  Y yse  in  1837,  and  described  by  him  at 
length  ( Operations  at  the  Pyramids  in  1837,  vol.  ii.  pp.  69-95). 

0 Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  119-121;  Bunsen,  /Egypt ens  Stelle  in  der  Weltgeschichte,  vol,  ii. 
pp.  171,  172. 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


:>7  (> 


yet  begun,  when  it  was  decided  to  modify  the  proportions  of  the  whole. 
Mykerinos  was  not,  it  appears,  the  eldest  son  and  appointed  heir  of  Klie- 
phren  ; 1 while  still  a mere  prince  he  was  preparing  for  himself  a pyramid 
similar  to  those  which  lie  near  the  “ Horizon,”  when  the 
deaths  of  his  father  and  brother  called  him  to  the  throne. 
What  was  sufficient  for  him  as  a child,  was  no  longer  suit- 
able for  him  as  a Pharaoh  ; the  mass  of  the  structure  was 
increased  to  its  present  dimensions,  and  a new  inclined 
passage  was  effected  in  it,  at  the  end  of  which  a hall  panelled 
with  granite  gave  access  to  a kind  of  antechamber.2  The 
latter  communicated  by  a horizontal  corridor  with  the  first 
vault,  which  was  deepened  for  the  occasion ; the  old 
entrance,  now  no  longer  of  use,  was  roughly  filled  up.s 
Mykerinos  did  not  find  his  last  resting-place  in  this  upper 
level  of  the  interior  of  the  pyramid : a narrow  passage, 
hidden  behind  the  slabbing  of  the  second  chamber,  descended 
into  a secret  crypt,  lined  with  granite  and  covered  with  a 
barrel-vaulted  roof.4  The  sarcophagus  was  a single  block 
of  blue-black  basalt,  polished,  and  carved  into  the  form  of  a 
house,  with  a fapade  having  three  doors  and  three  openings 
in  the  form  of  windows,  the  whole  framed  in  a rounded 
moulding  and  surmounted  by  a projecting  cornice  such  as  we 
are  accustomed  to  see  on  the  temples.5  The  mummy- case  of 
cedar-wood  had  a man’s  head,  and  was  shaped  to  the  form  of 

MYKERINOS.6 

the  human  body  ; it  was  neither  painted  nor  gilt,  but  an  in- 
scription in  two  columns,  cut  on  its  front,  contained  the  name  of  the  Pharaoh, 

1 This  seems  to  follow  from  the  order  in  which  the  royal  princes  begin  speaking  in  the  Westcar 
Papyrus  : Mykerinos  is  introduced  alter  a certain  Biufri,  who  appears  to  be  his  eldest  brother  (Erman, 
Die  Mdrchen  des  Papyrus  Westcar,  pp.  9,  18;  Maspero,  Les  Contes  popidaires,  2nd  edit.,  p.  61). 

2 Vyse  ( Operations , vol.  ii.  p.  81,  note  8)  discovered  here  fragments  of  a granite  sarcophagus, 
perhaps  that  of  the  queen;  the  legends  which  Herodotus  (ii.  131,  135),  and  several  Greek  authors 
after  him,  tell  concerning  this,  show  clearly  that  an  ancient  tradition  assumed  the  existence  of 
a female  mummy  in  the  third  pyramid  alongside  of  that  of  the  founder  Mykerinos. 

3 Yyse  has  noticed,  in  regard  to  the  details  of  the  structure  ( Operations , vol.  ii.  pp.  79,  80),  that 
the  passage  now  filled  up  is  the  only  one  driven  from  the  outside  to  the  interior;  all.  the  others  were 
made  from  the  inside  to  the  outside,  and  consequently  at  a period  when  this  passage,  being  the  only 
means  of  penetrating  into  the  interior  of  the  monument,  had  not  yet  received  its  present  dimensions. 

1 Two  metal  clamps  were  discovered  on  the  spot,  which  attached  the  slabs  of  granite  one  to 
another  (Yyse,  Operations  carried  on  at  the  Pyramids  in  1837,  vol.  ii.  p.  82). 

5 It  was  lost  off  the  coast  of  Spain  in  the  vessel  which  was  bringing  it  to  England  (Yyse,  Operations, 
vol.  ii.  p.  81,  note  3).  We  have  only  the  drawing  remaining  which  was  made  at  the  time  of  its  dis- 
covery, and  published  by  Vyse  {Operations,  vol.  ii.,  plates  facing  pp.  83,  81).  M.  Borchardt  has 
attempted  to  show  that  it  was  reworked  under  the  XXVIth  Sa'ite  dynasty  {Zur  Baugeschichte  der 
dritten  Pyramide  lei  Giseh,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxx.  p.  100)  as  well  as  the  wooden  coffin  of  the  king. 

0 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin.  The  coffin  is  in  the  British  Museum  (Birch,  A Guide  to  the  First 
and  Second  Egyptian  Rooms,  1871,  p.  55,  No.  G617).  The  drawing  of  it  was  published  by  Vyse 


RIFLING  OF  THE  GREAT  PYRAMIDS. 


377 


and  a prayer  on  his  behalf:  “Osiris,  King  of  the  two  Egypts,  Menkauri,  living 
eternally,  given  birth  to  by  heaven,  conceived  by  Nuit,  flesh  of  Sibu,  thy 
mother  Nuit  has  spread  herself  out  over  thee  in  her  name  of  ‘ Mystery  of  the 
Heavens,’  and  she  has  granted  that  thon  shouldest  be  a god,  and  that  thou 
shouldest  repulse  thine  enemies,  0 King  of  the  two  Egypts,  Menkauri,  living 
eternally.”  The  Arabs  opened  the  mummy  to  see  if  it  contained  any  precious 
jewels,  but  found  within  it  only  some  leaves  of  gold,  probably  a mask  or  a 
pectoral  covered  with  hieroglyphs.1  When  Vyse  reopened  the  vault  in  1837 


THE  GRANITE  SARCOPHAGUS  OF  MYKER1N0S.2 


the  bones  lay  scattered  about  in  confusion  on  the  dusty  floor,  mingled  with 
bundles  of  dirty  rags  and  wrappings  of  yellowish  woollen  cloth.3 

The  worship  of  the  three  great  pyramid-building  kings  continued  in 
Memphis  down  to  the  time  of  the  Greeks  and  Komans.4  Their  statues,  in 
granite,  limestone,  and  alabaster,  were  preserved  also  in  the  buildings  annexed 
to  the  temple  of  Phtah,  where  visitors  could  contemplate  these  Pharaohs  as 
they  were  when  alive.5  Those  of  Khephren  show  us  the  king  at  different  ages, 

( Operations , vol.  ii.,  plate  facing  p.  94),  by  Birch-Lenormant  ( Eclaircissements  sur  le  cereueil  du 
roi  Memphite  Mycdrinus,  1839),  and  by  Lepsius  ( Auswahl  der  wichtigsten  Urkunden,  pi.  vii.).  Herr 
Setbe  has  recently  revived  an  ancient  hypothesis,  according  to  which  it  had  been  reworked  in 
the  Saite  period,  and  he  has  added  to  archaeological  considerations,  up  to  that  time  alone  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  question,  new  philological  facts  (K.  Sethe,  Das  Alter  des  Londoner  Sargdeckels  des 
Konigs  Mencheres,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxx.  pp.  94-98). 

1 Edrisi,  in  Vyse,  Operations,  etc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  71,  note  7. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a chromolithograph  in  Prisse  D’Avennes,  Histoire  de  l’ Art 
Egyptien.  Cf.  Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  ii.,  plate  facing  p.  84;  Perrot-Cbipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt  dans 
V Antiquity,  vol.  i.  p.  509. 

3 Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  73,  74. 

* The  latest  Egyptian  monument  which  establishes  its  existence  is  a stele  from  the  Serapeum 
(No.  2857)  with  the  name  of  Psamitik-Monkhu,  prophet  of  Kheops,  Dadhfri,  and  Khephren  : it  was 
first  pointed  out  by  E.  de  Rouge  ( Recherclies  sur  les  monuments  qu’on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres 
dynasties  de  Mandthon,  p.  53;  cf.  Pierret,  Catalogue  de  la  Salle  historique,  p.  73,  No.  314). 

5 M.  Grebaut  enriched  the  Gizeh  Museum,  in  1888,  with  statues  of  Khephren,  Mykerinos, 


378 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


when  young,  mature,  or  already  in  his  decadence.1  They  are  in  most  cases 
cut  out  of  a breccia  of  green  diorite,  with  long  irregular  yellowish  veins,  and 
of  such  hardness  that  it  is  difficult  to  determine  the  tool  with  which  they  were 
worked.  The  Pharaoh  sits  squarely  on  his  royal  throne,  his  hands  on  his 
lap,  his  body  firm  and  upright,  and  his  head  thrown  back  with  a look  of 
self-satisfaction.  A sparrow-hawk  perched  on  the  back  of  his  seat  covers  his 
head  with  its  wings — an  image  of  the  god  Horus  protecting  his  sou.  The 
modelling  of  the  torso  and  legs  of  the  largest  of  these  statues,  the  dignity 
of  its  pose,  and  the  animation  of  its  expression,  make  of  it  a unique  work  of  art 
which  may  be  compared  with  the  most  perfect  products  of  antiquity.  Even 
if  the  cartouches  which  tell  us  the  name  of  the  king  had  been  hammered 
away  and  the  insignia  of  his  rank  destroyed,  we  should  still  be  able  to 
determine  the  Pharaoh  by  his  bearing : his  whole  appearance  indicates  a man 
accustomed  from  his  infancy  to  feel  himself  invested  with  limitless  authority. 
Mykerinos  stands  out  less  impassive  and  haughty  : 2 he  does  not  appear  so  far 
removed  from  humanity  as  his  predecessor,  and  the  expression  of  his  coun- 
tenance agrees,  somewhat  singularly,  with  the  account  of  his  piety  and  good 
nature  preserved  by  the  legends.  The  Egyptians  of  the  Theban  dynasties, 
when  comparing  the  two  great  pyramids  with  the  third,  imagined  that  the 
disproportion  in  their  size  corresponded  with  a difference  of  character  between 
their  royal  occupants.  Accustomed  as  they  were  from  infancy  to  gigantic 
structures,  they  did  not  experience  before  “the  Horizon  ” and  “ the  Great” 
the  feeling  of  wonder  and  awe  which  impresses  the  beholder  of  to-day.  They 
were  not  the  less  apt  on  this  account  to  estimate  the  amount  of  labour  and 
effort  required  to  complete  them  from  top  to  bottom.  This  labour  seemed 
to  them  to  surpass  the  most  excessive  corvee  which  a just  ruler  had  a right 
to  impose  upon  his  subjects,  and  the  reputation  of  Kheops  and  Khephren 
suffered  much  in  consequence.  They  were  accused  of  sacrilege,  of  cruelty, 
and  profligacy.  It  was  urged  against  them  that  they  had  arrested  the  whole 
life  of  their  people  for  more  than  a century  for  the  erection  of  their  tombs. 


Menkafthoril,  and  'C'sirniri,  besides  a nameless  statue  which  I believe  to  be  that  of  Kheops  (cf. 
p.  364  of  this  History),  all  discovered  by  the  fellahin  in  the  temple  of  Pktah  (Maspero,  Revue 
critique , 1890,  vol.  ii.  pp.  416,  417).  Some  Egyptologists,  deceived  by  the  epithet,  “loved  of  Hapi,” 
which,  on  one  of  them,  is  coupled  with  the  name  of  the  Pharaoh  Mykerinos,  have  believed  that  they 
came  from  one  of  the  cemeteries  of  Saqqara,  possibly  from  the  still  undiscovered  Serapeum  of  the 
Memphite  dynasties.  These  statues  have  been  reproduced  in  photolithography  by  Grebaut,  Le 
MusCe  Egyptien , i.  pis.  viii.-xiv. 

1 They  were  discovered  in  1860  by  Mariette,  iu  the  temple  of  the  sphinx,  at  the  bottom  of  a well 
into  which  they  had  been  thrown  at  an  unknown  date  (Mariette,  Lettre  a M.  le  Vicomte  de  Rouge, 
pp.  7,  8)  ; several  of  them  had  been  broken  in  their  fall.  They  are  now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum.  The 
firnt  careful  reproduction  of  them  which  has  appeared  is  to  be  found  in  Bouge-Banville,  Album 
pliotograpliique  de  la  Mission  de  M.  de  Rouge,  Nos.  91,  92,  and  in  E.  de  Bocge,  Reclierclies  sur  les 
monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties  de  Manethon,  pis.  iv.,  V. 

2 Grebaut,  Le  Mu$ee  Egyptien,  i.  pi.  ix. ; see  the  statue  reproduced  at  p.  374  of  this  History. 


TEE  LEGEND  OF  TEE  PYRAMID-BTJILDING  KINGS. 


379 


pyramid  itself,  twenty  years  were 

1 J J J DIORITE  STATUE  OF  KHEPHREN,  GIZEH  MUSEUM. 

employed  in  the  making  of  it. 

. . . There  are  recorded  on  it,  in  Egyptian  characters,  the  value  of  the  sums 
paid  in  turnips,  onions,  and  garlic,  for  the  labourers  attached  to  the  works: 
if  I remember  aright,  the  interpreter  who  deciphered  the  inscription  told  me 
that  the  total  amounted  to  sixteen  hundred  talents  of  silver.  If  this  were  the 

1 In  a story  in  the  Westcar  Papyrus,  it  appears  that  Kheops  gave  the  order  to  close  one  temple 
at  least— that  of  the  god  Ra  at  Saklnbu  (Maspero,  Les  Conies  populaires , 2nd  edit.,  p.  86). 

2 Professor  Petrie  ( The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  pp.  209-211)  thinks  that  this  detail  rests 
upon  an  authentic  tradition.  The  inundation,  he  says,  lasts  three  months,  during  which  the  mass 
of  the  people  have  nothing  to  do  ; it  was  during  these  three  months  that  Kheops  raised  the  100,000 
men  to  work  at  the  transport  of  the  stone.  Tire  explanation  is  very  ingenious,  but  it  is  not  sup- 
ported by  the  text : Herodotus  does  not  relate  that  100,000  men  were  called  by  the  corve'e  for  three 
months  every  year ; but  from  three  months  to  three  months,  possibly  four  times  a year,  bodies  of 
100,000  men  relieved  each  other  at  the  work.  The  figures  which  he  quotes  are  well-known  legendary 
numbers,  and  we  must  leave  the  responsibility  for  them  to  the  popular  imagination  (Wiedemann, 
Herodots  Zweites  Buck,  p.  465). 

3 Diodorus  Siculus  (i.  63)  declares  that  there  were  no  causeways  to  be  seen  in  his  time.  The 
remains  of  one  of  them  appear  to  have  been  discovered  and  restored  by  Vyse  ( Operations , vol.  i.  p.  167). 

4 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey  (cf.  Mariette,  Album  photographique 
du  Musee  du  Boulah , pi.  26 ; Rouge-Banville,  Album  photographique  de  la  Mission  de  M.  de  Rouge, 
Nos.  91,  92).  It  is  one  of  the  most  complete  statues  found  by  Mariette  in  the  temple  of  the  Sphinx. 


“ Kheops  began  by  closing  the  temples 1 and  by  prohibiting  the  offering  of 
sacrifices  : he  then  compelled  all  the  Egyptians  to  work  for  him.  To  some 
he  assigned  the  task  of  dragging  the  blocks  from  the  quarries  of  the  Arabian 
chain  to  the  Nile : once  shipped, 
the  duty  was  incumbent  on  others 
of  transporting  them  as  far  as  the 
Libyan  chain.  A hundred  thousand 
men  worked  at  a time,  and  were 
relieved  every  three  months.2  The 
period  of  the  people’s  suffering  was 
divided  as  follows : ten  years  in 
making  the  causeway  along  which 
the  blocks  were  dragged — a work,  in 
my  opinion,  very  little  less  onerous 
than  that  of  erecting  the  pyra- 
mid, for  its  length  was  five  stadia, 
its  breadth  ten  orgijise,  its  greatest 
height  eight,  and  it  was  made  of 
cut  stone  and  covered  with  figures.3 
Ten  years,  therefore,  were  consumed 
in  constructing  this  causeway,  and 
the  subterranean  chambers  hollowed 
out  in  the  hill.  ...  As  for  the 


380 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


case,  how  much  must  have  been  expended  for  iron  to  make  tools,  and  for 
provisions  and  clothing  for  the  workmen  ? ” 1 The  whole  resources  of  the  royal 
treasure  were  not  sufficient  for  such  necessaries : a tradition  represents  Kheops 
as  at  the  end  of  his  means,  and  in  order  to  procure  money  as  selling  his 
daughter  to  any  one  that  offered.2  Another  legend,  less  disrespectful  to  the 
royal  dignity  and  to  paternal  authority,  assures  us  that  he  repented  in  his  old  age, 
and  that  he  wrote  a sacred  book  much  esteemed  by  the  devout.3  Khephren  had 
imitated,  and  thus  shared  with,  him,  the  hatred  of  posterity.4  The  Egyptians 
avoided  naming  these  wretches  : their  work  was  attributed  to  a shepherd  called 
Philitis,  who  in  ancient  times  pastured  his  flocks  in  the  mountain  ; 5 and  even 
those  who  did  not  refuse  to  them  the  glory  of  having  built  the  most  enormous 
sepulchres  in  the  world,  related  that  they  had  not  the  satisfaction  of  reposing  in 
them  after  their  death.  The  people,  exasperated  at  the  tyranny  to  which  they 
had  been  subject,  swore  that  they  would  tear  the  bodies  of  these  Pharaohs 
from  their  tombs,  and  scatter  their  fragments  to  the  winds : they  had  to  be 
buried  in  crypts  so  securely  placed  that  no  one  has  succeeded  in  finding  them.® 
Like  the  two  older  pyramids,  “the  Supreme”  had  its  anecdotal  history, 
in  which  the  Egyptians  gave  free  rein  to  their  imagination.  We  know  that 
its  plan  had  been  rearranged  in  the  course  of  building,  that  it  contained  two 
sepulchral  chambers,  two  sarcophagi,  and  two  mummies:  these  modifications, 
it  was  said,  were  owing  to  two  distinct  reigns ; for  Mykerinos  had  left  his  tomb 
unfinished,  and  a woman  had  finished  it  at  a later  date — according  to  some, 
Nitokris,  the  last  queen  of  the  VIth  dynasty  ; 7 according  to  others,  Ehodopis, 

1 Herodotus,  ii.  124,  125.  The  inscriptions  which  were  read  upon  the  pyramids  were  the  graffiti 
of  -visitors,  some  of  them  carefully  executed  (Letronne,  Sur  le  revetement  des  pyramides  de  Gizdh,  sur  les 
sculptures  hie'roglyphiques  qui  les  decoraient,  et  sur  les  inscriptions  grecques  et  latines  que  les  voyageurs  y 
avaient  gravees,  in  the  CEuvres  choisies,  1st  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  441-452).  The  figures  which  were  shown 
to  Herodotus  represented,  according  to  the  dragoman,  the  value  of  the  sums  expended  for  vegetables 
for  the  workmen  ; we  ought,  probably,  to  regard  them  as  the  thousands  which,  in  many  of  the  votive 
temples,  served  to  mark  the  quantities  of  different  things  presented  to  the  god,  that  they  might  be 
transmitted  to  the  deceased  (Maspero,  Nouveau  Fragment  d’un  Commentaire  sur  le  livre  II  d’ Htfrodote, 
in  the  Annuaire  de  la  Soctete'  pour  V encouragement  des  etudes  grecques  en  France , 1875,  p.  16,  et  seq.). 

2 Herodotus,  ii.  126.  She  had  profited  by  what  she  received  to  build  a pyramid  for  herself 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  great  one — the  middle  one  of  the  three  small  pyramids  : it  would  appear, 
in  fact,  that  this  pyramid  contained  the  mummy  of  a daughter  of  Kheops,  Honitsonu. 

3 Manetho,  Unger’s  edition,  p.  91.  The  ascription  of  a book  to  Kheops,  or  rather  the  account  of 
the  discovery  of  a “ sacred  book  ” under  Kheops,  is  quite  in  conformity  with  Egyptian  ideas.  The 
British  Museum  possesses  a medical  treatise,  which  was  thus  discovered  under  this  king,  in  a temple 
at  Coptos  (Birch,  Medical  Papyrus  with  the  name  of  Cheops,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1871,  pp.  61,  64;  cf. 
pp.  224,  225  of  this  History).  Among  the  books  on  alchemy  published  by  M.  Berthelot  ( Collections 
des  anciens  alchimisles  grecs,  vol.  i.  pp.  211-214),  there  are  two  small  treatises  ascribed  to  Sophc, 
possibly  Souphis  or  Kheops : they  are  of  the  same  kind  as  the  book  mentioned  by  Manetho,  and 
which  Syncellus  says  was  bought  in  Kgypt. 

4 Herodotus,  ii.  127. 

5 Herodotus,  ii.  128 ; cf.  Wiedemann,  Herodots  Zweitts  Buch,  pp.  477,  478 : several  savants 
have  been  inclined  to  see  in  this  name  of  Philitis,  the  shepherd,  a reminiscence  of  the  Hyksos,  which 
is  not  improbable. 

8 Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  64. 

: Manetho,  Unger’s  edition,  p.  102,  asserts  that  Nitokris  built  the  third  pyramid : an  explanation 
of  his  statement  has  been  given  by  Lepsius  in  Bunsen’s  ZEgyptens  Stelle,  voL  ii.  pp.  172,  230-238. 


THE  LEGEND  OF  MYKERINOS. 


381 


the  Ionian  who  was  the  mistress  of  Psammeticlms  I.  or  of  Amasis.1  The  beauty 
and  richness  of  the  granite  casing  dazzled  all  eyes,  and  induced  many  visitors 
to  prefer  the  least  of  the  pyramids  to  its  two  imposing  sisters ; its  com- 
parativel)’  small  size  is  excused  on  the  ground  that  its  founder  had  returned 
to  that  moderation  and  piety  which  ought  to  characterize  a good  king.  “ The 
actions  of  his  father  were  not  pleasing  to  him ; he  reopened  the  temples  and 
sent  the  people,  reduced  to  the  extreme  of  misery,  back  to  their  religious 
observances  and  their  occupations;  finally,  he  administered  justice  more 
equitably  than  all  other  kings.  On  this  head  he  is  praised  above  those  who 
have  at  any  time  reigned  in  Egypt : for  not  only  did  he  administer  good 
justice,  but  if  any  one  complained  of  his  decision  he  gratified  him  with  some 
present  in  order  to  appease  his  wrath.” 2 There  was  one  point,  however, 
which  excited  the  anxiety  of  many  in  a country  where  the  mystic  virtue  of 
numbers  was  an  article  of  faith : in  order  that  the  laws  of  celestial  arithmetic 
should  be  observed  in  the  construction  of  the  pyramids,  it  was  necessary  that 
three  of  them  should  be  of  the  same  size.  The  anomaly  of  a third  pyramid 
out  of  proportion  to  the  two  others  could  be  explained  only  on  the  hypothesis 
that  Mykerinos,  having  broken  with  paternal  usage,  had  ignorantly  infringed 
a decree  of  destiny — a deed  for  which  he  was  mercilessly  punished.  He  first 
lost  his  only  daughter ; a short  time  after  he  learned  from  an  oracle  that  he 
had  only  six  more  years  to  remain  upon  the  earth.  He  enclosed  the  corpse 
of  his  child  in  a hollow  wooden  heifer,  which  he  sent  to  Sais,  where  it  was 
honoured  with  divine  worship.3  “He  then  communicated  his  reproaches 
to  the  god,  complaining  that  his  father  and  his  uncle,  after  having  closed 
the  temples,  forgotten  the  gods  and  oppressed  mankind,  had  enjoyed  a long 

1 Zoega  (Be  Origine  et  Usu  Obeliscorum,  p.  390,  note  22)  had  already  recognized  that  the  Rhodopis 
of  the  Greeks  was  no  other  than  the  Nitokris  of  Manetho,  and  his  opinion  was  adopted  and  developed 
by  Bunsen  ( Mgyptens  stelle,  pp.  237,  238).  The  legend  of  Rhodopis  was  completed  by  the  additional 
ascription  to  the  ancient  Egyptian  queen  of  the  character  of  a courtesan  : this  repugnant  trait  seems 
to  have  been  borrowed  from  the  same  class  of  legends  as  that  which  concerned  itself  with  the 
daughter  of  Kheops  and  her  pyramid.  The  narrative  thus  developed  was  in  a similar  manner  con- 
founded with  another  popular  story,  in  which  occurs  the  episode  of  the  slipper,  so  well  known  from 
the  tale  of  Cinderella  (Lauth,  Konigin  Nitokris-Rhodopis  und  Aschenbrodel's  Urbild,  in  the  Deutsche 
Revue,  July,  1879).  Herodotus  connects  Rhodopis  with  his  Amasis  (ii.  131),  iElian  (Varix  Hist., 
xiii.  32)  with  King  Psammeticlms  of  the  XXVIth  dynasty. 

2 Herodotus,  ii.  129;  cf.  Wiedemann,  Herodcts  Zweites  Buck,  p.  478,  et  seq. 

3 Herodotus,  ii.  129-133.  The  manner  in  which  Herodotus  describes  the  cow  which  was  shown 
to  him  in  the  temple  of  Sais,  proves  that  he  was  dealing  with  Nit,  in  animal  form,  Mihi-uirit,  the 
great  celestial  heifer  who  had  given  birth  to  the  Sun.  How  the  people  could  have  attached  to  this 
statue  the  legend  of  a daughter  of  Mykerinos  is  now  difficult  to  understand.  The  idea  of  a mummy 
or  a corpse  shut  up  in  a statue,  as  in  a coffin,  was  familiar  to  the  Egyptians  : two  of  the  queens 
interred  at  De'ir  el-Bahaii,  Nofritari  and  Ahhotpu  II.,  were  found  hidden  at  the  bottom  of  immense 
Osirian  figures  of  wood,  covered  with  stuccoed  fabric  (Maspero,  La  Trouvaille  de  D(ir  el-Vahari,  in 
the  HHmoires  de  la  Mission  fran^aise,  vol.  i.  pp.  535-544,  and  pi.  v.).  Egyptian  tradition  supposed  that 
the  bodies  of  the  gods  rested  upon  the  earth  (He  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 22,  p.  36,  Parthey’s  edition ; cf. 
p.  Ill  of  this  History).  The  cow  Mihi-uirit  might,  therefore,  be  bodily  enclosed  in  a sarcophagus  in 
the  form  of  a heifer,  just  as  the  mummified  gazelle  of  De'ir  el-Bahari  is  enclosed  in  a sarcophagus 
of  gazelle  form  (Maspero,  La  Trouvaille  de  D&ir  el-Bahari,  pi.  xxi.  B);  it  is  even  possible  that  the 
statue  shown  to  Herodotus  really  contained  what  was  thought  to  be  a mummy  of  the  goddess. 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


382 

life,  while  lie,  devout  as  he  was,  was  so  soon  about  to  perish.  The  oracle 
answered  that  it  was  for  this  very  reason  that  his  days  were  shortened,  for  he 
had  not  done  that  which  he  ought  to  have  done.  Egypt  had  to  suffer  for 
a hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  the  two  kings  his  predecessors  had  known  this, 
while  he  had  not.  On  receiving  this  answer,  Mvkerinos,  feeling  himself 
condemned,  manufactured  a number  of  lamps,  lit  them  every  evening  at  dusk, 
began  to  drink  and  to  lead  a life  of  jollity,  without  ceasing  for  a moment 
night  and  day,  wandering  by  the  lakes  and  in  the  woods  wherever  he  thought 
to  find  an  occasion  of  pleasure.  He  had  planned  this  in  order  to  convince 
the  oracle  of  having  spoken  falsely,  and  to  live  twelve  years,  the  nights 
counting  as  so  many  days.” 1 Legend  places  after  him — Asychis  or  Sasychis — 
a later  builder  of  pyramids,  but  of  a different  kind.  The  latter  preferred  brick 
as  a building  material,  except  in  one  place,  where  he  introduced  a stone 
bearing  the  following  inscription  : “ Do  not  despise  me  on  account  of  the  stone 
pyramids  : I surpass  them  as  much  as  Zeus  the  other  gods.  Because,  a pole 
being  plunged  into  a lake  and  the  clay  which  stuck  to  it  being  collected,  the 
brick  was  moulded  from  it  out  of  which  I was  constructed.”2  The  virtues 
of  Asychis  were  a help  to  Mykerinos  in  counteracting  the  bad  impression 
which  Kheops  and  Khephren  had  left  behind  them.  Among  the  five 
legislators  of  Egypt  he  stood  out  as  one  of  the  best.  He  regulated,  to  minute 
details,  the  ceremonies  of  worship.  He  invented  geometry  and  the  art  of 
observing  the  heavens.3  He  put  forth  a law  on  lending,  in  which  he  authorized 
the  borrower  to  pledge  in  forfeit  the  mummy  of  his  father,  while  the  creditor 
had  the  right  of  treating  as  his  own  the  tomb  of  the  debtor : so  that  if  the 
debt  was  not  met,  the  latter  could  not  obtain  a last  resting-place  for  himself 
or  his  family  either  in  his  paternal  or  any  other  tomb.4 

History  knows  nothing  either  of  this  judicious  sovereign  or  of  many  other 
Pharaohs  of  the  same  type,  which  the  dragomans  of  the  Greek  period 
assiduously  enforced  upon  the  respectful  attention  of  travellers.  It  merely 
affirms  that  the  example  given  by  Kheops,  Khephren,  and  Mykerinos  were  by 
no  means  lost  in  later  times.  From  the  beginning  of  the  IV11'  to  the  end  of 
the  XIVth  dynasty — during  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years — the  construction 
of  pyramids  was  a common  State  affair,  provided  for  by  the  administration, 
secured  by  special  services.5  Not  only  did  the  Pharaohs  build  them  for  ikem- 

1 Herodotus,  ii.  133. 

2 Herodotus,  ii.  136. 

3 Diodorus,  i.  91.  It  seems  probable  that  Diodorus  bad  received  knowledge  from  some  Alex- 
andrian writer,  how  lost,  of  traditions  concerning  the  legislative  acts  of  Shashanqh  I.  of  the  XXII”'1 
dynasty  ; but  the  name  of  the  king,  commonly  written  Scsonkhis,  bad  been  corrupted  by  the  drago- 
man into  Sasykhis  (Wilkinson,  in  G.  Rawlinson,  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  p.  182,  note  7). 

4 Herodotus,  ii.  136. 

5 On  the  construction  of  pyramids  in  general,  cf.  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  I’Art,  vol.  i.  pp. 


THE  QUARRIES  OF  TURAH. 


383 


selves,  but  the  princes  and  princesses  belonging  to  the  family  of  the  Pharaohs 
constructed  theirs,  each  one  according  to  his  resources;  three  of  these 
secondary  mausoleums  are  ranged  opposite  the  eastern  side  of  “ the  Horizon,” 
three  opposite  the  southern  face  of  “ the  Supreme,”  and  everywhere  else — near 
Abousir,  at  Saqqara,  at  Dahshur  or  in  the  Fayum — the  majority  of  the  royal 
pyramids  attracted  around  them  a more  or  less  numerous  cortege  of  pyramids 
of  princely  foundation  often  debased  in  shape  and  faulty  in  proportion.1 
The  materials  for  them  were  brought  from  the  Arabian  chain.  A spur 
of  the  latter,  projecting  in  a straight  line  towards  the  Nile,  as  far  as  the 
village  of  Troiu,  is  nothing  but  a mass  of  the  finest  and  whitest  limestone.2 
The  Egyptians  had  quarries  here  from  the  earliest  times.  By  cutting  off  the 
stone  in  every  direction,  they  lowered  the  point  of  this  spur  for  a depth 
of  some  hundreds  of  metres.  The  appearance  of  these  quarries  is  almost  as 
astonishing  as  that  of  the  monuments  made  out  of  their  material.  The 
extraction  of  the  stone  was  carried  on  with  a skill  and  regularity  which 
denoted  ages  of  experience.  The  tunnels  were  so  made  as  to  exhaust  the 
finest  and  whitest  seams  without  waste,  and  the  chambers  were  of  an  enormous 
extent ; the  walls  were  dressed,  the  pillars  and  roofs  neatly  finished,  the 
passages  and  doorways  made  of  a regular  width,  so  that  the  whole  presented 
more  the  appearance  of  a subterranean  temple  than  of  a place  for  the  ex- 
traction of  building  materials.3  Hastily  inscribed  graffiti,  in  red  and  black  ink, 
preserve  the  names  of  workmen,  overseers,  and  engineers,  who  bad  laboured 
here  at  certain  dates,  calculations  of  pay  or  rations,  diagrams  of  interesting 
details,  as  well  as  capitals  and  shafts  of  columns,  which  were  shaped  out  on  the 
spot  to  reduce  their  weight  for  transport.  Here  and  there  true  official  stelae  are 
to  be  found  set  apart  in  a suitable  place,  recording  that  after  a long  interrup- 
tion such  or  such  an  illustrious  sovereign  had  resumed  the  excavations,  and 
opened  fresh  chambers.4  Alabaster  was  met  with  not  far  from  here  in  the  Wady 

195-246;  Petrie,  The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  pp.  162-172;  Maspeeo,  Arche'ulogie 
Egyptienne,  pp.  126-128. 

1 The  description  of  these  pyramids  may  be  found  for  the  most  part  in  Vyse-Perring,  Operations 
at  the  Pyramids  in  1837 , vol.  ii.  The  smaller  pyramids  in  the  Faytim  have  been  quite  recently 
cleared  by  Petrie,  Illahun,  Kahun  and  Gurol),  pp.  4,  5. 

2 Troiou  is  the  Troja  of  classical  writers  (Brugsch,  Das  AUgyptische  Troja,  in  the  Zeitsehrift, 
1867,  pp.  89-93),  which  D’Anville  ( M&moires  sur  VEgypte  Ancienne  et  Moderne,  p.  175)  had 
previously  identified  with  the  modern  village  of  Turah ; cf.  the  map  of  the  Delta  at  p.  75  of  this 
History. 

3 The  description  of  the  quarries  of  Turah,  as  they  were  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  was 
somewhat  briefly  given  by  Jomard  ( Description  generate  de  Memphis  et  des  Pyramides,  in  the 
Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  v.  pp.  672-674),  afterwards  more  completely  by  Perring  (Vyse, 
Operations,  vol.  iii.  p.  90,  et  seq.).  During  the  last  thirty  years  the  Cairo  masons  have  destroyed  the 
greater  part  of  the  ancient  remains  formerly  existing  in  this  district,  and  have  completely  changed 
the  appearance  of  the  place. 

4 Stelae  of  Amenemhait  III.  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  (Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  iii.,  plate  facing  p.  94  I 
Lepstus,  Denhm.,  ii.  143  i ),  of  Ahmosis  I.  (Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  iii.  p.  94;  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iii. 


THE  MEMPIII'TE  EMPIRE. 


384 

Gerraui.  The  Pharaohs  of  very  early  times  established  a regular  colony  here, 
in  the  very  middle  of  the  desert,  to  cut  the  material  into  small  blocks  for  trans- 
port : a strongly  built  dam,  thrown  across  the  valley,  served  to  store  up  the  winter 
and  spring  rains,  and  formed  a pond  whence  the  workers  could  always  supply 
themselves  with  water.1  Kheops  and  his  successors  drew  their  alabaster  from 
Hatnubu,2  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Hermopolis,  their  granite  from  Syene,  their 
diorite  and  other  hard  rocks,  the  favourite  material  for  their  sarcophagi,  from 
the  volcanic  valleys  which  separate  the  Nile  from  the  Red  Sea — especially 
from  the  Wady  Hammamat.  As  these  were  the  only  materials  of  which  the 
quantity  required  could  not  be  determined  in  advance,  and  which  had  to  be 
brought  from  a distance,  every  king  was  accustomed  to  send  the  principal 
persons  of  his  court  to  the  quarries  of  Upper  Egypt,  and  the  rapidity  with 
which  they  brought  back  the  stone  constituted  a high  claim  on  the  favour  of 
their  master.  If  the  building  u'as  to  be  of  brick,  the  bricks  were  made  on  the 
spot,  in  the  plain  at  the  foot  of  the  hills.  If  it  v'as  to  be  a limestone  structure, 
the  neighbouring  parts  of  the  plateau  furnished  the  rough  material  in 
abundance.  For  the  construction  of  chambers  and  for  casing  walls,  the  rose 
granite  of  Elephantine  and  the  limestone  of  Troiu  were  commonly  employed, 
but  they  were  spared  the  labour  of  procuring  these  specially  for  the  occasion. 
The  city  of  the  White  Wall  had  always  at  hand  a supply  of  them  in  its  stores, 
and  they  might  be  drawn  upon  freely  for  public  buildings,  and  consequently 
for  the  royal  tomb.  The  blocks  chosen  from  this  reserve,  and  conveyed  in 
boats  close  under  the  mountain-side,  were  drawn  up  slightly  inclined  causeways 
by  oxen  to  the  place  selected  by  the  architect.3 

The  internal  arrangements,  the  length  of  the  passages  and  the  heights  of 
the  pyramids,  varied  much:  the  least  of  them  had  a height  of  only  some  thirty- 
three  feet.  As  it  is  difficult  to  determine  the  motives  which  influenced  the 
Pharaohs  in  building  them  of  different  sizes,  some  writers  have  thought  that  the 
mass  of  each  increased  in  proportion  to  the  time  bestowed  upon  its  construction — 
that  is  to  say,  to  the  length  of  each  reign.  As  soon  as  a prince  mounted  the 


3 a,  6)  of  Akhopiruri  (Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  iii.  p.  95),  of  Amenothes  III.  (Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  iii. 
p.  96  ; Lepsics,  Denhm.,  III.  71  a,  b ) of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty,  and  finally  Nectanebo  II.  of  the  XXXth 
(Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  iii.  99 ; Brugsch,  Reiseberichte,  p.  46,  et  seq.). 

1 Schweinfurth,  Sur  une  ancienne  digue  de  pierre  aux  environs  d’ Hdouan,  in  the  Bulletin  de 
I’Institut  Egyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  vi.  pp.  139-145.  Schweinfurth  thinks  that  the  alabaster 
employed  in  building  the  temple  of  the  Sphinx  came  very  probably  from  the  quarries  of  Wady 
Gerraui. 

2 The  quarries  of  Hatnubu  were  discovered  by  Mr.  Newberry  in  1891  ( Egypt  Exploration 
Fund,  Report  of  the  Fifth  Ordinary  General  Meeting,  1890-91,  pp.  27,  28 ; cf.  G.  Willoughby- 
Frazer,  Hat-nub,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  xvi.  1893-94,  pp. 
73-82). 

3 One  of  the  stelse  of  Turah  shows  us  a block  of  limestone  placed  upon  a sledge  drawn  by  six 
large  oxen  (Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  iii.,  plate  facing  p.  99;  Lepsius.  Denhm.,  iii.  3 a). 


THE  VARIOUS  PLANS  OF  THE  PYRAMIDS. 


385 


throne,  he  would  probably  begin  by 
roughly  sketching  out  a pyramid 
sufficiently  capacious  to  contain  the 
essential  elements  of  the  tomb ; he 
would  then,  from  year  to  year,  have 
added  fresh  layers  to  the  original 
nucleus  until  the  day  of  his  death 
put  an  end  for  ever  to  the  growth  of 
the  monument.1  This  hypothesis  is 
not  borne  out  by  facts  : such  a small 
pyramid  as  that  of  Saqqara  belonged 
to  a Pharaoh  who  reigned  thirty 
years,2  while  “ the  Horizon  ” of  Gizeh 
is  the  work  of  Kheops,  whose  rule 

once  for  all  by  the  architect,  accord- 
ing to  the  instructions  he  had  re- 
ceived, and  the  resources  at  his  com- 

without  addition  or  diminution,  un- 
less something  unforeseen  occurred. 

The  pyramids,  like  the  mastabas, 

1 This  was  the  theory  formulated  by  Lepsius 
( [Ueber  den  Bau  der  Pyrcimiden,  in  the  Berliner 
Monatsberichle,  1843,  pp.  177-203),  after  the 
researches  made  by  himself,  and  the  work 
done  by  Erbkam,  and  the  majority  of  Egypt- 
ologists adopted  it,  and  still  maintain  it  (Ebers, 

Cicerone  durch  das  Alte  und  Neue  ASgyplen, 
vol.  i.  pp.  133,  134 ; Wiedemann,  YEqyptische 
Geschichte,  pp.  181,  182).  It  was  vigorously 
attacked  by  Perrot-Chipiez  ( Histoire  de  V Art, 
vol.  i.  pp.  214-221)  and  by  Petrie  (The  Pyra- 
mids and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  pp.  163-166) ; it 
was  afterwards  revived,  with  amendments,  by 
Borchardt  (Lepsius’s  Theorie  dee  Pyramiden- 
baues,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxx.  pp.  102-106), 
whose  conclusions  have  been  accepted  by  Ed. 

Meyer  (Geschichte  des  Alten  AUgyptens,  p.  106, 
et  seq.).  The  examinations  which  I have  had 
the  opportunity  of  bestowing  on  the  pyramids 
of  Saqqara,  Abusir,  Dahslihr,  Kigali,  and 
Lisht  have  shown  me  that  the  theory  is  not  applicable  to  any  of  these  monuments. 

3 Such,  also,  is  the  white  limestone  pyramid  of  tfnas,  of  which  the  dimensions  are  still 
less. 


mand.  Once  set  on  foot,  the  work 
was  continued  until  its  completion, 


lasted  only  twenty-three  years.  The 
plan  of  each  pyramid  was  arranged 


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THE  MEMPHITE  NOME  AND  THE  POSITION  OF  THE 
PYRAMIDS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  EMPIRE. 


DIE  MEMPHITE  EM  PI  HE. 


B86 

ought  to  present  their  faces  to  the  four  cardinal  points;  liut  owing  to 
tiuskilfulncss  or  negligence,  the  majority  of  them  are  not  very  accurately 
orientated,  and  several  of  them  vary  sensibly  from  the  true  north.  The  great 
pyramid  of  Saqqara  does  not  describe  a perfect  square  at  its  base,  but  is  an  oblong 
rectangle,  with  its  longest  sides  east  and  west : it  is  stepped — that  is  to  say,  the 
six  sloping  sided  cubes  of  which  it  is  composed  are  placed  upon  one  another 
so  as  to  form  a series  of  treads  and  risers,  the  former  being  about  tw'o  yards 
wide  and  the  latter  of  unequal  heights.1  The  highest  of  the  stone  pyramids 
of  Dahshur  makes  at  its  lower  part  an  angle  of  54°  4T  with  the  horizon,  but 
at  half  its  height  the  angle  becomes  suddenly  more  acute  and  is  reduced  to 
42°  59'.  It  reminds  one  of  a mastaba  with  a sort  of  huge  attic  on  the  top.2 
Each  of  these  monuments  had  its  enclosing  wall,  its  chapel  and  its  college  of 
priests,  who  performed  there  for  ages  sacred  rites  in  honour  of  the  deceased 
prince,  while  its  property  in  mortmain  was  administered  by  the  chief  of  the 
“priests  of  the  double.”  Each  one  received  a name,  such  as  “the  Fresh,” 
“ the  Beautiful,”  “ the  Divine  in  its  places,”  3 which  conferred  upon  it  a per- 
sonality and,  as  it  were,  a living  soul.  These  pyramids  formed  to  the  west  of 
the  White  Wall  a long  serrated  line  whose  extremities  were  lost  towards  the 
south  and  north  in  the  distant  horizon  : Pharaoh  could  see  them  from  the 
terraces  of  his  palace,  from  the  gardens  of  his  villa,  and  from  every  point  in 
the  plain  in  which  he  might  reside  between  Heliopolis  and  Medutn — as  a 
constant  reminder  of  the  lot  which  awaited  him  in  spite  of  his  divine  origin. 
The  people,  awed  and  inspired  by  the  number  of  them,  and  by  the  variety  of 
their  form  and  appearance,  were  accustomed  to  tell  stories  of  them  to  one 
another,  in  which  the  supernatural  played  a predominant  part.  They  were  able 
to  estimate  within  a few  ounces  the  heaps  of  gold  and  silver,  the  jewels  and 
precious  stones,  which  adorned  the  royal  mummies  or  filled  the  sepulchral 
chambers : they  were  acquainted  with  every  precaution  taken  by  the  architects 
to  ensure  the  safety  of  all  these  riches  from  robbers,  and  were  convinced  that 
magic  had  added  to  such  safeguards  the  more  effective  protection  of  talismans 
and  genii.  There  was  no  pyramid  so  insignificant  that  it  had  not  its  mysterious 
protectors,  associated  with  some  amulet— in  most  cases  with  a statue,  animated 
by  the  double  of  the  founder.4  The  Arabs  of  to-day  are  still  well  acquainted 
with  these  protectors,  and  possess  a traditional  respect  for  them.  The  great 
pyramid  concealed  a black  and  white  image,  seated  on  a throne  and  invested 

1 See  pp.  242-244  of  this  History  fur  a more  complete  description  of  this  pyramid. 

2 Yyse,  Operations  carried  on  at  the  Pyramids  in  1837,  vol.  iii.  pp.  65-70. 

3 “The  Fresh,”  Qobiiu,  was  the  pyramid  of  Shopsiskof,  the  last  king  of  the  IVth  dynasty  (E.  l>E 
Rouge,  Iteclierches  sur  les  Monuments,  p.  74);  “the  Beautiful,”  Nofir,  that  of  Dadkeri  Assi  (id., 
p.  100);  and  “ the  Divine  in  its  places,”  NOtir  IsOitO  (id.,  p.  99),  that  of  Menkahhoru,  who  belonged 
to  the  Vth  dynasty. 

* MAsrERO,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’Arch^oiogie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  77,  et  seq. 


THE  KINGS  OF  THE  V™  DYNASTY. 


387 


with  the  kingly  sceptre.  He  who  looked  upon  the  statue  “heard  a terrible 
noise  proceeding  from  it  which  almost  caused  his  heart  to  stop  beating,  and 
he  who  had  heard  this  noise  would  die.”  An  image  of  rose-coloured  granite 
watched  over  the  pyramid  of  Khephren,  standing  upright,  a sceptre  in  its  hand 
and  the  urseus  on  its  brow,  “ which  serpent  threw  himself  upon  him  who 
approached  it,  coiled  itself  around  his  neck,  and  killed  him.”  1 A sorcerer  had 
invested  these  protectors  of  the  ancient  Pharaohs  with  their  powers,  but  another 
equally  potent  magician  could  elude  their  vigilance,  paralyze  their  energies,  if 
not  for  ever,  at  least  for  a sufficient  length  of  time  to  ferret  out  the  treasure  and 
rifle  the  mummy.  The  cupidity  of  the  fellabin,  highly  inflamed  by  the  stories 
which  they  were  accustomed  to  hear,  gained  the  mastery  over  their  terror,  and 
emboldened  them  to  risk  their  lives  in  these  well-guarded  tombs.  How  many 
pyramids  had  been  already  rifled  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  Theban  empire!'2 

The  IVth  dynasty  became  extinct  in  the  person  of  Shopsiskaf,  the 
successor  and  probably  the  son  of  Mykerinos.3  The  learned  of  the  time  of 
Eamses  II.  regarded  the  family  which  replaced  this  dynasty  as  merely  a 
secondary  branch  of  the  line  of  Snofrui,  raised  to  power  by  the  capricious  laws 
which  settled  hereditary  questions.4  Nothing  on  the  contemporary  monuments, 
it  is  true,  gives  indication  of  a violent  change  attended  by  civil  war,  or  result- 
ing from  a revolution  at  court : the  construction  and  decoration  of  the  tombs 
continued  without  interruption  and  without  indication  of  baste,  the  sons-in-law 
of  Shopsiskap  and  of  Mykerinos,  their  daughters  and  grandchildren,  possess 
under  the  new  kings  the  same  favour,  the  same  property,  the  same  privileges, 
which  they  had  enjoyed  previously.5 * * *  It  was  stated,  however,  in  the  time  of 


1 Les  Merveilles  de  I’Egypt  de  Mourtadi,  from  the  translation  of  M.  Pierre  Vattier,  pp.  46-48. 

2 The  pyramid  of  Medum,  for  instance ; cf.  p.  860  of  this  History. 

3 The  series  of  kings  beginning  with  Mykerinos  was  drawn  up  for  the  first  time  in  an  accurate 

manner  by  E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  Monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties , 

pp.  66-84.  M.  de  Rouge’s  results  have  been  since  adopted  by  all  Egyptologists  (Brugsch,  Gescloichte 

JEgyptens,  p.  84,  et  seq. ; Lauth,  Aus  JEgyptens  Vorzeit,  p.  129,  et  seq. ; Wiedemann,  JEgyptische 

Geschichte,  pp.  193-197 ; Ed.  Meyer,  Geschichte  des  Alten  zEgyptens,  p.  129,  et  seq.).  The  table  of 

the  IVth  dynasty,  restored  as  far  as  possible  with  the  approximate  dates,  is  subjoined  : — 


According  to  the  Turin  Canon  and 
the  Monuments. 


Snofrui  (4100-4076  ?) 24 

Khufui  (4075-4052  ?) 23 

Dadufri  (4051-4043?) 8 

Khafri  (4042-  ?) ? 

Menkauri ? 

Shopsiskaf ? 


According  to  Manetho. 


Soris 29 

Soupuis  1 63 

Souphis  II 66 

Menkberes 63 

Ratoises 25 

Bikheres 22 

Seberkheres 7 

Tamphthis 9 


4 The  fragments  of  the  royal  Turin  Papyrus  exhibit,  in  fact,  no  separation  between  the  kings  which 
Manetho  attributes  to  the  IVth  dynasty  and  those  which  he  ascribes  to  the  V11',  which  seems  to  show 
that  the  Egyptian  annalist  considered  them  all  as  belonging  to  one  and  the  same  family  of  Pharaohs. 

5 The  most  striking  example  is  that  of  Sakhemkari,  son  of  Khephren,  who  died  at  earliest  under 
the  Pharaoh  Sahuri  (E.  de  Rouge,  Reclierches  sur  les  monuments,  pp.  77,78;  Lepsius,  Venlcm.,  ii.  42). 


388 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


the  Ptolemies,  t hut  the  Y"‘  dynasty  had  no  connection  with  the  IV11' ; it  was 
regarded  at  Memphis  as  an  intruder,  and  it  was  asserted  that  it  came  from 
Elephantine.1  The  tradition  was  a very  old  one,  and  its  influence  is  betrayed 
in  a popular  story,  which  was  current  at  Thebes  in  the  first  years  of  the  New 
Empire.2  Kheops,  while  in  search  of  the  mysterious  books  of  Thot  in  order  to 
transcribe  from  them  the  text  for  his  sepulchral  chamber,3  had  asked  the  magician 
Eidi  to  be  good  enough  to  procure  them  for  him;  but  the  latter  refused  the 
perilous  task  imposed  upon  him.  “ ‘ Sire,  my  lord,  it  is  not  I who  shall  bring 
them  to  thee.’  His  Majesty  asks  : ‘ Who,  then,  will  bring  them  to  me?  ’ Didi 
replies,  ‘ It  is  the  eldest  of  the  three  children  who  are  in  the  womb  of  Ruditdidit 
who  will  bring  them  to  thee.’  His  Majesty  says  : ‘ By  the  love  of  Ha  ! what  is 
this  that  thou  tellest  me  ; and  who  is  she, this  Ruditdidit?  ’ Didi  says  to  him  : 
‘ She  is  the  wife  of  a priest  of  Ra,  lord  of  Sakhibu.  She  carries  in  her  womb  three 
children  of  Ra,  lord  of  Sakhibu,  and  the  god  has  promised  to  her  that  they  shall 
fulfil  this  beneficent  office  in  this  whole  earth,4  and  that  the  eldest  shall  be 
the  high  priest  at  Heliopolis.’  His  Majesty,  his  heart  was  troubled  at  it,  but 
Didi  says  to  him  : ‘ What  are  these  thoughts,  sire,  my  lord  ? Is  it  because  of 
these  three  children  ? Then  I say  to  thee  : Thy  son,  his  son,  then  one  of  these.’”5 
The  good  king  Kheops  doubtless  tried  to  lay  his  hands  upon  this  threatening 
trio  at  the  moment  of  their  birth  ; but  Ra  had  anticipated  this,  and  saved  his 
offspring.  When  the  time  for  their  birth  drew  near,  the  Majesty  of  Ra,  lord 
of  Sakhibu,  gave  orders  to  Isis,  Nephthys,  Maskhonit,6  Hiquit,7  and  Khnumu: 

1 Sucli  is  the  tradition  accepted  by  Mauetho  (Unger’s  edition,  pp.  96,  97).  Lepsius  thinks  that 
the  copyists  of  Manetho  were  under  some  distracting  influence,  which  made  them  transfer  the  record 
of  the  origin  of  the  VIth  dynasty  to  the  Vth:  it  must  have  been  the  VIth  dynasty  which  was  Elephan- 
tine ( Konigsbuch  der  Alten  JEgyptcr,  pp.  20,  21).  I think  the  safest  plan  is  to  respect  the  text  of 
Manetho  until  we  know  more,  and  to  admit  that  lie  knew  of  a tradition  ascribing  the  origin  of  the 
Vth  dynasty  to  Elephantine. 

2 Erman,  Die  Marclien  des  Papyrus  Weslcar,  pi.  ix.  pp.  11-13;  Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires, 
2nd  edit.,  pp.  73-86. 

3 The  Great  Pyramid  is  mute,  but  we  find  in  other  pyramids  inscriptions  of  some  hundreds  of 
lines.  The  author  of  the  story,  who  knew  how  much  certain  kings  of  the  YI,h  dynasty  had  laboured 
to  have  extracts  of  the  sacred  books  engraved  within  their  tombs,  fancied,  no  doubt,  that  his  Kheops 
had  done  the  like,  but  had  not  succeeded  in  procuring  the  texts  in  question,  probably  on  account  of 
the  impiety  ascribed  to  him  by  the  legends.  It  was  one  of  the  methods  of  explaining  the  absence  of 
any  religious  or  funereal  inscription  in  the  Great  Pyramid. 

4 This  kind  of  circumlocution  is  employed  on  several  occasions  in  the  old  texts  to  designate 
royalty.  It  was  contrary  to  etiquette  to  mention  directly,  in  common  speech,  the  Pharaoh,  or  any- 
thing belonging  to  his  functions  or  his  family.  Cf.  pp.  263,  261  of  this  History. 

5 This  phrase  is  couched  in  oracular  form,  as  befitting  the  reply  of  a magician.  It  appears  to 
have  been  intended  to  reassure  the  king  in  affirming  that  the  advent  of  the  three  sons  of  Ra  would 
not  be  immediate:  his  son,  then  a son  of  this  son,  would  succeed  him  before  destiny  would  be 
accomplished,  and  one  of  these  divine  children  sujceed  to  the  throne  in  his  turn.  The  author  of  the 
story  took  no  notice  of  Dadufri  or  Shopsiskaf,  of  whose  reigns  little  was  known  in  his  time. 

0 See  pp.  81,  82  of  this  History  for  a notice  of  Maskhonit,  and  the  role  she  played  at  the  birth  of 
children. 

7 Hiquit  as  the  frog-goddess,  or  with  a frog’s  head  (Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia  Egizia,  pp. 
852-855),  was  one  of  the  mid  wives  who  is  present  at  the  birth  of  the  sun  every  morning.  Her  presenoe 
is,  therefore,  natural  in  the  case  of  the  spouse  about  to  give  birth  to  royal  sons  of  the  sun. 


THE  ROMANCE  OF  USIRKA  F,  SAHURI,  AND  KAKIU.  389 

“ Come,  make  haste  and  ran  to  deliver  Ruditdidit  of  these  three  children  which 
she  carries  in  her  womb  to  fulfil  that  beneficent  office  in  this  whole  earth, 
and  they  will  build  you  temples,  they  will  furnish  your  altars  with  offerings, 
they  will  supply  your  tables  with  libations,  and  they  will  increase  your  mort- 
main possessions.”  The  goddesses  disguised  themselves  as  dancers  and  itinerant 
musicians : Khnumu  assumed  the  character  of  servant  to  this  band  of  nautcffi 
girls  and  filled  the  bag  with  provisions,  and  they  all  then  proceeded  together  to 
knock  at  the  door  of  the  house  in  which  Ruditdidit  was  awaiting  her  delivery, 
The  earthly  husband  Rausir,  unconscious  of  the  honour  that  the  gods  had  in 
store  for  him,  introduced  them  to  the  presence  of  his  wife,  and  immediately 
three  male  children  were  brought  into  the  world  one  after  the  other.  Isis 
named  them,  Maskhonit  predicted  for  them  their  royal  fortune,  while  Khnumu 
infused  into  their  limbs  vigour  and  health  ; the  eldest  was  called  llsirkaf,  the 
second  Sahuri,  the  third  Kakifi.  Rausir  was  anxious  to  discharge  his  obliga- 
tion to  these  unknown  persons,  and  proposed  to  do  so  in  wheat,  as  if  they 
were  ordinary  mortals  : they  had  accepted  it  without  compunction,  and  were 
already  on  their  way  to  the  firmament,  when  Isis  recalled  them  to  a sense  of 
their  dignity,  and  commanded  them  to  store  the  honorarium  bestowed  upon 
them  in  one  of  the  chambers  of  the  house,  where  henceforth  prodigies  of  the 
strangest  character  never  ceased  to  manifest  themselves.  Every  time  one 
entered  the  place  a murmur  was  heard  of  singing,  music,  and  dancing,  while 
acclamations  such  as  those  with  which  kings  are  wont  to  be  received  gave  sure 
presage  of  the  destiny  which  awaited  the  newly  born.  The  manuscript  is 
mutilated,  and  we  do  not  know  how  the  prediction  was  fulfilled.  If  we  may 
trust  the  romance,  the  three  first  princes  of  the  Vth  dynasty  were  brothers, 
and  of  priestly  descent,  but  our  experience  of  similar  stories  does  not  encourage 
us  to  take  this  one  very  seriously  : did  not  such  tales  affirm  that  Kheops  and 
Khephren  were  brothers  also  ? 

The  Vth  dynasty  manifested  itself  in  every  respect  as  the  sequel  and  comple- 
ment of  the  IV'1'.1  It  reckons  nine  Pharaohs  after  the  three  which  tradition  made 

1 A list  is  appended  of  the  known  Pharaohs  of  the  Vth  dynasty,  restored  as  far  as  can  be,  with  the 


closest  approximate  dates  of  their  reigns : — 

From  the  Turin  Canon  and  the  Monuments.  From  Manetho. 

Psirkae  (3990-3962?) 28  Ousirkheres 28 

SahorI  (3961-3957  ?) 4 Sephres 13 

Kakiu  (3956-3954?) 2 ' 


Sen  (3945  3933?) 12  Neferkheres 20 

Shopsisker!  (3932-3922  ?) ? Sisires 7 

Akauhoru  (3921-3914  ?) 7 Kheres  ! 20 

• • • • A ? I 

CTsiuniri  Anu  (3900-3875?)  ....  25  Rathoures 44 

MenkauhorO  (3874-3866?)  ....  8 Menkheres 9 

Dadker!  Assi  (3865-3837  ?)  ....  28  Tankheres 44 

thus  (3834-3804?) 30  1 Obnos ' , . 33 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


300 


sons  of  the  god  Ra  himself  and  of  Ruditdidit.  They  reigned  for  a century  and 

a half;  fhe  majority  of  them  have 
left  monuments,  and  the  last  four, 
at  least,  tjsirniii  Ami,  Menkauhoru, 

# A 

Dadkeri  Assi,  and  Unas,  appear  to 
have  ruled  gloriously.  They  all 
built  pyramids,1  they  repaired  tem- 
ples and  founded  cities.2  The 
Bedouin  of  the  Sinaitic  peninsula 
gave  them  much  to  do.  Sahuri 
brought  these  nomads  to  reason, 
and  perpetuated  the  memory  of  his 
victories  by  a stele,  engraved  on 
the  face  of  one  of  the  rocks  in  the 
Wady  Magharah  ; Anu  obtained 
some  successes  over  tliem,and  Assi 
repulsed  them  in  the  fourth  year 
of  his  reign.3  On  the  whole,  they 
maintained  Egypt  in  the  position  of 
prosperity  and  splendour  to  which 
their  predecessors  had  raised  it. 

In  one  respect  thev  even  in- 

STATDE  IN  ROSE- COLOURED  GRANITE  OF  THE  THARAOH 

ANU,  IN  THE  gizeh  museum.4  creased  it.  Egypt  was  not  so  far 

1 It  is  pretty  generally  admitted,  but  without  convincing  proofs,  that  the  pyramids  of  Abusir  served 
as  tombs  for  the  Pharaohs  of  the  Vth  dynasty,  one  for  Sahuri  (Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  iii.,  plate  facing  pp. 
14,  35,  36  ; cf.  Lepsius,  Denim.,  ii.  39  g),  another  to  Tjsirniri  Anu  (Vyse,  Operations,  vol.  iii.,  plate  facing 
pp.  17,  24,  et  seq. ; J.  de  Morgan,  Dtcouverte  du  Mastaba  de  Ptali-Cliepses  dans  la  ndcropole  d’ Abusir, 
in  the  Revue  Archdologique,  3rd  series,  1894,  vol.  xxiv.  p.  33;  cf.  Lepsius , Ausicahl  der  Wiclitigsten 
Urlcunden,  pi.  vii.),  although  Wiedemann  considers  that  the  truncated  pyramid  of  Dahshur  was  the 
tomb  of  this  king.  I am  inclined  to  think  that  one  of  the  pyramids  of  Saqqara  was  constructed  by 
Assi ; the  pyramid  of  tlnas  was  opened  in  1S81,  and  the  results  made  known  by  Maspero,  Etudes  de 
Mytliologie  et  d’  Arclieologie,  vol.  i.  p.  150,  et  seq.,  and  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vols.  iv.  and  v.  The  names 
of  the  majority  of  the  pyramids  are  known  to  us  from  the  monuments  : that  of  Osirkaf  was  called  “ tlab- 
isitu  ” (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherclies  sur  les  monuments,  p.  80)  ; that  of  Sahuri,  “ Khabi  ” (id.,  p.  81) ; that 
of  Nofiririkeri,  “Bi”  (id.,  p.  85)  ; that  of  Anu,  “ Min-isuitu  ” (id.,p.  89);  that  of  Menkauhoru,  “Nutir- 
isuith  ” (id.,  p.  99) ; that  of  Assi,  “ Nutir  ” (id.,  p.  100) ; that  of  Dnas,  “ Nofir-isuitu  ” (id.,  p.  103). 

2 Pa-Sahuri  (Dumichen,  Geschichte  des  Alten  JEgyptens,  p.  61),  near  Esneh,  for  instance,  was 
built  by  Sahuri  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherclies  sur  les  monuments,  p.  93).  The  modern  name  of  the  village 
of  Sahoura  still  preserves,  on  the  same  spot,  without  the  inhabitants  suspecting  it,  the  name  of  the 
ancient  Pharaoh. 

3 Stelse  of  Sahuri  (Laborde,  Voyage  de  V Arable,  pi.  5,  No.  3;  Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  39  a;  Lottin 
de  Laval,  Voyage  dans  la  pduinsule  Arabique,  Ins.  Hie'r.,  pi.  2,  No.  2;  Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  172); 
of  tjsirniri  Anu  (Lepsius,  ii.  152  a ; Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  172);  of  Dadkeri  Assi  (Lepsius,  Denhm., 
ii.  pi.  xxxix.  d\  Birch,  Varia,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1869,  p.  29,  and  Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  172; 
Ebers,  Durch  Gosen  zum  Sinai,  p.  536) ; of  Menkauhorft,  with  the  date  of  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign 
(Lepsius,  Denlan.,  ii.  39  e;  Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  172);  all  of  them  are  found  scattered  in  the  Wady 
Magharah,  and  commemorate  the  petty  victories  obtained  over  the  Bedouin  of  the  neighbourhood. 

4 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugscli  (cf.  Grebaut,  Le  Musde  Egyptien,  pi.  x.). 


THE  RELATIONS  OF  EGYPT  TO  THE  PEOPLES  OF  THE  NORTH.  391 


TRIUMPHAL  BAS-RELIEF  OF  PHARAOH  SAHUR?,  ON  THE  ROCKS  OF  WADY  MAGHARAH.' 


isolated  from  the  vest  of  the  world  as  to  prevent  her  inhabitants  from  knowing, 
either  by  personal  contact  or  by  hearsay,  at  least  some  of  the  peoples  dwelling 
outside  Africa,  to  the  north  and  east.  They  knew  that  beyond  the  “ Very  Green,” 
almost  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  behind  which  the  sun  travelled  during 
the  night,  stretched  fertile  islands2  or  countries  and  nations  without  number, 
some  barbarous  or  semi-barbarous  others  as  civilized  as  they  were  themselves. 
They  cared  but  little  by  what,  names  they  were  known,  but  called  them  all 
by  a common  epithet,  the  Peoples  beyond  the  Seas,  “ Haui-nibu.”  3 If  they 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  the  water-colour  published  in  Lepsius,  Denlan.,  i.  pi.  8,  No.  2. 

3 The  “islands  of  the  Very  Green”  are  mentioned  under  the  XIIth  dynasty  by  the  Berlin 
Papyrus,  No.  1 (l.  211),  in  a set  formula,  which  was  certainly  worded  long  previous  to  that  period, 
and  which  in  its  earlier  form  seems  to  belong  to  the  times  of  the  Ancient  Empire. 

3 This  name  was  first  pointed  out  by  Champollion  and  Rosellini  ( Monumenti  Storici,  vol.  iii. 
pp.  1,  421-426),  who  applied  it  to  the  Greeks  in  the  tests  of  the  Ptolemaic  period,  and  who  read  it 
“ Yhnan,  Yfini,”  which  permitted  them  to  identify  it  with  the  Javan  of  the  Bible  and  the  Ionians  of 
Asia  Minor,  even  on  the  monuments  of  Thhtmosis  IV.  and  of  Seti  I.  Birch  ( Gallery  of  Antiquities , 
p.  89)  thought  that  it  denoted  “ all  the  peoples  of  the  North,”  and  soon  after  E.  de  Rouge'  ( Essai  sur 
l' Inscription  du  Tombeau  d’Ahmes,  pp.  43,  44)  gave  the  meaning  of  its  two  variants  as  being  “all  the 
Northerns  ” when  applied  to  the  Greek  people,  and  as  “ the  Northern  lords  ” when  applied  to  the 
Greek  kings.  At  the  instigation  of  Ernest  Curtius  ( Die  Joner  vor  der  Jonischen  Wanderung,  pp. 
10,  11,  48),  Lepsius,  reviving  the  hypothesis  of  the  earlier  Egyptologists,  strove  to  show  that  the 
name  designated  not  the  Greeks  in  general,  but  the  Ionians  of  Asia  Minor,  and  that  it  was  a daring 
transcription  of  the  word  TacWs  ( Ueber  den  Namen  der  loner  auf  den  AEgyptisclien  Denkmdlern,  in  the 
Monatsberichte  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  BerliD,  1855,  p.  497,  et  seq.),  but  Brugscli  ( Geogr . 
Inscliriften,  vol.  iii.  p.  47)  defined  it  as  “ a general  term  for  all  the  people  and  tribes  inhabiting  the 
large  and  small  islands  of  the  tfaz-fir — that  is  to  say,  the  Eastern  Mediterranean.”  The  now  accepted 
translation,  “the  People  from  Behind,”  appears  to  have  been  proposed  by  Chabas  ( Les  Papyrus 
liifratiques  de  Berlin,  p.  66,  note  1),  who  was  also  the  first  to  declare  unhesitatingly  that  “ from  the 
time  of  the  Ancient  Empire,  the  Egyptians  had  pushed  their  expeditions  far  afield,  and  were 
certainly  acquainted  with  a considerable  part  of  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean.  They  had  bound 
themselves  in  close  commerce  with  the  Hauebu,  among  whom  were  comprised  Europeans  ” (id.,  p.  58). 
The  formulae  of  the  pyramids  show  the  correctness  of  this  observation  : the  way  in  which  they  speak 
of  the  Hafii-nibft  proves  that  the  existence  of  these  peoples  was  already  known  long  before  the  time 
when  these  texts  were  worded  (Teti,  11.  274,  275;  Papi  I.,  11.  27,  28,  122;  Mirniri,  11.  38,  91,  142). 
Max  Muller  (Asien  und  Europa,  pp.  30,  31)  seems  inclined  to  think  that,  at  the  outset,  the  Hahi-nibu 
were  the  half  savage  hordes  who  peopled  the  marshes  of  the  Delta  on  the  Mediterranean  shores, 


392 


HIE  MEMPMTE  EMPIRE. 


travelled  in  person  to  collect  the  riches  which  were  offered  to  them  by  these 
peoples  in  exchange  for  the  products  of  the  Nile,  the  Egyptians  could  not  have 
been  the  unadventurous  and  home-loving  people  we  have  imagined.1  They 
willingly  left  their  own  towns  in  pursuit  of  fortune  or  adventure,  and  the 
sea  did  not  inspire  them  with  fear  or  religious  horror.  The  ships  which  they 
launched  upon  it  were  built  on  the  model  of  the  Nile  boats,  and  only  differed 
from  the  latter  in  details  which  would  now  pass  unnoticed.  The  hull,  which 
was  built  on  a curved  keel,  was  narrow,  had  a sharp  stem  and  stern,  was 
decked  from  end  to  end,  low  forward  and  much  raised  aft,  and  had  a long 
deck  cabin : the  steering  apparatus  consisted  of  one  or  two  large  stout  oars, 
each  supported  on  a forked  post  and  managed  by  a steersman.  It  had  one 
mast,  sometimes  composed  of  a single  tree,  sometimes  formed  of  a group 
of  smaller  masts  planted  at  a slight  distance  from  each  other,  but  united  at  the 
top  by  strong  ligatures  and  strengthened  at  intervals  by  crosspieces  which 
made  it  look  like  a ladder ; its  single  sail  was  bent  sometimes  to  one  yard, 
sometimes  to  two ; while  its  complement  consisted  of  some  fifty  men,  oars- 
men, sailors,  pilots,  and  passengers.  Such  were  the  ’ vessels  for  cruising  or 
pleasure ; the  merchant  ships  resembled  them,  but  they  were  of  heavier  build, 
of  greater  tonnage,  and  had  a higher  freeboard.  They  had  no  hold  ; the 
merchandise  had  to  remain  piled  up  on  deck,  leaving  only  just  enough  room 
for  the  working  of  the  vessel.2  They  nevertheless  succeeded  in  making 
lengthy  voyages,  and  in  transporting  troops  into  the  enemy’s  territory  from 
the  mouths  of  the  Nile  to  the  southern  coast  of  Syria.3  Inveterate  prejudice 
alone  could  prevent  us  from  admitting  that  the  Egyptians  of  the  Memphite 
period  went  to  the  ports  of  Asia  and  to  the  Haui-nibu  by  sea.  Some,  at  all 
events,  of  the  wood  required  for  building4  and  for  joiner’s  work  of  a civil  or 


1 Upon  this  stirring  and  adventurous  side  of  the  Egyptian  character,  disregarded  by  modern 
historians,  the  reader  may  consult  Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires  de  VAncienne  Egypte,  2nd  edit., 
p.  83,  et  seq. 

2 See  the  representations  of  ships  reproduced  in  Dumichen,  Die  Flolte  einer  AUgyptischen  Eonigin, 
pis.  xxv.-xxx.,  and  Ilistorisclie  Inschriften,  vol.  ii.  pis.  ix.-xi.  The  Egyptian  navy  has  been  studied 
in  general  by  B.  Glaser,  Ueber  das  Seewesen  der  Alten  AEgypter,  pp.  1-27  (in  Dumichen,  Resultate, 
vol.  i.),  and  under  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  by  Maspero,  De  quelques  navigations  des  Egyptiens  sur  ta 
mer  Erythrde  (in  the  Revue  Ilistorique,  1879):  the  results  of  this  latter  work  are  given  here  with  a 
few  modifications  which  a fresh  study  of  the  representations  of  Egyptian  ships  has  suggested 
to  me. 

3 Under  Papi  I.,  Uni  thus  conveys  by  sea  the  body  of  troops  destined  to  attack  the  Hirtl-Shaitu 
( Inscription  d'Uni,  11.  29,  30;  cf.  p.  421  of  this  History). 

4 Cedar-wood  must  have  been  continually  imported  into  Egypt.  It  is  mentioned  in  the  Pyramid 
texts  {'Unas,  11.  569-585;  Papi  I.,  1.  669;  Mirniri,  1.  779);  in  the  tomb  of  Ti,  and  in  the  other  tombs 
of  Saqqara  or  Gizeh,  workmen  are  represented  making  furniture  of  it  (Brugsch,  Die  AEgyptische 
Gidberwelt,  vol.  iii. , No.  124;  Loret,  La  Flore  pharaonique  d’apres  les  documents  lneroglyphiques, 
No.  52,  pp.  41,  42).  Chips  of  wood  from  the  coffins  of  the  VIth  dynasty,  detached  in  ancient  times 
and  found  in  several  mastabas  at  Saqqara,  have  been  pronounced  to  be,  some  cedar  of  Lebanon, 
others  a species  of  pine  which  still  grows  in  Cilicia  and  in  the  north  of  Syria. 


THE  SHIPPING  AND  MARITIME  COMMERCE  OF  THE  EGYPTIANS.  393 


funereal  character,  such  as  pine,  cypress  or  cedar,  was  brought  from  the 
forests  of  Lebanon  or  those  of  Amanus.  Beads  of  amber  are  still  found  near 

Abydos  in  the  tombs  of  the  oldest  necro- 
polis, and  we  may  well  ask  how  many 
hands  they  had  passed  through  before 
reaching  the  banks  of  the  Nile  from 
the  shores  of  the  Baltic.1 
The  tin  used  to  alloy  copper 
for  making  bronze,2  and 


PASSENGER  VESSEL  UNDER  SAIL.3 


perhaps  bronze  itself,  entered  doubtless  by  the  same  route  as  the  amber.4 
The  tribes  of  unknown  race  who  then  peopled  the  coasts  of  the  iEgean  Sea, 
were  amongst  the  latest  to  receive  these  metals,  and  they  transmitted  them 
either  directly  to  the  Egyptians  or  Asiatic  intermediaries,  who  carried  them 
to  the  Nile  Valley.  Asia  Minor  had,  moreover,  its  treasures  of  metal  as  well 
as  those  of  wood — copper,  lead,  and  iron,  which  certain  tribes  of  miners  and 


1 I have  picked  up  in  the  tombs  of  the  VIth  dynasty  at  Kom-es-Sultan,  and  in  the  part  of  the 
necropolis  of  Abydos  containing  the  tombs  of  the  XIth  and  XIIth  dynasties,  a number  of  amber 
beads,  most  of  which  were  very  small.  Mariette,  who  had  found  some  on  the  same  site,  and  who  had 
placed  them  in  the  Boulaq  Museum,  mistook  them  for  corroded  yellow  or  brown  glass  beads.  The 
electric  properties  which  they  still  possess  have  established  their  identity. 

2 I may  recall  the  fact  that  the  analysis  of  some  objects  discovered  at  Medhm  by  Professor  Petrie 
proved  that  they  were  made  of  bronze,  and  contained  9T  per  cent,  of  tin  (J.  H.  Gladstone,  On 
Metallic  Copper , Tin,  and  Antimony  from  Ancient  Egypt,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archxology,  1892,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  223-226)  : the  Egyptians,  therefore,  used  bronze  from  the  IVth  dynasty 
downwards,  side  by  side  with  pure  copper. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey : the  picture  is  taken  from 
one  of  the  walls  of  the  tomb  of  Api,  discovered  at  Saqqara,  and  now  preserved  in  the  Gizeh  Museum 
(VIth  dynasty).  The  man  standing  at  the  bow  is  the  fore-pilot,  whose  duty  it  is  to  take  soundings  of 
the  channel,  and  to  indicate  the  direction  of  the  vessel  to  the  pilot  aft,  who  works  the  rudder-oars. 

4 Salomon  Reinach,  L'Etain  celtique,  in  L' Anthropologie,  1892,  p.  280,  note  5 (cf.  the  Babylonian 
and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  vi.  p.  139,  note  1),  and  Le  Mirage  oriental  (taken  from  L’ Anthropologic, 
1891,  p.  29,  et  seq.),  where  opinions  are  expressed  analogous  to  those  I have  stated  in  tbe  text, 


304 


THE  HEM  PIUTE  EMPIRE. 


smiths  had  worked  from  the  earliest  times.  Caravans  plied  between  Egypt  and 
the  lands  of  Chaldaean  civilization,  crossing  Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  perhaps 
even  by  the  shortest  desert  route,  as  far  as  Ur  and  Babylon.  The  com- 
munications between  nation  and  nation  were  frequent  from  this  time  forward, 
and  very  productive,  but  tbeir  existence  and  importance  are  matters  of 
inference,  as  we  have  no  direct  evidence  of  them.  The  relations  with  these 
nations  continued  to  be  pacific,  and,  with  the  exception  of  Sinai,  Pharaoh  had 
no  desire  to  leave  the  Nile  Valley  and  take  long  journeys  to  pillage  or 
subjugate  countries  from  whence  came  so  much  treasure.  The  desert  and 
the  sea  which  protected  Egypt  on  the  north  and  east  from  Asiatic  cupidity, 
protected  Asia  with  equal  security  from  the  greed  of  Egypt. 

On  the  other  hand,  towards  the  south,  the  Nile  afforded  an  easy  means 
of  access  to  those  who  wished  to  penetrate  into  the  heart  of  Africa.  The 
Egyptians  had,  at  the  outset,  possessed  only  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
valley,  from  the  sea  to  the  narrow  pass  of  Silsileh ; they  had  then  advanced 
as  far  as  the  first  cataract,  and  Syene  for  some  time  marked  the  extreme  limit 
of  their  empire.1  At  what  period  did  they  cross  this  second  frontier  and 
resume  their  march  southwards,  as  if  again  to  seek  the  cradle  of  their  race  ? 
They  had  approached  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  great  bend  described  by  the 
river  near  the  present  village  of  Korosko,2  but  the  territory  thus  conquered 
had,  under  the  Vth  dynasty,  not  as  yet  either  name  or  separate  organization  : 
it  was  a dependency  of  the  fiefdom  of  Elephantine,  and  was  under  the  imme- 
diate authority  of  its  princes.  Those  natives  who  dwelt  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  appear  to  have  offered  but  a slight  resistance  to  the  invaders  : the 
desert  tribes  proved  more  difficult  to  conquer.  The  Nile  divided  them  into 

A 

two  distinct  bodies.  On  the  right  side,  the  confederation  of  the  Uauaiu  spread 
in  the  direction  of  the  Bed  Sea,  from  the  district  around  Ombos  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Korosko,  in  the  valleys  now  occupied  by  the  Ababdehs : 3 
it  was  bounded  on  the  south  by  the  Mazaiu  tribes,  from  whom  our  con- 
temporary Maazeh  have  probably  descended.4  The  Amamiu  were  settled  on 


1 See  pp.  44, 45,  and  74  of  this  History  for  information  on  the  early  frontiers  of  Egypt  to  the  south. 

2 This  appears  to  follow  from  a passage  in  the  inscription  of  Uni.  This  minister  was  raising 
troops  and  exacting  wood  for  building  among  the  desert  tribes  whose  territories  adjoined  at  this  part 
of  the  valley:  the  manner  in  which  the  requisitions  were  effected  (11.  15,  1G,  18,  45-47)  shows  that 
it  was  not  a question  of  a new  exaction,  but  a familiar  operation,  and  consequently  that  the  peoples 
mentioned  had  been  under  regular  treaty  obligations  to  the  Egyptians,  at  least  for  some  time 
previously. 

3 The  position  of  the  tJauaiu  was  correctly  determined  by  Brugsch  (Die  Negerstiimme  der  Una 
Inschri/t,  in  the  Zeilsclirift,  1882,  p.  31).  Their  name  was  assimilated  by  the  Egyptians  to  the  root 
uaua,  to  cry,  to  scream,  and  denoted  the  baivlers,  the  screamers;  and  later,  the  people  who  cry,  who 
conspire  against  Horus  the  younger,  and  who  support  Sit,  the  murderer  of  Osiris. 

' The  Mazaiu,  from  information  furnished  by  the  inscriptions  of  Vni  and  Hirkhftf,  are  contiguous 
on  the  north  with  the  tJauaifi.  They  had  relations  with  Pvtanit,  and  their  country  was  that  encountered 


NUBIA  AND  ITS  TRIBES:  TEE  JJAJJA1U  AND  TEE  MAZAIU.  395 


the  left  bank  opposite  to  the  Mazaiu,  and  the  country  of  Iritit  lay  facing  the 
territory  of  the  U auaiu.1  None  of  these  barbarous  peoples  were  subject  to  Egypt, 
but  they  all  acknowledged  its  suzerainty, — a somewhat  dubious  one,  indeed, 
analogous  to  that  exercised 
over  their  descendants  by 
the  Khedives  of  to-day. 

The  desert  does  not  furnish 
them  with  the  means  of 
subsistence  : the  scanty  pas- 
turages of  their  wadys  sup- 
port a few  flocks  of  sheep 
and  asses,  and  still  fewer 
oxen,  but  the  patches  of 
cultivation  which  they  at- 
tempt in  the  neighbourhood 
of  springs,  yields  only  a poor 
produce  of  vegetables  or 
dourah.2  They  would  lite- 
rally die  of  starvation  were 
they  not  able  to  have  access 
to  the  banks  of  the  Nile  for 
provisions.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  a great  tempta- 
tion to  them  to  fall  unawares 
on  villages  or  isolated  habi- 

, . . ,n  , i ■ , c NUBIA  IN  THE  TIME  OF  THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 

tations  on  the  outskirts  ot 

the  fertile  lands,  and  to  carry  off  cattle,  grain,  and  male  and  female  slaves  ; 
they  would  almost  always  have  time  to  reach  the  mountains  again  with  their 
spoil  and  to  protect  themselves  there  from  pursuit,  before  even  the  news  of 
the  attack  could  reach  the  nearest  police  station.  Under  treaties  concluded 


by  the  sun  in  his  course  along  this  region  (Brugsch,  Die  Negerstdmme  der  Una  Inschrift , in  the 
Zeitschrift,  1882,  p.  35) ; like  the  tlauaiu,  they  bordered  the  coast  of  the  Bed  Sea  (Brugsch,  Die  Alt- 
segyptische  Volkertafel,  in  the  Abliandlungen  des  5,e"  Internationalen  Orientalist en- Congresses,  vol.  ii. 
p.  61),  and  it  is  possible  that  the  town  of  Massowah  still  preserves  their  name. 

1 As  to  the  position  of  these  peoples,  see  Maspero,  Sur  le  Pays  de  Situ,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux, 
vol.  xv.  p.  104.  The  tlauaiu,  the  Mazaiu,  the  tribes  of  the  Amanitt  and  the  Iritit,  finally  became  so 
blent  in  the  Egyptian  mind,  that  they  were  called  in  the  time  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  “ the  four  foreign 
peoples”  ( Inscription  d’ Amoni-Amenemhd.it  a Beni-Hassan,  1.  2). 

2 The  account  of  a raid  made  by  flsirtasen  III.  describes  these  countries  (Lefsius,  Denlcm.,  ii. 
126  h,  11.  14-16) : “ I took  their  women,  I brought  away  their  slaves,  seizing  their  wells,  harrying 
their  oxen,  destroying  and  setting  fire  to  their  harvests.”  One  of  the  princes  of  the  Amami  gave 
asses  to  Hirkhuf  for  his  caravan  (Schiaparelli,  Una  tomba  Egiziana  inedita  della  VI"  dinastia} 
p.  23). 


30  6 


TI7E  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


with  the  authorities  of  the  country,  they  are  permitted  to  descend  into  the 
plain  in  order  to  exchange  peaceably  for  corn  and  dourah,  the  acacia-wood 
of  their  forests,  the  charcoal  that  they  make,  gums,  game,  skins  of  animals, 
and  the  gold  and  precious  stones  which  they  get  from  their  mines : they  agree 
in  return  to  refrain  from  any  act  of  plunder,  and  to  constitute  a desert  police, 
provided  that  they  receive  a regular  pay.  The  same  arrangement  existed 
in  ancient  times.1  The  tribes  hired  themselves  out  to  Pharaoh.  They  brought 
him  beams  of  “ sont  ” at  the  first  demand,  when  he  was  in  need  of  materials 
to  build  a fleet  beyond  the  first  cataract.2  They  provided  him  with  bands 
of  men  ready  armed,  when  a campaign  against  the  Libyans  or  the  Asiatic 
tribes  forced  him  to  seek  recruits  for  his  armies : 3 the  Mazaiu  entered 
the  Egyptian  service  in  such  numbers,  that  their  name  served  to  designate 
the  soldiery  in  general,  just  as  in  Cairo  porters  and  night  watchmen  are  all 
called  Berberines.4  Among  these  people  respect  for  their  oath  of  fealty 
yielded  sometimes  to  their  natural  disposition,  and  they  allowed  themselves 
to  be  carried  away  to  plunder  the  principalities  which  they  had  agreed  to 
defend:  the  colonists  in  Nubia  were  often  obliged  to  complain  of  their 
exactions.  When  these  exceeded  all  limits,  and  it  became  impossible  to  wink 
at  their  misdoings  any  longer,  light-armed  troops  were  sent  against  them,  who 
quickly  brought  them  to  reason.  As  at  Sinai,  these  were  easy  victories. 
They  recovered  in  one  expedition  what  the  Uauaiu  had  stolen  in  ten,  both  in 
flocks  and  fellahin,  and  the  successful  general  perpetuated  the  memory  of  his 
exploits  by  inscribing,  as  he  returned,  the  name  of  Pharaoh  on  some  rock 
at  Syene  or  Elephantine  : we  may  surmise  that  it  was  after  this  fashion  that 

A § A 

Usirkaf,  Nofiririkeri,  and  Unas  carried  on  the  wars  in  Nubia.5  Their  armies 
probably  never  went  beyond  the  second  cataract,  if  they  even  reached  so 
far  : further  south  the  country  was  only  known  by  the  accounts  of  the  natives 
or  by  the  few  merchants  who  had  made  their  way  into  it.  Beyond  the 
Mazaiu,  but  still  between  the  Nile  and  the  Bed  Sea,  lay  the  country  of  Puanit, 
rich  in  ivory,  ebony,  gold,  metals,  gums,  and  sweet-smelling  resins.6  When 

1 See  on  this  subject,  Du  Boys-Ayme,  Me' moires  sur  les  Tribus  arabes  des  deserts  de  V Egypte,  in  the 
Description  de  VEqypte,  vol.  xii.  pp.  330,  332  ; and  Memoir e sur  la  ville  de  Gore’ll r,  in  the  Description  de 
V Eg’JPte,  vol.  xi.  pp.^389,  390. 

2 Inscription  of  Uni,  11.  46,  47.  On  the  acacia,  sont,  see  note  4,  p.  30,  of  this  History. 

3 Inscription  of  Uni,  11.  15,  16,  18,  where  the  methods  of  recruiting  are  indicated;  cf.  pp. 
419,  420. 

4 The  word  Mati,  Matoi,  which  in  Coptic  signifies  merely  “soldier,”  is  a regularly  derived  form 
of  the  name  of  the  tribe  Mazai,  in  the  plural  Mazaiu  (Brtjgsch,  Dictionnaire  Ui^roglyphique, 
p.  631). 

5 Yotive  tablets  of  Usirkaf  (Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  liv.  e),  of  Nofiririkeri  (id., 
pi.  liv./),  and  of  Unas  (Petrie,  A Season  in  Egypt,  p.  7,  and  pi.  xii.,  No.  212)  in  the  island  of 
Elephantine. 

6 Puanit  was  the  country  situated  between  the  Nile  and  the  Red  Sea  (Kralt,  Das  Land  Punt,  in 


397 


PUANIT,  tee  dwarfs  and  the  danoa. 

some  Egyptian,  bolder  than  his  fellows,  ventured  to  travel  thither,  he  could 
choose  one  of  several  routes  for  approaching  it  by  land  or  sea.  The  navigation 
of  the  Red  Sea  was,  indeed,  far  more  frequent  than  is  usually  believed,  and 
the  same  kind  of  vessels  in  which  the  Egyptians  coasted  along  the  Mediter- 
ranean, conveyed  them,  by  fol- 
lowing the  coast  of  Africa,  as 
far  as  the  Straits  of  Bab-el- 
Mandeb.1  They  preferred,  how- 
ever, to  reach  it  by  land,  and 
they  returned  with  caravans  of 
heavily  laden  asses  and  slaves.2 
All  that  lay  beyond  Puanit  was 
held  to  be  a fabulous  region,  a 
kind  of  intermediate  boundary 
land  between  the  world  of  men 
and  that  of  the  gods,  the  “ Island 
of  the  Double,”  “Land  of  the 
Shades,”  where  the  living  came 
into  close  contact  with  the  souls 
of  the  departed.  It  was  in- 
habited by  the  Dangas,  tribes  head  of  an  inhabitant  of  puanit.3 

of  half-savage  dwarfs,  whose 

grotesque  faces  and  wild  gestures  reminded  the  Egyptians  of  the  god  Bisu 
[Bes].4  The  chances  of  war  or  trade  brought  some  of  them  from  time  to  time 
to  Puanit,  or  among  the  Amarniu  : the  merchant  who  succeeded  in  acquiring 
and  bringing  them  to  Egypt  had  his  fortune  made.  Pharaoh  valued  the 
Dangas  highly,  and  was  anxious  to  have  some  of  them  at  any  price  among 

the  Sitzungsleriehte  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Vienna,  vol.  exxi.  p.  75),  from  a line  drawn  between 
Suakim  and  Berber  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains  of  Abyssinia;  the  name  was  afterwards  extended 
to  all  the  coast  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  to  Somali-land,  possibly  even  to  a part  of  Arabia.  In  the  XIIth 
dynasty  it  was  reckoned  only  two  months  of  navigation  from  the  “Island  of  the  Double” — a 
fabulous  country  situated  beyond  Puanit — to  Egypt  (Maspero,  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  pp. 
144,  145). 

1 Cf.  the  voyage  of  Papinakhiti  on  the  Red  Sea,  on  pp.  433,  434  of  this  History. 

2 The  expeditions,  for  instance,  of  Hirkhuf  to  the  Amami  and  Iritit,  in  the  time  of  the  VIth 
dynasty  (Schiaparelli,  Una  Tomba  Egiziana  inedita,  pp.  18,  et  seq.),  and  that  of  Biurdidi  to  Puanit, 
in  the  Vth  {ibid.,  pp.  20,  22).  It  was  from  Puanit,  doubtless,  that  the  Nahsi— the  “black” — came, 
who  is  represented  on  a tomb  (Lepsius,  Denhm.,  ii.  23). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Professor  Petrie.  This  head  was  taken 
from  the  bas-relief  at  Karnak,  on  which  the  Pharaoh  Harmhabi  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  recorded 
his  victories  over  the  peoples  of  the  south  of  Egypt  (Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  88,  and 
p.  27). 

* The  part  played  by  the  Danga  was  first  brought  to  light  by  Schiaparelli,  Una  Tomba  Egiziana, 
p.  30,  et  seq. ; cf.  Erman,  in  the  Zeitscliri/t  d.  D.  Morgen.  Gesell.,  vol.  xlvi.  p.  579,  and  Maspero, 
Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Arclitologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  429,  et  seq. 


HEAD  OF  AN  INHABITANT  OF  PUANIT.3 


THE  MEMP1UTE  EMPIRE. 


398 

the  dwarfs  with  whom  he  loved  to  be  surrounded  ; none  knew  better  than 
they  the  dance  of  the  god — that  to  which  Bisu  unrestrainedly  gave  way 
in  his  merry  moments.  Towards  the  end  of  his  reign  Assi  procured  one 
which  a certain  Biurdidi  had  purchased  in  Puanit.1  Was  this  the  first  which 
had  made  its  appearance  at  court,  or  had  others  preceded  it  in  the  good 
graces  of  the  Pharaohs  ? Ilis  wildness  and  activity,  and  the  extraordinary 
positions  which  he  assumed,  made  a lively  impression  upon  the  courtiers 
of  the  time,  and  nearly  a century  later  there  were  still  reminiscences  of 
him. 

A great  official  born  in  the  time  of  Shopsiskaf,  and  living  on  to  a great  age 
into  the  reign  of  Nofirirkeri,  is  described  on  his  tomb  as  the  “ Scribe  of  the  House 
of  Books.”  2 This  simple  designation,  occurring  incidentally  among  two  higher 
titles,  would  have  been  sufficient  in  itself  to  indicate  the  extraordinary  develop- 
ment which  Egyptian  civilization  had  attained  at  this  time.  The  “ House  of 
Books  ” was  doubtless,  in  the  first  place,  a depository  of  official  documents,  such 
as  the  registers  of  the  survey  and  taxes,  the  correspondence  between  the  court 
and  the  provincial  governors  or  feudal  lords,  deeds  of  gift  to  temples  or 
individuals,  and  all  kinds  of  papers  required  in  the  administration  of  the  State. 
It  contained  also,  however,  literary  works,  many  of  which  even  at  this  early 
date  were  already  old,  prayers  drawn  up  during  the  first  dynasties,  devout 
poetry  belonging  to  times  before  the  misty  personage  called  Mini — hymns 
to  the  gods  of  light,  formulae  of  black  magic,  collections  of  mystical  works, 
such  as  the  “ Book  of  the  Head  ” 3 and  the  “ Ritual  of  the  Tomb  ; ” 4 scientific 
treatises  on  medicine,  geometry,  mathematics,  and  astronomy  ; 5 manuals  of 
practical  morals ; and  lastly,  romances,  or  those  marvellous  stories  which  pre- 
ceded the  romance  among  Oriental  peoples.6  All  these,  if  we  had  them,  would 
form  “a  library  much  more  precious  to  us  than  that  of  Alexandria;” 

1 Schiaparelli,  Una  Tomba  Egiziana  inedita  della  VI"  dinastia,  pp.  20,  22. 

2 Lkpsius,  Denltm.,  ii.  50  ; cf.  E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  monuments,  pp.  73,  74. 

3 The  “ Book  of  the  Dead  ” must  have  existed  from  prehistoric  times,  certain  chapters  excepted, 
Whose  relatively  modern  origin  has  been  indicated  by  those  who  ascribe  the  editing  of  the  work 
to  the  time  of  the  first  human  dynasties  (Maspero,  Etudes  sur  la  Mythologie,  etc.,  vol.  i.  pp. 
307,  309). 

4 This  is  the  designation  I assign,  until  the  Egyptian  name  is  discovered,  to  the  collection  of  texts 
engraved  in  the  Royal  Pyramids  of  the  Vth  and  VIth  dynasties. 

5 Cf.  on  pp.  238,  239  of  this  History  the  account  of  the  works  attributed  in  legends  to  the  kings 
of  the  first  human  dynasties,  the  books  on  anatomy  of  Athotliis  (Manetho,  Unger’s  edition, 
p.  78),  the  book  of  Husapaiti,  inserted,  as  chap,  lxiv.,  in  the  “ Book  of  the  Dead  ” (Lepsius,  Todttn- 
buck,  Preface,  p.  11  ; Goodwin,  On  a text  of  the  Boole  of  the  Bead,  belonging  to  the  Old  Kingdom, 
in  the  Zeitschrift,  1866,  pp.  55,  56),  and  the  book  of  Kheops  (Manetho,  Unger’s  edition,  p.  91; 
Berthelot,  Collections  dcs  Anciens  Alchimistes  grecs,  vol.  i.  pp.  211-214;  cf,  p.  380,  note  4,  of  this 
History). 

6 A fragment  of  a story,  preserved  in  the  Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  3 (Lepsius,  Denhm.,  vi.  112,  11. 
156-194),  dates  back,  perhaps,  to  the  Ancient  Empire  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp. 
73-80). 


EGYPTIAN  LITERATURE. 


399 


unfortunately  up  to  the  present  we  have  been  able  to  collect  only  insignificant 
remains  of  such  rich  stores.1  In  the  tombs  have  been  found  here  and  there 
fragments  of  popular  songs.2  The  pyramids  have  furnished  almost  intact  a 
ritual  of  the  dead  which  is  distinguished  by  its  verbosity,  its  numerous  pious 
platitudes,  and  obscure  allusions  to  things  of  the  other  world  ; but,  among  all 
this  trash,  are  certain  portions  full  of  movement  and  savage  vigour,  in  which 
poetic  glow  and  religious  emotion  reveal  their  presence  in  a mass  of 
mythological  phraseology.  In  the  Berlin  Papyrus  we  may  read  the  end 
of  a philosophic  dialogue  between  an  Egyptian  and  his  soul,  in  which  the 
latter  applies  himself  to  show  that  death  has  nothing  terrifying  to  man. 
“ I say  to  myself  every  day : As  is  the  convalescence  of  a sick  person, 
who  goes  to  the  court  after  his  affliction,  such  is  death.  ...  I say  to  myself 
every  day  : As  is  the  inhaling  of  the  scent  of  a perfume,  as  a seat  under 
the  protection  of  an  outstretched  curtain,  on  that  day,  such  is  death.  . . . 
I say  to  myself  every  day  : As  the  inhaling  of  the  odour  of  a garden  of 
flowers,  as  a seat  upon  the  mountain  of  the  Country  of  Intoxication,  such 
is  death.  ...  I say  to  myself  every  day:  As  a road  which  passes  over 
the  flood  of  inundation,  as  a man  who  goes  as  a soldier  whom  nothiug 
resists,  such  is  death.  ...  I say  to  myself  every  day  : As  the  clearing 
again  of  the  sky,  as  a man  who  goes  out  to  catch  birds  with  a net,  and 
suddenly  finds  himself  in  an  unknown  district,  such  is  death.”3  Another 
papyrus,  presented  by  Prisse  d’Avennes  to  the  Biblioiheque  Rationale,  Paris, 
contains  the  only  complete  work  of  their  primitive  wisdom  which  has  come 
down  to  us.4  It  was  certainly  transcribed  before  the  XVIIIth  dynasty,  and 
contains  the  works  of  two  classic  writers,  one  of  whom  is  assumed  to  have 
lived  under  the  IIIrd  and  the  other  under  the  Vth  dynasty  ; it  is  not  without 
reason,  therefore,  that  it  has  been  called  “ the  oldest  book  in  the  world.”  The 
first  leaves  are  wanting,  and  the  portion  preserved  has,  towards  its  end,  the 

1 E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  Its  monuments,  p.  73. 

2 Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  73,  74,  81-85,  89 ; cf.  pp.  339-341  of  this 
History. 

3 Lepsius,  Deuhm.,  \ i.  112,  11.  130-140.  The  translation  given  in  the  text  is  not  literal:  it  is 
a paraphrase  of  the  Egyptian  original,  which  is  too  concise  to  be  easily  understood. 

4 It  was  published  at  Paris  in  1847  by  Prisse  d’Avennes,  Facsimile  d’un  Papyrus  Egyptien  en 
caracteres  hitratiques  trouvd  a Thebes,  afterwards  analyzed  by  Chabas,  Le  plus  ancien  Livre  du  monde, 
Etude  sur  le  Papyrus  Prisse  (in  the  Revue  Arclidologique,  1st  series,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  1-25).  It  was  trans- 
lated into  Euglish  by  Heatu,  A Record  of  the  Patriarchal  Age,  or  the  Proverbs  of  Aphobis ; into 
German  by  Lauth,  I.  l)er  Autor  Kadjimna  vor  5J/.00  Jahren  ; II.  Ueber  Chufu’s  Bau  und  Buck  ; III, 
Der  Prinz  Ptahhotep  ueber  das  Alter,  de  Senectute,  in  the  Sitzungsberichte  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences 
of  Munich,  1869,  vol.  ii.  pp.  530,  579;  1870,  vol.  i.  pp.  245-274,  and  vol.  ii.,  Beilage,  pp.  1-140;  into 
French  by  Virey,  Etudes  sur  le  Papyrus  Prisse  : le  Livre  de  Kaqimna  et  les  legons  de  Ptahhotep.  Mr. 
Griffith  has  recently  discovered  in  the  British  M useum  fragments  of  a second  manuscript,  in  later 
handwriting,  which  contains  numerous  portions  of  the  Proverbs  of  Phtahhotph  ( Notes  on  Egyptian 
Texts  of  the  Middle  Kingdom,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  xiii.  pp. 
72-76,  145-147). 


400 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


beginning  of  a moral  treatise  attributed  to  Qaqimni,  a contemporary  of  Huui. 
Then  followed  a work  now  lost:  one  of  the  ancient  possessors  of  the  papyrus 
having  effaced  it  with  the  view  of  substituting  for  it  another  piece,  which  was 
never  transcribed.  The  last  fifteen  pages  are  occupied  by  a kind  of  pamphlet, 
which  has  had  a considerable  reputation,  under  the  name  of  the  “ Proverbs  of 
Phtahhotpu.” 

This  Phtahhotpu,  a king’s  son,  flourished  under  Menkauhoru  and  Assi : his 
tomb  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  necropolis  of  Saqqara.1 2  He  had  sufficient 
reputation  to  permit  the  ascription  to  him,  without  violence  to  probability,  of 
the  editing  of  a collection  of  political  and  moral  maxims  which  indicate  a 
profound  knowledge  of  the  court  and  of  men  generally.  It  is  supposed  that  he 
presented  himself,  in  his  declining  years,  before  the  Pharaoh  Assi,  exhibited  to 
him  the  piteous  state  to  which  old  age  had  reduced  him,  and  asked  authority  to 
hand  down  for  the  benefit  of  posterity  the  treasures  of  wisdom  which  he  had 
stored  up  in  his  long  career.  The  nomarch  Phtahhotpu  says:  Sire,  my  lord, 

when  age  is  at  that  point,  and  decrepitude  has  arrived,  debility  comes  and 
a second  infancy,  upon  which  misery  falls  heavily  every  day  : the  eyes  become 
smaller,  the  ears  narrower,  strength  is  worn  out  while  the  heart  continues  to 
beat ; the  mouth  is  silent  and  speaks  no  more  ; the  heart  becomes  darkened 
and  no  longer  remembers  yesterday ; the  bones  become  painful,  everything 
which  was  good  becomes  bad,  taste  vanishes  entirely ; old  age  renders  a man 
miserable  in  every  respect,  for  his  nostrils  close  up,  and  he  breathes  no  longer, 
whether  he  rises  up  or  sits  down.  If  the  humble  servant  who  is  in  thy  presence 
receives  an  order  to  enter  on  a discourse  befitting  an  old  man,  then  I will  tell 
to  thee  the  language  of  those  who  know  the  history  of  the  past,  of  those  who 
have  heard  the  gods  ; for  if  thou  conductest  thyself  like  them,  discontent  shall 
disappear  from  among  men,  and  the  two  lands  shall  work  for  thee ! ’ The 
majesty  of  this  god  says : ‘ Instruct  me  in  the  language  of  old  times,  for  it 
will  work  a wonder  for  the  children  of  the  nobles ; whosoever  enters  and  under- 
stands it,  his  heart  weighs  carefully  what  it  says,  and  it  does  not  produce 
satiety.’  ” 3 We  must  not  expect  to  find  in  this  work  any  great  profundity  of 
thought.  Clever  analyses,  subtle  discussions,  metaphysical  abstractions,  were 
not  in  fashion  in  the  time  of  Phtahhotpu.  Actual  facts  were  preferred  to 
speculative  fancies : man  himself  was  the  subject  of  observation,  his  passions, 
his  habits,  his  temptations  and  his  defects,  not  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a 

1 He  calls  himself  son  of  a king  (pi.  v.  11.  G,  7);  he  addresses  his  work  to  Assi  (pi.  iv.  1.  1),  and 
the  name  of  Menkauhoru  is  found  in  his  tomb  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  Monuments,  p.  99  j 
Uujiichen,  Resultate,  vol.  i.  pis.  viii.-xv. ; E.  Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  pp.  350-356). 

2 Assi  is  thus  indicated  according  to  the  usual  etiquette  ; cf.  p.  258  of  this  History. 

8 Prisse  Papyrus  pi.  iv.  1,  2;  pi.  v.  1.  6;  cf.  Vikey,  Etudes  sur  le  Papyrus  Prisse,  pp.  27-32. 


THE  PROVERBS  OF  PTAHHOTPU. 


401 


system  therefrom,  but  in  the  hope  of  reforming  the  imperfections  of  his  nature 
and  of  pointing  out  to  him  the  road  to  fortune.  Ptahhotpu,  therefore,  does  not 
show  much  invention  or  make  deductions.  He  writes  down  his  reflections  just 
as  they  occur  to  him,  without  formulating  them  or  drawing  any  conclusion 
from  them  as  a whole.  Knowledge  is  indispensable  to  getting  on  in  the  world  ; 
hence  he  recommends  knowledge.1  Gentleness  to  subordinates  is  politic,  and 
shows  good  education ; hence  he  praises  gentleness.2  He  mingles  advice 
throughout  on  the  behaviour  to  be  observed  in  the  various  circumstances  of 
life,  on  being  introduced  into  the  presence  of  a haughty  and  choleric  man,3  on 
entering  society,  on  the  occasion  of  dining  with  a dignitary,1  on  being  married. 
“ If  thou  art  wise,  thou  wilt  go  up  into  thine  house,  and  love  thy  wife  at  home ; 
thou  wilt  give  her  abundance  of  food,  thou  wilt  clothe  her  back  with  garments ; 
all  that  covers  her  limbs,  her  perfumes,  is  the  joy  of  her  life;  as  long  as  thou 
lookest  to  this,  she  is  as  a profitable  field  to  her  master.”5  To  analyse  such  a work 
in  detail  is  impossible : it  is  still  more  impossible  to  translate  the  whole  of  it. 
The  nature  of  the  subject,  the  strangeness  of  certain  precepts,  the  character  of 
the  style,  all  tend  to  disconcert  the  reader  and  to  mislead  him  in  his  interpreta- 
tions. From  the  very  earliest  times  ethics  has  been  considered  as  a healthy 
and  praiseworthy  subject  in  itself,  but  so  hackneyed  was  it,  that  a change  in  the 
mode  of  expressing  it  could  alone  give  it  freshness.  Ptahhotpu  is  a victim  to 
the  exigencies  of  the  style  he  adopted.  Others  before  him  had  given  utterance 
to  the  truths  he  wished  to  convey  : he  was  obliged  to  clothe  them  in  a startling 
and  interesting  form  to  arrest  the  attention  of  his  readers.  In  some  places  he 
has  expressed  his  thought  with  such  subtlety,  that  the  meaning  is  lost  in  the 
jingle  of  the  words. 

The  art  of  the  Memphite  dynasties  has  suffered  as  much  as  the  literature 
from  the  hand  of  time,  but  in  the  case  of  the  former  the  fragments  are  at  least 
numerous  and  accessible  to  all.  The  kings  of  this  period  erected  temples  in 
their  cities,  and,  not  to  speak  of  the  chapel  of  the  Sphinx,  we  find  in  the  remains 
still  existing  of  these  buildings6  chambers  of  granite,  alabaster  and  limestone, 
covered  with  religious  scenes  like  those  of  more  recent  periods,  although  in 
some  cases  the  walls  are  left  bare.  Their  public  buildings  have  all,  or  nearly 

1 Prisse  Papyrus,  pi.  xv.  1.  8 ; pi.  xvi.  1.  1 ; cf.  Virey,  Etudes  sur  le  Papyrus  Prisse,  pp.  91-95. 

2 Idem,  pi.  vi.  1.  3,  p.  10  ; pi.  vii.  11.  5-7;  cf.  Virey,  op.  cit.,  pp.  39-41,  45-47. 

3 Idem,  pi.  v.  1.  10;  pi.  vi.  1.  3;  pi.  viii.  11.  7-9,  etc. ; cf.  Virey,  op.  cit.,  pp.  35-38,  47-49. 

4 Idem,  pi.  vi.  1.  11;  pi.  vii.  1.  3;  pi.  xiv.  1.  6;  cf.  Virey,  op.  cit.,  pp.  41-44,  85-87.  See  also 
pi.  i.  1.  3,  et  seq.,  and  Virey,  op.  cit.,  p.  16,  et  seq. 

5 Idem,  pi.  x.  11.  8-10 ; cf.  Virey,  op.  cit.,  pp.  67,  68. 

6 I discovered  in  the  masonry  of  one  of  the  pyramids  of  Lisht,  the  remains  of  a temple  built  by 
Khephren  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Hytliologie  et  d’Arch&ulogie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  148,  149) ; and 
Naville  drew  attention  to  the  fragments  of  another  temple,  decorated  by  the  same  king  and  his  pre- 
decessor Kheops,  at  Bubastis  (Naville,  Bubastis,  pi.  xxxii.  a -b,  pp.  3,  5,  6,  10). 

2 D 


402 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


all,  perished  ; breaches  have  been  made  in  them  by  invading  armies  or  by  civil 
wars,  and  they  have  been  altered,  enlarged,  and  restored  scores  of  times  in  the 
course  of  ages  ; but  the  tombs  of  the  old  kings  remain,  and  afford  proof  of  the 
skill  and  perseverance  exhibited  by  the  architects  in  devising  and  carrying  out 
their  plans.1  Many  of  the  mastabas  occurring  at  intervals  between  Gizeh  and 
Medum  have,  indeed,  been  hastily  and  carelessly  built,  as  if  by  those  who  were 
anxious  to  get  them  finished,  or  who  had  an  eye  to  economy  ; we  may  observe  in 
all  of  them  neglect  and  imperfection, — all  the  trade-tricks  which  an  unscrupulous 
jerry-builder  then,  as  now,  could  be  guilty  of,  in  order  to  keep  down  the  net 
cost  and  satisfy  the  natural  parsimony  of  his  patrons  without  lessening  his  own 
profits.2  Where,  however,  the  master-mason  has  not  been  hampered  by  being 
forced  to  work  quickly  or  cheaply,  he  displays  his  conscientiousness,  and  the 
choice  of  materials,  the  regularity  of  the  courses,  and  the  homogeneousness  of 
the  building  leave  nothing  to  be  desired ; the  blocks  are  adjusted  with  such 
precision  that  the  joints  are  almost  invisible,  and  the  mortar  between  them  has 
been  spread  with  such  a skilful  hand  that  there  is  scarcely  an  appreciable 
difference  in  its  uniform  thickness.3  The  long  low  flat  mass  which  the  finished 
tomb  presented  to  the  eye  is  wanting  in  grace,  but  it  has  the  characteristics  of 
strength  and  indestructibility  well  suited  to  an  “ eternal  house.”  The  facade, 
however,  was  not  wanting  in  a certain  graceful  severity:  the  play  of  light  and 
shade  distributed  over  its  surface  by  the  stelse,  niches,  and  deep-set  doorways, 
varied  its  aspect  in  the  course  of  the  day,  without  lessening  the  impression  of 
its  majesty  and  serenity  which  nothing  could  disturb.  The  pyramids  themselves 
are  not,  as  we  might  imagine,  the  coarse  and  ill-considered  reproduction  of 
a mathematical  figure  disproportionately  enlarged.  The  architect  who  made  an 
estimate  for  that  of  Kheops,  must  have  carefully  thought  out  the  relative  value 
of  the  elements  contained  in  the  problem  which  had  to  be  solved— the  vertical 
height  of  the  summit,  the  length  of  the  sides  on  the  ground  line,  the  angle  of 
pitch,  the  inclination  of  the  lateral  faces  to  one  another — before  he  discovered 
the  exact  proportions  and  the  arrangement  of  lines  which  render  his  monument 
a true  work  of  art,  and  not  merely  a costly  and  mechanical  arrangement  of 

1 See  the  part  devoted  to  the  study  of  mastabas  in  Perrot  and  Chipiez  (llidoire  de  VArt,  vol.  i. 
pp.  168-191). 

2 The  similarity  of  the  materials  and  technicalities  of  construction  and  decoration  seem  to  me  to 
prove  that  the  majority  of  the  tombs  were  built  by  a small  number  of  contractors  or  corporations, 
lay  or  ecclesiastical,  both  at  Memphis,  under  the  Ancient,  as  well  as  at  Thebes,  under  the  New 
Empire. 

3 Speaking  of  the  Great  Pyramid  and  of  its  casing,  Professor  Petrie  says : “ Though  the  stones 
were  brought  as  close  as  inch,  or,  in  fact,  into  contact,  and  the  mean  opening  of  the  joint  was 
but  h inch,  yet  the  builders  managed  to  fill  the  joint  with  cement,  despite  the  great  area  of  it,  and 
the  weight  of  the  stone  to  be  moved — some  16  tons.  To  merely  place  such  stones  in  exact  contact 
at  the  sides  would  be  careful  work ; but  to  do  so  with  cement  in  the  joint  seems  almost  impossible.” 

( The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  p.  44.) 


ARCHITECTURE. 


403 


stones.1  The  impressions  which  he  desired  to  excite,  have  been  felt  by  all  who 
came  after  him  when  brought  face  to  face  with  the  pyramids.  From  a great  dis- 
tance they  appear  like  mountain-peaks,  breaking  the  monotony  of  the  Libyan 
horizon;  as  we  approach  them  they  apparently  decrease  in  size,  and  seem  to 
be  merely  unimportant  inequalities  of  ground  on  the  surface  of  the  plain.  It 
is  not  till  we  reach  their  bases  that  we  guess  their  enormous  size.  The  lower 
courses  then  stretch  seemingly  into  infinity  to  right  and  left,  while  the  summit 
soars  up  out  of  our  sight  into  the  sky.  “The  effect  is  gained  by  majesty  and 
simplicity  of  form,  in  the  contrast  and  disproportion  between  the  stature  of 
man  and  the  immensity  of  his  handiwork : the  eye  fails  to  take  it  in ; it  is 
even  difficult  for  the  mind  to  grasp  it.  We  see,  we  may  touch  hundreds  of 
courses  formed  of  blocks,  two  hundred  cubic  feet  in  size,  . . . and  thousands  of 
others  scarcely  less  in  bulk,  and  we  are  at  a loss  to  know  what  force  has 
moved,  transported,  and  raised  so  great  a number  of  colossal  stones,  how 
many  men  were  needed  for  the  work,  what  amount  of  time  was  required  for 
it,  what  machinery  they  used;  and  in  proportion  to  our  inability  to  answer 
these  questions,  we  increasingly  admire  the  power  which  regarded  such 
obstacles  as  trifles.” 2 

We  are  not  acquainted  with  the  names  of  any  of  the  men  who  conceived 
these  prodigious  works.  The  inscriptions  mention  in  detail  the  princes,  nobles, 
and  scribes  who  presided  over  all  the  works  undertaken  by  the  sovereign,  but 
they  have  never  deigned  to  record  the  name  of  a single  architect.3  They  were 
people  of  humble  extraction,  living  hard  lives  under  fear  of  the  stick,  and  their 
ordinary  assistants,  the  draughtsmen,  painters,  and  sculptors,  were  no  better  off 
than  themselves ; they  were  looked  upon  as  mechanics  of  the  same  social 
status  as  the  neighbouring  shoemaker  or  carpenter.  The  majority  of  them 

1 Cf.  Bokchardt  s article,  Wie  wurden  die  Boschungen  der  Pyramidenbestimmt ? (in  the  Zeitschrift, 
vol.  xxxi.  p.  9-17),  in  which  the  author — an  architect  by  profession  as  well  as  an  Egyptologist — 
inter prets  the  theories  and  problems  of  the  Ehind  mathematical  Papyrus  in  a new  manner  (Eisenlohr, 
Eiu  Matliematisches  Handbuch  der  Alten  JEgypten,  pi.  xviii.  pp.  116-131),  comparing  the  result  with 
his  own  calculations,  made  from  measurements  of  pyramids  still  standing,  and  in  which  he  shows, 
by  an  examination  of  the  diagrams  discovered  on  the  wall  of  a mastaba  at  Medhm,  that  the  Egyptian 
contractors  of  the  Memphite  period  were,  at  that  early  date,  applying  the  rules  and  methods  of  pro- 
cedure which  we  find  set  forth  in  the  Papyri  of  Theban  times  (Petrie,  Medum,  pp.  12,  13,  and 

pi.  8 , cf.  Griffith,  Medum , in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archseoloqy,  vol.  xiv. 
1891-92,  p.  486). 

Jomabd,  Description  generate  de  Memphis  et  des  Pyramides,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  v. 
pp.  597,  598. 

The  title  ‘ mir  katitfi  nibfi  niti  sfiton,”  frequently  met  with  under  the  Ancient  Empire,  does  not 
t esignate  the  architects,  as  many  Egyptologists  have  thought : it  signifies  “ director  of  all  the  king’s 
woi  s,  and  is  applicable  to  irrigation,  dykes  and  canals,  mines  and  quarries,  and  all  branches  of  an 
engineer  s profession,  as  well  as  to  those  of  the  architect’s.  The  “ directors  of  all  the  king’s  works” 
weie  c lgnitaiies  deputed  by  Pharaoh  to  take  the  necessary  measurements  for  the  building  of  temples, 
or  rec  ging  canals,  for  quarrying  stone  and  minerals;  they  were  administrators,  and  not  pro- 
essiona  s,  possessing  the  technical  knowledge  of  an  architect  or  engineer.  Cf.  Perrot-Chipiez 
Histoire  de  V Art  dans  V Antiquit?,  vol.  i.  pp.  627-630. 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


404 

were,  in  fact,  clever  mechanical  workers  of  varying  capability,  accustomed  to 
chisel  out  a bas-relief  or  set  a statue  firmly  on  its  legs,  in  accordance  with 
invariable  rules  which  they  transmitted  unaltered  from  one  generation  to 

another  : some  were  found  among  them,  however, 
who  displayed  unmistakable  genius  in  their  art, 
and  who,  rising  above  the  general  mediocrity, 
produced  masterpieces.  Their  equipment  of  tools 
was  very  simple — iron  picks  with  wooden  handles, 
mallets  of  wood,  small  hammers,  and  a bow  for 
boring  holes.1  The  sycamore  and  acacia  furnished 
them  with  a material  of  a delicate  grain  and  soft 
texture,  which  they  used  to  good  advantage : 
Egyptian  art  has  left  us  nothing  which,  in  purity 
of  line  and  delicacy  of  modelling,  surpasses  the 
panels  of  the  tomb  of  Hosi,2  with  their  seated  or 
standing  male  figures  and  their  vigorously  cut 
hieroglyphs  in  the  same  relief  as  the  picture. 
Egypt  possesses,  however,  but  few  trees  of  suit- 
able fibre  for  sculptural  purposes,  and  even 
those  which  were  fitted  for  this  use  were 
too  small  and  stunted  to  furnish  blocks  of  any 
considerable  size.  The  sculptor,  therefore, 
turned  by  preference  to  the  soft  white  limestone 
une  of  the  wooden  PANELS  of  hosi,  of  Turah.  He  quickly  detached  the  general 

IN  THE  GIZEH  MUSEUM.3  P p l . c .t  p , n j 

form  ot  his  statue  from  the  mass  ot  stone,  nxed 
the  limits  of  its  contour  by  means  of  dimension  guides  applied  horizontally  from 
top  to  bottom,  and  then  cut  away  the  angles  projecting  beyond  the  guides,  and 
softened  off  the  outline  till  he  made  his  modelling  correct.  This  simple  and 
regular  method  of  procedure  was  not  suited  to  hard  stone  : the  latter  had  to  be 
first  chiselled,  but  when  by  dint  of  patience  the  rough  hewing  had  reached  the 
desired  stage,  the  work  of  completion  was  not  entrusted  to  metal  tools.  Stone 
hatchets  were  used  for  smoothing  off  the  superficial  roughnesses,  and  it  was 
assiduously  polished  to  efface  the  various  tool-marks  left  upon  its  surface.  The 

1 Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  l’ Art,  vol.  i.  pp.  753-764 ; Maspero,  L’  Arch&ologie  Bgyptienne, 
pp.  188-195. 

2 Mahiette,  Notice  des  principaux  Monuments,  1876,  pp.  284-292,  N os.  9S9-994 ; Maspero,  Guide 
du  Visitcur  au  Mus€e  de  Boulaq,  pp.  213,  214,  Nos.  1037-1039.  They  are  published  in  Mariette, 
Album  photograpliique  du  MueCe  de  Boulaq , pi.  12,  and  in  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt,  vol.  i. 
pp.  640-645.' 

3 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey  (cf.  Mariette,  Album  photo- 
grapliique,  pi.  12).  The  original  is  now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum. 


STATUARY. 


405 


statues  did  not  present  that  variety  of  gesture,  expression,  and  attitude 
which  we  aim  at  to-day.  They  were,  above  all  things,  the  accessories 
of  a temple  or  tomb,  and  their  appearance  reflects  the  particular  ideas 
entertained  with  regard  to  their  nature.  The  artists  did  not  seek  to  embody  in 
them  the  ideal  type  of  male  or  female  beauty  : they  were  representatives  made 
to  perpetuate  the  existence  of  the  model.  The  Egyptians  wished  the  double  to 


A SCULPTOR’S  STUDIO,  AND  EGYPTIAN  PAINTERS  AT  WORK.1 


be  able  to  adapt  itself  easily  to  its  image,  and  in  order  to  compass  that  end,  it 
was  imperative  that  the  stone  presentment  should  be  at  least  an  approximate 
likeness,  and  should  reproduce  the  proportions  and  peculiarities  of  the  living 
prototype  for  whom  it  was  meant.  The  head  had  to  be  the  faithful  portrait 
of  the  individual : it  was  enough  for  the  body  to  be,  so  to  speak,  an  average 
one,  showing  him  at  his  fullest  development  and  in  the  complete  enjoyment  of 
his  physical  powers.  The  men  were  always  represented  in  their  maturity,  the 
women  never  lost  the  rounded  breast  and  slight  hips  of  their  girlhood,  but  a 
dwarf  always  preserved  his  congenital  ugliness,  for  his  salvation  in  the  other 
world  demanded  that  it  should  be  so.2  Had  he  been  given  normal  stature,  the 
double,  accustomed  to  the  deformity  of  his  members  in  this  world,  would  have 
been  unable  to  accommodate  himself  to  an  upright  carriage,  and  would  not 
have  been  in  a fit  condition  to  resume  his  course  of  life.  The  particular  pose 
of  the  statue  was  dependent  on  the  social  position  of  the  person.  The  king,  the 

1 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a chromolithograph  by  Prisse  d’Avennes,  Histoire  de  VArt 
Egyptien.  The  original  is  in  the  tomb  of  Raklimiri,  who  lived  at  Thebes  under  the  XVIIl1'1 
dynasty  (cf.  Virey,  Le  Tombeau  de  Relihmard,  in  the  Me'moires  de  la  Mission  frangaise  du 
Caire,  vo).  v.  pis.  xiii.,  xvii.,  xviii.).  The  methods  which  were  used  did  not  differ  from  those 
employed  by  the  sculptors  and  painters  of  the  Memphite  period  more  than  two  thousand  years 
previously. 

2 Cf.  on  p.  280  of  this  History  the  painted  limestone  statue  of  the  dwarf  Khnamhotph. 


40(5 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


nobleman,  and  the  master  are  always  standing  or  sitting : it  was  in  these 
postures  they  received  the  homage  of  their  vassals  or  relatives.  The  wife  shares 
her  husband’s  seat,  stands  upright  beside  him,  or  crouches  at  his  feet  as  in  daily 
life.  The  son,  if  his  statue  was  ordered  while  he  was  a child, 
wears  the  dress  of  childhood ; if  he  had  arrived  at  man- 
hood, he  is  represented  in  the  dress  and  with  the  attitude 
suited  to  his  calling.  Slaves  grind  the  grain,1  cellarers 
coat  their  amphorae  with  pitch,  bakers  knead  their  dough, 
mourners  make  lamentation  and  tear  their  hair.2 
The  exigencies  of  rank  clung  to  the  Egyptians  in 
temple  and  tomb,  wherever  their  statues  were 
placed,  and  left  the  sculptor  who  represented  them 
scarcely  any  liberty.  He  might  be  allowed  to  vary 
the  details  and  arrange  the  accessories  to  his  taste ; 
■,  he  might  alter  nothing  in  the  attitude  or  the 
general  likeness  without  compromising  the 
end  and  aim  of  his  work.3 

The  statues  of  the  Memphite  period  may 
be  counted  at  the  present  day  by  hundreds. 
Some  are  in  the  heavy  and  barbaric  style 
which  has  caused  them  to  be  mistaken  for 
primaeval  monuments : as,  for  instance,  the 
statues  of  Sapi  and  his  wife,  now  in  the 
Louvre,  which  are  attributed  to  the  beginning 
of  the  IIIri1  dynasty  or  even  earlier.5  Groups 
exactly  resembling  these  in  appearance  are  often  found  in  the  tombs  of  the 
Vth  and  VIth  dynasties,  which  according  to  this  reckoning  would  be  still  older 
than  that  of  Sapi : they  were  productions  of  an  inferior  studio,  and  their  sup- 
posed archaism  is  merely  the  want  of  skill  of  an  ignorant  sculptor.  The 
majority  of  the  remaining  statues  are  not  characterized  either  by  glaring  faults 


CELLARER  COATING  A JAR  WITH  PITCH.4 


1 See  on  p.  320  of  this  History  the  figure  of  one  of  the  women  crushing  grain  in  the  Gizeh 
Museum,  and  on  p.  346  as  a tail-piece  the  head  and  bust  of  the  woman  grinding  it,  now  in  the 
Florence  Museum  (cf.  Schiaparelli,  Museo  Archeologico  di  Firenze,  Antieliit'a  Egizie,  p.  189,  No.  1494). 

2 See  the  vignette  at  the  opening  of  Chapter  IV.,  p.  247  of  this  History,  the  mourner  in  the  Gizeh 
Museum. 

3 Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt,  vol.  i.  pp.  631,  636;  Maspero,  Tele  de  scribe  Cgyplien,  and 
Pehournowri,  in  the  first  volume  of  Rayet,  Monuments  de  VArt  Antique,  and  Archdologie  Egyptienne, 
pp.  203-206  ; Elman,  JEgypten,  pp.  545,  et  seq.  The  admirable  head  of  the  Egyptian  scribe,  possessed 
by  the  Louvre,  is  reproduced  on  p.  345  of  this  History  as  a heading  to  the  present  chapter. 

4 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey  (cf.  Mariette,  Album  plotographique 
du  Musfe  de  Boulaq,  pi.  20).  The  original  is  now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum. 

5 E.  de  Rouge,  Notice  sommaire  des  Monuments  Egyptiens,  p.  50;  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de 
V Art,  vol.  i.  pp.  636-638.  This  opinion  has  been  contested  by  Maspero,  Arclidologie  Egyptienne, 
p.  200.  M.  de  Rouge"’s  judgment  is  still  accepted  by  most  historians  and  art-critics. 


STATUARY,  AND  ITS  CHIEF  EXAMPLES. 


407 


or  by  striking  merits : they  constitute  an  array  of  honest  good-natured  folk, 
without  much  individuality  of  character  and  no  originality.  They  may  be 
easily  divided  into  five  or  sis  groups,  each  having  a style  in  common,  and  all 
apparently  having  been  executed  on  the  lines  of  a few  .... — 

chosen  models  ; the  sculptors  who  worked  for  the  mastaba 
contractors  were  distributed  among  a very  few  studios,  in 
which  a traditional  routine  was  observed  for  centuries. 

They  did  not  always  wait  for  orders,  but,  like  our 
modern  tombstone-makers,  kept  by  them  a tolerable 

i 

assortment  of  half-finished  statues,  from  which  the 
purchaser  could  choose  according  to  his  taste.  The 
hands,  feet,  and  bust  lacked  only  the  colouring  and 
final  polish,  but  the  head  was  merely  rough-hewn,  and 
there  were  no  indications  of  dress;  when  the  future 
occupant  of  the  tomb  or  his  family  had  made  their 
choice,  a few  hours  of  work  were  sufficient  to  transform 
the  rough  sketch  into  a portrait,  such  as  it  was,  of 
the  deceased  they  desired  to  commemorate,  and 
to  arrange  his  garment  according  to  the  latest 
fashion.1  If,  however,  the  relatives  or  the  sove- 
reign 2 3 declined  to  be  satisfied  with  these  com- 
monplace images,  and  demanded  a less  conven- 
tional treatment  of  body  for  the  double  of  him 
whom  they  had  lost,  there  were  always  some  among 
the  assistants  to  be  found  capable  of  entering 

into  their  wishes,  and  of  seizing  the  lifelike  expression  of  limbs  and  features. 
We  possess  at  the  present  day,  scattered  about  in  museums,  some  score  of 
statues  of  this  period,  examples  of  consummate  art, — the  Khephrens,  the  Kheops, 
the  Anu,  the  Nofrit,  the  Rahotpu  I have  already  mentioned,4  the  “ Sheikh-el- 
Beled  ” and  his  wife,  the  sitting  scribe  of  the  Louvre  and  that  of  Gizeh,  and 
the  kneeling  scribe.  Kaapiru,  the  “ Sheikh-el-Beled,”  was  probably  one  of  the 


BAKER  KNEADING  IIIS  DOUGH. 


1 Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur  au  Musde  de  Boulaq,  pp.  308,  309  ; L’ Arclidologie  Egyptienne,  p.  194  : 
cf.  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt  dans  V Antiquitd,  vol.  i.  p.  635. 

2 It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  statues  were  often,  like  the  tomb  itself,  given  by  the 
king  to  the  man  whose  services  he  desired  to  reward.  His  burying-place  then  bore  the  formu- 
lary, “By  the  favour  of  the  king,”  as  I have  mentioned  previously;  cf.  p.  302,  note  5,  of  this 
History. 

3 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Bechard  (cf.  Mariette,  Album  pliotographique  du 
Musde  de  Boulaq , pi.  20).  The  original  is  now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (cf.  Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur 
au  Musde  de  Boulaq,  p.  220,  No.  1015). 

4 For  the  Khephren,  cf.  p.  379  of  this  History ; for  the  Kheops,  p.  364  ; for  Anu,  p.  390 ; for 
Nofrit,  p.  356.  The  head  of  Rahotpu  is  given  in  the  initial  vignette  to  this  chapter,  p.  347, 


408 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


directors  of  the  corvee  employed  to  build  the  Great  Pyramid.1  He  seems  to 

be  coming  forward  to  meet  the  beholder, 
with  an  acacia  staff  in  his  hand.  Heavy, 
thick-set,  broad  and  fleshy,  he  has  the 
head  and  shoulders  of  a bull,  and  a com- 
mon cast  of  countenance,  whose  vulgarity 
is  not  wanting  in  energy.  The  large, 
widely  open  eye  has,  by  a trick  of  the 
sculptor,  an  almost  un- 
canny reality  about  it. 

The  socket  which  holds 
it  has  been  hollowed 
out  and  filled  with 
an  arrangement  of 
black  and  white 
enamel;  a rim  of 
bronze  marks  the 
outline  of  the  lids, 
while  a little  silver 
peg,  inserted  at  the 
back  of  the  pupil, 

THE  SHE1KII-EL-BELED  IN  THE  GIZEII  MUSEUM.2 3  ^ 

and  gives  the  effect  of  the  sparkle  of  a living  glance. 

The  statue,  which  is  short  in  height,  is  of  wood,  and 
one  would  be  inclined  to  think  that  the  relative 
plasticity  of  the  material  counts  for  something 
in  the  boldness  of  the  execution,  were  it  not  that  the  kneeling  scribe  in  the  gizeh 

ii  . . .,  _ i _ . ..  MUSEUM.® 

though  the  sitting  scribe  of  the  Louvre  is  of  lime- 
stone, the  sculptor  has  not  shown  less  freedom  in  its  composition.  We  recognize  in 


1 It  was  discovered  by  Mariette  at  Saqqara.  “ The  head,  torso,  arms,  and  even  the  staff,  were 
intact ; but  the  pedestal  and  legs  were  hopelessly  decayed,  and  the  statue  was  only  kept  upright  by 
the  sand  which  surrounded  it  ” (Mariette,  Les  Mastabas,  p.  129).  The  staff  has  since  been  broken, 
and  is  replaced  by  a more  recent  one  exactly  like  it.  In  order  to  set  up  the  figure,  Mariette  was 
obliged  to  supply  new  feet,  which  retain  the  colour  of  the  fresh  wood.  By  a curious  coincidence, 
Kaapiru  was  an  exact  portrait  of  one  of  the  “ Sheikhs  el-Beled,”  or  mayors  of  the  village  of  Saqqara : 
the  Arab  workmen,  always  quick  to  see  a likeness,  immediately  called  it  the  “ Sheikh-el-Beled,”  and 
the  name  has  been  retained  ever  since  (Mariette,  Notes  des  principaux  monuments,  1876,  p.  194, 
No.  492,  and  Album  photograpliique  du  Musee  de  Boulaq,  pis.  18,  19 ; Rouge-Banville,  Album  de  la 
Mission  pholographique  de  M.  de  Rouge',  Nos.  95,  96). — IVth  dynasty. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey  (cf.  Mariette,  Album  photo- 
graphique,  pi.  18). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey  (cf.  Mariette,  Album 
photograpliique  du  Muse'e  de  Boulaq,  pi.  20  ; Maspero,  in  O.  Rayet,  Les  Monuments  de  V Art  Antique, 
vol.  i.). 


THE  TWO  SITTING  SCRIBES  OF  G1ZEH  AND  THE  LOUVRE.  409 


this  figure  one  of  those  somewhat  flabby  and  heavy  subordinate  officials  of  whom 
so  many  examples  are  to  be  seen  in  Oriental  courts. 

He  is  squatting  cross-legged  on  the  pedestal,  pen 
in  hand,  with  the  outstretched  leaf  of  papyrus 
conveniently  placed  on  the  right : he  waits,  after 
an  interval  of  six  thousand  years,  until  Pharaoh 
or  his  vizier  deigns  to  resume  the  interrupted 
dictation.1  His  colleague  at  the  Gizeli  Museum 
awakens  in  us  no  less  wonder  at  his  vigour 
and  self-possession  ; but,  being  younger,  he 
exhibits  a fuller  and  firmer  figure  with  a 
smooth  skin,  contrasting  strongly  with  the 
deeply  wrinkled  appearance  of  the  other, 
aggravated  as  it  is  by  his  flabbiness. 

The  “kneeling  scribe”  preserves  in  his 
pose  and  on  his  countenance 
that  stamp  of  resigned  inderi- 
sion and  monotonous 
gentleness  which  is 
impressed  upon 
subordinate  officials 
by  the  influence 
of  a life  spent 
entirely  under 
the  fear  of  the 
stick.2  Rano- 
fir,  on  the  con- 
trary, isa  noble 
lord  looking  upon 
his  vassals  passing  in  file 
before  him  : his  mien  is  proud,  his 
head  disdainful,  and  he  has  that  air  of  haughty  indifference  which  is  befitting  a 
favourite  of  the  Pharaoh,  possessor  of  generously  bestowed  sinecures,  and  lord 


THE  SITTING  SCRIBE  IN  THE  GIZEH  MUSEUM.3 


1 Discovered  by  Mariette  during  tbe  excavations  at  the  Serapeum,  and  published  in  the  Cltoix 
ile  Monuments  et  de  Dessins  du  Serapeum  de  Memphis,  pi.  x.  (Rouge-Banville,  Album  photograpliique 
de  la  Mission,  Nos.  106,  107;  Maspero,  in  the  Monuments  de  VArt  Antique  by  O.  Rayet,  vol.  i.).  It 
comes  from  the  tomb  of,  and  represents,  Salchemha  (E.  de  Rouge,  Notice  sommaire,  1855,  p.  66),  of 
the  Vth  dynasty. 

2 Discovered  by  Mariette  at  Saqqara  ( Notices  des  principaux  Monuments,  1876,  p.  235,  No.  769); 
reproduced  in  the  Album  photograpliique,  pi.  20,  by  Mariette  himself ; afterwards  by  Perrot-Chipiez 
( Histoire  de  VArt,  vol.  i.  p.  657,  No.  440)  and  by  Maspero,  in  O.  Rayet,-  Leg  Monuments  de  VArt 
Antique,  vol.  i.,  and  in  the  Arcli&ologie  Egyptienne,  pp.  211,  212,  and  fig.  186. — Vth  dynasty. 

3 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey.  This  scribe  was  discovered  at 


410 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


of  a score  of  domains.1  The  same  haughtiness  of  attitude  distinguishes  the 
director  of  the  granaries,  Nofir.  We  rarely  encounter  a small  statue  so  expres- 
sive of  vigour  and  energy.2  Sometimes  there  may  be  found  among 
these  short-garmented  people  an  individual  wrapped  and  almost 
smothered  in  an  immense  abayah  ; 3 or  a naked  man,  representing 
a peasant  on  his  way  to  market,  his  bag  on  his  left  shoulder, 
slightly  bent  under  the  weight,  carrying  his  sandals  in  his 
other  hand,  lest  they  should  be  worn  out  too  quickly  in 
walking.4  Everywhere  we  observe  the  traits  of  character 
distinctive  of  the  individual  and  his  position,  rendered  wit  It 
a scrupulous  fidelity  : nothing  is  omitted,  no  detail  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  model  is  suppressed.  Idealisation  we 
must  not  expect,  but  we  have  here  an  intelligent  and  some- 
times too  realistic  fidelity.  Portraits  have  been  con- 
ceived among  other  peoples  and  in  other  periods 
in  a different  way : they  have  never  been  better 
executed.5 

The  decoration  of  the  sepulchres  provided  em- 
ployment for  scores  of  draughtsmen,  sculptors,  and 
painters,  whose  business  it  was  to  multiply  in  these 
tombs  scenes  of  everyday  life  which  were  indispensable 
to  the  happiness  or  comfort  of  the  double.  The  walls  are 
sometimes  decorated  with  isolated  pictures  only,  each 
one  of  which  represents  a distinct  operation  ; more  fre- 
quently we  find  traced  upon  them  a single  subject  whose  episodes  are  superimposed 
one  upon  the  other  from  the  ground  to  the  ceiling,  and  represent  an  Egyptian 
panorama  from  the  Nile  to  the  desert.  In  the  lower  portion,  boats  pass  to  and 


PEASANT  GOING  TO  MARKET.6 


Saqqara  by  M.  de  Morgan  in  the  beginning  of  1893,  and  published  by  Maspero,  Le  Nouveau  Scribe 
du  Musde  de  Gizeli,  in  the  Gazette  des  Beaux-Arts,  3rd  series,  vol.  ix.  pp.  265-270,  and  with  a coloured 
plate  in  the  collection  of  the  Fondation  Piot,  Monuments  et  Mdmoires,  vol.  i.  pi.  i.,  and  pp.  1-6. 

1 Discovered  at  Saqqara  by  Mariette  ( [Lettre  a M.  de  Rougd,  p.  11  ; Les  Mastabas  de  VAncien 
Empire , pp.  121-123;  Notices  des  principaux  Monuments,  1876,  p.  216,  No.  582):  the  original  lived  in 
the  first  half  of  the  IV"'  dynasty.  It  was  reproduced  in  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt,  vol.  i. 
p.  10,  fig.  6 ; p.  655,  No.  436,  and  at  p.  47  of  this  History. 

2 Mariette,  Notices  des  principaux  Monuments,  1876,  p.  187,  No.  458;  Maspero,  Guide  du 
Visiteur  an  Musde  de  Boulaq,  p.  244,  No.  4454.  It  was  reproduced  by  Perrot-Cuipiez,  Histoire  de 
VArt,  vol.  i.  p.  628,  from  a drawing  by  Bourgoin. — Vth  dynasty. 

3 Discovered  at  Saqqara  by  Mariette  ( Notice  des  principaux  Monuments,  1876,  pp.  235,  236,  No. 
770) ; reproduced  by  him  ( Album  pliotograpbique,  p.  20)  and  by  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt, 
vol.  i.  p.  657,  No.  439 ; cf.  the  drawing  of  this  curious  figure,  p.  55  of  this  History. — IVth  dynasty. 

4 Discovered  at  Saqqara  by  Mariette  ( Notice  des  principaux  Monuments,  1876,  p.  236,  No.  771); 
reproduced  by  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt,  vol.  i.  p.  73,  No.  47 ; pp.  660,  661,  No.  445,  where 
the  sandals  have  been  mistakenly  regarded  as  a bouquet  of  flowers. — Vth  dynasty. 

6 Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt,  vol.  i.  p.  655,  et  seq. ; Maspero,  L’ Arcbdologie  Egyptienne, 
pp.  206-214.  * 

6 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Bechard  (Mariette,  Album  photographique,  pi.  20). 
The  original  is  at  Gizeh. — V"'  dynasty. 


THE  BAS-RELIEFS. 


411 


fro,  and  collide  with  each  other,  while  the  boatmen  come  to  blows  with  their 
boat-hooks  within  sight  of  hippopotami  and  crocodiles.  In  the  upper  portions 
we  see  a band  of  slaves  engaged  in  fowling  among  the  thickets  of  the  river- 
bank,  or  in  the' making  of  small  boats,  the  manufacture  of  ropes, 
the  scraping  and  salting  of  fish.  Under  the  cornice,  hunters 
and  dogs  drive  the  gazelle  across  the  undulating  plains  of  the 
desert.  Every  row  represents  one  of  the  features  of  the 
country ; but  the  artist,  instead  of  arranging  the  pictures 
in  perspective,  separated  them  and  depicted  them  one  above 
the  other.1 2  The  groups  are  repeated  in  one  tomb  after 
another;  they  are  always  the  same,  but  sometimes  they  are 
reduced  to  two  or  three  individuals,  sometimes  increased 
in  number,  spread  out  and  crowded  with  figures  and 
inscriptions.  Each  chief  draughtsman  had  his  book  of 
subjects  and  texts,  which  he  combined  in  various  ways, 
at  one  time  bringing  them  close  together,  at  another 
duplicating  or  extending  them  according  to  the 
means  put  at  his  disposal  or  the  space  he  had 
to  cover.  The  same  men,  the  same  animals,  the 
same  features  of  the  landscape,  the  same  acces- 
sories, appear  everywhere : it  is  industrial  and 
mechanical  art  at  its  highest.  The  whole  is,  how- 
ever, harmonious,  agreeable  to  the  eye,  and  instruc- 
tive. The  conventionalisms  of  the  drawing  as  well 
as  those  of  the  composition  are  very  different  from 

ours.  Whether  it  is  man  or  beast,  the  subject  is  invariably  presented  in  outline 
by  the  brush,  or  by  the  graving  tool  in  sharp  relief  upon  the  background  ; but  the 
animals  are  represented  in  action,  with  their  usual  gait,  movement,  and  play  of 
limbs  distinguishing  each  species.  The  slow  and  measured  walk  of  the  ox,  the 
short  step,  meditative  ears,  and  ironical  mouth  of  the  ass,  the  calm  strength  of 
the  lion  at  rest,  the  grimaces  of  the  monkeys,  the  slender  gracefulness  of  the 
gazelle  and  antelope,  are  invariably  presented  with  a consummate  skill  in  draw- 
ing and  expression.  The  human  figure  is  the  least  perfect : every  one  is  ac- 
quainted with  those  strange  figures,  whose  heads  in  profile,  with  the  eye  drawn 
in  full  face,  are  attached  to  a torso  seen  from  the  front  and  supported  by  limbs 


NOFIR,  THE  DIRECTOR  OF  GRANARIES." 


1 Maspero,  Les  Peintures  des  Tombeaux  dgyptiens,  et  la  Mosaique  de  Palestrina  (extracted  from  the 
Melanges  publics  par  la  Section  historique  et  philologique  de  VEcole  des  Hautes  Etudes  pour  le  dixieme 
anniversaire  de  sa  fondation,  pp.  45-47 ; and  from  the  Gazette  Archeblogique,  1879,  pp.  1-3),  VArchd- 
ologie  Egyptienne , pp.  182-185. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey.  The  original  is  in  the  Gizeli 
Museum. — Vth  dynasty. 


412 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


in  profile.  These  are  truly  anatomical  monsters,  and  yet  the  appearance  they 
present  to  ns  is  neither  laughable  nor  grotesque.  The  defective  limbs  are  so 
deftly  connected  with  those  which  are  normal,  that  the  whole  becomes  natural : 
the  correct  and  fictitious  lines  are  so  ingeniously  blent  together  that  they  seem 
to  rise  necessarily  from  each  other.  The  actors  in  these 
dramas  are  constructed  in  such  a paradoxical  fashion  that 
they  could  not  exist  in  this  world  of  ours ; they  live  not- 
withstanding,in  spite  of  the  ordinary  laws  of  physiology, and 
to  any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  regard  them  with- 
out prejudice,  their  strangeness  will  add  a charm  which  is 
lacking  in  works  more  conformable  to  nature.1 2  A layer 
of  colour  spread  over  the  whole  heightens  and  completes 
them.  This  colouring  is  never  quite  true  to  nature  nor 
yet  entirely  false.  It  approaches  reality  as  far  as  possible, 
but  without  pretending  to  copy  it  in  a servile  way.  The 
water  is  always  a uniform  blue,  or  broken  up  by  black 
zigzag  lines  ; the  skin  of  the  men  is  invariably  brown,  that 
of  the  women  pale  yellow.  The  shade  befitting  each  being 
or  object  was  taught  in  the  workshops,  and  once  the  receipt 
for  it  was  drawn  up,  it  was  never  varied  in  application. 
The  effect  produced  by  these  conventional  colours,  how- 
ever, was  neither  discordant  nor  jarring.  The  most  brilliant 
colours  were  placed  alongside  each  other  with  extreme  audacity,  but  with  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  their  mutual  relations  and  combined  effect.  They  do  not 
jar  with,  or  exaggerate,  or  kill  each  other : they  enhance  each  other’s  value, 
and  by  their  contact  give  rise  to  half-shades  which  harmonize  with  them.3 
The  sepulchral  chapels,  in  cases  where  their  decoration  had  been  completed, 
and  where  they  have  reached  us  intact,  appear  to  us  as  chambers  hung  with 
beautifully  luminous  and  interesting  tapestry,  in  which  rest  ought  to  be 
pleasant  during  the  heat  of  the  day  to  the  soul  which  dwells  within  them, 
and  to  the  friends  who  come  there  to  hold  intercourse  with  the  dead. 

The  decoration  of  palaces  and  houses  was  not  less  sumptuous  than  that  of 
the  sepulchres,  but  it  has  been  so  completely  destroyed  that  we  should  find  it 
difficult  to  form  an  idea  of  the  furniture  of  the  living  if  we  did  not  see  it 
frequently  depicted  in  the  abode  of  the  double.  The  great  armchairs,  folding 


& 

li  AS-RELIEF  ON  IVORY. 


1 Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt  dans  V Antiquity  vol.  i.  p.  74],  et  seq. ; Maspero,  L’A rchtfologic 
Egyptienne,  pp.  168-172 ; Erman,  AEgypten  und  das  JEgyplische  Leben  im  Altertum,  p.  530,  et  seq. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Bouriant.  The  original  is  in  private  possession. 

3 Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt , vol.  i.  pp.  781-792 ; Maspero,  L’Arclieologie  Egyptienne, 
pp.  197-199. 


INDUSTRIAL  ART. 


413 


seats,  footstools,  and  beds  of  carved  wood,  painted  and  inlaid,  the  vases  of  hard 
stone,  metal,  or  enamelled  ware, 
the  necklaces,  bracelets,  and 
ornaments  on  the  walls,  even 
the  common  pottery  of  which  we 
find  the  remains  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  pyramids,  are 
generally  distinguished  by  an 
elegance  and  grace  reflecting 
credit  on  the  workmanship  and 
taste  of  the  makers.1  The 
squares  of  ivory  which  they  ap- 
plied to  their  linen-chests  and 
their  jewel-cases  often  contained 
actual  bas-reliefs  in  miniature 
of  as  bold  workmanship  and  as 
skilful  execution  as  the  most 
beautiful  pictures  in  the  tombs  : 
on  these,  moreover,  were  scenes 
of  private  life — dancing  or  pro- 
cessions bringing  offerings  and 
animals.2  One  would  like  to 
possess  some  of  those  copper 
and  golden  statues  which  the 
Pharaoh  Kheops  consecrated 
to  Isis  in  honour  of  his  daugh- 

° STELE  OF  THE  DAUGHTER  OF  KHEOrS.3 

ter : only  the  representation  of 

them  upon  a stele  has  come  down  to  us ; and  the  fragments  of  sceptres 
or  other  objects  which  too  rarely  have  reached  us,  have  unfortunately  no 


1 The  study  of  the  alabaster  and  diorite  vases  found  near  the  pyramids  has  furnished  Petrie 
( The  Pyramids  and  Temples  of  Gizeh,  p.  173,  et  seq.)  with  very  ingenious  views  on  the  methods 
among  the  Egyptians  of  working  hard  stone.  Examples  of  stone  toilet  or  sacrificial  bottles  are  not 
unfrequent  in  our  museums  : I may  mention  those  in  the  Louvre  which  bear  the  cartouches  of  Dadkeri 
Assi  (No.  343),  of  Papi  I.  (Nos.  351-354),  and  of  Papi  II.  (Nos.  346-348),  the  son  of  Papi  I.  (Pierret, 
Catalogue  de  la  Salle  Historique,  pp.  84-86) ; not  that  they  are  to  be  reckoned  among  the  finest,  but 
because  the  cartouches  fix  the  date  of  their  manufacture.  They  came  from  the  pyramids  of  these 
sovereigns,  opened  by  the  Arabs  at  the  beginning  of  this  century : the  vase  of  the  YItk  dynasty, 
which  is  in  the  Museum  at  Florence,  was  brought  from  Abydos  (Rosellini,  Monumenti  Storici, 
vol.  iii.  part  1,  p.  5). 

2 M.  Grebaut  bought  at  the  Great  Pyramids,  in  1887,  a series  of  these  ivory  sculptures  of  the 
Ancient  Empire.  They  are  now  at  the  Gizeh  Museum.  Others  belonging  to  the  same  find  are  dis- 
persed among  private  collections  : one  of  them  is  reproduced  on  p.  412  of  this  History. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Be'chard  (cf.  Mariette,  Album  photographique 
du  Musfe  de  Boulaq,  pi.  27 ; and  Monuments  divers,  pi.  53,  p.  17). 


414 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


artistic  value.1  A taste  for  pretty  things  was  common,  at  least  among  the 
upper  classes,  including  not  only  those  about  the  court,  hut  also  those  in  the 
most  distant  nomes  of  Egypt.  The  provincial  lords,  like  the  courtiers  of 
the  palace,  took  a pride  in  collecting  around  them  in  the  other  world  every- 
thing of  the  finest  that  the  art  of  the  architect,  sculptor,  and  painter  could 
conceive  and  execute.  Their  mansions  as  well  as  their  temples  have  dis- 
appeared, hut  we  find,  here  and  there  on  the  sides  of  the  hills,  the  sepulchres 
which  they  had  prepared  for  themselves  in  rivalry  with  those  of  the  courtiers 
or  the  members  of  the  reigning  family.  They  turned  the  valley  into  a vast 
series  of  catacombs,  so  that  wherever  we  look  the  horizon  is  bounded  by  a row  of 
historic  tombs.  Thanks  to  their  rock-cut  sepulchres,  we  are  beginning  to  know 
the  Nomarchs  of  the  Gazelle  and  the  Hare,2  those  of  the  Serpent-Mountain,3 
of  Aklnnim,4  Thinis,5  Qasr-es-Sayad,6  and  Aswan,7 — all  the  scions,  in  fact,  of 
that  feudal  government  which  preceded  the  royal  sovereignty  on  the  banks  of 
the  Nile,  and  of  which  royalty  was  never  able  to  entirely  disembarrass  itself. 
The  Pharaohs  of  the  IVth  dynasty  had  kept  them  in  such  check  that  we  can 
hardly  find  any  indications  during  their  reigns  of  the  existence  of  these  great 
barons : the  heads  of  the  Pharaonic  administration  were  not  recruited  from 
among  the  latter,  but  from  the  family  and  domestic  circle  of  the  sovereign.  It 
was  in  the  time  of  the  kings  of  the  Vth  dynasty,  it  would  appear,  that  the 
barons  again  entered  into  favour  and  gradually  gained  the  upper  hand  ; we  find 
them  in  increasing  numbers  about  Anu,  Menkauhoru,  and  Assi.  Did  Unas, 

1 For  example,  the  two  bronze  vases  with  the  name  of  Uni  who  lived  under  the  VIth  dynasty 
(Pierret,  Catalogue  de  la  Salle  Historique,  p.  85,  No.  350),  and  the  ends  of  the  sceptre  of  Papi  I., 
now  in  the  British  Museum  (Leehans,  Monuments  Egyptians  portant  des  Ldgendes  Roijales,  pi.  xxx., 
No.  302;  Arundale-Bonomi-Birch,  Gallery  of  Egyptian  Antiquities,  pi.  30,  No.  144,  and  p.  72; 
Prisse  d’Avennes,  Notices  sur  les  Antiquity's  Egyptiennes  du  Musde  Britannique,  p.  23;  cf.  Revue 
Arclidulogique,  1st  series,  vol.  iii.  p.  713).  One  of  the  latter,  analyzed  by  Berthelot  ( Annales  de 
Cliimie  et  de  Physique,  6th  series,  vol.  xii.  p.  129),  was  of  copper,  without  a trace  of  tin  : implements 
found  by  Petrie  in  his  excavations  at  Med um  were,  on  the  contrary,  of  true  bronze,  made  in  the 
same  manner  as  our  own  (J.  H.  Gladstone,  On  Metallic  Copper,  Tin  and  Antimony,  from  Ancient 
Egypt,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society,  vol.  xiv.  p.  225). 

2 In  the  tombs  of  Kom-el-Ahmar,  of  Zawyet-el-Meivetin,  and  of  Sheikh-Said  ( Description  de 
VJhgypte,  vol.  iv.  pp.  355-360,  and  A.  T.  V.,  pi.  lxviii. ; Champollion,  Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la 
Nubie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  441-445;  Lepsius,  Denhm.,  ii.  105-113). 

3 At  Beni-Mohammed-el-Kufur,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile  (Sayce,  Gleanings  from  the  Land 
of  Egypt,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  65-67,  and  the  observations  of  Maspero,  ibid., 
pp.  68-71). 

4 Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  xxi.  b and  text,  p.  6;  Schiaparelli,  Chemra is-Ach in irn  e la  sua 
antica  Necropoli,  in  the  Etudes  ArchAologiques,  historiques  et  linguistiques,  dddides  a Dr.  C.  Leemans, 
pp.  85-88  : some  fragments  of  sculpture  from  these  tombs  are  of  a beautiful  type. 

5 At  Beni-Mohammed-el-Kufur  (Sayce,  Gleanings,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xiii.  p.  67),  and  at 
Negadiyeh,  further  south,  opposite  Girgeh  (id.,  pp.  63,  64,  and  Nestor  L’IIote,  in  the  Recueil, 
xiii.  71,  72). 

0 Lepsius,  Denhm.,  ii.  113  g,  114;  Prisse  d’Avennes,  Lettre  a Champollion- Figeac,  in  the  Revue 
Arch.,  1st  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  731-733  ; N.  L’Hote,  Papiers  inedits,  vol.  iii.,  in  the  Bill.  Nat. 

1 Budge,  Excavations  made  at  Asuan,  in  the  Proc.  Bib.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  x.  pp.  4-40;  Bouriant, 
Les  Tombeaux  d’ Assouan,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  x.  pp.  181-198. 


THE  ADVENT  OF  THE  VI™  DYNASTY. 


415 


who  was  the  last  ruler  of  the  dynasty  of  Elephantine,  die  without  issue, 
or  were  his  children  prevented  from  succeed- 
ing him  by  force  ? The  Egyptian  annals  of 
the  time  of  the  Ramessides  bring  the  direct 
line  of  Menes  to  an  end  with  this  king.  A 
new  line  of  Memphite  origin  begins  after 
him.1  It  is  almost  certain  that  the  trans- 
mission of  power  was  not  accomplished  without 
contention,  and  that  there  were  many  claimants 
to  the  crown.2  One  of  the  latter,  Imhotpu, 
whose  legitimacy  was  always  disputed,  has  left 
hardly  any  traces  of  his  accession  to  power,8 
but  Ati  established  himself  firmly  on  the  throne 
for  a year  at  least : 4 he  pushed  on  actively  the 
construction  of  his  pyramid,  and  sent  to  the 
valley  of  Hammamat  for  the  stone  of  his 
sarcophagus.  We  know  not  whether  revolution 
or  sudden  death  put  an  end  to  his  activity  : 
the  “ Mastabat  - el  - Faraun  ” of  Saqqara,  in 
which  he  hoped  to  rest,  never  exceeded  the 
height  which  it  has  at  present.6  His  name 

was,  however,  inscribed  in  certain  official  the  pharaoh  menkauhoru.5 


1 Ed.  Meyer,.  Geschichle  der  Alten  AUgyptens,  pp.  132,  133. 

2 The  Royal  Canon  of  Turin  (Lepsius,  Aw8it!a7jZ  der  wichtigden  Urlcunden,  pi.  iv.  col.  iv.-vi.,  f'ragm. 
34,  59)  inserts  after  Unas  a rdsum?  of  the  reigns  and  intervening  years  since  Menes. 

3 The  monuments  furnish  proof  that  their  contemporaries  considered  these  ephemeral  rulers  as 
so  many  illegitimate  pretenders.  Phtalishopsisu  and  his  son  Sabh-Abibi,  who  exercised  important 
functions  at  the  court,  mention  only  Unas  and  Teti  III.  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherclies  sur  les  Monuments, 
etc.,  pp.  108-114);  Uni,  who  took  office  under  Teti  III.,  mentions  after  this  king  only  Papi  I.  and 
Mihtimsahf  I.  (16.,  pp.  117,  118,  135,  et  seq.).  The  official  succession  was,  therefore,  regulated  at  this 
epoch  in  the  same  way  as  we  afterwards  find  it  in  the  table  of  Saqqara,  Unas,  Teti  III,  Papi  I., 
Mihtimsauf  I.,  and  in  the  Royal  Canon  of  Turin  (Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mytliol.  et  d’Archfol.  Egypt , 
vol.  ii.  pp.  440-442),  without  the  intercalation  of  any  other  king  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherche s,  p.  148, 
et  seq.). 

4 Brugsch,  in  his  Histoire  d’Egypte,  pp.  44,  45,  had  identified  this  king  with  the  first  Motesouphis 
of  Manetho  : E.  de  Rouge  prefers  to  transfer  him  to  one  of  the  two  Memphite  series  after  the  VIth 
dynasty  ( Recherches , pp.  149,  152),  and  his  opinion  has  been  adopted  by  Wiedemann  ( JEgyptische 
Geschichte,  p.  220).  The  position  occupied  by  his  inscription  among  those  of  Hammamat  (Lepsius, 
Denlim.,  ii.  115  h ; cf.  Maspero,  Les  Monuments  Egyptiens  de  la  Valine  de  Hammamat,  in  the  Revue 
Orientate  et  Amfricaine,  1877,  pp.  328,  329)  has  decided  me  in  placing  him  at  the  end  of  the  Vth  or 
beginning  of  the  VIth  dynasty  : this  E.  Meyer  has  also  done  ( Gesch . des  Alten HJgyptens,pp.  132,  133). 

5 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Faucher-Gudin.  The  original,  which  came  from 
Mariette’s  excavations  at  the  Serapeum,  is  in  the  Louvre  (E.  de  Rouge,  Notice  sommaire  des  Monu- 
ments Egyptiens,  1855,  p.  51,  B 48,  and  Album  photog  rapin' que  de  la  Mission  de  M.  de  Rouge,  No.  102). 
It  is  a work  of  the  time  of  Seti  I.,  and  not  a contemporary  production  of  the  time  of  Menkauhorh. 

0 Ati  is  known  only  from  the  Hammamat,  inscription  dated  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign  (Lepsius, 
Denkm.,  ii.  115/;  cf.  Maspero,  Les  Monuments  Egyptiens  de  la  ValUe  de  Hammamat,  in  the  Revue 
Orientate  et  Amfricane,  1877,  pp.  329,  330).  He  was  identified  by  Brugsch  ( Histoire  d’Egypte, 


THE  MEMPHITE  EM  PI  PE. 


41  G 

lists,1  and  a tradition  of  the  Greek  period  maintained  that  he  had  been  assassinated 
by  his  guards.2  Teti  III.  was  the  actual  founder  of  the  VIlh  dynasty,3  historians 
representing  him  as  having  been  the  immediate  successor  of  Unas.1  lie  lived  long 
enough  to  build  at  Saqqara  a pyramid  whose  internal  chambers  are  covered  with 
inscriptions,5  and  his  son  succeeded  him  without  opposition.  Papi  I.6  reigned  at 
least  twenty  years.7  He  manifested  his  activity  in  all  corners  of  his  empire,  in 
the  nomes  of  the  Said  as  well  as  in  those  of  the  Delta,  and  his  authority  extended 
beyond  the  frontiers  by  which  the  power  of  his  immediate  predecessors  had 
been  limited.  He  owned  sufficient  territory  south  of  Elephantine  to  regard 
Nubia  as  a new  kingdom  added  to  those  which  constituted  ancient  Egypt:  we 
therefore  see  him  entitled  in  his  preamble  “ the  triple  Golden  Horus,”  “ the 
triple  Conqueror-Horus,”  “ tke_Delta-Horus,”  “the  Said-Horns,”  “ the  Nubia- 
Horus.” 8 The  tribes  of  the  desert  furnished  him,  as  was  customary,  with 
recruits  for  his  army,  for  which  he  had  need  enough,  for  the  Bedouin  of  the 
Sinaitic  Peninsula  were  on  the  move,  and  were  ev-en  becoming  dangerous. 
Papi,  aided  by  Uni,  his  prime  minister,  undertook  against  them  a series  of 


pp.  44,  45)  with  the  Othoes  of  Manetho,  and  this  identification  has  been  generally  adopted  (E.  de 
Rouge,  liecherches,  pp.  108,  109,  148,  149 ; Wiedemann,  TEgyptische  Geschiclite,  p.  207 ; Lauth,  Aus 
TEgyptens  Vorzeit,  p.  149,  et  seq  ; E.  Meyer,  Geschiclite  des  Alten  JEgyptens,  pp.  132,  133).  M.  de 
Rouge'  ( Recherches , p.  146)  is  inclined  to  attribute  to  him  as  prxnomen  the  cartouche  tlsirkeri,  which 
is  given  in  the  Table  of  Abydos  between  those  of  Teti  III.  and  Papi  I.  Mariette  ( Table  d'  Abydos, 
p.  15)  prefers  to  recognize  in  tirikeri  an  independent  Pharaoh  of  short  reign.  Several  blocks  of  the 
Mastabat-el-Earaun  at  Saqqara  contain  the  cartouche  of  flnas,  a fact  which  induced  Mariette  to 
regard  this  as  the  tomb  of  the  Pharaoh.  The  excavations  of  1881  showed  that  Pnas  was  entombed 
elsewhere,  and  the  indications  are  in  favour  of  attributing  the  mastaba  to  Ati.  We  know,  indeed, 
the  pyramids  of  Teti  III.,  of  the  two  Papis,  and  of  Metesouphis  I.  ; Ati  is  the  only  prince  of  this 
period  with  whose  tomb  we  are  unacquainted.  It  is  thus  by  elimination,  and  not  by  direct  evidence, 
that  the  identification  has  been  arrived  at : Ati  may  have  drawn  upon  the  workshops  of  his  predecessor 
Unas,  which  fact  would  explain  the  presence  on  these  blocks  of  the  cartouche  of  the  latter. 

1 Upon  that  of  Abydos,  if  we  agree  with  E.  de  Rouge'  ( Recherches , p.  149)  that  the  cartouche 
Usirkeri  contains  his  prxnomen;  upon  that  from  which  Manetho  borrowed,  if  we  admit  his  identi- 
fication with  Othoes. 

2 Manetho  (Unger’s  edition,  p.  101),  where  the  form  of  the  name  is  Othoes. 

3 He  is  called  Teti  Menephtah,  with  the  cartouche  prxnomen  of  Seti  I.,  on  a monument  of  the 
early  part  of  the  XIXth  dynasty,  in  the  Museum  at  Marseilles  (E.  Naville,  Le  Hoi  Teti  Merenphtah, 
in  the  Zeitschuft,  1876,  pp.  69,  72):  we  see  him  in  his  pyramid  represented  as  standing.  This 
pyramid  was  opened  in  1881,  and  its  chambers  are  covered  with  long  funerary  inscriptions. 

4 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’  Archeologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  441,  442. 

5 Maspero,  ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  147,  and  the  Recueil,  vol.  v.  pp.  1-59.  His  cartouche  has  been  recently 
found  in  the  quarries  of  Hatnubft  (Blackden-Frazer,  Collection  of  Hieratic  Graffiti  from  the  Quarry 
of  Hat-nub,  pi.  xv.  6). 

0 The  true  pronunciation  of  this  name  would  be  Pipi,  and  of  the  one  before  it  Titi.  The  two 
other  Tetis  are  Teti  I.  of  the  Ist  dynasty,  and  Zosir-Teti,  or  Teti  II.,  of  the  HI"1. 

7 From  fragment  59  of  the  Royal  Canon  of  Turin  (Lepsius,  Ausivahl,  pi.  iv.  col.  vi.  1.  3 ; cf.  Mas- 
pero, Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’  Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  p.  441).  An  inscription  in  the  quarries 
of  Hat-nhbu  bears  the  date  of  the  year  24  (Blaceden-Frazer,  work  cited  above,  pi.  xv.  1)  : if  it  has 
been  correctly  copied,  the  reign  must  have  been  four  years  at  least  longer  than  the  chronologists  of 
the  time  of  the  Ilamesides  thought. 

8 This  title  is  met  with  at  Hammamat  (Burton,  Excerpta  Hieroglyphica,  pi.  x. ; Lepsius,  Denim., 
ii.  115  c),  at  Tanis  (Petrie,  Tanis,  i.  pi.  i.,  and  p.  4;  ii.  p.  15),  at  Bubastis  (Naville,  Bubastis,  pi. 
xxxii.  c,  d,  and  pp.  5,  6.  The  explanation  of  it  has  been  given  by  E.  de  Rouge'  ( Recherches , pp.  116, 117). 


PAPI  I.  AND  HIS  MINISTER  UNI.  417 

campaigns,  in  which  he  reduced  them  to  a state  of  helplessness,  and  extended 
the  sovereignty  of  Egypt  for  the  time  over  regions  hitherto  unconquered.1 
Uni  began  his  career  under  Teti.2  At  first  a simple  page  in  the  palace,3  he 


THE  MASTABAT-EL-FARAUN,  LOOKING  TOWARDS  THE  WEST  FACADE.4 

succeeded  in  obtaining  a post  in  the  administration  of  the  treasury,  and  after- 
wards that  of  inspector  of  the  woods  of  the  royal  domain.5  Papi  took  him 
into  his  friendship  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  and  conferred  upon  him  the 
title  of  “ friend,”  6 and  the  office  of  head  of  the  cabinet,  in  which  position  he 

1 The  inscription  of  the  tomb  of  Uni,  which  is  the  principal  monument  of  the  reign  of  Papi  I.  and  of 
his  two  successors,  was  discovered  by  Mariette  in  the  necropolis  of  Abydos  (Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  ii. 
pis.  xliv.,  xlv.,and  Catalogue  G&n&ral,  p.  84,  No.  522).  It  was  taken  to  the  Boulaq  Museum  (Mariette, 
Notices  des  principaux  Monuments,  1876,  pp.  280,  281,  No.  922).  Published  and  analysed  by  E.  de  Bouge' 
( Recherches , pis.  vii.,  viii.,  and  pp.  117-144),  partially  translated  by  Maspero  ( Eistoire  Ancienne,  4th 
edit.,  pp.  81-85)  and  by  Brugsck  ( Geschiclite  Mgxjptens , pp.  95-102),  it  was  completely  translated  into 
English  by  Birch  ( Inscription  of  Una,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  1st  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  1-8)  and  by 
Maspero  ( Inscription  of  Uni,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  1-10),  into  German  by 
Erman  ( Commentar  zur  Inschrift  des  Una,  inth e Zeitschrift,  1882,  pp.  1-29  ; cf.  Mgypten,  pp.  688-692). 

2 The  beginning  of  the  first  line  is  wanting,  and  I have  restored  it  from  other  inscriptions  of  the 
same  kind  : “I  was  born  under  flnas  ” ( Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  4).  Uni  could  not 
have  been  born  before  flnas ; the  first  office  that  he  filled  under  Teti  III.  was  while  he  was  a child  or 
youth,  while  the  reign  of  flnas  lasted  thirty  years  (Lepstus,  Auswahl,  pi.  iv.  col.  iv.  fragm.  34). 

3 Literally,  “ crown-bearer.”  This  was  a title  applied  probably  to  children  who  served  the  king 
in  his  private  apartments,  and  who  wore  crowns  of  natural  flowers  on  their  heads  : the  crown  was 
doubtless  of  the  same  form  as  those  which  we  see  upon  the  brows  of  women  on  several  tombs  of  the 
Memphite  epoch  (Lepsitjs,  Denhm.,  ii.  46,  47,  71  a,  etc.). 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Bechard. 

5 The  word  “ Khoniti”  indicates  probably  lands  with  plantations  of  palms  or  acacias,  the  thinly 
wooded  forests  of  Egypt,  and  also  of  the  vines  which  belonged  to  the  personal  domain  of  the  Pharaoh 
(Maspero,  Sur  V inscription  de  Zdu,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  69,  70). 

6 See,  for  the  part  played  by  these  “ friends,”  and  for  the  position  occupied  by  them  according  to  the 
laws  of  precedence  in  the  court  of  the  Pharaohs,  what  is  said  on  pp.  276,  note  1,  and  281  of  this  History. 

2 E 


418 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


acquitted  himself  with  credit.  Alone,  without  other  help  than  that  of  a 
subordinate  scribe,  he  transacted  all  the  business  and  drew  up  all  the  documents 
connected  with  the  harem  and  the  privy  council.  He  obtained  an  ample  reward 
for  his  services.  Pharaoh  granted  to  him,  as  a proof  of  his  complete  satis- 
faction, the  furniture  of  a tomb  in  choice  white  limestone;  one  of  the  officials 
of  the  necropolis  was  sent  to  obtain  from  the  quarries  at  Troiu  the  blocks 
required,  and  brought  back  with  him  a sarcophagus  and  its  lid,  a door-shaped 
stele  with  its  setting  aud  a table  of  offerings.1  He  affirms  with  much  self- 
satisfaction  that  never  before  had  such  a thing  happened  to  any  one  ; moreover, 
he  adds,  “ my  wisdom  charmed  his  Majesty,  my  zeal  pleased  him,  and  his 
Majesty’s  heart  was  delighted  with  me.”  All  this  is  pure  hyperbole,  but  no 
one  was  surprised  at  it  in  Egypt ; etiquette  required  that  a faithful  subject 
should  declare  the  favours  of  his  sovereign  to  be  something  new  and  unprece- 
dented, even  when  they  presented  nothing  extraordinary  or  out  of  the  common. 
Gifts  of  sepulchral  furniture  were  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  we  know  of 
more  than  one  instance  of  them  previous  to  the  VIth  dynasty — for  example,  the 
case  of  the  physician  Sokhitnionkhu,  whose  tomb  still  exists  at  Saqqara,  and 
whom  Pharaoh  Sahuri  rewarded  by  presenting  him  with  a monumental  stele 
in  stone  from  Turah.2  Henceforth  Uni  could  face  without  apprehension  the 
future  which  awaited  him  in  the  other  world;  at  the  same  time,  he  con- 
tinued to  make  his  way  no  less  quickly  in  this,  and  was  soon  afterwards 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  “sole  friend”  and  superintendent  of  the  irrigated 
lands  of  the  king.  The  “sole  friends”  were  closely  attached  to  the  person 
of  their  master.3  In  all  ceremonies,  their  appointed  place  was  immediately 
behind  him,  a place  of  the  highest  honour  and  trust,  for  those  who  occupied  it 
literally  held  his  life  in  their  hands.  They  made  all  the  arrangements  for  his 
processions  and  journeys,  and  saw  that  the  proper  ceremonial  was  everywhere 
observed,  and  that  no  accident  was  allowed  to  interrupt  the  progress  of  his 
train.  Lastly,  they  had  to  take  care  that  none  of  the  nobles  ever  departed 
from  the  precise  position  to  which  his  birth  or  office  entitled  him.  This  was 
a task  which  required  a great  deal  of  tact,  for  questions  of  precedence 
gave  rise  to  nearly  as  many  heart-burnings  in  Egypt  as  in  modern  courts. 

1 For  an  explanation  of  the  limestone  monuments  given  to  Pni,  see  Maspero,  De  quelques  termes 
d' architecture  tgyptienne,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  vol.  xi.  p.  309,  et  seq. 

2 Mauiette,  Les  Maslabas  de  VAncien  Empire,  pp.  202-205 ; cf.  Maspero,  De  quelques  termes 
d’ architecture  fyyptienne,  in  the  Proceedings,  vol.  xi.  p.  304,  et  seq.  Under  Papi  II.,  Zau,  prince  of 
the  Serpent-Mountain,  received  from  the  king  his  coffin  and  the  necessary  swathing  for  his  mummy 
(Sayce,  Gleanings  from  the  Land  of  Egypt,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  p.  GO  ; and  Maspero, 
Sur  Vinscription  de  Zaou,  ibid.,  pp.  69,  70). 

3 This  definition  of  the  functions  of  the  “ sole  fiiend”  appears  to  me  to  follow  from  the  passage  itself 
of  the  inscription  of  fjni  (11.  8,  9).  The  translation  of  the  title  “ Samiru  uaiti  ” was  supplied  by  E.  de 
Rouge,  Beclierches  sur  les  Monuments,  p.  57 ; in  regard  to  the  objections  raised  by  Lepage-Renocf,  On 
the  priestly  Character  of  the  Egyptian  Civilization,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology, 
vol.  xii.  p.  359,  cf.  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d ArchCulogie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  p.  290,  note  1. 


WARS  AGAINST  THE  HIRU-SHA1TU. 


4iy 

Uni  acquitted  himself  so  dexterously,  that  he  was  called  upon  to  act  in  a still 
more  delicate  capacity.  Queen  Amitsi  was  the  king’s  chief  consort.  Whether 
she  had  dabbled  in  some  intrigue  of  the  palace,  or  had  been  guilty  of  un- 
faithfulness in  act  or  in  intention,  or  had  been  mixed  up  in  one  of  those 
feminine  dramas  which  so  frequently  disturb  the  peace  of  harems,  we  do  not 
know.  At  any  rate,  Papi  considered  it  necessary  to  proceed  against  her,  and 
appointed  Uni  to  judge  the  case.  Aided  only  by  his  secretary,  he  drew  up 
the  indictment  and  decided  the  action  so  discreetly,  that  to  this  day  we  do  not 
know  of  what  crime  Amitsi  was  accused  or  how  the  matter  ended.1  T^ni  felt 
great  pride  at  having  been  preferred  before  all  others  for  this  affair,  and  not 
without  reason,  “ for,”  says  he,  “ my  duties  were  to  superintend  the  royal  forests, 
and  never  before  me  had  a man  in  my  position  been  initiated  into  the  secrets  of 
the  Royal  Harem  ; but  his  Majesty  initiated  me  into  them  because  my  wisdom 
pleased  his  Majesty  more  than  that  of  any  other  of  his  lieges,  more  than  that 
of  any  other  of  his  mamelukes,  more  than  that  of  any  other  of  his  servants.”  2 

These  antecedents  did  not  seem  calculated  to  mark  out  Uni  as  a future 
minister  of  war;  but  in  the  East,  when  a man  has  given  proofs  of  his  ability 
in  one  branch  of  administration,  there  is  a tendency  to  consider  him  equally 
well  fitted  for  service  in  any  of  the  others,  and  the  fiat  of  a prince  transforms 
the  clever  scribe  of  to-day  into  the  general  of  to-morrow.  No  one  is  surprised, 
not  even  the  person  promoted ; he  accepts  his  new  duties  without  flinching, 
and  frequently  distinguishes  himself  as  much  in  their  performance  as  though 
he  had  been  bred  to  them  from  his  youth  up.  When  Pepi  had  resolved  to 
give  a lesson  to  the  Bedouin  of  Sinai,  he  at  once  thought  of  Uni,  his  “sole 
friend,”  who  had  so  skilfully  conducted  the  case  of  Queen  Amitsi.3  The 
expedition  was  not  one  of  those  which  could  be  brought  to  a successful  issue 
by  the  troops  of  the  frontier  nomes ; it  required  a considerable  force,  and  the 
whole  military  organization  of  the  country  had  to  be  brought  into  play.  “ His 
Majesty  raised  troops  to  the  number  of  several  myriads,  in  the  whole  of  the 
south  from  Elephantine  to  the  nome  of  the  Haunch,  in  the  Delta,  in  the  two 
halves  of  the  valley,  in  each  fort  of  the  forts  of  the  desert,  in  the  land  of 
Iritit,  among  the  blacks  of  the  land  of  Maza,4  among  the  blacks  of  the  land  of 

A 

Amamit,  among  the  blacks  of  the  land  of  Uauait,  among  the  blacks  of  the 
land  of  Kaau,  among  the  blacks  of  To-Tamu,  and  his  Majesty  sent  me  at  the 

1 This  episode  in  the  life  of  tjni,  which  E.  de  Rouge  was  unable  to  explain  with  certainty  at  the 
moment  of  the  discovery  ( Recherclies  sur  les  Monuments,  p.  121),  has  since  been  unravelled  and  made 
clear  by  Erman,  Commentar  zur  Inschrift  des  Una,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1882,  pp.  10-12. 

2 Inscription  of  tfni,  11.  11-13. 

3 The  inscription  of  tlni  distinctly  states  (1.  13)  that  Papi  I.  intended  to  repulse  the  Bedouin. 
The  Egyptian  expedition  had,  therefore,  been  provoked  by  some  previous  attack  of  the  nomads. 

4 The  word  in  the  text  is  “ Zama,”  but  this  is  an  accidental  inversion  of  the  two  signs  used  in 
writing  the  name  of  M&za ; the  list  of  Nubian  races  would  not  be  complete  unless  the  name  of  the 

Mazaiu  ” appeared  in  it. 


420 


THE  MEMPIIITE  EMPIRE. 


head  of  this  army.  It  is  true,  there  were  chiefs  there,  there  were  mamelukes 
of  the  king  there,  there  were  sole  friends  of  the  Great  House  there,  there 
wore  princes  and  governors  of  castles  from  the  south  and  from  the  north, 
‘gilded  friends,’  directors  of  the  prophets  from  the  south  and  the  north, 
directors  of  districts  at  the  head  of  troops  from  the  south  and  the  north,  of 
castles  and  towns  that  each  one  ruled,  and  also  blacks  from  the  regions  which 
I have  mentioned,  but  it  was  I who  gave  them  their  orders — although  my  post 
was  only  that  of  superintendent  of  the  irrigated  lands  of  Pharaoh, — so  much  so 
that  every  one  of  them  obeyed  me  like  the  others.”  It  was  not  without  much 
difficulty  that  he  brought  this  motley  crowd  into  order,  equipped  them,  and 
supplied  them  with  rations.  At  length  he  succeeded  in  arranging  everything 
satisfactorily ; by  dint  of  patience  and  perseverance,  “ each  one  took  his 
biscuit  and  sandals  for  the  march,  and  each  one  of  them  took  bread  from  the 
towns,  and  each  one  of  them  took  goats  from  the  peasants,”  1 He  collected 
his  forces  on  the  frontier  of  the  Delta,  in  the  “ Isle  of  the  North,”  between  the 
“Gate  of  Imhotpu”  and  the  “Tell  of  Horu  nib-mait,”  and  set  out  into  the 
desert.2  He  advanced,  probably  by  Gebel  Magharah  and  Gebel  Helal,  as  far 
as  Wady-el- Arish,  into  the  rich  and  populous  country  which  lay  between  the 
southern  slopes  of  Gebel  Till  and  the  south  of  the  Dead  Sea  : 3 once  there  he 
acted  with  all  the  rigour  permitted  by  the  articles  of  war,  and  paid  back  with 
interest  the  ill  usage  which  the  Bedouin  had  inflicted  on  Egypt.  “ This  army 
came  in  peace,  it  completely  destroyed  the  country  of  the  Lords  of  the  Sands. 
This  army  came  in  peace,  it  pulverized  the  country  of  the  Lords  of  the  Sands. 
This  army  came  in  peace,  it  demolished  their  ‘douars.’  This  army  came  in  peace, 
it  cut  down  their  fig  trees  and  their  vines.  This  army  came  in  peace,  it  burnt 
the  houses  of  all  their  people.  This  army  came  iu  peace,  it  slaughtered  their 
troops  to  the  numbers  of  many  myriads.  This  army  came  in  peace,  it  brought 
back  great  numbers  of  their  people  as  living  captives,  for  which  thing  his 

1 Inscription  of  Uni,  11.  14-21. 

2 With  regard  to  the  name  of  these  localities,  see  Erman’s  remarks  in  Der  Ausdruclc  TP-RS,  in 
the  Zeitsclirift,  vol.  xxix.  p.  120,  note  1.  In  the  name  of  the  latter  of  these  two  localities,  the  doublo 
title  “Iloru  nib-mait”  indicates  Snofrui,  as  pointed  out  by  K.  Sethe,  Ein  neuer  Horusname , in  the 
Zeitsclirift,  vol.  xxx.  p,  62.  The  “ Isle  of  the  North  ” and  the  two  fortresses  must  have  been  situated 
between  Ismailiah  and  Tel-Defenneh,  at  the  starting-point  of  the  land  route  which  crosses  the 
desert  of  Tih  ; cf.  p.  351  of  the  present  work. 

3 The  locality  of  the  tribes  against  which  Ifni  waged  war  can,  I think,  be  fixed  by  certain  details 
of  the  campaign,  especially  the  mention  of  the  oval  or  circular  enclosures — Canit — within  which 
they  entrenched  themselves.  These  enclosures,  or  duars,  correspond  to  the  nauami  which  are 
mentioned  by  travellers  in  these  regions  (E.  II.  Palmer,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  pp.  321,  322),  and 
which  are  singularly  characteristic  (cf.  pp.  352,  353  of  this  History).  The  “Lords  of  the  Sands” 
mentioned  by  Dm  occupied  the  nauami  country,  i.e.  the  Negeb  regions  situated  on  the  edge  of  the 
desert  of  Till,  round  about  Aiu-Qadis,  and  beyond  it  as  far  as  Akabah  and  the  Dead  Sea  (Maseero, 
Notes  aujour  lejour,  § 30,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  xiv.  1891-92, 
pp.  326,  327).  Assuming  this  hypothesis  to  be  correct,  the  route  followed  by  tlni  must  have  been 
the  same  as  that  which  was  discovered  and  described  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  by  Holland,  A 
■tourney  onfodt  through  Arabia  Petrxa,  in  the  Quarterly  Statements  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund, 
1878,  pp.  70-72,  and  Notes  to  accompany  a Map,  ibid.,  1884,  pp.  4-15. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  THE  LAND  OF  TIB  A. 


421 


Majesty  praised  me  more  than  for  aught  else.”  As  a matter  of  fact,  these  poor 
wretches  were  despatched  as  soon  as  taken  to  the  quarries  or  to  the  dock- 
yards, thus  relieviug  the  king  from  the  necessity  of  imposing  compulsory 
labour  too  frequently  on  his  Egyptian  subjects.1  “ His  Majesty  sent  me  five 
times  to  lead  this  army  in  order  to  penetrate  into  the  country  of  the  Lords  of 
the  Sands,  on  each  occasion  of  their  revolt  against  this  army,  and  I bore  myself 
so  well  that  his  Majesty  praised  me  beyond  everything.”  2 The  Bedouin  at 
length  submitted,  but  the  neighbouring  tribes  to  the  north  of  them,  who  had 
no  doubt  assisted  them,  threatened  to  dispute  with  Egypt  the  possession  of 
the  territory  which  it  had  just  conquered.  As  these  tribes  had  a seaboard  on 
the  Mediterranean,  Uni  decided  to  attack  them  by  sea,  and  got  together  a 
fleet  on  which  he  embarked  his  army.3  The  troops  landed  on  the  coast  of  the 
district  of  Tiba,1  to  the  north  of  the  country  of  the  Lords  of  the  Sands,  there- 
upon “ they  set  out.  I went,  I smote  all  the  barbarians,  and  I killed  all  those 
of  them  who  resisted.”  On  his  return,  Uni  obtained  the  most  distinguished 
marks  of  favour  that  a subject  could  receive,  the  right  to  carry  a staff  and  to 
wear  his  sandals  in  the  palace  in  the  presence  of  Pharaoh.5 

These  wars  had  occupied  the  latter  part  of  the  feign;  the  last  of  them  took 
place  very  shortly  before  the  death  of  the  sovereign.6  The  domestic  adminis- 
tration of  Papi  I.  seems  to  have  been  as  successful  in  its  results,  as  was  his 
activity  abroad.  He  successfully  worked  the  mines  of  Sinai,  caused  them  to  be 
regularly  inspected,  and  obtained  an  unusual  quantity  of  minerals  from  them  ; 
the  expedition  he  sent  thither,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  reign,  left  behind 
it  a bas-relief  in  which  are  recorded  the  victories  of  Uni  over  the  barbarians 

1 E.  de  Rouge,  Bechtrehes  sur  les  monument  qu'on  peut  attribuer  a us:  six  premieres  dynasties,  p.  128. 

2 Inscription  cl'Uni,  11.  23-28.  The  expression  “came  in  peace,”  which  our  text  repeals  with 
emphasis,  must  be  taken  in  the  same  sense  as  its  Arabic  counterpart  bi’s-saldmah,  and  means  that  the 
expedition  was  successful — not  that  it  met  with  no  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  enemy. 

2 For  a description  of  the  Egyptian  vessels,  see  p.  392  of  the  present  work,  and  the  illustration 
of  one  of  them  which  is  given  on  p.  393;  as  stated  in  the  pa s: age  referred  to,  the  sea-going  cruft 
cannot  have  differed  materially  from  the  large  boats  which  were  in  use  on  the  Nile  at  the  same  period . 

4 The  name  was  first  read  as  “Takhiba”  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  Monuments,  p.  125). 
The  reading  “ Tiba  ” (Maspero,  Notes  sur  quelques  points  de  Grammaire  et  d'Histoire,  in  the  Zeitschrift, 
1883,  p.  64)  has  been  disputed  (Piehl,  Varia,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1888,  p.  Ill),  but,  I think,  on 
insufficient  grounds  (Maspero,  Inscription  of  Uni,  in  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  8, 
note  2).  Krall  ( Studien  zur  Geschiclite  des  Alten  AEgyptens,  iii.  p.  22)  identifies  it  with  the  name  of 
Tebui,  which  we  meet  with  in  the  text  of  Edfu  (Dumichen,  Tempel-Inschriften,  vol.  i.  pi.  lxxiii.  2, 
and  Die  Oasen  der  lybischen  Wiiste, pi.  xvi.  e),  but  which  Brugsch  ( Reise  nach  der  Grossen  Oase,  p.  92) 
is  unable  to  localise.  The  passage  in  the  inscription  of  Uni  (11.  30,  31),  which  tells  us  that  the  country 
of  Tiba  lay  to  the  north  of  the  country  of  the  “ Lords  of  the  Sands,”  obliges  us  to  recognize  in  it  the 
region  which  extends  between  Lake  Sirbonis  and  Gaza,  probably  the  northern  parts  of  Wady-el- 
Arrsh,  and  the  neighbouring  country  in  an  eastward  direction. 

5 E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches  sur  les  Monuments,  p.  128.  With  regard  to  the  wars  which  were  under- 
taken about  this  time  against  the  “ Lords  of  the  Sands,”  cf.  Krall,  Die  Vorlaiifer  der  Hyhsos,  in  the 
Zeitschrift,  1879,  pp.  64-67. 

6 This  seems  to  be  proved  by  the  fact  that  immediately  after  making  mention  of  the  recompense 
received  on  account  of  his  victories,  tJni  goes  on  to  enumerate  the  favours  which  were  granted  him 
by  Pharaoh  Mirniri  (11.  32,  33). 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


422 


and  the  grants  of  territory  made  to  the  goddess  Hathor.1  Work  was  carried 
on  uninterruptedly  at  the  quarries  of  Hatnubu  2 and  liolianu  ; 8 building 
operations  were  carried  on  at  Memphis,  where  the  pyramid  4 was  in  course  of 
erection,  at  Abydos,  whither  the  oracle  of  Osiris  was  already  attracting  large 
numbers  of  pilgrims,5  at  Tanis,6  at  Bubastis,7  and  at  Heliopolis.8  The  temple 
of  Dendera  was  falling  into  ruins  ; it  was  restored  on  the  lines  of  the  original 
plans  which  were  accidentally  discovered,9  and  this  piety  displayed  towards 
one  of  the  most  honoured  deities  was  rewarded,  as  it  deserved  to  be,  by  the 
insertion  of  the  title  of  “ son  of  Hathor  ” in  the  royal  cartouche.10  The  vassals 
rivalled  their  sovereign  in  activity,  and  built  new  towns  on  all  sides  to  serve 
them  as  residences,  more  than  one  of  which  was  named  after  the  Pharaoh.11 
The  death  of  Papi  I.  did  nothing  to  interrupt  this  movement ; the  elder  of 
his  two  sons  by  his  second  wife,  Miriri-onkhnas,  succeeded  him  without 
opposition.12  Mirniri  Mihtimsauf  I.  (Metesouphis) 13  was  almost  a child 
when  he  ascended  the  throne.  The  recently  conquered  Bedouin  gave  him 

1 Lepsius,  Denhm.,  ii.  116  a;  Lottin  de  Laval,  Voyage  dans  la  pCninsule  Arabique,  Ins.  liie'r.,  pi.  1, 
No.  2;  Account  of  the  Survey,  pp.  173,174.  The  king  is  represented  in  the  act  of  running,  as  in  the  scenes 
representing  the  foundation  of  a temple,  which  would  appear  to  indicate  that  he  claimed  to  have  built  the 
chapel  of  the  goddess : the  text  further  iuforms  us  that  he  had  given  a field  to  the  local  deities,  in  honour 
of  a solemn  jubilee  which  he  celebrated  in  this  year  on  the  anniversary  of  his  accession  to  the  throne. 

2 Blackden-Frazer,  Collection  of  Hieratic  Graffiti  from,  the  Alabaster  Quarry  of  Hat-nub,  pi.  xv. 
1,  4,  no  doubt  a propos  of  the  mission  of  tlni,  of  which  mention  is  made  on  p.  423  of  the  present  work. 

3 Lepsius,  Denhm.,  ii.  115  a-c,  e,  g,  i-h  ; Burton,  Excerpta  Hieroglyphica,  pi.  x. ; Prisse  d’Avennes, 
Monuments,  pi.  vi.  4 ; cf.  Maspero,  Les  Monuments  Egyptiens  de  la  Valine  de  Hammamat,  in  the 
Revue  Orientate  et  Amfricaine,  1877,  pp.  330,  et  seq. 

* The  texts  have  been  published  by  Maspero,  La  Pyramide  de  Papi  I.,  in  Recueil  de  Travaux, 
vols.  v.,  vii.,  viii. 

5 See  Mariette,  Catalogue  General  des  Monuments  d’ Abydos,  pp.  83-92,  fur  monuments  of  the 
time  of  Papi  I.,  which  show  how  active  public  life  was,  even  at  that  time,  in  this  little  town. 

6 Petrie,  Tanis,  ii.,  pis.  1,  2 ; cf.  p.  416,  note  8,  of  the  present  work,  in  which  the  inscription  has 
already  been  quoted. 

7 Ed.  Naville,  Bubastis,  pi.  xxxii.  c-d,  and  pp.  5-8. 

8 Pliny  tells  us  that  an  obelisk  was  set  up  in  this  town  a Phio,  by  Phios,  the  Latin  name  of  Papi  I. 
(Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.,  xxxvi.  8,  67);  he  had  taken  this  information  from  some  Alexandrian  writer. 

0 Dumichen,  Bauurhunde  der  Tempelanlagen  von  Dendera,  pi.  xv.  11.  36-40,  and  pp.  18,  19; 
Mariette,  DendArah,  vol.  iii.  pis.  71,  72,  and  Text,  p.  54,  et  seq. ; cf.  Chabas’s  remarks,  Sur  V antiquity 
de  Dendtrah,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1865,  pp.  92-98. 

10  We  read  this  title  on  the  blocks  found  at  Tanis  and  at  Bubastis;  cf.  E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches, 
pp.  115,  116 ; Naville,  Bubastis,  pi.  xxx.  vol.  i.  c-d,  pp.  5-8;  also  p.  416  of  the  present  work. 

11  Thus,  Hait-Papi — the  Citadel  of  Papi— in  the  Hermopolitan  nomc  (Lepsius,  Denhm.,  ii.  1 12  d-e). 

12  The  genealogy  of  the  whole  of  this  family  has  been  made  out  by  E.  de  Rouge  ( Recherches  sur 
les  Monuments,  pp.  129-184)  from  the  monuments  discovered  by  Mariette  at  Abydos.  Queen  Miriri- 
onknas  was  the  daughter  of  Khui  and  of  the  lady  Nibit,  who  appears  to  have  been  of  royal  blood, 
and  to  have  made  her  husband  a participator  in  her  rights  to  the  crown  (E.  de  Rouge,  Recherches,  p.  1 32, 
note  1 ; cf.  p.  274,  note  1,  of  the  present  work);  she  had  a brother  named  Zau  (Mariette,  Abydos, 
vol.  i.  pi.  2 a ; and  Catalogue  Gdn&ral,  p.  84,  No.  523),  whose  son  was  prince  of  the  Serpent  Mountain 
under  Papi  II.  (Mastero,  Sur  Vinscription  de  Zaou,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  p.  6S).  She 
had  two  sons  by  Papi  I.,  both  of  whom  succeeded  their  father,  viz.  Metesouphis  I.  and  Papi  II. 

13  The  name  has  been  read  successively  “Mentemsaf”  (Mariette,  La  Nouvelle  Table  d’ Abydos, 
p.  16;  cf.  Revue  Arch&ologique,  2nd  series,  vol.  xiii.  p.  88),  “ Huremsaf  ” (Brugsch,  Zwei  Pyramiden 
mit  Inschriften,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1881,  p.  9),  “ Sokarimsaf”  (Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur,  p.  347, 
No.  5150,  and  passim).  The  true  reading,  “Mihtimsaf,”  or  rather  “ Mihtimsatif,”  was  pointed  out 
almost  simultaneously  by  Lauth  ( Pyramidentexte , pp.  317,  318;  cf.  Sitzungsberichte  of  the  Munich 
Academy,  1881,  vol.  ii.)  and  by  Maspero. 


ME  TES  0 UPEIS  I. 


423 


no  trouble ; the  memory  of  their  reverses  was  still  too  recent  to  encourage 
them  to  take  advantage  of  his  minority  and  renew  hostilities.  Uni, 
moreover,  was  at  hand,  ready  to  recommence  his  campaigns  at  the  slightest 
provocation.  Metesouphis  had  retained  him  in  all  his  offices,  and  had  even 
entrusted  him  with  new  duties.  “Pharaoh  appointed  me  governor-general  of 
Upper  Egypt,  from  Elephantine  in  the  south  to  Letopolis  in  the  north,  because 
my  wisdom  was  pleasiDg  to  his  Majesty,  because  my  zeal  was  pleasing  to  his 
Majesty,  because  the  heart  of  his  Majesty  was  satisfied  with  me.  . . . When  I 
was  in  my  place  I was  above  all  his  vassals,  all  his  mamelukes,  and  all  his 
servants,  for  never  had  so  great  a dignity  been  previously  conferred  upon  a mere 
subject.  I fulfilled  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  king  my  office  as  superintendent 
of  the  South,  so  satisfactorily,  that  it  was  granted  to  me  to  be  second  in  rank 
to  him,  accomplishing  all  the  duties  of  a superintendent  of  works,  judging 
all  the  cases  which  the  royal  administration  had  to  judge  in  the  south  of 
Egypt  as  second  judge,  to  render  judgment  at  all  hours  determined  by  the 
royal  administration  in  this  south  of  Egypt  as  second  judge,1  transacting  as  a 
governor  all  the  business  there  was  to  do  in  this  south  of  Egypt.”  2 The 
honour  of  fetching  the  hard  stone  blocks  intended  for  the  king’s  pyramid  fell 
to  him  by  right : he  proceeded  to  the  quarries  of  Abhait,3  opposite  Sehel,  to 
select  the  granite  for  the  royal  sarcophagus  and  its  cover,  and  to  those  of 
Hatnubu  for  the  alabaster  for  the  table  of  offerings.  The  transport  of  the 
table  was  a matter  of  considerable  difficulty,  for  the  Nile  was  low,  and  the 
stone  of  colossal  size : Uni  constructed  on  the  spot  a raft  to  carry  it,  and 
brought  it  promptly  to  Saqqara  in  spite  of  the  sandbanks  which  obstruct 
navigation  when  the  river  is  low.4  This  was  not  the  limit  of  his  enterprise : 
the  Pharaohs  had  not  as  yet  a fleet  in  Nubia,  and  even  if  they  had  had,  the  con- 
dition of  the  channel  was  such  as  to  prevent  it  from  moving  from  one  end  of  the 
cataract  to  the  other.  He  demanded  acacia- wood  from  the  tribes  of  the  desert, 

1 The  first  judge  was,  of  course,  Pharaoh  himself ; this  is,  therefore,  ’O'ni’s  way  of  saying  that  he 
was  made  Viceroy  of  Upper  Egypt.  As  to  the  right  of  acting  as  judges  in  their  respective  districts, 
enjoyed  by  political  administrators,  cf.  p.  336  of  the  present  work. 

2 Inscription  of  tJni,  11.  34-37. 

3 Abhait  is,  perhaps,  Mahallah,  opposite  Sehel,  where  fairly  extensive  reefs  of  grey  granite  have 
been  found  (Maspero,  De  quelques  termes  d' architecture  Cjyptienne,  p.  8,  note  1,  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  vol.  xi.  p.  311).  M.  Schiaparelli  (La  Catena  Orientate  dell’  Egitto, 
p.  31,  note  2)  identifies  this  locality  with  a certain  Abhait  in  the  vicinity  of  Wady  Hammamat,  far 
away  in  the  desert : the  inscription  of  tlni  states  (Ik.  41,  42)  that  the  Abhait  referred  to  by  tlni  was 
accessible  by  water,  as  was  ElephantinS  itself ; Schiaparelli’s  hypothesis  may,  therefore,  be  dismissed 
as  untenable. 

4 Inscription  of  Uni,  11.  37-45.  Prof.  Petrie  (A  Season  in  Egypt,  1887,  pp.  19-21)  has  tried  to 
prove  from  the  passage  which  relates  to  the  transport,  that  the  date  of  the  reign  of  Papi  I.  must 
have  been  within  sixty  years  of  3240  B.c. ; this  date  I believe  to  be  at  least  four  centuries  too  late. 
It  is,  perhaps,  to  this  voyage  of  tJni  that  the  inscription  of  the  Vth  year  of  Metesouphis  I.  refers, 
given  by  Blackden-Frazer  in  A Collection  of  Hieratic  Graffiti  from  the  Alabaster  Quarry  of  Hat-nub, 
pi.  xv.  2. 


424 


TIIE  MEMPII1TE  EM  PIPE. 


the  peoples  of  Intit  and  Uauait,  and  from  the  Mazaiu,  laid  down  his  ships  on 
the  stocks,  built  three  galleys  and  two  large  lighters  in  a single  year;  during 
this  time  the  river-side  labourers  had  cleared  five  channels  through  which  the 
flotilla  passed  and  made  its  way  to  Memphis  with  its  ballast  of  granite.1  This 

was  Uni’s  last  exploit ; he  died  shortly  afterwards, 
and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Abydos,  in  the 
sarcophagus  which  had  been  given  him  by  Papi  I.2 

Was  it  solely  to  obtain  materials  for  building 
the  pyramid  that  he  had  re-established  communi- 
cation by  water  between  Egypt  and  Nubia?  The 
Egyptians  were  gaining  ground  in  the  south  every 
day,  and  under  their  rule  the  town  of  Elephantine 
was  fast  becoming  a depot  for  trade  with  the 
Soudan.3  The  town  occupied  only  the  smaller 
half  of  a long  narrow  island,  which  was  composed  of 
detached  masses  of  granite,  formed  gradually  into 
a compact  whole  by  accumulations  of  sand,  and 
over  which  the  Nile,  from  time  immemorial,  had 
deposited  a thick  coating  of  its  mud.  It  is  now 

and  dom  palms,  growing  in  some  places  in  lines 
along  the  pathways,  in  others  distributed  in  groups 
among  the  fields.  Half  a dozen  saqiyehs,  ranged 
in  a line  along  the  river-bank,  raise  water  day 
and  night,  with  scarcely  any  cessation  of  their 
monotonous  creaking.  The  inhabitants  do  not  allow  a foot  of  their  narrow 
domain  to  lie  idle ; they  have  cultivated  wherever  it  is  possible  small 
plots  of  dourah  and  barley,  bersim  and  beds  of  vegetables.  A few  scattered 
buffaloes  and  cows  graze  in  corners,  while  fowls  and  pigeons  without  number 
roam  about  in  flocks  on  the  look-out  for  what  they  can  pick  up.  It  is  a world 
in  miniature,  tranquil  and  pleasant,  where  life  is  passed  without  effort,  in  a 

1 Inscription  of  Uni,  11.  45-50.  As  to  the  canal  works  executed  by  Uni  at  the  first  cataract, 
ef.  Maspero’s  note  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  203,  204. 

2 Papi  II.  Noflrkeri  is  nowhere  named  in  the  inscription,  which  shows  that  Uni  did  not  live  during 
his  reign.  The  tomb  of  Uni  was  constructed  in  the  form  of  a mastaba ; it  was  placed  on  the  top  of 
the  bill  commanding  what  Mariette  calls  the  Necropolis  of  the  Centre  (Mariette,  Catalogue  General, 
p.  84,  No.  522).  Tiie  stele  of  (ini  is  in  the  Museum  of  Gizeh  (Mariette,  Catalogue  General,  p.  90, 
No.  529). 

3 The  growing  importance  of  Elephantine  is  shown  by  the  dimensions  of  the  tombs  which  its 
princes  had  built  for  themselves,  as  well  as  by  the  number  of  graffiti  commemorating  the  visits  of 
princes  and  functionaries,  and  still  remaining  at  the  present  day  (Petrie,  A Season  in  Egypt,  pi.  xii. 
Nos.  309,  311,  312). 

4 Plan  drawn  up  by  Thuillicr,  from  the  Map  of  the  Commission  d’Egypte  {Ant.,  vol.  i.  pi.  31) 
compared  with  the  surveys  made  by  M.  de  Morgan  during  the  winter  of  1893. 


shaded  by  acacias,  mulberry  trees,  date  trees, 


L TKuillier , del6 


THE  ISLAND  OF  ELETI1ANT1NE,4 


ELEPHANTINE  AND  ITS  LORDS. 


425 


lose  their  leaf.  The  ancient  city  was 
crowded  into  the  southern  extremity 


THE  ISLAND  OF  ELEPHANTINE  SEEN  FROM 
THE  REINS  OF  SYENE.1 


on  a high  plateau  of  granite  beyond 

the  reach  of  inundations.2  Its  ruins,  occupying  a space  half  a mile  in 
circumference,  are  heaped  around  a shattered  temple  of  Khnumu,  of  which 
the  most  ancient  parts  do  not  date  back  beyond  the  sixteenth  Century 
before  our  era.3  It  was  surrounded  with  walls,  and  a fortress  of  sun- 
dried  brick  perched  upon  a neighbouring  island  to  the  south-west,  gave  it 
complete  command  over  the  passages  of  the  cataract.  An  arm  of  the  river 
ninety  yards  wide  separated  it  from  Suanit,  whose  closely  built  habitations  were 
ranged  along  the  steep  bank,  and  formed,  as  it  were,  a suburb.4  Marshy 
pasturages  occupied  the  modern  site  of  Syene  ; beyond  these  were  gardens, 
vines,  furnishing  wine  celebrated  throughout  the  whole  of  Egypt,5  and  a forest 
of  date  palms  running  towards  the  north  along  the  banks  of  the  stream.  The 
princes  of  the  nome  of  Nubia  encamped  here,  so  to  speak,  as  frontier-posts  of 
civilization,  and  maintained  frequent  but  variable  relations  with  the  people  of 
the  desert.  It  gave  the  former  no  trouble  to  throw,  as  occasion  demanded  it, 
bodies  of  troops  on  the  right  or  left  sides  of  the  valley,  in  the  direction  of  the 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Beato.  In  the  foreground  are  the  ruins  of  the  Roman 
mole  built  of  brick,  which  protected  the  entrance  to  the  harbour  of  Syene ; in  the  distance  is  the 
Libyan  range,  surmounted  by  the  ruins  of  several  mosques  and  of  a Coptic  monastery.  Cf.  the  wood- 
cut  on  p.  431  of  the  present  work. 

2 Jomard,  Description  de  Vile  de  Elephantine,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  i.  pp.  175-181. 

3 This  is  a gateway  in  red  granite  of  the  time  of  Thhtmosis  III.,  but  restored  and  remodelled 
under  Alexander  the  Great ; the  other  ruins  date,  for  the  most  part,  from  the  time  of  Amenotkes  III. 

4 A s to  the  site  occupied  by  the  Pharaonic  and  Grseco-Roman  Syene  in  relation  to  the  modern  towD, 
cf.  Jomard,  Description  de  Syene  et  des  Cataractes,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  i.  p.  128,  et  seq. 

5 Bregsch  ( Reise  nach  der  Grossen  Oase  el-Kliargeh,  p.  91)  believes  that  this  wine  came,  not  from 
Aswan,  near  the  cataract,  but  from  an  unknown  Syene,  situated  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Alexandria, 
in  the  Mareotic  nome. 


426  THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 

lved  Sea  or  in  that  of  the  Oasis ; however  little  they  might  carry  away  in 
their  raids  of  oxen,  slaves,  wood,  charcoal,  gold  dust,  amethysts,  cornelian 
or  greeu  felspar  for  the  manufacture  of  ornaments— it  was  always  so  much 
to  the  good,  and  the  treasury  of  the  prince  profited  by  it.  They  never 

went  very  far  in  their  expeditious  : if 
they  desired  to  strike  a blow  at  a 
distance,  to  reach,  for  example,  those 
regions  of  Puanit  of  whose  riches 
the  barbarians  were  wont  to  boast, 
the  aridity  of  the  district  around  the 
second  cataract  would  arrest  the  ad- 
vance of  their  foot-soldiers,  while  the 
rapids  of  Wady  Haifa  would  oppose 
to  their  ships  an  almost  impassable 
barrier.  In  such  distant  operations 
they  did  not  have  recourse  to  arms, 
but  disguised  themselves  as  peaceful 
merchants.  An  easy  road  led  almost 
direct  from  their  capital  to  Has 
Banat,  which  they  called  the  “ Head 
of  Nekhabit,”  on  the  Eed  Sea ; 
arrived  at  the  spot  where  in  later 
times  stood  one  of  the  numerous 
Berenices,  and  having  quickly  put 
together  a boat  from  the  wood  of 
the  neighbouring  forest,  they  made 
voyages  along  the  coast,  as  far  as  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  and  the  Hiru- 
Shaitu  on  the  north,  as  well  as  to  the  land  of  Puanit  itself  on  the  south.3  The 
small  size  of  these  improvised  vessels  rendered  such  expeditions  dangerous, 
while  it  limited  their  gain  ; they  preferred,  therefore,  for  the  most  part  the 
laud  journey.  It  was  fatiguing  and  interminable : donkeys — the  only  beast 
of  burden  they  were  acquainted  with,  or,  at  least,  employed — could  make  but 
short  stages,  and  they  spent  months  upon  months  in  passing  through  countries 

1 This  was  the  route  traversed  in  18S9,  and  described  by  Golenischeff  in  Une  Excursion  a 
Berenice , in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  89-93,  on  his  return  from  Berenice.  The  Arab 
graffiti,  with  which  the  rocks  of  certain  wadys  are  covered,  show  that  this  route  has  been  used  almost 
up  to  our  own  times. 

2 Map  by  Thuillier,  from  La  Description  de  VEgypte,  Ant , vol.  i.  pi.  30,  1.  I have  added  the 
ancient  names  in  those  cases  where  it  has  been  possible  to  identify  them  with  the  modern  localities. 

3 This  was  done  by  Papinakhiti,  a member  of  the  reigning  family  of  Elephantine,  under  Papi  II. 
(cf.  pp.  434,  435  of  the  present  work) ; from  the  tone  in  which  the  inscription  on  his  tomb  speaks  of 
this  undertaking,  we  may  assume  that  it  was  not  considered  an  extraordinary  exploit  by  his 
contemporaries. 


427 


THE  EXPEDITIONS  OF  TEE  LORDS  OF  ELEPEA NTINE. 

which  a caravan  of  camels  would  now  traverse  in  a few  weeks.1  The  loads 
upon  which  they  ventured  were  those  which,  owing  to  the  necessity  for  the 
frequent  watering  of  the  donkeys  and  the  impossibility  of  carrying  with  them 
adequate  supplies  of  water,  were  marked  out  at  frequent  intervals  by  wells  and 
springs,  and  were  therefore  necessarily  of  a tortuous  and  devious  character. 


SMALL  WADY,  FIVE  HOURS  BEYOND  ED-DOUELG,  ON  THE  ROAD  TO  THE  RED  SEA.2 

Their  choice  of  objects  for  barter  was  determined  by  the  smallness  of  their 
bulk  and  weight  in  comparison  with  their  value.  The  Egyptians  on  the  one  side 
were  provided  with  stocks  of  beads,  ornaments,  coarse  cutlery,  strong  perfumes, 
and  rolls  of  white  or  coloured  cloth,  which,  after  the  lapse  of  fifty-five  centuries, 
are  objects  still  coveted  by  the  peoples  of  Africa.3  The  aborigines  paid  for 
these  articles  of  small  value,  in  gold,  either  in  dust  or  in  bars,  in  ostrich  feathers, 
lions’  and  leopards’  skins,  elephants’  tusks,  cowrie  shells,  billets  of  ebon}7,  incense, 
and  gum  arabic.4  Considerable  value  was  attached  to  cynocephali  and  green 
monkeys,  with  which  the  kings  or  the  nobles  amused  themselves,  and  which 

1 The  History  of  the  Peasant,  in  the  Berlin  Papyri,  Nos.  ii.  and  iv,,  affords  us  a good  example  of 
the  use  made  of  pack-asses ; the  hero  was  on  his  way  across  the  desert,  from  the  Wady  Natrun  to 
Henasieh,  with  a quantity  of  merchandise  which  he  intended  to  sell,  when  an  unscrupulous  artisan, 
under  cover  of  a plausible  pretext,  stole  his  train  of  pack-asses  and  their  loads  (Maspero,  Contes 
populaires  de  VEgypte  Ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  41-48).  Hirkhhf  brought  back  with  him  a caravan  of 
three  hundred  asses  from  one  of  his  journeys ; cf.  p.  433  of  the  present  work. 

2 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Gole'nischefF. 

3 These  are  the  articles  represented  on  the  bas-reliefs  of  the  temple  of  Deir-el-Bahari,  as  used  for 
barter  between  Egyptian  sailors  and  the  people  of  Pftanit,  in  the  seventeenth  century  before  the 
Christian  era,  under  Queen  Hatshopsith  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  (Mariette,  Deir-el-Bahari,  pi.  v.). 

4 For  a list  of  the  commodities  brought  back  by  Ilirkhhf  from  this  last  journey,  see  Schiaparelli, 
Una  Tomba  Egiziana  inedita,  p.  23, 11.  4,  5 ; cf.  pp.  432,  433  of  the  present  work. 


428 


THE  MEMPHITE  EM  TIRE. 


they  were  accustomed  to  fasten  to  the  legs  of  their  chairs  on  days  of  solemn 
reception  ; but  the  dwarf,  the  Danga,  was  the  rare  commodity  which  was  always 
in  demand,  but  hardly  ever  attainable.1  Partly  by  commerce,  and  partly  by 
pillage,  the  lords  of  Elephantine  became  rapidly  wealthy,  and  began  to  play  an 
important  part  among  the  nobles  of  the  Said  : they  were  soon  obliged  to  take 
serious  precautions  against  the  cupidity  which  their  wealth  excited  among  the 
tribes  of  Konusit.2  They  entrenched  themselves  behind  a wall  of  sun-dried 
brick,  some  seven  and  a half  miles  long,  of  which  the  ruins  are  still  an  object 
of  wonder  to  the  traveller.  It  was  flanked  towards  the  north  by  the  ramparts 
of  Syene,  and  followed  pretty  regularly  the  lower  course  of  the  valley  to  its 
abutment  at  the  port  of  Mahatta  opposite  Phil® : guards  distributed  along 
it,  kept  an  eye  upon  the  mountain,  and  uttered  a call  to  arms,  when  the 
enemy  came  within  sight.3  Behind  this  bulwark  the  population  felt  quite  at 
ease,  and  could  work  without  fear  at  the  granite  quarries  on  behalf  of  the 
Pharaoh,  or  pursue  in  security  their  callings  of  fishermen  and  sailors.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Satit  and  of  the  neighbouring  islands  claimed  from 
earliest  times  the  privilege  of  piloting  the  ships  which  went  up  and  down  the 
rapids,  and  of  keeping  the  passages  clear  which  were  used  for  navigation.4 
They  worked  under  the  protection  of  their  goddesses  Anukit  and  Satit : 
travellers  of  position  were  accustomed  to  sacrifice  in  the  temple  of  the  god- 
desses at  Sehel,5  and  to  cut  on  the  rock  votive  inscriptions  in  their  honour, 
in  gratitude  for  the  prosperous  voyage  accorded  to  them.  We  meet  their 
scrawls  on  every  side,  at  the  entrance  and  exit  of  the  cataract,  and  on  the 
small  islands  where  they  moored  their  boats  at  nightfall  during  the  four  or 
five  days  required  for  the  passage ; the  bank  of  the  stream  between 
Elephantine  and  Phil®  is,  as  it  were,  an  immense  visitors’  book,  in  which  every 
generation  of  Ancient  Egypt  has  in  turn  inscribed  itself.3  The  markets  and 

1 Dumiciien,  Geograpltisclie  Inschriften , vol.  i.  xxxi.  1.  1,  where  the  dwarfs  and  pigmies  who  came 
to  the  court  of  the  king,  in  the  period  of  tire  Ptolemies,  to  serve  in  his  household,  are  mentioned 
(Dumichen,  Geschichte  des  Alten  TEgypten,  p.  9,  note  1).  Various  races  of  diminutive  stature,  which 
have  since  been  driven  down  to  the  upper  basin  of  the  Congo,  formerly  extended  further  northward, 
and  dwelt  between  Darfur  and  the  marshes  of  Bahr-el-Ghazal.  As  to  the  Danga,  cf.  what  has  been 
said  on  p.  397  of  the  present  work. 

2 The  inscription  attributed  to  King  Zosiri  expressly  states  that  the  wall  was  built  for  the  purpose 
of  repelling  the  attacks  of  the  people  of  Konfisit  (1.  11 ; cf.  Brugsch,  Die  Sieben  Jahre  der  Uungers- 
noth,  pp.  55,  56). 

3 Lancket,  Description  de  Vile  de  Philx,  in  the  Description  de  VEgyple,  vol.  i.  pp.  5-7).  Lancret 
had  recognized  the  great  antiquity  of  this  wall,  though  Letronne  afterwards  tried  to  make  out  that  it 
was  not  built  till  the  time  of  Diocletian  ( Recueil  des  Inscriptions  grecques  et  latines  de  Vjtgypte,  vol.  ii. 
p.  21 1,  et  seq.).  I have  already  had  occasion  to  state  that  it  is  much  older  than  was  supposed  ( Recueil 
de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  p.  204),  but  I had  not  ventured  to  place  it  so  far  back  as  the  XIIth  dynasty. 

4 Cf.  the  inscription  of  the  time  of  tlsirtasen  III.,  and  that  of  the  reign  of  Thfttmosis  III.,  which  have 
been  published  by  Wilbovr,  Canalizing  the  Cataract,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  202,  203. 

5 The  ruins  were  discovered  by  De  Morgan  in  1893  (Bouriant,  Notes  de  Voyage,  § 20,  in  the 
Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  pp.  187-189;  De  Morgan,  Notice  sur  les  Fouille&,  p.  11). 

0 They  have  been  partly  collected  by  Champollion,  by  Lepsius  (JDerikm.,  ii.  116  b),  by  Marietta 


THE  ROCKS  OF  THE  ISLAND  OF  SEH&L  WITH  SOME  OF  THE  VOTIVE  INSCRIPTIONS. 

Drawn  by  Boudicr,  from  a photograph  taken  by  De'veria  in  186t. 


430 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


streets  of  the  twin  cities  must  have  presented  at  that  time  the  same  motley 
blending  of  types  and  costumes  which  we  might  have  found  some  years  back 
in  the  bazaars  of  modern  Syene.  Nubians,  negroes  of  the  Soudan,  perhaps 
people  from  Southern  Arabia,  jostled  there  with  Libyans  and  Egyptians  of  the 
Delta.  What  the  princes  did  to  make  the  sojourn  of  strangers  agreeable, 
what  temples  they  consecrated  to  their  god  Khnumu  and  his  companions,  in 
gratitude  for  the  good  things  he  had  bestowed  upon  them,  we  have  no  means 
of  knowing  up  to  the  present.  Elephantine  and  Syene  have  preserved  for  us 
nothing  of  their  ancient  edifices ; but  the  tombs  which  they  have  left  tell  us 
their  history.  They  honeycomb  in  long  lines  the  sides  of  the  steep  hill 
which  looks  down  upon  the  whole  extent  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Nile  opposite 
the  narrow  channel  of  the  port  of  Aswan.  A rude  flight  of  stone  steps  led 
from  the  bauk  to  the  level  of  the  sepulchres.  The  mummy  having  been 
slowly  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  the  bearers  to  the  platform,  was  deposited 
for  a moment  at  the  entrance  of  the  chapel.  The  decoration  of  the  latter  was 
rather  meagre,  and  is  distinguished  neither  by  the  delicacy  of  its  execution  nor 
by  the  variety  of  the  subjects.  More  care  was  bestowed  upon  the  exterior,  and 
upon  the  walls  on  each  side  of  the  door,  which  could  be  seen  from  the  river  or 
from  the  streets  of  Elephantine.  An  inscription  borders  the  recess,  and  boasts 
to  every  visitor  of  the  character  of  the  occupant : the  portrait  of  the  deceased, 
and  sometimes  that  of  his  son,  stand  to  the  right  and  left : the  scenes  devoted 
to  the  offerings  come  next,  when  an  artist  of  sufficient  skill  could  be  found  to 
engrave  them.1 

The  expeditions  of  the  lords  of  Elephantine,  crowned  as  they  frequently 
were  with  success,  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Pharaohs : Metesouphis 

As. 

deigned  to  receive  in  person  at  the  cataract  the  homage  of  the  chiefs  of  Uauait 
and  Iritit  and  of  the  Mazaiu  during  the  early  days  of  the  fifth  year  of  his  reign.2 
The  most  celebrated  caravan  guide  at  this  time  was  Hirkhuf,  own  cousin  to 
Mikhu,  Prince  of  Elephantine.  He  had  entered  upon  office  under  the  auspices 

( Monuments  divers,  pis.  70-73,  pp.  23-25),  with  greater  completeness  by  Petrie  and  Griffith  ( A Season 
in  Egypt,  pis.  i.-xiii.),  and  then  by  the  members  of  the  French  Mission  during  the  winter  of  1892-93. 

1 The  tombs  of  Aswttn,  which  had  been  long  forgotten,  have  been  excavated  in  succession  from 
1885  onwards,  partly  owing  to  the  efforts  of  Sir  F.  Grenfell  (Maspebo,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et 
d’ Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  24G-251 ; E.  W.  Budge,  Excavations  made  at  Assuan,  in  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  x.  pp.  4-10  ; Bouriant,  Les  Tombeau  d’ Assouan,  in 
the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  x.  pp.  181-198  ; Scheil,  Note  additionelle  sur  les  tombeau  d' Assouan,  in 
the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  94-96;  E.  Schiaparelli,  Una  Tomba  Egiziana  della  VI 1 
Dinastia,  in  the  Memorie  della  R.  Acc.  dei  Lincei,  Ser.  411,  vol.  i.  part  1,  pp.  21-53). 

2 Champollion,  Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  vol.  i.  p.  214;  Lepsius,  Denhm.,  116  6; 
Tetrie,  A Season  in  Egypt,  pi.  xiii.  No.  338.  The  words  used  in  the  inscription,  “ The  king  himself 
went  and  returned,  ascending  the  mountain  to  see  what  there  was  on  the  mountain,”  prove  that 
Metesouphis  inspected  the  quarries  in  person.  Another  inscription,  discovered  in  1893,  gives  the 
year  Y.  as  the  date  of  his  journey  to  Elephantine,  and  adds  that  he  bad  negotiations  with  the  heads 
of  the  four  great  Nubian  races  (Sayce,  Gleanings  from  the  Land  of  Egypt,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux, 
vol.  xv.  pp.  147,  148). 


431 


HIBKHUF,  TEE  OCCUPATION  OF  TEE  OASIS. 

of  his  father  Iri,  “ the  sole  friend.”  A king  whose  name  he  does  not  mention, 
but  who  was  perhaps  Unas,  more  probably  Papi  I.,  despatched  them  both  to 
the  country  of  the  Amamit.  The  voyage  occupied  seven  months,  and  was 
extraordinarily  successful : 1 the  sovereign,  encouraged  by  this  unexpected  good 
fortune,  resolved  to  send  out  a fresh  expedition.  Hirkhuf  had  the  sole  command 
of  it ; he  made  his  way  through  Iri  tit,  explored  the  districts  of  Satir  and  Dar- 
ros,  and  retraced  his  steps  after  an  absence  of  eight  months.  He  brought  back 


THE  MOUNTAIN  OF  ASWAN  AND  THE  TOMBS  OF  THE  PRINCES  OF  ELEPHANTINE.2 

with  him  a quantity  of  valuable  commodities,  “the  like  of  which  no  one 
had  ever  previously  brought  back.”  He  was  not  inclined  to  regain  his  country 
by  the  ordinary  route  : he  pushed  boldly  into  the  narrow  wadys  which  furrow  the 
territory  of  the  people  of  Iritit,  and  emerged  upon  the  region  of  Situ,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  cataract,  by  paths  in  which  no  official  traveller  who  had 
visited  the  Amamit  had  up  to  this  time  dared  to  travel.3  A third  expedition 
w'hich  started  out  a few  years  later  brought  him  into  regions  still  less  frequented.4 
It  set  out  by  the  Oasis  route,  proceeded  towards  the  Amamit,  and  found  the 

1 As  to  the  first  journey  of  Hirkhuf,  which  he  undertook  in  partnership  with  his  father  Iri,  cf. 
Schiaparelli,  Una  Tomla  Egiziana  inedita  della  Vla  Dinastia,  p.  18,  11.  4-6  of  the  inscription. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Insinger.  The  entrances  (o  the  tombs  are  halfway 
up  ; the  long  trench,  cutting  the  side  of  the  mountain  obliquely,  shelters  the  still  existing  steps  which 
led  to  the  tombs  of  Pharaonic  times.  On  the  sky-line  may  be  noted  the  ruins  of  several  mosques  and 
of  several  Coptic  monasteries;  cf.  the  woodcut  on  p.  425  of  the  present  work. 

3 The  second  journey  of  Hirkhuf  to  Iritit,  and  his  return  via  Sitft,  are  briefly  recounted  in  Schia- 
parelli, Una  Tomba  Egiziana  inedita  della  VLn  Dinastia,  pp.  18,  19,  11.  5-10  of  the  inscription. 

* The  rescript  in  regard  to  the  Danga  is  really  dated  year  II.  of  Papi  II.  Metesouphis  I.  reigned 
fourteen  years,  according  to  fragment  59  of  the  Royal  Canon  of  Turin  (Lepsius,  Auswahl,  pi.  iv.  col.  vi.), 
where  Erman  (Das  Brief  des  Konigs  Nefer-he-re,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxxi.  p.  72)  wishes  to  read 
“ four  ” years. 


432 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


country  in  an  uproar.  The  sheikhs  had  convoked  their  tribes,  and  were 
making  preparations  to  attack  the  Timihu  “towards  the  west  corner  of  the 
heaven,”  in  that  region  where  stand  the  pillars  which  support  the  iron  firmament 
at  the  setting  sun.  The  Timihu  were  probably  Berbers  by  race  and  language.1 
Their  tribes,  coming  from  beyond  the  Sahara,  wandered  across  the  frightful 
solitudes  which  bound  the  Nile  Valley  on  the  west.  The  Egyptians  had 
constantly  to  keep  a sharp  look  out  for  them,  and  to  take  precautions  against 
their  incursions ; having  for  a long  time  acted  only  on  the  defensive,  they  at 
length  took  the  offensive,  and  decided,  not  without  religious  misgivings,  to 
pursue  them  to  their  retreats.  As  the  inhabitants  of  Mendes  and  of  Busiris 
had  concealed  the  place  of  sepulture  of  their  dead  in  the  recesses  of  the 
impassable  marshes  of  the  Delta,  so  those  of  Shit  and  Tliinis  had  at  first 
believed  that  the  souls  of  the  deceased  sought  a home  beyond  the  sands : the 
good  jackal  Anubis  acted  as  their  guide,  through  the  gorge  of  the  Cleft  or 
through  the  gate  of  the  Oven,  to  the  green  islands  scattered  over  the  desert, 
where  the  blessed  dwelt  in  peace  at  a convenient  distance  from  their  native 
cities  and  their  tombs.  They  constituted,  as  we  know,  a singular  folk,  those 
uiti  whose  members  dwelt  in  coffins,  and  who  had  put  on  the  swaddling  clothes 
of  the  dead  ; the  Egyptians  called  the  Oasis  which  they  had  colonized,  the  land 
of  the  shrouded,  or  of  mummies,  uit,  and  the  name  continued  to  designate  it 
long  after  the  advance  of  geographical  knowledge  had  removed  this  paradise 
further  towards  the  west.2  The  Oases  fell  one  after  the  other  into  the  hands 
of  frontier  princes — that  of  Balinesa  coming  under  the  dominion  of  the  lord  of 
Oxyrrhynchus,  that  of  Dakhel  under  the  lords  of  Tliinis.3  The  Nubians  of 
Amamit  had  relations,  probably,  with  the  Timihu,  who  owned  the  Oasis  of 
Dush — a prolongation  of  that  of  Dakhel,  on  the  parallel  of  Elephantine. 
Hirkhuf  accompanied  the  expedition  to  the  Amamit,  succeeded  in  establishing 
peace  among  the  rival  tribes,  and  persuaded  them  “ to  worship  all  the  gods  of 
Pharaoh  : ” he  afterwards  reconciled  the  Iritit,  Amamit,  and  Uauait,  who  lived 

1 Until  now,  the  earliest  mention  of  the  Timihu  did  not  go  further  back  than  the  XII"' 
dynasty  (Chabas,  Les  Papyrus  hie'raiiques  de  Berlin,  pp.  41,  42).  Deveria  (La  Race  suppose 
proto-celtique  est-elle  figur&e  sur  les  monuments  Cgypiiens  ? in  the  Revue  Arch&ologique,  3rd  series,  vol. 
ix.  pp.  38-4S)  connected  them  with  the  white  races  who  peopled  Northern  Africa,  especially  Algeria, 
and  General  Faidherbe  tried  to  identify  their  name  with  that  of  the  Tamachek.  The  presence  of 
Berber  words,  noticeable  in  Egyptian  from  the  XIIth  dynasty  (MASrERO,  On  the  Name  of  an  Egyptian 
Dog,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  for  Biblical  Archeology,  vol.  v.  pp.  127,  128),  added  to  the  fact 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  oasis  of  Siftah  still  speak  a Berber  dialect  (Basset,  Le  Dialecte  deSyouah), 
seems  to  prove  that  the  Timihu  belonged  to  the  great  race  which  now  predominates  in  Northern 
Africa. 

2 Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mytliologie  et  d’ Arcli€ologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  421-427 ; cf.  p.  232  of 
the  present  work  for  information  already  given  as  to  the  mysterious  character  of  the  great  Oasis. 

3 The  first  prince  of  Tliinis  and  of  the  Oasis  of  whom  we  have  any  knowledge  is  the  Antuf  of 
Stele  C 26  in  the  Louvre  collection,  who  flourished  at  the  beginning  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  (Brugsch, 
Reise  nacli  der  Grossen  Oase,  pp.  62,  63). 


EXPEDITIONS  WHICH  PREPARED  THE  WA  Y FOR  CONQ  UEST  OF  NUBIA.  433 


in  a state  of  perpetual  hostility  to  each  other,  explored  their  valleys,  and 
collected  from  them  such  quantities  of  incense,  ebony,  ivory,  and  skins  that 
three  hundred  asses  were  required  for  their  transport.1  He  was  even  fortunate 
enough  to  acquire  a Danga  from  the  land  of  ghosts,  resembling  the  one  brought 
from  Puanit  by  Biurdidi  in 
the  reign  of  Assi  eighty  years 
before.2  Metesouphis,  in  the 
mean  time,  had  died,  and  his 
young  brother  and  successor, 

Papi  II.,  had  already  been  a 
year  upon  the  throne.  The 
new  king, delighted  to  possess 
a dwarf  who  could  perform 
“ the  dance  of  the  god,”  ad- 
dressed a rescript  to  Hirkhuf 
to  express  his  satisfaction ; 
at  the  same  time  he  sent  him 
a special  messenger,  Uni,  a 
distant  relative  of  Papi  I.’s 
minister,  who  was  to  invite 
him  to  come  and  give  an 
account  of  his  expedition. 

The  boat  in  which  the  ex- 
plorer embarked  to  go  down 
to  Memphis,  also  brought  the 
Danga,  and  from  that  mo- 
ment the  latter  became  the 
most  important  personage  of 
the  party.  For  him  all  the  royal  officials,  lords,  and  sacerdotal  colleges  hastened 
to  prepare  provisions  and  means  of  conveyance  ; his  health  was  of  greater  impor- 
tance than  that  of  his  protector,  and  he  was  anxiously  watched  lest  he  should 
escape.  “ "When  he  is  with  thee  in  the  boat,  let  there  be  cautious  persons 
about  him,  lest  he  should  fall  into  the  water  ; when  he  rests  during  the  night, 
let  careful  people  sleep  beside  him,  in  case  of  his  escaping  quickly  in  the  night- 
time. For  my  Majesty  desires  to  see  this  dwarf  more  than  all  the  treasures 


HIRKHUF  RECEIVING  THE  POSTHUMOUS  HOMAGE  AT  THE  DOOR 
OF  HIS  TOMB  FROM  HIS  SON.3 


1 Hirkhut's  third  expedition  is  described  at  greater  length  than  the  others.  The  part  of  the 
inscription  which  contained  most  detail  has  unfortunately  suffered  more  than  the  remainder,  and  in 
several  lines  there  are  lacunas  difficult  to  fill  up;  cf.  Schiaparelli,  Una  Tomba  Egiziana  inedita 
della  VIa  Dinastia,  p.  19, 11.  10-14  of  the  hieroglyphic  text,  and  pp.  22,  23. 

2 As  to  the  Danga  brought  to  Egypt  in  the  time  of  Assi,  see  p.  397  of  this  History. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph,  taken  in  1892,  by  Alexander  Gayet. 

2 F 


434 


THE  MEMPHITE  EM l'l HE. 


which  are  being  imported  from  the  laud  of  Puanit.”  1 Hirkhuf,  on  his  return 
to  Elephantine,  engraved  the  royal  letter  and  the  detailed  account  of  his 
journeys  to  the  lands  of  the  south,  on  the  facade  of  his  tomb.2 

These  repeated  expeditions  produced  in  course  of  time  more  important  and 
permanent  results  than  the  capture  of  an  accomplished  dwarf,  or  the  acquisition 
of  a fortune  by  an  adventurous  nobleman.  The  nations  which  these  merchants 
visited  were  accustomed  to  hear  so  much  of  Egypt,  its  industries,  and  its  military 
force,  that  they  came  at  last  to  entertain  an  admiration  and  respect  for  her,  not 
unmingled  with  fear : they  learned  to  look  upon  her  as  a power  superior  to 
all  others,  and  upon  her  king  as  a god  whom  none  might  resist.  They  adopted 
Egyptian  worship,  yielded  to  Egypt  their  homage,  and  sent  the  Egyptians 
presents : they  were  won  over  by  civilization  before  being  subdued  by  arms. 
We  are  not  acquainted  with  the  manner  in  which  Nofirkiri-Papi  II.  turned 
these  friendly  dispositions  to  good  account  in  extending  his  empire  to  the 
south.  The  expeditions  did  not  all  prove  so  successful  as  that  of  Hirkhuf,  and 
one  at  least  of  the  princes  of  Elephantine,  Papinakhiti,  met  with  his  death  in 
the  course  of  one  of  them.  Papi  II.  had  sent  him  on  a mission,  after  several 
others,  “ to  make  profit  out  of  the  Uauaiii  and  the  Iritit.”  He  killed  con- 
siderable numbers  in  this  raid,  and  brought  back  great  spoil,  which  he  shared 
with  Pharaoh  ; “ for  he  was  at  the  head  of  many  warriors,  chosen  from  among 
the  bravest,”  which  was  the  cause  of  his  success  in  the  enterprise  with  which 
his  Holiness  had  deigned  to  entrust  him.  Once,  however,  the  king  employed 
him  in  regions  which  were  not  so  familiar  to  him  as  those  of  Nubia,  and  fate 
was  against  him.  He  had  received  orders  to  visit  the  Amu,  the  Asiatic  tribes 
inhabiting  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula,  and  to  repeat  on  a smaller  scale  in  the  south 
the  expedition  which  Uni  had  led  against  them  in  the  north  ; he  proceeded 
thither,  and  his  sojourn  having  come  to  an  end,  he  chose  to  return  by  sea.  To 
sail  towards  Puanit,  to  coast  up  as  far  as  the  “ Head  of  Nekhabit,”  to  land 
there  and  make  straight  for  Elephantine  by  the  shortest  route,  presented  no 
unusual  difficulties,  and  doubtless  more  than  one  traveller  or  general  of  those 
times  had  safely  accomplished  it;  Papinakhiti  failed  miserably.  As  he  was 
engaged  in  constructing  his  vessel,  the  Hiru-Shaitu  fell  upon  him  and  massacred 
him,  as  well  as  the  detachment  of  troops  who  accompanied  him  : the  remaining 
soldiers  brought  home  his  body,  which  was  buried  by  the  side  of  the  other 

1 The  rescript  of  Papi  II.  lias  been  published  by  Schiaparelli,  Una  Tomba  Egiziana,  pp.  19-22  ; 
cf.  on  the  Danga  in  Egypt,  Maspero,  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archdologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  429-443. 

2 For  the  study  of  the  inscriptions  of  Hirkhuf,  see,  besides  the  memoir  of  Schiaparelli  just  cited, 
the  two  articles  by  Erman,  in  the  Zeits.  d.  1).  Morg.  Ges.,  vol.  xlvi.  pp.  574-579,  and  in  the  Zeitschrift 
fur  JEgyptisclie  Sprache,  vol.  xxxi.  pp.  65-73;  and  that  of  Maspero,  inth e Revue  Critique,  1892,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  357-366. 


435 


TEE  PYRAMIDS  OF  SAQQARA. 


princes  in  the  mountain  opposite  Syene.1  Papi  II.  had  ample  leisure  to  avenge 


the  death  of  his  vassal  and  to  send  fresh  expe- 
ditions to  Iritit,  among  the  Amamit  and 
even  beyond,  if,  indeed,  as  the  author  of 
the  chronological  Canon  of  Turin  asserts,2 
he  really  reigned  for  more  than  ninety 
years ; but  the  monuments  are  almost 
silent  with  regard  to  him,  and  give  us 
no  information  about  his  possible  exploits 
in  Nubia.  An  inscription  of  his  second 
year  proves  that  he  continued  to  work 
the  Sinaitic  mines,  and  that  he  protected 
them  from  the  Bedouin.3  On  the  other 
hand,  the  number  and  beauty  of  the 
tombs  in  which  mention  is  made  of 
him,  bear  witness  to  the  fact  that  Egypt 
enjoyed  continued  prosperity.5  Recent 
discoveries  have  done  much  to  surround 


HEAD  OF  THE  MUMMY  OF  MLTESOUPH1S  I.' 


this  king  and  his  immediate  predecessors  with  an  air  of  reality  which  is  wanting 
in  many  of  the  later  Pharaohs.  Their  pyramids,  whose  familiar  designations 


1 Inscription  from  the  tomb  of  Papinakhiti,  discovered  in  1892-93,  and  communicated  by  M. 
Bouriant. 

2 Lepsius,  Auswahl,  pi.  iv.  col.  vi.  fragm.  59.  The  fragments  of  Manetho  (Unger’s  edition, 
pp.  102,  106)  and  the  Canon  of  Eratosthenes  (Fragm.  Chronol.,  edited  by  C.  Muller,  p.  183)  agree  in 
assigning  to  him  a reign  of  a hundred  years — a fact  which  seems  to  indicate  that  the  missing  unit  in 
the  Turin  list  was  nine:  Papi  II.  would  have  thus  died  in  the  hundredth  year  of  his  reign.  A reign 
of  a hundred  years  is  impossible  : Militimsauf  I.  having  reigned  fourteen  years,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  assume  that  Papi  II.,  son  of  Papi  I.,  should  have  lived  a hundred  and  fourteen  years  at  the  least, 
even  on  the  supposition  that  he  was  a posthumous  child.  The  simplest  solution  is  to  suppose  (1) 
that  Papi  II.  lived  a hundred  years,  as  Bamses  II.  did  in  later  times,  and  that  the  years  of  his  life 
were  confounded  with  the  years  of  his  reign  ; or  (2)  that,  being  the  brother  of  Militimsauf  I.,  he  was 
considered  as  associated  with  him  on  the  throne,  and  that  the  hundred  years  of  his  reign,  including 
the  fourteen  of  the  latter  prince,  were  identified  with  the  years  of  his  life.  We  may,  moreover, 
believe  that  the ' chronologists,  for  lack  of  information  on  the  VIth  dynasty,  have  filled  the  blanks 
in  their  annals  by  lengthening  the  reign  of  Papi  II.,  which  in  any  case  must  have  been  very 
long. 

3 Lottin  de  Laval,  Voyage  dans  le  presqu’ile  du  Sinai,  Iusc.  Hier.,  pi.  I,  No.  1 ; Lepsius, 
Denlcm.,  ii.  116  a;  Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  174.  He  worked  also  the  quarries  of  Hatnubu 
(Blackden-Frazer,  Collection  of  Graffiti  from,  the  Quarry  of  Hat-nub,  pi.  xv.  3). 

4 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey.  The  mummy  is  now  in  the  Gizeh 
Museum  (cf.  Maspero,  Guide  au  Musde  de  Boulaq,  pp.  347,  348,  No.  5250). 

5 At  Qasr-es-Sayad,  Nos.  1,  2 (Prisse  d’Avennes,  Leitre  a M.  Champollion-Figeac,  in  the  Revue 
Archdologique,  1st  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  732,  733,  and  Monuments  dgyptiens,  pi.  v. ; Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii. 
113  g,  114  c-l),  at  Aswan  (Budge,  Excavations  made  at  Aswan,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical 
Archaeological  Society,  vol.  x.  p.  17,  et  seq. ; Bouriant,  Les  Tombeaux  d’ Assouan,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  x. 
p.  181,  et  seq.),  at  Mohammed-bene  el-Kufur  (Sayce,  Gleanings  from  Egypt,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xiii. 
pp.  65-67 ; cf.  Maspero,  Sur  l’ inscription  de  Zaou,  ibid.,  pp.  67-70),  at  Abydos  (Mariette,  Catalogue 
General,  p.  8,  et  seq.),  at  Saqqara  (Maspero,  Quatre  Amides  de  fouilles,  in  the  Mdmoires  prdsentds  par 
la  Mission  archdologique  franyaise  au  Caire,  vol.  i.  pp.  194-207). 


T11E  MEMPIUTE  EMPIRE. 


43(5 


we  have  deciphered  in  the  texts,  have  been  uncovered  at  Saqqara,  and  the 
inscriptions  which  they  contain  reveal  to  us  the  names  of  the  sovereigns  who 
reposed  within.  Unas,  Teti  III.,  Papi  I.,  Metesouphis  I.,  and  Papi  II.  now 
have  as  clearly  defined  a personality  for  us  as  llamses  II.  or  Seti  I. ; even  the 
mummy  of  Metesouphis  has  been  discovered  near  his  sarcophagus,  and  can  be 
seen  under  glass  in  the  Gizeh  Museum.  The  body  is  thin  and  slender;  the 

head  refined,  and  ornamented  with  the  thick 
side-lock  of  boyhood  ; the  features  can  be  easily 
distinguished,  although  the  lower  jaw  has  dis- 
appeared and  the  pressure  of  the  bandages  has 


- 

1 

PLAN  OF  THE  PYRAMID  OF  UNAS,  AND  LONGITCDINAD 
SECTION  OF  THE  CHAMBERS  WHICH  IT  CONTAINS.1 

flattened  the  nose.  All  the  pyramids  of  the 
dynasty  are  of  a uniform  type,  the  model  being  furnished  by  that  of  Unas.  The 
entrance  is  in  the  centre  of  the  northern  fapade,  underneath  the  lowest  course, 
and  on  the  ground-level.  An  inclined  passage,  obstructed  by  enormous  stones, 
leads  to  an  antechamber,  whose  walls  are  partly  bare,  and  partly  covered  with 
long  columns  of  hieroglyphs : a level  passage,  blocked  towards  the  middle  by 
three  granite  barriers,  ends  in  a nearly  square  chamber  ; on  the  left  are  three 
low'  cells  devoid  of  ornament,  and  on  the  right  an  oblong  chamber  containing 
the  sarcophagus.  The  roofing  of  these  two  principal  rooms  was  pointed.  It 
was  composed  of  large  slabs  of  limestone,  the  upper  edges  of  which  leaned 
one  against  the  other,  while  the  lower  edges  rested  on  a continuous 
ledge  which  ran  round  the  chamber : the  first  row  of  slabs  was  sur- 
mounted by  a second,  and  that  again  by  a third,  and  the  three  together 
effectively  protected  the  apartments  of  the  dead  against  the  thrust  of  the 
superincumbent  mass,  or  from  the  attacks  of  robbers.  The  wall-surfaces 
close  to  the  sarcophagus  in  the  pyramid  of  Unas  are  decorated  with  such  many- 
coloured  ornaments  aud  sculptured  and  painted  doors  as  represent  the  front 
of  a house : this  was,  in  fact,  the  dwelling  of  the  double,  in  which  he  resided 
with  the  dead  body.  The  inscriptions,  like  the  pictures  in  the  tombs,  were 
meant  to  furnish  the  sovereign  with  provisions,  to  dispel  serpents  and  malevolent 
divinities,  to  keep  his  soul  from  death,  and  to  lead  him  into  the  bark  of  the 


1 From  drawings  by  Maspero,  La  Pyramide  d’Ounas,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  iv. 
p.  177. 


ME TES 0 UPHJ8  II.,  AND  THE  LEGEND  OF  N1T0KRIS.  437 

sun  or  into  the  Paradise  of  Osiris.  They  constitute  a portion  of  a vast  book, 
whose  chapters  are  found  scattered  over  the  monuments  of  subsequent  periods. 
They  are  the  means  of  restoring  to  us,  not  only  the  religion  but  the  most 


THE  SEPULCHRAL  CHAMBER  IN  THE  PYRAMID  OF  UNAS,  AND  HIS  SARCOPHAGUS.1 

ancient  language  of  Egypt : the  majority  of  the  formulas  contained  in  them 
were  drawn  up  in  the  time  of  the  earliest  human  kings,  perhaps  even 
before  Menes.2 

The  history  of  the  VIth  dynasty  loses  itself  in  legend  and  fable.  Two  more 
kings  are  supposed  to  have  succeeded  Papi  Nofirkeri,  Mirniri  Mihtimsauf 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph,  taken  in  1881,  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey. 

2 Maspero,  Archtfologie  Egyptienne,  pp.  132-136.  The  engraved  texts  in  the  chambers  of  these 
curious  pyramids  have  been  published  in  extenso  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vols.  iv.-xiv. 


438 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


(Metesoupliis  II.)  ami  Nitauqrit  (Nitokris).1  Metesoupliis  II.  was  killed,  so  runs 
the  tale,  in  a riot,  a year  after  his  accession.2  His  sister,  Nitokris,  the  “rosy- 
cheeked,”  to  whom,  as  was  the  custom,  he  was  married,  succeeded  him  and 
avenged  his  death.  “ She  built  an  immense  subterranean  hall ; under  pretext 
of  inaugurating  its  completion,  but  in  reality  with  a totally  different  aim,  she 
then  invited  to  a great  feast,  and  received  in  this  hall,  a considerable  number 
of  Egyptians  from  among  those  whom  she  knew  to  have  been  instigators  of  the 
crime.  During  the  entertainment,  she  diverted  the  water  of  the  Nile  into  the 
hall  by  means  of  a canal  which  she  had  kept  concealed.  rIkis  is  what  is  related 
of  her.  They  add,  that  after  this,  the  queen,  of  her  own  will,  threw  herself 
into  a great  chamber  filled  with  ashes,  in  order  to  escape  punishment.  ’ She 
completed  the  pyramid  of  Mykerinos,  by  adding  to  it  that  costly  casing  of 
Syenite  which  excited  the  admiration  of  travellers ; she  reposed  in  a sarco- 
phagus of  blue  basalt,  in  the  very  centre  of  the  monument,  above  the  secret 
chamber  where  the  pious  Pharaoh  had  hidden  his  mummy.4  The  Greeks, 
who  had  heard  from  their  dragomans  the  story  of  the  “Rosy-cheeked  Beauty,’ 
metamorphosed  the  princess  into  a courtesan,  and  for  the  name  of  Nitokris, 
substituted  the  more  harmonious  one  of  Rhodopis,  which  was  the  exact  trans- 
lation of  the  characteristic  epithet  of  the  Egyptian  queen.5  One  day  while 
she  was  bathing  in  the  river,  an  eagle  stole  one  of  her  gilded  sandals,  carried 
it  off  in  the  direction  of  Memphis,  and  let  it  drop  in  the  lap  of  the  king,  who 
was  administering  justice  in  the  open  air.  The  king,  astonished  at  the 
singular  occurrence,  and  at  the  beauty  of  the  tiny  shoe,  caused  a search  to  be 
made  throughout  the  country  for  the  woman  to  whom  it  belonged : Rhodopis 
thus  became  Queen  of  Egypt,  and  could  build  herself  a pyramid.6  Even 

1 Metesoupliis  II.  is  meutioued  in  tlie  table  of  ALydos  (Mariette,  La  Nouvelle  Table  d’Abydos, 
p.  16  ; cf.  Revue  Arch&ologique,  2nd  series,  vol.  xiii.  p.  88),  and  in  Manetho  (Unger’s  edition,  p.  106). 
Nitauqrit  is  named  in  Manetho  (Unger’s  edition,  pp  102,  106),  in  Eratosthenes  ( Fragm . chronol., 
p.  183),  and  in  the  Royal  Canon  of  Turin  (Lepsius,  Ausicahl , pi.  iv.  col.  v.  fragtn.  43),  in  which  it 
was  discovered  by  E.  de  Rouge  ( Examen  de  VOuvrage  de  M.  le  Chevalier  de  Bunsen,  ii.  p.  5).  Lesueur 
( Chronologic  des  Rois  d’Egypte,  pp.  223,  268),  and  afterwards  Stern  ( Die  Bandbemerhungen  in  dem 
Manethonischer  Konigscanon,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1885,  p.  92),  have  maintained  that  Nitauqrit  was  not 
the  name  of  a woman,  and  that  Queen  Nitokris  was  a Pharaoh  called  Nitaqerti.  Meyer  ( Gcschichte 
des  Alterthums,  vol.  i.  pp.  104,  105,  and  Geschiclite  des  Alien  ZEgyptens,  p.  139)  does  not  believe  that 
the  Nitauqrit  of  the  Papyrus  immediately  followed  Metesoupliis,  and  inserts  several  kings  between  them. 

2 Manetho  (Unger’s  edition,  pp.  102,  106,  107)  does  not  mention  this  fact,  but  the  legend  given 
by  Herodotus  says  that  Nitokris  wished  to  avenge  the  king,  her  brother  and  predecessor,  who  was 
killed  in  a revolution  ; and  it  follows  from  the  narrative  of  the  facts  that  this  anonymous  brother 
was  the  Metesoupliis  of  Manetho  (Herodotus,  ii.  100).  The  Turin  Papyrus  (Lepsius,  Auswuhl,  pi.  iv. 
col.  vi.  fragm.  59)  assigns  a reign  of  a year  and  a month  to  Mihtimsauf-Metesouphis  II. 

3 Herodotus,  ii.  100;  cf.  Wiedemann,  Herodots  Zweites  Buch,  pp.  399,  400. 

4 The  legend  which  ascribes  the  building  of  the  third  pyramid  to  a woman  has  been  preserved 
by  Herodotus  (ii.  134) : E.  de  Bunsen,  comparing  it  with  the  observations  of  Vyse,  was  inclined  to 
attribute  to  Nitokris  the  enlarging  of  the  monument  ( ZEgyplens  Sidle,  vol.  ii.  pp.  236-238),  which 
appears  to  me  to  have  been  the  work  of  Mykerinos  himself;  cf.  pp.  376,  380,  381  of  this  History. 

5 Lepsius,  Clironologie  der  Alten  ZEgypter,  p.  304,  et  seq. 

6 Strabo,  xvii.  p.  808  : this  is  a form,  as  has  been  frequently  remarked,  of  the  story  of  ‘‘  Cinderella.” 
M.  Piehl  ( Notes  de  Pliilologie  Egypt ienne,  § 2,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Biblical  Archseological  Society , 


THE  ENTRANCE  TO  THE  PYRAMID  OF  UNAS  AT  SAQQARA. 

Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey. 


440 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


Christianity  and  the  Arab  conquest  did  not  entirely  efface  the  remembrance 
of  the  courtesan-princess.  “It  is  said  that  the  spirit  of  the  Southern  Pyramid 
never  appears  abroad,  except  in  the  form  of  a naked  woman,  who  is  very 
beautiful,  but  whose  manner  of  acting  is  such,  that  when  she  desires  to  make 
people  fall  in  love  with  her,  and  lose  their  wits,  she  smiles  upon  them,  and 
immediately  they  draw  near  to  her,  and  she  attracts  them  towards  her,  and 
makes  them  infatuated  with  love  ; so  that  they  at  once  lose  their  wits,  and 
wander  aimlessly  about  the  country.  Many  have  seen  her  moving  round  the 
pyramid  about  midday  and  towards  sunset.”1  It  is  Nitokris  still  haunting 
the  monument  of  her  shame  and  her  magnificence.2 

After  her,  even  tradition  is  silent,  and  the  history  of  Egypt  remains  a mere 
blank  for  several  centuries.  Manetho  admits  the  existence  of  two  other  Mem- 
phite dynasties,  of  which  the  first  contains  seventy  kings  during  as  many  days. 
Akhthoes,  the  most  cruel  of  tyrants,  followed  next,  and  oppressed  his  subjects 
for  a long  period  : he  was  at  last  the  victim  of  raving  madness,  and  met  wiih  his 
death  from  the  jaws  of  a crocodile.  It  is  related  that  he  was  of  Heracleopolite 
extraction,  and  the  two  dynasties  which  succeeded  him,  the  IXth  and  the  X"', 
were  also  Heracleopolitan.3  The  table  of  Abydos  is  incomplete,4  and  the 
Turin  Papyrus,  in  the  absence  of  other  documents,  too  mutilated  to  furnish  us 
with  any  exact  information  ; 5 the  contemporaries  of  the  Ptolemies  were  almost 
entirely  ignorant  of  what  took  place  between  the  end  of  the  VIth  and  the 
beginning  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  ; and  Egyptologists,  not  finding  any  monuments 
which  they  could  attribute  to  this  period,  thereupon  concluded  that  Egypt 
had  passed  through  some  formidable  crisis  out  of  which  she  with  difficulty 
extricated  herself.6  The  so-called  Heracleopolites  of  Manetho  were  assumed  to 

vol.  xi.  p.  221-223)  has  put  forward  the  opinion  that  the  epithet  Rhodopis,  Red  countenance,  was 
applied  at  first  to  the  Great  Sphinx  of  Gizeh,  whose  face  was  actually  painted  red  : in  folk-etymology 
the  epithet  Red-face  had  been  mistakenly  applied  to  Nitafiqrit,  and  the  evil  genius  of  the  red 
countenance  who  animated  the  Sphinx  would  thus  have  become  the  Rhodopis  of  the  third  pyramid. 

1 L’Egypte  de  Murtadi  fils  du  Gaphiphe,  translated  by  Vattier,  Paris,  1666,  p.  65. 

2 The  lists  of  the  VIth  dynasty',  with  the  approximate  dates  of  the  kings,  are  as  follows : — 

ACCORDING  TO  MANETHO. 

Othoes 30 

Phios 53 

Metesouphis 7 

Phiops 100 

Mentesodphis 1 

Nitokris  12 

3 Manetho  (Unger’s  edition,  pp.  107,  108). 

4 It  reckons  between  Metesouphis  II.  and  Mouthotpu  Nibklirouri  of  the  XIth  dynasty  eighteen 
kings,  among  whom  we  find  no  mention  of  some  of  the  sovereigns  just  spoken  of. 

5 The  fragments  of  the  Royal  Canon  of  Turin  which  belongs  to  this  period  have  been  incorrectly 
classified  by  Lepsius  ( Auswalil  der  iciclitigsten  Urkunden,  pi.  iv.  cols,  v.,  vi.,  Nos.  43,  47,  48,  59,  61), 
more  carefully  by  Lautb  ( Manetho  und  der  Turiner  Eonigspapyrus,  cols,  iv.,  v.),  and  especially  by 
Lieblein  ( Recherclies  sur  la  Chronologie  Egyptienne,  pis.  ii.,  iii.). 

6 Marsham  ( Canon  Ghronicue,  edition  of  Leipzig,  1676,  p.  29)  had  already  declared  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  that  he  felt  no  hesitation  in  considering  the  Heracleopolites  as  identical  with  the  • 


ACCORDING  TO  THE  TURIN  CANON  AND 


THE  MONUMENTS. 

Teti  HI.,  3808-3798  ? ? 

Miriri  Papi  I.,  3797-3777  ? 20 

Mirniri  I.,  Mihtimsauf  I.,  3776-3702  ? 14 

NoFiRKERi  Papi  II.,  3761-3661  ? . . . 00  + ? 

Mirniri  II.,  Mihtimsauf  II , 3060-3659?  1 y.  1 m. 
NitauQRit,  3658  ? ? 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MEMPHITE  DYNASTIES. 


441 


have  been  the  chiefs  of  a barbaric  people  of  Asiatic  origin,  those  same  “ Lords  of 
the  Sands  ” so  roughly  handled  by  Uni,  but  who  are  considered  to  have  invaded 
the  Delta  soon  after,  settled  themselves  in  Heracleopolis  Parva  as  their  capital, 
and  from  thence  held  sway  over  the  whole  valley.  They  appeared  to  have 
destroyed  much  and  built  nothing;  the  state  of  barbarism  into  which  they  sauk 
and  to  which  they  reduced  the  vanquished,  explaining  the  absence  of  any  monu- 
ments to  mark  their  occupation.  This  hypothesis,  however,  is  unsupported 
by  any  direct  proof ; even  the  dearth  of  monuments  which  has  been  cited 
as  an  argument  in  favour  of  the  theory,  is  no  longer  a fact.1  The  sequence  of 
reigns  and  details  of  the  revolutions  are  wanting  ; but  many  of  the  kings  and 
certain  facts  in  their  history  are  known,  and  we  aa-e  able  to  catch  a glimpse  of 
the  general  course  of  events.  The  VIIth  and  VIIItl1  dynasties  are  Memphite, 
and  the  names  of  the  kings  themselves  would  be  evidence  in  favour  of  their 
genuineness,  even  if  we  had  not  the  direct  testimony  of  Manetho  : the  one  recur- 
ring most  frequently  is  that  of  Nofirkeri,  the  prenomen  of  Papi  II.,  and  a third 
Papi  figures  in  them,  who  calls  himself  Papi-Sonbu  to  distinguish  himself  from 
his  namesakes.2  The  little  recorded  of  them  in  Ptolemaic  times,  even  the  legend 
of  the  seventy  Pharaohs  reigning  seventy  days,  betrays  a troublous  period  and 
a rapid  change  of  rulers.3  We  know  as  a fact  that  the  successors  of  Nitokris, 
in  the  Royal  Turin  Papyrus,  scarcely  did  more  than  appear  upon  the  throne.4 

successors  of  Menes-Misraim,  who  reigned  over  the  Mestraja,  that  is,  over  the  Delta  only.  The  idea 
of  an  Asiatic  invasion,  analogous  to  that  of  the  Hyksos,  which  was  put  forward  by  Mariette  (Aperfu 
de  VHistoire  d' Egypt,  3rd  edit.,  1874,  pp.  33,  34),  and  accepted  by  Fr.  Lenormant  ( Manuel  d'Histoire 
Ancienne,  3rd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  346,  347),  lias  found  its  chief  supporters  in  Germany.  Bunsen 
(AEgyptens  Stelle,\ ol.  ii.  pp.  264-270)  made  of  the  Heracleopolitan  two  subordinate  dynasties  reigning 
simultaneously  in  Lower  Egypt,  and  originating  at  Heracleopolis  in  the  Delta  : they  were  supposed  to 
have  been  contemporaries  of  the  last  Memphite  and  first  Theban  dynasties.  Lepsius  ( Konigsbuch , pp. 
21-23)  accepted  and  recognized  in  the  Heracleopolitans  of  the  Delta  the  predecessors  of  the  Hyksos, 
an  idea  defended  by  Ebers  ( ZEgypten  und  die  Bucher  Moses,  p.  153,  et  seq.),  and  developed  by  Krall 
in  his  identification  of  the  unknown  invaders  with  the  Hiru-Shaitu  (Die  Vorlaufer  der  Hyksos,  in  the 
Zeitschrift,  1879,  pp.  34-36,  64-67 ; Die  Composition  und  die  Scliicksale  des  Manetlionischen  Geschichts- 
werhes,  p.  81,  et  seq. ; and  Nocli  Einmal  die  Herusa,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1880,  pp.  121-123)  : it  has  been 
adopted  by  Ed.  Meyer  (Geschichte  des  Alterthums,  vol.  i.  p.  105,  et  seq.,  and  Gescliichte  des  Alien 
ZEgyptens,  p.  141,  et  seq.). 

1 To  speak  correctly,  it  has  never  really  existed,  but  the  monuments  belonging  to  the  period 
have  been  badly  classified.  Of.  on  this  subject  Maspero,  Quatre  Annies  de  fouilles,  in  the  Me'moires 
de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  i.  pp.  133-238,  et  seq. ; Lieblein  (Recherches  sur  la  Chronologie  Egyptienne, 
pp.  46-49 ; A.  Baillet,  Monuments  des  VIlle-Xe  dynasties,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xii. 
pp.  48-53). 

2 They  have  been  recognized  as  Memphites  by  Mariette  (La  Nouvelle  Table  d’Abydos,  p.  17 ; cf. 
Revue  Archeologique,  2nd  series,  vol.  xiii.  p.  90),  by  Lieblein  (Recherches  sur  la  Chronologie,  p.  43, 
et  seq.),  and  by  Brugsch  (Geschichte  ZEgyptens,  pp.  105,  106) ; Lauth  (Manetho,  p.  213,  and  Aus 
Iflgyptens  Vorzeit,  p.  178,  et  seq.)  proposes  to  identify  them  with  the  Heracleopolitans,  in  spite  of  the 
absence  on  this  list  of  any  royal  names  which  the  monuments  have  shown  as  belonging  to  the  IXth 
and  Xth  dynasties. 

3 The  explanation  of  Prof.  Lauth  (Aus  JEgyptens  Vorzeit,  pp.  169,  170),  according  to  which 
Manetho  is  supposed  to  have  made  an  independent  dynasty  of  the  five  Memphite  priests  who  filled 
the  interregnum  of  seventy  days  during  the  embalming  of  Nitokris,  is  certainly  very  ingenious,  but 
that  is  all  that  can  be  said  for  it.  The  legendary  source  from  which  Manetho  took  his  information 
distinctly  recorded  seventy  successive  kings,  who  reigned  in  all  seventy  days,  a king  a day. 

4 Turin  Papyrus,  frags.  53  and  61,  in  Lepsius,  Auswahl  der  ivichtigsten  Urkunden,  pi.  iv. 


442 


THE  MEMPHITE  EMPIRE. 


Nofirkeri  reigned  a year,  a month,  and  a dav ; Nofirus,  four  years,  two  months, 
and  a day ; Abu,  two  years,  one  month,  and  a day.  Each  of  them  hoped,  no 
doubt,  to  enjoy  the  royal  power  for  a longer  period  than  his  predecessors,  and, 
like  the  Ati  of  the  VIth  dynasty,  ordered  a pyramid  to  be  designed  for  him 
without  delay:  not  one  of  them  had  time  to  complete  the  building,  nor  even 
to  carry  it  sufficiently  far  to  leave  any  trace  behind.  As  none  of  them  had 
any  tomb  to  hand  his  name  down  to  posterity,  the  remembrance  of  them 
perished  with  their  contemporaries.  By  dint  of  such  frequent  changes  in  the 
succession,  the  royal  authority  became  enfeebled,  and  its  weakness  favoured 
the  growing  influence  of  the  feudal  families  and  encouraged  their  ambition- 
The  descendants  of  those  great  lords,  who  under  Papi  I.  and  II.  made  such 
magnificent  tombs  for  themselves,  were  only  nominally  subject  to  the  supremacy 
of  the  reigning  sovereign  ; many  of  them  were,  indeed,  grandchildren  of 
princesses  of  the  blood,  and  possessed,  or  imagined  that  they  possessed,  as  good 
a right  to  the  crown  as  the  family  on  the  throne.  Memphis  declined,  became 
impoverished,  and  dwindled  in  population.  Its  inhabitants  ceased  to  build 
those  immense  stone  mastabas  in  which  they  had  proudly  displayed  their 
wealth,  and  erected  them  merely  of  brick,  in  which  the  decoration  was  almost 
entirely  confined  to  one  narrow  niche  about  the  sarcophagus.  Soon  the 
mastaba  itself  was  given  up,  and  the  necropolis  of  the  city  was  reduced  to  the 
meagre  proportions  of  a small  provincial  cemetery.  The  centre  of  that  govern- 
ment, which  had  weighed  so  long  and  so  heavily  upon  Egypt,  was  removed  to 
the  south,  and  fixed  itself  at  Heracleopolis  the  Great. 


THE  FIRST  THE  BAX  EMPIRE. 


THE  TWO  HERACLEOPOL1TAN  DYN ASHES  AND  THE  TWELFTH  DYNASTY— THE  CONQUEST  OF 
.ETHIOPIA,  AND  THE  MAKING  OF  GREATER  EGYPT  15Y  THE  THEBAN  KINGS. 

The  principality  of  Heraeleopolis : Akhthoes-Khiti  and  the  Heracleopolitan  dynasties — 
Supremacy  of  the  great  barons:  the  feudal  fortresses,  El-Kab  and  Abydos  ; ceaseless  warfare, 
the  army — Origin  of  the  Theban  principality  : the  principality  of  Si  At,  and  the  struggles  of  its 
lords  against  the  princes  of  Thebes — The  Icings  of  the  XI"'  dynasty  and  their  buildings:  the 
brick  pyramids  of  Abydos  and  Thebes,  and  the  rude  character  of  early  Theban  art. 

The  XII"1  dynasty  : Amenemhd.it  I.,  his  accession,  his  rears ; he  shares  his  throne  with  his 
son  Usirtasen  I.,  and  the  practice  of  a co-reg nancy  prevails  among  h is  immediate  successors — 
The  relations  of  Egypt  with  Asia  : the  Amu  in  Egypt  and  the  Egyptians  among  the  Bedouin ; 
the  Adventures  of  Sinuhit — The  mining  settlements  in  the  Sinaitic  peninsula  : SarbAt-el-Khadim 
and  its  chapel  to  Hdthor. 

Egyptian  policy  in  the  Nile  Valley — Nubia  becomes  part  of  Egypt  : works  of  the  Pharaohs, 
the  gold-mines  and  citadel  of  Kuban — Defensive  measures  at  the  second  cataract:  the  two 
fortresses  and  the  N dome  ter  of  Semneh — The  vile  K Ash  and  its  inhabitants:  the  wars  against 
KAsh  and  their  consequences;  the  gold-mines — Expeditious  to  PAanit,  and  navigation  along 
the  coasts  of  the  Red  Sea  : the  Story  of  the  Shipwrecked  Sailor. 

Public  works  ami  new  buildings — The  restoration  of  the  temples  of  the  Delta  : Tunis  and 
the  sphinxes  of  AmenemhdU  III.,  Bubastis,  Heliopolis,  and  the  temple  of  Usirtasen  I.  — The 
increasing  importance  of  Thebes  and  Abydos — Heraeleopolis  and  the  FayAm  ■'  the  monuments 


( 444  ) 

of  Beyig  and  of  Biahmd,  the  fields  and  water-system  of  the  Faydm,  preference  shown  by  the 
Pharaohs  for  th  is  province— The  royal  pyramids  of  Dash  fir,  Lisht,  Illahdn,  and  Hawdra. 

The  part  played  by  the  feudal  lords  under  the  XIIth  dynasty — History  of  the  princes  of 
Monait  Khilftli : Khndmhotpd,  Khiti,  Amoni-Amenemhmt — The  lords  of  Thebes,  and  the 
accession  of  the  XIIIth  dynasty:  the  Sovkliotpils  and  the  Nofrhotpfls  — Completion  of  the 
conquest  of  Nubia  ; the  XIVth  dynasty. 


THE  HILLS  WEST  OF  THEBES,  AS  SEEN  FROM  THE  SOUTHERN  END  OF  LUXOR.' 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 

Tlie  two  Heracleopolitan  dynasties  and  the  XIIth  dynasty — The  conquest  of  ^Ethiopia,  and 
the  making  of  Greater  Egypt  by  the  Theban  kings. 

!HE  principality  of  the  Oleander — Naru — was  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  Memphite  nome;  the  frontier  ran 
from  the  left  bank  of  the  Nile  to  the  Libyan  range,  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  Riqqah  to  that  of  Medum.  The 
principality  comprised  the  territory  lying  between  the 
Nile  and  the  Bahr  Yusuf,  and  from  these  two  villages 
to  the  Harabshent  Canal — a district  known  to  Greek 
geographers  as  the  island  of  Heracleopolis ; — it  more- 
over included  the  whole  basin  of  the  Fayum,  on  the 
west  of  the  valley.  In  very  early  times  it  had  been 
divided  into  three  parts  : the  Upper  Oleander — Naru 
Khoniti — the  Lower  Oleander — Naiu  Pahui — and  the 
lake  land — To-shit ; and  these  divisions,  united  usually 
under  the  supremacy  of  one  chief,  formed  a kind  of  small  state,  of  which 
Heracleopolis  was  always  the  capital.  The  soil  was  fertile,  well  watered, 
and  well  tilled,  but  the  revenues  from  this  district,  confined  between  the 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Golenischeff.  The  vignette  represents  the  bust  of 
a statue  of  Amenemhait  III.  (Golenischeff,  Ermitage  imperial,  Inventaire  de  la  Collection  tfgyptienne, 


44G 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


two  arms  of  the  river,  were  small  in  comparison  with  the  wealth  which 
their  ruler  derived  from  his  lands  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain  range.1 
The  Fayum  is  approached  by  a narrow  and  winding  gorge,  more  than  six 
miles  in  length — a depression  of  natural  founation,  deepened  by  the  hand 
of  man  to  allow  a free  passage  to  the  waters  of  the  Nile.2  The  canal 
which  conveys  them  leaves  the  Bahr  Yusuf  at  a point  a little  to  the  north 
of  Heracleopolis,  carries  them  in  a swift  stream  through  the  gorge  in  the 
Libyan  chain,  and  emerges  into  an  immense  amphitheatre,  whose  highest 
side  is  parallel  to  the  Nile  Valley,  and  whose  terraced  slopes  descend  abruptly 
to  about  a hundred  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean.  Two  great  arms 
separate  themselves  from  this  canal  to  the  right  and  left — the  Wady  Tamieh 
and  the  Wady  Nazleh  ; they  wind  at  first  along  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  then 
again  approaching  each  other,  empty  themselves  into  a great  crescent  or  horn- 
shaped lake,  lying  east  and  west — the  Moeris  of  Strabo,  the  Birket-Kerun  of 
the  Arabs.3  A third  branch  penetrates  the  space  enclosed  by  the  other  two, 
passes  the  town  of  Shodu,  and  is  then  subdivided  into  numerous  canals  and 
ditches,  whose  ramifications  appear  on  the  map  as  a network  resembling  the 
reticulations  of  a skeleton  leaf.  The  lake  formerly  extended  beyond  its  present 
limits,  and  submerged  districts  from  which  it  has  since  withdrawn.4  In  years 

pp.  Si,  85,  No.  730),  drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Golenischeff  (cf.  Golenischeff 
Amenemha  HI  et  les  sphinx  de  San,  pi.  iii.,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  p.  136). 

' Brugsch  (Die  RZgyptologie,  p.  4i7)  reads  the  name  of  the  nome  as  Im  or  Amu ; but  the  variants 
of  the  name  of  its  capital  (Brugsch,  Diet.  Gdogr.,  pp.  315,  316,  331)  seem  to  me  to  prove  that  it 
should  be  read  Ndrit  or  Naru.  The  situation  of  the  nome  was  at  first  misapprehended,  and  Brugsch 
identified  its  capital  with  Bubastis  (Mariette,  Renseignements  sur  les  soixante-quatre  Apis,  in  the 
Bulletin  Archdulogique  de  V AtMnxum  Franyaise,  1856,  p.  98,  note  103),  and  later  with  the  Oasis  of 
Amon  (Geogr.  Ins.,  vol.  i.  pp.  292-294;  cf.  Chabas,  Les  Papyrus  liie'ratiques  de  Berlin,  pp.  17-36)  : E. 
de  Rouge  was  the  first  to  show  that  it  was  Heracleopolis  Magna  (Inscription  historique  de  Pianchi- 
Meriamen,  pp.  19,  20;  cf.  Revue  Arch&ologique,  1864,  2nd  series,  vol.  viii.  pp.  113,  114).  The  name 
of  the  city  reads  Hiuinsu  (Daressy,  Remarques  et  Notes,  § xx.,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xi. 
p.  80 ; Brugsch,  Der  altdgyptische  Name  der  Stadt  Gross-Herahleopolis,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1S86,  pp. 
75,  76).  The  name  To-shit  was  applied  to  the  Fayum  by  Brugsch  (Das  altdgyptische  Seeland,  in  the 
Zeitschrift,  1872,  pp.  89-91),  an  application  which  he  afterwards  restricted  to  the  district  of  El-Bats, 
which  extends  along  the  foot  of  the  Libyan  range  from  Illahun  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Tamieh 
(Der  Mdris-See,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  vol.  xxx.  p.  73,  et  seq.).  With  the  help  of  data  derived  from  the 
Greek  geographers,  Jomard  clearly  defined  the  boundaries  of  the  Heracleopolitan  nome  ( Description 
de  V Heptanomide,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  iv.  p.  400,  et  seq.). 

2 For  the  geography  of  the  Fayum,  cf.  Jomard,  Description  des  Anti qu He's  du  nome  Arsinoite,  in 
the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  iv.  pp.  440-486,  and  Md moire  sur  le  lac  Moeris,  in  the  Description  de 
VEgypte,  vol.  vi.  pp.  157-162;  Chelu,  I.e  Nil,  le  Soudan,  VEgypte,  p.  381,  et  seq.,  and  a recent 
publication  by  Major  B.  H.  Brown,  The  Fayum  and  Lake  Moeris,  1892. 

3 Strabo,  xvii.  pp.  809-811 ; Jomard,  Me'moire  sur  le  lac  de  Moeris,  in  the  Description,  vol.  vi.  p.  164. 

4 Most  of  the  specialists  who  have  latterly  investigated  the  Fayum  have  greatly  exaggerated  the 
extent  of  the  Birket-Kerun  in  historic  times.  Prof.  Petrie  (Hawara,  Biahmu,  and  Arsinoe,  pp.  1,  2) 
states  that  it  covered  the  whole  of  the  present  province  throughout  the  time  of  the  Memphite  kings, 
and  that  it  was  not  until  the  reign  of  Amenemhait  I.  that  even  a very  small  portion  was  drained. 
Major  Brown  adopts  this  theory,  and  considers  that  it  was  under  Amenemhait  III.  that  the  great  lake 
of  the  Fayum  was  transformed  into  a kind  of  artificial  reservoir,  which  was  the  Moeris  of  Herodotus 
(The  Fayum  and  Lake  Moeris,  p.  69,  et  seq  ).  The  city  of  Shodfi,  Shadh,  Shadit— the  capital  of  the 
Fayum — and  its  god  Sovku  are  mentioned  even  in  the  Pyramid  texts  (Maspero,  La  Pyramide  de 


THE  PRINCIPALITY  OF  HERA  CLE OPOLIS. 


447 


when  the  inundation  was  excessive,  the  surplus  waters  were  discharged  into  the 
lake;  when,  however,  there  was  a low  Nile,  the  storage  which  had  not  been 
absorbed  by  the  soil  was  poured  back  into  the  valley  by  the  same  channels, 
and  carried  down  by  the  Bahr- Yusuf  to  augment  the  inundation  of  the  Western 
Delta.  The  Nile  was  the  source  of  everything  in  this  principality,  and  hence 


they  were  aqueous  gods  who  received  the  homage  of  its  three  nomes.  The 
inhabitants  of  Heracleopolis  worshipped  the  ram  Harshafitu,  with  whom  they 
associated  Osiris  of  Naruduf  as  god  of  the  dead  ; 1 the  people  of  the  Upper 
Oleander  adored  a second  ram,  Khnumu  of  Hasmonitu,2  and  the  whole  Fayum 
was  devoted  to  the  cult  of  Sovku  the  crocodile.3  Attracted  by  the  fertility 
of  the  soil,  the  Pharaohs  of  the  older  dynasties  had  from  time  to  time  taken 
up  their  residence  in  Heracleopolis  or  its  neighbourhood,  and  one  of  them — 

P&pi  II.,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiv.  p.  15],  11.  1559,  13G0)  : and  the  eastern  district  of  the 
Fayum  is  named  in  the  inscription  of  Amten,  under  the  IIIrd  dynasty  (Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  187,  188 ; cf.  ante,  p.  293). 

1 For  the  god  Harshafitu,  see  Lanzone,  Dizionario  di  Mitologia,  pp.  552-557  (cf.  ante,  pp.  98,  99) ; 
and  for  Osiris  of  Naruduf,  see  Brugsch,  Dictionriaire  Geographique,  p.  345. 

Ha-Smonitu,  or  Smonit,  is  now  Ismend  (Brugsch,  Geographisclie  lnschriften,  vol.  i.  p.  232). 

3 Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie  der  alien  Mgypter,  p.  156,  et  seq. ; cf.  ante,  pp.  103,  104. 


448 


TJIE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


Snofrui — had  built  his  pyramid  at  Median,  close  to  the  frontier  of  the  nome.1 
In  proportion  as  the  power  of  the  Memphites  declined,  the  princes  of  the 
Oleander  grew  more  vigorous  and  enterprising;  and  when  the  Memphite  kings 
passed  away,  these  princes  succeeded  their  former  masters  and  sat  “ upon  the 
throne  of  Horus.” 

The  founder  of  the  IXtu  dynasty  was  perhaps  Kldti  I.,  Miribri,  the 


FLAT-BOTTOMED  VESSEL  OF  BRONZE  OPEN-WORK  BEARING  THE  CARTOUCHES  OF  PHARAOH  KHITI  I.* 


Akbthoes  of  the  Greeks.3  He  ruled  over  all  Egypt,  and  his  name  has  been 
found  on  rocks  at  the  first  cataract.4  A story  dating  from  the  time  of  the 
Kamessides  mentions  his  wars  against  the  Bedouin  of  the  regions  east  of  the 
Delta ; 5 and  what  Manetho  relates  of  his  death  is  merely  a romance,  in  which  the 
author,  having  painted  him  as  a sacrilegious  tyrant  like  Kheops  and  Khephren, 
states  that  he  was  dragged  down  under  the  water  and  there  devoured  by  a 
crocodile  or  hippopotamus,  the  appointed  avengers  of  the  offended  gods.6  His 
successors  seem  to  have  reigned  ingloriously  for  more  than  a century.7  Their 
deeds  are  unknown  to  history,  but  it  was  under  the  reign  of  one  of  them — 

1 On  the  pyramid  of  Medum  and  the  dwelling-place  of  Snofrhi,  cf.  pp.  358-3G0. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  original  in  the  Louvre  Museum.  Cf.  MasperO,  Notes  au 
jour  lejour,  § 10,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arclixology,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  429,  430. 

3 The  name  Khiti,  rapidly  pronounced  as  Khti,  acquired  an  initial  vowel  and  became  Akhti,  as 
Sni  has  become  Esneli,  Tbh  Edfh,  Khmunu  Aslnnfinein,  etc.  The  identity  of  Khiti,  Khith,  and 
Akhthoiis  was  established  by  Mr.  Griffith  ( Report  of  the  Third  General  Meeting  of  the  Egypt  Explo- 
ration Fund,  1888-89,  p.  16,  note;  and  Notes  on  some  Royal  Names  and  Families,  in  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arclixology,  vol.  xiv.  p.  40).  For  an  account  of  a bronze  vessel  belonging  to 
this  king,  and  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Louvre,  and  of  the  scarabs  bearing  his  prenomen — Miribri — 
cf.  Maspero’s  remarks  in  Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 10,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archxology,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  429-431. 

4 It  was  found  there  by  Sayce  ( [The  Academy,  1892,  vol.  i.  p.  332). 

5 Golenischeff,  Le  Papyrus  No.  1 de  Saint- PCtersbourg,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1876,  p.  109. 

6 Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires  de  VEgyple  Ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  59-62.  Cf.  what  is  said  of  the 
hippopotamus  as  the  avenger  of  the  gods  on  p.  235,  note  5,  and  of  Akbthoes  on  p.  440. 

7 The  most  probable  estimate  of  the  duration  of  the  first  Heracleopolitan  dynasty  is  that 


KIIITI  I.  AND  THE  HEN  A CLEOPOLITAN  DYNASTIES. 


440 


Nibkauri — that  a travelling  fellah,  having  been  robbed  of  his  earnings  by  an 
artisan,  is  said  to  have  journeyed  to  Heracleopolis  to  demand  justice  from  the 
governor,  or  to  charm  him  by  the  eloquence  of  his  pleadings  and  the 
variety  of  his  metaphors.1  It  would,  of  course,  be  idle  to  look  for  the  record  of 
any  historic  event  in  this  story ; the  common  people,  moreover,  do  not  long 
remember  the  names  of  unimportant  princes,  and  the  tenacity  with  which  the 


TART  Ob'  THE  WALLS  OF  EL-KAB  ON  THE  NORTHERN  SIDE.2 


Egyptians  treasured  the  memories  of  several  kings  of  the  Heracleopolitan  line 

amply  proves  that,  whether  by  their  good  or  evil  qualities,  they  had  at  least 

made  a lasting  impression  upon  the  popular  imagination.  The  history  of  this 

period,  as  far  as  we  can  discern  it  through  the  mists  of  the  past,  appears  to  be 

one  confused  struggle : from  north  to  south  war  raged  without  intermission ; 

the  Pharaohs  fought  against  their  rebel  vassals,  the  nobles  fought  among 

themselves,  and — what  scarcely  amounted  to  warfare — there  were  the  raids  on 

all  sides  of  pillaging  bands,  who,  although  too  feeble  to  constitute  any  serious 

danger  to  large  cities,  were  strong  enough  either  in  numbers  or  discipline 

to  render  the  country  districts  uninhabitable,  and  to  destroy  national 

provisionally  adopted  by  Lepsius  ( Konigsbuch , pp.  56,  57),  allowing  it  one  hundred  and  nineteen  years 
(cf.  Maspero,  Qucitre  Annees  defouilles,  in  the  M if  moires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  i.  p.  240).  The 
dynasty  apparently  consisted  of  four  kings. 

1 The  Pharaoh  here  in  question  was  first  thought  to  be  the  second  king  of  the  IIIrd  (Maspero, 
Les  Contes  populaires  de  VEgypte  ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  p.  47,  note  1),  or  an  unknown  sovereign  of  the 
Xth  dynasty  (Chabas,  Les  Papyrus  Hi&ratiques  de  Berlin,  p.  13).  As  the  scene  of  the  story  and  the 
palace  of  the  king  are  both  placed  in  Heracleopolis  Magna,  Mr.  Griffith  is  certainly  right  in  putting  Nib- 
kauri  in  the  IXth  dynasty  ( Report  of  the  Third  General  Meeting  of  the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund,  1888-89, 
p.  289  ; Fragments  of  old  Egyptian  Stories,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology, 
1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  p.  469,  note  2).  Cf.  what  is  said  of  this  story  on  pp.  309,  310  of  the  present  work. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Grebaut.  The  illustration  shows  a breach  where  the 
gate  stood,  and  the  curves  of  the  brickwork  courses  can  clearly  be  traced  both  to  the  right  and  the 
left  of  the  opening, 

2 G 


450 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


prosperity.1  The  banks  of  the  Nile  already  bristled  with  citadels,  where 
the  nomarchs  lived  and  kept  watch  oyer  the  lands  subject  to  their 
authority  : 2 other  fortresses  were  established  wherever  any  commanding  site 
— such  as  a narrow  part  of  the  river,  or  the  mouth  of  a defile  leading  into  the 
desert — presented  itself.  All  were  constructed  on  the  same  plan,  varied  only 
by  the  sizes  of  the  areas  enclosed,  and  the  different  thickness  of  the  outer 
walls.  The  outline  of  their  ground-plan  formed  a parallelogram,  whose 
enclosure  wall  was  often  divided  into  vertical  panels  easily  distinguished  by 
the  different  arrangements  of  the  building  material.  At  El-Ivab  and  other 
places  the  courses  of  crude  brick  are  slightly  concave,  somewhat  resembling 
a wide  inverted  arch  whose  outer  curve  rests  on  the  ground.3  In  other  places 
there  was  a regular  alternation  of  lengths  of  curved  courses,  with  those  in  which 
the  courses  were  strictly  horizontal.  The  object  of  this  method  of  structure  is 
still  unknown,  but  it  is  thought  that  such  building  offers  better  resistance 
to  shocks  of  earthquake.  The  most  ancient  fortress  at  Abydos,  whose  ruins 
now  lie  beneath  the  mound  of  Kom-es-Sultan,  was  built  in  this  way.4  Tombs 
having  encroached  upon  it  by  the  time  of  the  VIth  dynasty,  it  was  shortly 
afterwards  replaced  by  another  and  similar  one,  situate  rather  more  than  a 
hundred  yards  to  the  south-east ; the  latter  is  still  one  of  the  best-preserved 
specimens  of  military  architecture  dating  from  the  times  immediately  preceding 
the  first  Theban  empire.5  The  exterior  is  unbroken  by  towers  or  projections 
of  any  kind,  and  consists  of  four  sides,  the  two  longer  of  which  are  parallel  to 
each  other  and  measure  143  yards  from  east  to  west ; the  two  shorter  sides, 
which  are  also  parallel,  measure  85  yards  from  north  to  south.  The  outer 
wall  is  solid,  built  in  horizontal  courses,  with  a slight  batter,  and  decorated  by 
vertical  grooves,  which  at  all  hours  of  the  day  diversify  the  surface  with  an 
incessant  play  of  light  and  shade.  When  perfect  it  can  hardly  have  been  less 
than  40  feet  in  height.  The  walk  round  the  ramparts  was  crowned  by  a slight, 
low  parapet,  with  rounded  battlements,  and  was  reached  by  narrow  staircases 

1 These  facts  are  implied  by  the  expressions  found  in  early  XII11'  dynasty  texts,  in  the  Great 
Inscription  at  Beni-Hassan  (1.  36,  et  seq.),  in  the  “ Instructions  of  Amenemhait  ” (pi.  i.  11.  7-9  ; cf. 
below,  p.  461),  but  especially  in  the  panegyrics  of  the  princes  of  Siut,  summarised  or  translated 
below  on  pp.  456-468. 

3 On  pp.  297,  298  we  have  already  treated  of  these  castles  or  fortified  dwellings  in  which  the 
great  Egyptian  nobles  passed  their  lives. 

3 The  south  face  of  the  fortress  at  El-Kab  is  built  in  the  same  way  as  the  fortress  of  Kom-es- 
Sultan  ; it  is  only  on  the  north  and  east  faces  that  the  courses  run  in  regular  undulations  from  end 
to  end. 

4 Cf.  what  is  said  of  the  first  fortress  at  Abydos  on  p.  232  of  the  present  woik. 

6 Maspl.ro,  Archtfolorjie  Egyptienne,  pp.  22-28;  Dieulafoy,  L'Acropole  de  Suse,  pp.  163-166.  My 
first  opinion  was  that  the  second  fortress  had  been  built  towards  the  time  of  the  XVIII"1  dynasty 
at  the  earliest,  perhaps  even  under  the  XXth  (ArcMologie  Egyptienne,  p.  23).  Further  consideration 
of  the  details  of  its  construction  and  decoration  now  leads  me  to  date  it  from  the  time  intervening 
between  the  VIth  and  XIIth  dyna  tie®. 


FEUDAL  FOB  TRESSES : EL-KAB  AND  ABYDOS. 


45 1 


carefully  constructed  in  the  thickness  of  the  walls.  A battlemented  covering 
wall,  about  five  and  a half  yards  high,  encircled  the  building  at  a distance  of 
some  four  feet.  The  fortress  itself  was  entered  by  two  gates,  and  posterns 
placed  at  various  points  between  them  provided  for  sorties  of  the  garrison. 
The  principal  entrance  was  concealed  in  a thick  block  of  building  at  the 
eastern  extremity  of  the  east  front.  The  corresponding  entrance  in  the  covering 


THE  SECOND  FORTRESS  OF  ABYDOS — THE  SHUNET  EZ-ZEBIB— AS  SEEN  FROM  THE  EAST.1 


wall  was  a narrow  opening  closed  by  massive  wooden  doors ; behind  it  was  a 
small  place  cVarmes,  at  the  further  end  of  which  was  a second  gate,  as  narrow 
as  the  first,  and  leading  into  an  oblong  court  hemmed  in  between  the  outer 
rampart  and  two  bastions  projecting  at  right  angles  from  it ; and  lastly, 
there  was  a gate  purposely  placed  at  the  furthest  and  least  obvious  corner  of 
the  court.  Such  a fortress  was  strong  enough  to  resist  any  modes  of  attack 
then  at  the  disposal  of  the  best-equipped  armies,  which  knew  but  three  ways 
of  taking  a place  by  force,  viz.  scaling,  sapping,  and  breaking  open  the  gates. 
The  height  of  the  walls  effectually  prevented  scaling.  The  pioneers  were 
kept  at  a distance  by  the  braye,  but  if  a breach  were  made  in  that,  the 
small  flanking  galleries  fixed  outside  the  battlements  enabled  the  besieged  to 
overwhelm  the  enemy  with  stones  and  javelins  as  they  approached,  and  to 
make  the  work  of  sapping  almost  impossible.  Should  the  first  gate  of 
the  fortress  yield  to  the  assault,  the  attacking  party  would  be  crowded 
together  in  the  courtyard  as  in  a pit,  few  being  able  to  enter  together; 
they  would  at  once  be  constrained  to  attack  the  second  gate  under  a shower  of 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey.  Modem  Arabs  call  it  the  Slitinet- 
ez-Zebib,  the  storehouse  of  raisins  (for  the  possible  derivation  of  this  name,  see  Rochemonteix, 
CEuvres  diverges,  p.  80) ; the  plan  of  the  fortress  is  given  by  Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pi.  68. 


452 


THE  FIRST  Til  ED  AN  EM  EIRE. 


missiles,  and  did  they  succeed  in  carrying  that  also,  it  was  at  the  cost  of 
enormous  sacrifice.  The  peoples  of  the  Nile  Valley  knew  nothing  of  the 
swing  battering-ram,  and  no  representation  of  the  hand-worked  battering- 
ram  has  ever  been  found  in  any  of  their  wall-paintings  or  sculptures;  they 
forced  their  way  into  a stronghold  by  breaking  down  its  gates  with  their  axes, 
or  by  setting  fire  to  its  doors.  While  the  sappers  were  hard  at  work,  the 
archers  endeavoured,  by  the  accuracy  of  their  aim,  to  clear  the  enemy  from 
the  curtain,  while  soldiers  sheltered  behind  movable  mantelets  tried  to  break 


down  the  defences  and  dismantle  the  flanking  galleries  with  huge  metal-tipped 
lances.  In  dealing  with  a resolute  garrison  none  of  these  methods  proved 
successful ; nothing  but  close  siege,  starvation,  or  treachery  could  overcome 
its  resistance. 

The  equipment  of  Egyptian  troops  was  lacking  in  uniformity,  and  men 
armed  with  slings,  or  bows  and  arrows,  lances,  wooden  swords,  clubs,  stone 
or  metal  axes,  all  fought  side  by  side.  The  head  was  protected  by  a padded 
cap,  and  the  body  by  shields,  which  were  small  for  light  infantry,  but  of  great 
width  for  soldiers  of  the  line.  The  issue  of  a battle  depended  upon  a succession 
of  single  combats  between  foes  armed  with  the  same  weapons ; the  lancers 
alone  seem  to  have  charged  in  line  behind  their  huge  bucklers.  As  a rule,  the 
wounds  were  trifling,  and  the  great  skill  with  which  the  shields  were  used 
made  the  risk  of  injury  to  any  vital  part  very  slight.  Sometimes,  however,  a 
lance  might  be  driven  home  into  a man’s  chest,  or  a vigorously  wielded  sword 
or  club  might  fracture  a combatant’s  skull  and  stretch  him  unconscious 
on  the  ground.  With  the  exception  of  those  thus  wounded  and  incapacitated 
for  flight,  very  few  prisoners  were  taken,  and  the  name  given  to  them, 
“Those  struck  down  alive” — sohiruonlchu — sufficiently  indicates  the  method 
of  their  capture.  The  troops  were  recruited  partly  from  the  domains 

1 Drawn  by  Faucker-Gudin,  from  a scene  in  the  tomb  of  Amoni-Amenemk&it  at  Beui-Hasan  (cf. 
Griffith  and  Newberry,  Beni-Hasan,  vol.  i.  pi.  xiv.,  Archxological  Stirvey  of  Egypt  Exploration 
Fund). 


THE  OltIGIN  OF  THE  THEBAN  PRINCIPALITY. 


453 


of  military  fiefs,  partly  from  tribes  of  the  desert  or  Nubia,  and  by  their 
aid  the  feudal  princes  maintained  the  virtual  independence  which  they  had 
acquired  for  themselves  under  the  last  kings  of  the  Memphite  line.  Here  and 
there,  at  Hermopolis,  Siut,  and  Thebes,  they  founded  actual  dynasties,  closely 
connected  with  the  Pharaonic  dynasty,  and  even  occasionally  on  an  equality 
with  it,  though  they  assumed  neither  the  crown  nor  the  double  cartouche. 


EGYPTIAN  TROOPS  BEARING  VARIOUS  ARMS  ENGAGED  IN  COMBAT.1 


Thebes  especially  was  admirably  adapted  for  becoming  the  capital  of  an 
important  state.  It  rose  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile,  at  the  northern  end  of 
the  curve  made  by  the  river  towards  Hermonthis,  and  in  the  midst  of  one  of 
the  most  fertile  plains  of  Egypt.  Exactly  opposite  to  it,  the  Libyan  range 
throws  out  a precipitous  spur  broken  up  by  ravines  and  arid  amphitheatres,  and 
separated  from  the  river-bank  by  a mere  strip  of  cultivated  ground  which  could 
be  easily  defended.  A troop  of  armed  men  stationed  on  this  neck  of  land 
could  command  the  navigable  arm  of  the  Nile,  intercept  trade  with  Nubia  at 
their  pleasure,  and  completely  bar  the  valley  to  any  army  attempting  to  pass 
without  having  first  obtained  authority  to  do  so.  The  advantages  of  this  site 
do  not  seem  to  have  been  appreciated  during  the  Memphite  period,  when  the 
political  life  of  Upper  Egypt  was  but  feeble,  and  Thebes  merely  an  insig- 
nificant village  of  the  Uisit  nome  and  a dependency  of  Hermonthis.  It  was  only 
towards  the  end  of  the  VHP11  dynasty  that  Thebes  began  to  realize  its  power, 
after  the  triumph  of  feudalism  over  the  crown  had  culminated  in  the  downfall 
of  the  Memphite  kings.2  A family,  which,  to  judge  from  the  fact  that  its 
members  affected  the  name  of  Monthotpu,  originally  came  from  Hermonthis* 
settled  in  Thebes  and  made  that  town  the  capital  of  a small  principality,  which 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a scene  in  the  tomb  of  AmonhAmenemh&it  at  BenhHashn 
(cf.  Griffith  and  Newberry,  BenLHasan,  vol.  i.  pi.  xvi.,  Archaeological  Survey  of  Egypt  Exploration 
Fund). 

2 The  probability  of  this  fact  is  made  apparent  by  a comparison  of  the  number  of  these  feudal 
princes  as  given  on  the  official  lists  witii  what  seems  to  be  the  most  correct  estimate  of  the  duration 
of  the  two  Heracleopolitan  dynasties  (Maspero,  Quatre  Annies  de  fouilles,  in  the  MeTmoire  de  la 
Mission  Frangaue  du  Caire,  vol.  i.  p.  310). 


454 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EM  TIRE. 


rapidly  enlarged  its  borders  at  the  expense  of  the  neighbouring  nomes.1  All 
the  towns  and  cities  of  the  plain,  Madut,2  Hfuit,8  Zorit,4  Hermonthis,  and  towards 
the  south,  Aphroditopolis  Parva,  at  the  gorge  of  the  Two  Mountains  (Gebelen) 
which  formed  the  frontier  of  the  fief  of  El-Kab,  Kufit  towards  the  north, 
Dendera,  and  Hu,  all  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Theban  princes  and  enormously 
increased  their  territory.  Their  supremacy  was  accepted  more  or  less  willingly 
by  the  adjacent  principalities  of  El-Kab,  Elephantine,  Koptos,  Qasr-es-Sayad, 
Thinis,  and  Ekhmim.  Antuf,  the  founder  of  the  family,  claimed  no  other  title 
than  that  of  Lord  of  Thebes,5  and  still  submitted  to  the  suzerainty  of  the  Hera- 
cleopolitan  kings.  His  successors  considered  themselves  strong  enough  to  cast 
off  this  allegiance  and  to  usurp  the  insignia  of  royalty— -the  uneus  and  the  car- 
touche. Monthotpu  I.,  Antuf  II.,  and  Antuf  III.  were  each  what  the  chroniclers 
afterwards  called  the  “Horus,”  King  of  Southern  Egypt,  lord  of  Nubia,  and  of 
the  valleys  lying  between  the  Nile  and  the  Red  Sea.6  In  support  of  their 
ambitious  projects,  they  did  not  fail  to  invoke  the  memory  of  former  alliances 
between  their  ancestors  and  daughters  of  the  solar  race ; they  boasted  of  their 

A 

descent  from  the  Papis,  from  Usirniii  Anu,  Sahuri,  and  Snofrui,  and  claimed  that 
the  antiquity  of  their  titles  did  away  with  the  more  recent  rights  of  their  rivals.7 

The  revolt  of  the  Theban  princes  put  an  end  to  the  IXth  dynasty,  and, 
although  supported  by  the  feudal  powers  of  Central  and  Northern  Egypt,  and 
more  especially  by  the  lords  of  the  Terebinth  nome,  who  viewed  the  sudden  pros- 
perity of  the  Thebans  with  a very  evil  eye,8  the  Xth  dynasty  did  not  succeed  in 

1 Montu  was  the  god  of  Hermonthis  ; hence  the  name  of  Monthotpu  : “ The  god  Montu  is  one  with 
him,”  probably  denotes  the  Hermonthite  origin  of  the  princes  who  bore  it.  On  the  extent  of  the  Theban 
principality,  as  implied  by  the  titles  of  priestesses  of  Amon  under  the  XXIst  dynasty,  see  Maspero, 
Les  Monies  Royales  de  Dtfir  el-Bahari,  in  the  Mdmoires  de  la  Mission  da  Caire,  vol.  i.  pp.  715,  716. 

2 Madut  or  Madit  is  the  present  Medamot,  or  lvom-Madh,  to  the  north-east  of  Thebes  (BrugscH, 
Geograpliische  Inschriften,  vol.  i.  p.  197 ; Dictionnaire  G&ographique,  pp.  312,  313). 

3 Hfuit,  Tuphion,  the  present  Taud  (Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  G€ographique,  pp.  491,  495). 

4 Zorit,  now  the  little  village  of  ed-Dur  (Dumichen,  Geschichte  des  Alien  AEgyptens,  p 65). 

5 I believe  that  the  stela  in  the  old  museum  at  Bulak,  reproduced  in  the  illustration  on  p.  115, 
belonged  to  this  prince  (Mariette-Maspero,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  50  b and  p.  16;  M.vsrERO,  Guide 
du  Visiteur,  p.  34  and  plate).  He  was  certaiuly  the  Antuf  with  the  title  of  prince  only — ropditii  — 
and  no  cartouches,  in  the  “ Hall  of  Ancestors  ” at  Karnak  (Prisse  d’Avennes,  Notice  sur  la  Salle  des 
Ancetres,  in  the  Revue  Arch€ologique,  1st  series,  vol.  i.  pi.  xxiii. ; and  Lepsius,  Auswahl  der  wichtigsten 
Vrliunden,  pi.  i.). 

6 In  the  “ Hall  of  Ancestors  ” the  title  of  “ Horus  ” is  attributed  to  several  Antfifs  and  Monthotpfls 
bearing  the  cartouche.  This  was  probably  the  compiler’s  ingenious  device  for  marking  the  subordi- 
nate position  of  these  personages  as  compared  with  that  of  the  Heracleopolitan  Pharaohs,  who  alone 
among  their  contemporaries  had  a light  to  be  placed  on  such  official  lists,  even  when  those  lists  were 
compiled  uuder  the  great  Theban  dynasties.  The  place  in  the  XL11'  dynasty  of  princes  bearing  the 
title  of  “ Horus  ” was  first  determined  by  E.  de  Rouge,  Lettre  a M.  Leemans,  in  the  Revue  Archfu- 
logique,  1st  series,  vol.  vi.  p.  561,  et  seq.  See  Appendix,  pp.  7S8,  789. — [Tr.] 

7 flsirtasen  I.  dedicated  a statue  “ to  his  father  ” Lsirniri  Anu  of  the  V11'  dynasty  (Lepsius, 
Auswahl  der  wichtigsten  Vrliunden , pi.  ix.  a-c).  In  the  “Hall  of  Ancestors,”  t'sirniri  Anu,  Sahuri, 
and  Snofrfii  are  placed  among  the  forefathers  of  the  early  Theban  princes  and  the  Pharaohs  of  the 
XVIIIth  dynasty. 

8 The  tombs  of  Sitxt  were  long  classed  as  belonging  to  the  XIIIth  dynasty  (even  by  Wiedemann, 
in  his  TEgyptische  Geschichte,  pp.  271,  272;  and  by  Ed.  Meyer,  Geschichte  des  Alten  JEgypttns,  p.  199, 


THE  PRINCIPALITY  OF  SWT. 


455 


bringing  them  back  to  their  allegiance.1  The  family  which  held  the  fief  of  Siut 
when  the  war  broke  out,  had  ruled  there  for  three  generations.2  Its  first  ap- 


pearance on  the  scene  of  history  coincided  with  the  accession  of  Akhthoes,  and 
its  elevation  was  probably  the  reward  of  services  rendered  by  its  chief  to  the  head 
of  the  Heracleopolitan  family.3  From  his  time  downwards,  the  title  of  “ ruler” 

note  1).  My  conclusion  that  they  belonged  to  the  Heracleopolitan  dynasties  ( Quatre  Annies  de 
fouilles,  in  the  Mg  mo  ires  de  la  Mission  du  Caire,  vol.  i.  p.  133)  has  been  confirmed  as  regards  Nos.  iii., 
iv.,  and  v.  by  the  labours  of  Mr.  Griffith  (The  Inscriptions  of  Siut  and  Der-Rifeh,  and  The  Babylonian 
and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  iii.  pp.  121-129,  164-168,  174-184).  The  history  of  the  family  which 
governed  the  Terebinth  nome,  as  it  is  here  set  forth,  was  first  established  in  reference  to  Mr.  Griffith’s 
work,  in  the  Revue  Critique,  1889,  vol.  ii.  pp.  410-421. 

1 The  history  of  the  house  of  Thebes  was  restored  at  the  same  time  as  that  of  the  Heracleopolitan 
dynasties,  by  Maspero,  in  the  Revue  Critique,  1889,  vol.  ii.  p.  220.  The  difficulty  arising  from  the 
number  of  the  Theban  kings  according  to  Manetlio,  considered  in  connection  with  the  forty-three  years 
which  was  the  total  duration  of  the  dynasty,  has  been  solved  by  Barucchi,  Discorsi  critici  sopra  la 
Cronologia  Egizia,  pp.  131-131.  These  forty-three  years  represent  the  length  of  time  that  the  Theban 
dynasty  reigned  alone,  and  which  are  ascribed  to  it  in  the  Royal  Canon ; but  the  number  of  its  kings 
includes,  besides  the  recognized  Pharaohs  of  the  line,  those  princes  who  were  contemporary  with  the 
Heracleopolitan  rulers  and  are  officially  reckoned  as  forming  the  Xth  dynasty. 

2 This  is  implied  by  a passage  in  the  Great  Inscription  of  Khiti  II.  (Griffith,  The  Inscriptions 
of  Slut  and  Der-Rifeh,  pi.  xiii.  1.  8 = pi.  xx.  1.  3),  very  ingeniously  interpreted  by  Griffith  ( Baby- 
lonian and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  iii.  p.  164)  : this  prince  boasts  of  his  descent  from  five  princes  who 
bore  the  title  of  liiqu,  and  this  fact  compels  us  to  admit  that  a series  of  three  princes  had  ruled 
consecutively  at  Siut  before  his  grandfather  Khiti  I. 

3 By  ascribing  to  the  princes  of  Siht  an  average  reign  equal  to  that  of  the  Pharaohs,  and 
admitting  with  Lepsies  ( Eonigsbuch , pp.  56,  57)  that  the  IXth  dynasty  consisted  of  four  or  five  kings, 
the  accession  of  the  first  of  these  princes  would  practically  coincide  with  the  reign  of  Akhthoes. 
The  name  of  Khiti,  borne  by  two  members  of  this  little  local  dynasty,  may  have  been  given  in  memory 
of  the  Pharaoh  Khiti  Miribri ; there  was  also  ft  second  Khiti  among  the  Heracleopolitan  sovereigns , 
and  one  of  the  Khitis  of  Siftt  may  have  been  his  contemporary.  The  family  claimed  a long  descent, 
and  said  of  itself  that  it  was  “an  ancient  litter”  (Griffith,  The  Inscriptions  of  Siut,  pi.  xiii. 


456 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


— hiqii — which  the  Pharaohs  themselves  sometimes  condescended  to  take,  was 
hereditary  in  the  family,  who  grew  in  favour  from  year  to  year.  Khiti  I.,  the 
fourth  of  this  line  of  princes,  was  brought  up  in  the  palace  of  Heraeleopolis, 
and  had  learned  to  swim  with  the  royal  children.1  On  his  return  home  he 
remained  the  personal  friend  of  the  king,  and  governed  his  domains  wisely, 
clearing  the  canals,  fostering  agriculture,  and  lightening  the  taxes  without 
neglecting  the  army.  His  heavy  infantry,  recruited  from  among  the  flower 
of  the  people  of  the  north,  and  his  light  infantry,  drawn  from  the  pick  of  the 

people  of  the  south,2  were 
counted  by  thousands.  He 
resisted  the  Theban  preten- 
sions3 with  all  his  might, 
and  his  son  Tefabi  followed 
in  his  footsteps.  “ The  first 
time,”  said  he,  “that  my  foot- 
soldiers  fought  against  the 
nomes  of  the  south  which 
were  gathered  together  from 
Elephantine  in  the  south  to 
Gau  on  the  north,1  I conquered  those  nomes,  I drove  them  towards  the  southern 
frontier,  I overran  the  left  bank  of  the  Nile  in  all  directions.  When  I came 
to  a town  I threw  down  its  walls,  I seized  its  chief,  I imprisoned  him  at  the 
port  (landing-place)  until  he  paid  me  ransom.  As  soon  as  I had  finished  with 
the  left  bank,  and  there  were  no  longer  found  any  who  dared  resist,  I passed 
to  the  right  bank ; like  a swift  hare  I set  full  sail  for  another  chief.  ...  I 
sailed  by  the  north  wind  as  by  the  east,  by  the  south  as  by  the  west,  and 
him  whose  ship  I boarded  I vanquished  utterly  ; he  was  cast  into  the  water, 
his  boats  fled  to  shore,  his  soldiers  were  as  bulls  on  whom  falleth  the  lion ; 
I compassed  his  city  from  end  to  end,  I seized  his  goods,  I cast  them  into  the 
fire.”  Thanks  to  his  energy  and  courage,  he  “extinguished  the  rebellion  by 


1.8  = pi.  xx.  1.  3);  but  the  higher  rank  and  power  of  “prince” — hiqu — it  owed  to  Khiti  I 
[Miribii? — Ed.]  or  some  other  king  of  the  Heracleopolitan  line. 

1 Griffith,  The  Inscriptions  of  Siut  and  Der-Rifeh,  pi.  xv.  1.  22;  cf.  Mauiette,  Monuments  divers, 
pi.  lxviii.  d ; E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  recueiU.es  en  Erjijpte,  pi.  celxxxviii.;  Brugscii, 
Thesaurus  Inscriptionum  JEgypliacarum,  p.  1501,  1.  G.  Cf.  p.  300. 

2 Griffith,  live  Inscriptions  of  Siut,  pi.  xv.  11.  1-25;  cf.  Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi. 
lxviii.  d,  pp.  21,  22;  E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions,  pi.  celxxxviii.;  Brugsch,  Thesaurus,  pp. 
1199-1502. 

3 So  we  may  apparently  conclude  from  what  is  still  legible  among  the  remains  of  a long  inscrip- 
tion in  his  tomb,  published  by  Griffith  ( The  Inscriptions  of  Siut,  pi.  xv.  11.  25-40). 

* It  is  uncertain  whether  the  unfamiliar  group  of  hieroglyphs  inscribed  at  this  point  (Griffith, 
The  Inscriptions  of  Siut,  pi.  xi,  1.  16)  stands  for  the  name  of  Gah-el-Kebir,  or  for  that  of  the  Antae- 
opolite  Dome,  of  which  Gau  was  the  capital;  but  in  any  case  it  designates  the  pi  ice  which  marked 
the  northern  limils  of  the  Theban  kingdom. 


THE  WARS  OF  THE  PRINCES  OF  SIUT  AGAINST  THOSE  OF  THEBES.  457 

A 

the  counsel  and  according  to  the  tactics  of  the  jackal  Uapuaitu,  god  of  Siut.” 
From  that  time  “no  district  of  the  desert  was  safe  from  his  terrors,”  and  he  ' 
“ carried  flame  at  his  pleasure  among  the  nomes  of  the  south.”  Even  while 
bringing  desolation  to  his  foes,  he  sought  to  repair  the  ills  which  the  invasion 
had  brought  upon  his  own  subjects.  He  administered  such  strict  justice  that 
evil-doers  disappeared  as  though  by  magic.  “ When  night  came,  he  who  slept 
on  the  roads  blessed  me,  because  lie  was  as  safe  as  in  his  own  house;  for  the 


THE  HEAVY  INFANTRY  OF  THE  PRINCES  OF  SIUT,  ARMED  WITH  LANCE  AND  BUCKLER.1 


fear  which  was  shed  abroad  by  my  soldiers  protected  him  ; and  the  cattle 
in  the  fields  were  as  safe  there  as  in  the  stable;  the  thief  had  become 
an  abomination  to  the  god,  and  he  no  longer  oppressed  the  serf,  so  that  the 
latter  ceased  to  complain,  and  paid  the  exact  dues  of  his  land  for  love  of  me.” 1  2 
In  the  time  of  Kliiti  II.,  the  son  of  Tefabi,  the  Heracleopolitans  were  still 
masters  of  Northern  Egypt,  but  their  authority  was  even  then  menaced  by  the 
turbulence  of  their  own  vassals,  and  Heracleopolis  itself  drove  out  the  Pharaoh 
Mirikari,  who  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  Siut  with  that  Khiti  whom  he 
called  his  father.3  Kbiti  gathered  together  such  an  extensive  fleet  that  it 
encumbered  the  Nile  from  Shashhotpu  to  Gebel-Abufodah,  from  one  end  of  the 
principality  of  the  Terebinth  to  the  other.  Vainly  did  the  rebels  unite  with 
the  Thebans ; Kliiti  “ sowed  terror  over  the  world,  and  himself  alone  chastised 


1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Insinger,  taken  in  1882  ; cf.  La  Description  de  VEgypte , 
Ant.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  xlvi.  3,  4.  The  scene  forms  part  of  the  decoration  of  one  of  the  walls  of  the  tomb  of 
Khiti  111.  (Griffith,  The  Inscriptions  of  Siut,  p.  11  and  pi.  14). 

2 Griffith,  The  Inscriptions  of  Siut,  pis.  xi.,  xii. ; cf.  E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  recueillies 
en  Egypte,  pis.  ccxc.-ccxcii.  ; Brugsch,  Thesaurus  Inscriptionum,  pp.  1507-1511.  This  inscription, 
which  was  never  completed,  and  bears  upon  its  face  a palimpsest  inscription  by  Tefabi  himself, 
was  first  translated,  or  rather  interpreted,  by  Maspero,  in  the  Revue  Critique,  1889,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
415-418. 

3 In  one  of  the  inscriptions  of  his  tomb  (Griffith,  The  Inscriptions  of  Siut,  pi.  xiii.  1. 1G  = pi.  xx. 
1.  11),  the  compiler,  addressing  Khiti,  speaks  of  the  Pharaoh  Mirikari  as  “ thy  son.” 


458 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


the  nomes  of  the  south.”  While  he  was  descending  the  river  to  restore  the 
king  to  his  capital,  “ the  sky  grew  serene,  and  the  whole  country  rallied  to  him ; 

the  commanders  of  the  south  and  the  arckons  of 
Heracleopolis,  their  legs  tremble  beneatli  them  when 
the  royal  uraeus,  ruler  of  the  world,  comes  to  suppress 
crime ; the  earth  trembles,  the  South  takes  ship  and 
flies,  all  men  flee  in  dismay,  the  towns  surrender, 
for  fear  takes  hold  on  their  members.”  Mirikaii’s 
return  was  a triumphal  progress : “ when  he  came  to 
Heracleopolis  the  people  ran  forth  to  meet  him,  re- 
joicing in  their  lord ; women  and  men  together,  old 
men  as  well  as  children.1  But  fortune  soon  changed.2 
Beaten  again  and  again,  the  Thebans  still  returned 
to  the  attack ; at  length  they  triumphed,  after  a 
struggle  of  nearly  two  hundred  years,  and  brought 
the  two  rival  divisions  of  Egypt  under  their 
rule.3 4 

The  few  glimpses  to  be  obtained  of  the  early  history 
of  the  first  Theban  dynasty  give  the  impression  of  an 
energetic  and  intelligent  race.  Confined  to  the  most 
thinly  populated,  that  is,  the  least  fertile  part  of 
the  valley,  and  engaged  on  the  north  in  a ceaseless 
warfare  which  exhausted  their  resources,  they  still 
found  time  for  building  both  at  Thebes  and  in  the  most 
distant  parts  of  their  dominions.  If  their  power  made 
but  little  progress  southwards,  at  least  it  did  not  recede, 
and  that  part  of  Nubia  lying  between  Aswan  and  the  neighbourhood  of  Korosko 


PALETTE  INSCRIBED  WITH  THE 
NAME  OF  MIRIKARI.4 


1 Griffith,  The  Inscriptions  of  Siut,  pi.  xiii.  = pi.  xx. ; of.  Description  de  VEgypte,  Ant.,  vol.  iv. 
pi.  xlix.  2 ; Lefsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  150, g ; Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  lxix.  a;  E.  aud  J.  de  Rouge, 
Inscriptions,  pi.  ccxciii. ; Brugsch,  Thesaurus  Inscriptionum,  pp.  1503-1506.  This  important  text 
lias  been  summarised  and  partly  translated  by  Maspeuo,  in  the  Revue  Critique,  18S9,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
418,419, 

■ The  substituted  inscription  may  have  been  added  at  a time  when  (he  Theban  Pharaohs  had  the 
upper  hand,  and  were  possibly  already  masters  of  Siut ; under  these  circumstances  it  would  have  been 
impolitic  to  complete  a record  of  how  the  victors  had  been  ill-treated  by  Khiti. 

3 I have  adopted  the  185  years  which  Lepsius  (Evnigsluch,  pp.  56,  57)  showed  to  be  the  most 
reasonable  of  Manetho’s  estimates  for  the  duration  of  the  second  Ileracleopolitan  dynasty. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  from  the  original,  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Louvre;  cf.  Ma.speuo, 
Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 10,  in  the  Proceedings  uf  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  xiii.  p.  430. 
The  palette  is  of  wood,  and  bears  the  name  of  a contemporary  personage;  the  outlines  of  the  hiero- 
glyphs are  inlaid  with  silver  wire.  It  was  probably  found  in  the  necropolis  of  Meir,  a little  to  the 
north  of  Siut.  The  sepulchral  pyramid  of  the  Pharaoh  Mirikaii  is  mentioned  on  a coffin  in  the 
Berlin  Museum  (Maspero,  Notes  au  jour  le  jour,  § 16,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  S.  B.  J.,  vol.  xiii. 
pp.  524,525). 


THE  KINGS  OF  THE  XI1"  DYNASTY  AND  THEIR  BUILDINGS.  459 


remained  in  their  possession.1  The  tribes  of  the  desert,  the  Amamiu,  the 
Mazaiu,  and  the  Uahaiu  often  disturbed  the  husbandmen  by  their  sudden  raids ; 
yet,  having  pillaged  a district,  they  did  not  take  possession  of  it  as  conquerors, 
but  hastily  returned  to  their  mountains.  The  Theban  princes  kept  them  in 
check  by  repeated  counter-raids,  and  renewed  the  old  treaties  with  them.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  G-reat  Oasis  in  the  west,2  and  the  migratory  peoples  of  the 
Land  of  the  Gods,  recognized  the  Theban  suzerainty  on  the  traditional  terms. 

A 

As  in  the  times  of  Uni,  the 
barbarians  made  up  the  com- 
plement of  the  army  with 
soldiers  who  were  more  inured 
to  hardships  and  more  accus- 
tomed to  the  use  of  arms  than 
the  ordinary  fellahin ; and 
several  obscure  Pharaohs — 
such  as  Monthotpu  I.  and 
Antuf  III. — owed  their  boasted  victories  over  Libyans  and  Asiatics4  to 
the  energy  of  their  mercenaries.  But  the  kings  of  the  XIth  dynasty  were 
careful  not  to  wander  too  far  from  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  Egypt  presented 
a sufficiently  wide  field  for  their  activity,  and  they  exerted  themselves  to  the 
utmost  to  remedy  the  evils  from  which  the  country  had  suffered  for  hundreds  of 
years.  They  repaired  the  forts,  restored  or  enlarged  the  temples,  and  evidences 


. . Q. 


THE  BRICK  PYRAMID  OF  ANTUFAA,  AT  THEBES.3 


1 In  his  temple  at  Gebelfin,  Monthotpu  Nibhotpuri  is  represented  as  smiting  the  Nubians 
(Daressy,  Notes  et  Ilemarques,  § xxxii.,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiv.  p.  2G);  but  he  does  not 
mention  which  tribe  of  Nubians  it  was  that  he  claimed  to  have  conquered.  According  to  one  of  his 
inscriptions,  Amenemha.it  I.  was  undisputed  master  of  the  parts  of  Nubia  held  by  Pharaohs  of  the 
VI"1  dynasty,  and  made  these  districts  the  basis  of  his  operations  against  the  Daftaift  (Brugsch, 
Geschichte  JEgyptens,  pp.  117,  118;  and  Die  Negerstdmme  der  Una-Inschrift,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1882, 
p.  30).  It  is,  therefore,  permissible  to  conclude  that,  at  any  rate,  the  last  kings  of  the  XIth  dynasty 
had  preceded  Amenemhait  as  masters  of  Nubia. 

2 The  Theban  Oasis  was  then  a dependency  of  the  fief  of  Abydos,  as  is  proved  from  the 
protocol  of  Prince  Antrlf,  on  stela  C 2G  in  the  Louvre  (Gayet,  Steles  de  la  XIIe  dynastie,  pi.  xix.). 
The  Timihu,  whom  Monthotpu  Nibhotpfiri,  in  his  temple  of  Gebelen,  boasts  of  having  conquered,  are 
probably  Berber  tribes  of  the  Theban  oases  (Daressy,  Notes  et  Remarque*,  § xxxii.,  in  the  Recueil  de 
Travaux,  vol.  xiv.  p.  26),  as  were  the  Timihu  of  the  VI"1  dynasty  (cf.  p.  432  of  the  present  work). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Prisse  d’Avennes,  Histoire  de  I’Art  tgyptien.  This 
pyramid  is  now  completely  destroyed. 

4 The  cartouches  of  Antfifaa  (Petrie,  A Season  in  Egypt,  No.  310),  inscribed  on  the  rocks  of 
Elephantine,  are  the  record  of  a visit  which  this  prince  paid  to  Syene,  probably  on  his  return  from 
some  raid;  many  similar  inscriptions  of  Pharaohs  of  the  XII"1  dynasty  were  inscribed  in  analogous 
circumstances.  Nftbkhopirri  Antuf  boasted  of  having  worsted  the  Amu  and  the  negroes  (Birch- 
Chabas,  Le  Papyrus  Abbott,  in  the  Revue  Archdologique,  1st  series,  vol.  xvii.  pp.  267,  268).  On  one  of 
the  rocks  of  the  island  of  Konosso,  Month otpft  Nibhotpuri  sculptured  a scene  of  offerings  in  which 
the  gods  are  represented  as  granting  him  victory  over  all  peoples  (Champoi.lion,  Monuments  de 
VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi.  cccvi.  3;  Lepshjs,  Denltm.,  ii,  150  5).  Among  the  ruins  of  the  temple 
which  he  built  at  Gebelen,  is  a scene  in  which  he  is  presenting  files  of  prisoners  from  different 
countries  to  the  Theban  gods  (Daressy,  Notes  et  Remarques,  § xxxii.  and  lxxxvii.,  in  the  Recueil  de 
Travaux , vol.  xiv.  p.  26,  and  vol  xvi  p.  42). 


460 


THE  Flli ST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


of  their  building  are  found  at  Koptos,1  Gebelen,  El-Kab,2  and  Abydos.8 
Thebes  itself  has  been  too  often  overthrown  since  that  time  for  any  traces 
of  work  of  the  Xln‘  dynasty  kings  in  the  temple  of  Amon  to  be  distinguish- 
able; but  her  necropolis  is  still  full  of  their  “eternal  homes,”  stretching 
in  lines  across  the  plain,  opposite  Karnak,  at  Drah  abu’l-Neggab,  and 
on  the  northern  slopes  of  the  valley  of  Deir-el-Bahaii.  Some  were  ex- 
cavated in  the  mountain-side,  and  presented  a square  fapade  of  dressed  stone, 
surmounted  by  a pointed  roof  in  the  shape  of  a pyramid.4  Others  were  true 
pyramids,  sometimes  having  a pair  of  obelisks  in  front  of  them,  as  well  as 
a temple.5  None  of  them  attained  to  the  dimensions  of  the  Memphite 
tombs ; for,  with  only  its  own  resources  at  command,  the  kingdom  of  the 
south  could  not  build  monuments  to  compete  with  those  whose  construction 
had  taxed  the  united  efforts  of  all  Egypt,6  but  it  used  a crude  black  brick, 
made  without  grit  or  straw,  where  the  Egyptians  of  the  north  had  preferred 
more  costly  stone.  These  inexpensive  pyramids  were  built  on  a rectangular 
base  not  more  than  six  and  a half  feet  high ; and  the  whole  erection,  which 
was  simply  faced  with  whitewashed  stucco,  never  exceeded  thirty-three  feet  in 
height.  The  sepulchral  chamber  was  generally  in  the  centre ; in  shape  it 
resembled  an  oven,  its  roof  being  “ vaulted”  by  the  overlapping  of  the  courses. 
Often  also  it  was  constructed  partly  in  the  base,  and  partly  in  the  foundations 
below  the  base,  the  empty  space  above  it  being  intended  merely  to  lighten 
the  weight  of  the  masonry.  There  was  not  always  an  external  chapel  attached 
to  these  tombs,  but  a stele  placed  on  the  substructure,  or  fixed  in  one  of  the 
outer  faces,  marked  the  spot  to  which  offerings  were  to  be  brought  for  the  dead  ; 
sometimes,  however,  there  was  the  addition  of  a square  vestibule  in  front  of  the 
tomb,  and  here,  on  prescribed  days,  the  memorial  ceremonies  took  place.  The 

1 Mr.  Harris  pointed  out  that  in  the  masonry  of  the  bridge  at  Ivopto3  there  are  blocks  bearing  the 
cartouches  of  Nubkhopini  Antuf  (Birch-Chajias,  Le  Papyrus  Abbott,  in  the  Revue  ArchCologique, 
1st  series,  vol.  xvi.  p.  267). 

2 Here,  on  the  rock  where  now  stands  the  Qubbah  of  Sheikh  Mousa,  Monthotpft  I.,  Nibhotpftri, 
built  a little  temple  discovered  by  M.  Giebaut  (Daressy,  Notes  el  Remarques,  § lxxxvii.,  in  the 
Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xvi.  p.  42  ; J.  de  Morgan,  Notice  des  fouilles  et  ddblaiements  execute's  pendant 
1'anntfe  1S'J3,  p.  8 ; G.  Willoughby  Frazer,  El-Kab  and  Gebelen,  iu  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of 
Biblical  Archxology,  vol.  xv.,  1892-93,  p.  497,  and  pi.  iii.,  No.  xv.). 

3 Mariette,  Catalogue  Gd/Mral  des  Monuments  d’ Abydos,  pp.  96,  97,  Nos.  544,  545;  and  MarietTe- 
Maspero,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  xlix.  p.  15. 

* The  tomb  of  the  first  Antuf,  who  never  bore  the  kingly  title,  and  whose  6tele,  now  iu  the  Gizeh 
Museum,  is  reproduced  in  the  illustration  on  p.  115  of  the  present  work,  belongs  to  this  class. 

5 The  two  obelisks  which  stood  in  front  of  the  tomb  of  N hbkhopim  Antuf  respectively  measured 
11  ft.  6 iu.  and  12  ft.  2 in.  in  height  (Mariette-Maspero,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  L a,  and  pp.  15,  10; 
cf.  Yilliers-Stuart,  Nile  Gleanings,  pp.  273,  274,  pi.  xxxiii.).  Both  have  recently  been  destroyed. 

c None  of  the  Theban  pyramids  are  now  standing ; but  iu  1800  Mariette  discovered  the  sub- 
structures of  two  of  them,  viz.  those  of  the  pyramids  of  Nhbkhopirri  Antfif  and  of  Anaa  (Mariette, 
Lettre  a M.  le  Vicomte  de  Rou/jC,  pp.  10,  17),  which  were  made  precisely  like  those  of  the  pyramids 
of  Abydos  (Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pp.  42-14,  pis.  lxvi.,  lxvii, ; Maspero,  ArclMologie  Egyptienne, 
pp.  139-142). 


BRICK  PYRAMIDS,  AND  THE  RUDE  CHARACTER  OF  THEBAN  ART.  461 


statues  of  the  double  were  rude  and  clumsy,1  tbe  coffins  heavy  and  massive,  and 
the  figures  with  which  they  were  decorated  inelegant  and  out  of  proportion,2 
while  the  stelae  are  very  rudely  cut.3  From  the  time  of  the  VIth  dynasty  the  lords 
of  the  Said  had  been  reduced  to  employing  workmen  from  Memphis  to  adorn  their 
monuments  ; but  the  rivalry  between  the  Thebans  and  the  Heracleopolitans, 
which  set  the  two  divisions  of  Egypt  against  each  other  in  constant  hostility, 
obliged  the  Antufs  to  entrust  the  execution  of  their  orders  to  the  local  schools  of 
sculptors  and  painters.  It  is  difficult  to  realize  the  degree  of  rudeness  to  which 
the  unskilled  workmen  who  made  certain  of  the  Akhmim  and  Gebelen  sarco- 
phagi 4 must  have  sunk  ; and  even  at  Thebes  itself,  or  at  Abydos,  the  execution 
of  both  bas-reliefs  and  hieroglyphs  shows  minute  carefulness  rather  than  any 
real  skill  or  artistic  feeling.  Failing  to  attain  to  the  beautiful,  the  Egyptians 
endeavoured  to  produce  the  sumptuous.  Expeditions  to  the  Wady  Hammamat 
to  fetch  blocks  of  granite  for  sarcophagi5  became  more  and  more  frequent,  and 
wells  were  sunk  from  point  to  point  along  the  road  leading  from  Ivoptos  to  the 
mountains.  Sometimes  these  expeditions  were  made  the  occasion  for  pushing  on 
as  far  as  the  port  of  San  and  embarking  on  the  Ked  Sea.  A hastily  constructed 
boat  cruised  along  by  the  shore,  and  gum,  incense,  gold,  and  the  precious  stones 
of  the  country  were  bought  from  the  land  of  the  Troglodytes.6  On  the  return 
of  the  convoy  with  its  block  of  stone,  and  various  packages  of  merchandise,  there 
was  no  lack  of  scribes  to  recount  the  dangers  of  the  campaign  in  exaggerated  lan- 
guage, or  to  congratulate  the  reigning  Pharaoh  on  having  sown  abroad  the  fame 
and  terror  of  his  name  in  the  countries  of  the  gods,  and  as  far  as  the  land  of  Puanit. 

The  final  overthrow  of  the  Heracleopolitan  dynasty,  and  the  union  of  the 

1 But  few  of  these  are  left : that  of  the  Pharaoh  MonthotpCl,  now  in  the  Vatican  (Wiedemann, 
JEgyptische  Geschiclite,  p.  229),  and  that  of  Antuf-auqir,  now  in  the  Museum  at  Gizeh  (Mariette, 
Catalogue  Gdndral,  pp.  35,  36),  should  not,  however,  be  overlooked. 

2 Mariette,  Notice  des  Principaux  Monuments,  pp.  32-34;  even  the  royal  coffins  of  this  period 

those  of  the  Antflfs  in  the  Louvre  (E.  de  Rouge,  Notice  sommaire,  1855,  pp.  61,  62 ; Pierret,  Recueil 
d’ Inscriptions  inddites,  vol.  i.  pp.  85-87  ; cf.  Catalogue  de  la  Salle  Historique,  p.  152,  No.  614,  for  the 
funerary  casket  bearing  the  name  of  Anliilaa)  and  in  the  British  Museum  (Birch,  On  the  Formulas 
of  three  Royal  Coffins,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1869,  p.  53) — are  of  rude  workmanship. 

3 The  stelae  of  Iritisni  (Maspero,  The  Stele  C 14  of  the  Louvre,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society 
of  Biblical  Archxology,  vol.  v.  pp.  555-562)  and  C 15  in  the  Louvre  (Gayet,  Steles  de  la  NIP 
dynastie,  pi.  liv.),  as  also  that  of  Mirfi  in  Turin  (Orccrtt,  Discurso  sulla  Storia  dell’  Ermeneutica 
Egizia,  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Turin,  2nd  series,  vol.  xx.  pis.  i.,  ii.),  are  well  designed 
but  unskilfully  executed.  The  sculptor  was  less  sure  of  his  effects  than  the  designer. 

* For  the  painted  coffins  of  the  XIth  dynasty  found  at  Gebelen  and  Akhmim,  cf.  Bouriant, 
Fetits  Monuments  et  Petits  Textes  recueillis  era  Egypte,  § 49-54,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  ix. 
pp.  82-84,  and  Notes  des  Voyages;  also  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xi.  pp.  140-143. 

5 Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  149  d-h,  150  c;  cf.  Maspero,  Les  Monuments  Egyptiens  de  la  Vallde  de 
Hammamat,  in  the  Revue  Orientate  et  Amdricaine,  2nd  series,  1877,  pp.  333-341 ; Schiaparelli,  La 
Catena  Orientate  dell’  Egilto,  pp.  32-39. 

6 Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  150  a;  Golenischeff,  Rdsultats  archeblogirpj.es  d'une  excursion  dans  la  Vallde 
de  Hammamat,  pis.  xv.-xvii. ; Oharas,  Le  Voyage  d’un  Egyptien,  pp.  56-63 ; Brugsch,  Geschiclite 
JEgyptens,  pp.  110-112;  Maspero,  De  quelques  Navigations  des  Egyptiens  sur  les  cotes  de  la  mer 
Erythree,  pp.  7-9  (a  reprint  from  the  Revue  Historique,  1879,  vol.  ix,)  ; Schiaparelli,  La  Catena 
Orientate,  pp.  98-100, 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


4C>2 

two  kingdoms  under  the  rule  of  the  Theban  house,  are  supposed  to  have  been 
the  work  of  that  Monthotpu  whose  throne-name  was  Nibkhrouri;  his,  at  any 
rate,  was  the  name  which  the  Egyptians  of  Ramesside  times  inscribed  in  the 
royal  lists  as  that  of  the  founder  and  most  illustrious  representative  of  the 
XI"'  dynasty.1  The  monuments  commemorate  his  victories  over  the  Uauaiu 
and  the  barbarous  inhabitants  of  Nubia.2  Even  after  he  had  conquered  the 
Delta8  he  still  continued  to  reside  in  Thebes ; there  he  built  his  pyramid,4  and 
there  divine  honours  were  paid  him  from  the  day  after  his  decease.5  A scene 
carved  on  the  rocks  north  of  Silsileh  represents  him  as  standing  before  his  son 
Antuf ; he  is  of  gigantic  stature,  and  one  of  his  wives  stands  behind  him.0  Three 
or  four  kings  followed  him  in  rapid  succession;  the  least  insignificant  among 
them  appearing  to  have  been  a Monthotpu  Nibtouiii.  Nothing  but  the 
prenomen — Sonkheii 7 — is  known  of  the  last  of  these  latter  princes,  who  was  also 
the  only  one  of  them  ever  entered  on  the  official  lists.  In  their  hands  the 
sovereignty  remained  unchanged  from  what  it  had  been  almost  uninter- 
ruptedly since  the  end  of  the  VI11'  dynasty.  They  solemnly  proclaimed  their 
supremacy,  and  their  names  were  inscribed  at  the  head  of  public  documents; 
but  their  power  scarcely  extended  beyond  the  limits  of  their  family  domain,  and 
the  feudal  chiefs  never  concerned  themselves  about  the  sovereign  except  when 
he  evinced  the  power  or  will  to  oppose  them,  allowing  him  the  mere  semblance  of 
supremacy  over  the  greater  part  of  Egypt.  Such  a state  of  affairs  could  only  be 
reformed  by  revolution.8  Amenemhait  I.,  the  leader  of  the  new  dynasty,  was  of 

1 He  is  named  on  the  tables  of  Abydos  and  Saqqara.,  on  the  Clot-Bey  libation  table  (E.  de 
Satjlcy,  Etude  sur  la  sdrie  des  Rois,  p.  54,  et  seq.,  pi.  ii..  No.  6),  in  the  “ Hall  of  Ancestors  ” atKarnak 
(Prisse  n’ Avenues,  Monuments,  pi.  i. ; Lepsius,  Ausicalil  der  wichtigsten  Urlcunden,  pi.  i.).  In  the 
procession  on  the  walls  of  the  Bamesseum  (Lepsics,  Denkm.,  iii.  1G3;  Champollion,  Monuments, 
pi.  cxxix.  Us)  he  is  placed  betweeu  Menes  and  Ahmosis,  Mencs  standing  as  the  founder  of  the  eldest 
Egyptian  empire,  and  Monthotpu  as  the  founder  of  the  oldest  Theban  empire.  Finally,  he  is  also 
represented  in  the  tomb  of  Khabokhni  (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iii.  2 a)  and  in  that  of  Anhurkaui  (Burton, 
Excerpta  Hieroglyphica,  pi.  xxxv.  ; Champollion,  Monuments,  vol.  i.  p.  864;  Prisse  d’ Avenues, 
Monuments,  pi.  iii. ; Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iii.  2 d). 

2 In  the  XL1‘  year  of  his  reign,  two  officers  passing  through  Aswan  mention  the  transport  by  river 
of  troops  sent  out  against  the  tlauaiu  of  Nubia  (Petrie,  A Season  in  Egypt,  pi.  viii.,  No.  213). 

3 Among  other  proofs  of  his  authority  over  the  Delta,  I would  draw  attention  to  the  fact  that 
there  was  at  Eieplranting,  in  the  Ist  year  of  his  reign,  a personage  who  was  prince  of  Heliopolis,  to 
whom  Monthotph  had  entrusted  a military  command  (Petrie,  A Season  in  Egypt,  pi.  viii.,  No.  243). 

4 The  pyramid  wa?  called  Khu-Isiut  (Mariette,  Catalogue  Generate,  p.  135,  No  605).  I found 
the  remains  of  it  in  1881,  at  Drah  abu’l-Neggah,  and  also  an  architrave  bearing  the  cartouches  of 
Monthotpu,  and  belonging  lo  his  funerary  chapel.  In  the  time  of  the  XXth  dynasty,  when  Ramses  X. 
instituted  his  great  examination  of  the  Theban  necropolis,  this  pyramid  was  still  intact  ( Abbott 
Papyrus,  pi.  iii.  1.  14). 

5 Schiaparelli,  Museo  Archeologico  di  Firenze,  pp.  192-194,  No.  1501. 

6 Eisenlohr,  An  Historical  Monument,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology, 
1881,  pp.  98-102;  Petrie,  A Season  in  Egypt,  pp.  15,  17,  and  pi.  xvi.,  No.  489. 

7 The  classification  of  these  obscure  Pharaohs  is  still  very  tentative;  the  most  important  of  recent 
attempts  at  arranging  them  in  order  being  that  made  by  Petrie  (A  Season  in  Egypt,  pp.  16-19);  but 
even  his  conclusions  cannot  be  regarded  as  established. 

6 The  kings  forming  the  XILth  dynasty  had  been  placed  in  the  XVI"'  by  Champollion  and  the  first 
Egyptologist?.  During  the  last  month?  of  Lis  life  Champollion  recognized  his  mistake,  and  identified 


AMENEMHAIT  I.:  THE  ACCESSION  OF  THE  XII ™ DYNASTY.  4G3 


the  Theban  race;  whether  he  had  any  claim  to  the  throne,  or  by  what  means 
he  had  secured  the  stability  of  his  rale,  we  do  not  know.1  Whether  he  had 
usurped  the  crown  or  whether  he  had  inherited  it  legitimately,  he  showed 
himself  worthy  of  the  rank  to  which  fortune  had  raised  him,  and  the  nobility 
saw  in  him  a Lew  incarnation  of  that  type  of  kingship  loDg  known  to  them 
by  tradition  only,  namely,  that  of  a Pharaoh  convinced  of  his  own  divinity  and 


THE  FHARAOH  HONTHOTPU  RECEIVING  THE  HOMAGE  OF  HIS  SUCCESSOR  -ANTUF — IN  THE  SHAT  ER-RIGALEH.2 

determined  to  assert  it.  He  inspected  the  valley  from  one  end  to  another, 
principality  by  principality,  nome  by  nome,  “crushing  crime,  and  arising 
like  Tumu  himself;  restoring  that  which  he  found  in  ruins,  settling  the 
bounds  of  the  towns,  and  establishing  for  each  its  frontiers.”  The  civil 
wars  had  disorganized  everything ; no  one  knew  what  ground  belonged  to  the 
different  nomes,  what  taxes  were  due  from  them,  nor  how  questions  of  irrigation 
could  be  equitably  decided.  Amenemhait  set  up  again  the  boundary  stelm, 
and  restored  its  dependencies  to  each  nome  : “ He  divided  the  waters  among 

Amenemhait  with  the  Amenemes  of  Manetho;  but  his  discovery  lay  buried  among  his  papers,  and  it 
was  Lepsius  who,  in  1810,  had  the  honour  of  correcting  the  mistake  of  his  predecessors  ( Auswahl  der 
wicldigsten  Urliunden,  Uebersicht  der  Tafeln,  and  Ueber  die  12,c  AZg  yptische  Kbnigsdynastie,  in  the 
Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  Berlin,  1853;  cf.  Bunsen,  JEgyptens  Stetle,  vol.  ii.  pp.  275-283). 

1 Brugsch  ( Geschichte  JEgyptens,  p 117)  makes  him  out  to  be  a descendant  of  Amenemhait,  the 
prince  of  Thebes  who  lived  under  Monthotpu  Nibtuiri,  and  who  went  to  bring  the  stone  for  that 
Pharaoh’s  sarcophagus  from  the  Wady  Hammamat.  He  had  previously  supposed  him  to  be  this 
prince  himself.  Either  of  these  hypotheses  becomes  probable,  according  as  Nibtuiri  is  supposed  to 
have  lived  before  or  after  Nibkhrouri  (cf.  Masi'ERO,  in  the  Revue  Critique,  1875,  vol.  ii.  pp.  390,  391). 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a sketch  by  Petrie,  Ten  Years'  Digging  in  Egypt,  p.  74,  No.  2, 


TIIE  FIRST  THERA N EM  11  RE. 


404 

them  according  to  that  which  was  in  the  cadastral  surveys  of  former  times.”  1 
Hostile  nobles,  or  those  whose  allegiance  was  doubtful,  lost  the  whole  or  part 
of  their  fiefs ; those  who  had  welcomed  the  new  order  of  things  received 
accessions  of  territory  as  the  reward  of  their  zeal  and  devotion.  The  lord  of 
Koptos  was  found  to  be  too  lukewarm,  and  promptly  replaced.2  The  fief 
of  Siut  accrued  to  a branch  of  the  family  which  was  less  warlike,  and  above  all 
less  devoted  to  the  old  dynasty  than  that  of  Khiti  had  been.3  Part  of  the 
nome  of  the  Gazelle  was  added  to  the  dominions  of  Nuhri,  prince  of  the  Hare 
nome ; the  eastern  part  of  the  same  nome,  with  Monait-Khufui  as  capital,  was 
granted  to  his  father-in-law,  Ivhnumhotpu  I.4  Expeditions  against  the  Uauaiu, 
the  Mazaiu,  and  the  nomads  of  Libya  and  Arabia  delivered  the  fellalhn  from 
their  ruinous  raids  and  ensured  to  the  Egyptians  safety  from  foreign  attack.5 
Amenemhait  had,  moreover,  the  wit  to  recognize  that  Thebes  was  not  the  most 
suitable  place  of  residence  for  the  lord  of  all  Egypt ; it  lay  too  far  to  the 
south,  was  thinly  populated,  ill-built,  without  monuments,  without  prestige,  and 
almost  without  history.  He  gave  it  into  the  hands  of  one  of  his  relations  to 
govern  in  his  name,6  and  proceeded  to  establish  himself  in  the  heart  of  the 
country,  in  imitation  of  the  glorious  Pharaohs  from  whom  he  claimed  to  be 
descended.  But  the  ancient  royal  cities  of  Ivheops  and  his  children  had 
ceased  to  exist;  Memphis,  like  Thebes,  was  now  a provincial  town,  and  its 
associations  were  with  the  VIth  and  VIIIth  dynasties  only.  Amenemhait  took 
up  his  abode  a little  to  the  south  of  Dahshur,  in  the  palace  of  Titoui,7  which  he 

1 Inscription  at  Beui-Hasan,  11.  36-16  ; cf.  Maspero,  La  Grande  Inscription  de  BCni-llassan,  in  the 
Recueilde  Travaux,  vol.i.  p.  162;  Fr.  Krebs,  Be  Chnemothis  Nomarchi  Inscriplione  Mgyptiaca,  pp.  22,  23- 

2 From  an  unpublished  stele  of  Monthotpu,  discovered  by  Petrie  at  Koptos,  in  1891. 

3 See  the  funerary  inscription  of  Hapi-Zaufi,  dating  from  the  reign  of  Psirtasen  I.  (Griffith, 
The  Inscriptions  of  Siut  and  Der-Rifeh , pi.  iv„  and  The  Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  iii. 
pp.  167,  168).  Hapi-Zaufi  himself  must  have  begun  to  govern  under  Amenemhait  I.  The  names  of 
liis  parents  are  altogether  different  from  the  names  that  we  meet  with  in  the  tombs  of  the  lords  of 
Siut,  during  the  Heracleopolitan  period,  and  indicate  another  family ; either  Hapi-Zaufi,  or  his  father, 
was  the  first  of  a new  line  which  owed  its  promotion  to  the  Theban  kings. 

* Maspero,  La  Grande  Inscription  de  B&ii-Hassan,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  177,  178; 
Griffith  and  Newberry,  in  Beni-Hasan,  vol.  ii.  p.  11  ( Archaeological  Survey  of  Egypt  Exploration 
Fund),  give  the  genealogical  table  of  this  family. 

5 Sallier  Papyrus,  No.  2,  pi.  ii.  1.  10  ; pi.  iii.  1.  1.  In  the  XXIVth  year  of  Amenemhait,  Montftnsisu, 
Prince  of  Thebes,  boasts  of  having  conquered  the  “ Lords  of  the  Sands,”  the  Bedouin  of  Sinai,  and 
the  nomads  of  the  desert  between  the  Nile  and  the  Red  Sea  ; he  had  ravaged  their  fields,  taken  their 
towns,  and  entered  their  ports  (Maspero,  Un  Gouverneur  de  Thebes  au  debut  de  la  XII  dynastie,  in  the 
Memoirs  of  the  First  International  Congress  of  Orientalists,  in  Paris,  vol.  ii.  pp.  60,  61).  These  events 
must  have  taken  place  before  the  XXth  year  of  Amenemhait  I. ; that  is  to  say,  while  he  yet  reigned  alone. 

0 Montfinsisu,  to  whom  reference  has  just  been  made,  in  every  way  presents  the  appearance  of  having 
been  a great  baron,  making  war  and  administering  the  fief  of  Thebes  on  behalf  of  his  sovereign  (Stele 
C 1 in  the  Louvre,  in  Gayet,  Steles  de  la  X1E  dynastie,  pi.  1 ; cf.  Maspero,  Un  Gouverneur  de 
Thebes,  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  First  International  Congress  of  Orientalists,  in  Paris,  vol.  ii.  pp.  18-61). 

: A stele  of  his  XXXth  year,  found  in  the  necropolis  of  Abydos,  states  that  the  palace  of  Titofti 
was  his  royal  residence  (Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pi.  22;  cf.  Banvii.lf.-Rouge,  Alburn  pholograpliique 
de  la  mission  de  M.  de  IlougC,  No.  116);  his  establishment  there  seems  to  have  been  entered  on  the 
Turin  Canon  as  marking  an  event  in  Egyptian  history,  probably  the  beginning  of  the  XIIth  dynasty 
(Lepsius,  Auswahl,  pi.  iv.  fragm.  61).  On  the  identification  of  Titofii  with  a site  near  Dahshur,  see 


US  lit  T A SEN  I.  JOINS  HIS  FATHER  UPON  THE  THRONE.  4G5 

enlarged  and  made  the  seat  of  his  government.  Conscious  of  being  in  the 
hands  of  a strong  ruler,  Egypt  breathed  freely  after  centuries  of  distress,  and 
her  sovereign  might  in  all  sincerity  congratulate  himself  on  having  restored 
peace  to  his  country.  “I  caused  the  mourner  to  mourn  no  longer  and  his 
lamentation  was  no  longer  heard, — perpetual  fighting  was  no  longer  witnessed, 
— while  before  my  coming  they  fought  together  as  bulls  unmindful  of 
yesterday, — and  no  man’s  welfare  was  assured,  whether  he  was  ignorant  or 
learned.” — “ I tilled  the  land  as  far  as  Elephantine, — I spread  joy  throughout 
the  country,  unto  the  marshes  of  the  Delta. — At  my  prayer  the  Nile  granted 
the  inundation  to  the  fields : — no  mau  was  an  hungered  under  me,  no  man  was 
athirst  under  me, — for  everywhere  men  acted  according  to  my  commands,  and 
all  that  I said  was  a fresh  cause  of  love.”  1 

In  the  court  of  Amenemhait,  as  about  all  Oriental  sovereigns,  there  were 
doubtless  men  whose  vanity  or  interests  suffered  by  this  revival  of  the  royal 
authority ; men  who  had  found  it  to  their  profit  to  intervene  between  Pharaoh 
and  his  subjects,  and  who  were  thwarted  in  their  intrigues  or  exactions  by  the 
presence  of  a prince  determined  on  keeping  the  government  in  his  own  hands. 
These  men  devised  plots  against  the  new  king,  and  he  escaped  with  difficulty  from 
their  conspiracies.  “ It  was  after  the  evening  meal,  as  night  came  on, — I gave 
myself  up  to  pleasure  for  a time, — then  I lay  down  upon  the  soft  coverlets  in  my 
palace,  I abandoned  myself  to  repose, — and  my  heart  began  to  be  overtaken  by 
slumber;  when,  lo!  they  gathered  together  inarms  to  revolt  against  me, — and  I 
became  weak  as  a serpent  of  the  field. — Then  I aroused  myself  to  fight  with  my 
own  hands, — and  I found  that  I had  but  to  strike  the  unresisting. — When  I took 
a foe,  weapon  in  hand,  I made  the  wretch  to  turn  and  flee; — strength  forsook 
him,  even  in  the  night ; there  were  none  who  contended,  and  nothing  vexatious 
was  effected  against  me.’’2  The  conspirators  were  disconcerted  by  the  promptness 
with  which  Amenemhait  had  attacked  them,  and  apparently  the  rebellion  was 
suppressed  on  the  same  night  in  which  it  broke  out.  But  the  king  was  growing 
old,  his  son  Usirtasen  was  very  young,  and  the  nobles  were  bestirring  them- 
selves in  prospect  of  a succession  which  they  supposed  to  be  at  hand.3  The 
best  means  of  putting  a stop  to  their  evil  devices  and  of  ensuring  the  future  of 
the  dynasty  was  for  the  king  to  appoint  the  heir-presumptive,  and  at  once 
associate  him  with  himself  in  the  exercise  of  his  sovereignty.  In  the  XXth 

Buugsch,  Dictionnaire  G&ograpliique,  pp.  983-985;  a passage  in  the  Piankhi  stele  shows  that,  at  all 
events,  the  place  was  situated  somewhere  between  Memphis  and  Medtlm. 

1 Saltier  Papyrus,  No.  2,  pi.  i.  11.  7-9;  pi.  ii.  11.  7-10. 

2 Saltier  Papyrus,  No.  2,  pi.  i.  1.  9;  pi.  ii.  1.  3.  Cf.  the  short  article  by  Dumichen,  Bericht  iiber 
eine  Haremverscliworung  unter  Amenemha  I.,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1874,  pp.  30-35. 

3 this  is  the  interpretation  which  I put  upon  a passage  in  the  Saltier  Papyrus,  No.  2,  pi.  iii.  1.  5, 
in  which  Amenemhait  says  that  advantage  was  taken  of  tfsirtasen’s  youth  to  conspire  against  him,  and 
compares  Hie  ills  bred  by  these  conspiracies  to  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  locusts  or  by  the  Nile. 

2 H 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EM  TIRE. 


4G6 

year  ot  his  reign,  Amenemhait  solemnly  conferred  the  titles  and  prerogatives  of 
royalty  upon  his  son  Usirtasen:  “I  raised  thee  from  the  rank  of  a subject, — 

1 granted  thee  the  free  use  of  thy  arms  that  thou  mightest  be  feared. — As  for 
me,  1 apparelled  myself  in  the  fine  stuffs  of  my  palace  until  I appeared  to 
the  eye  as  the  flowers  of  my  garden, — and  I perfumed  myself  with  essences  as 
freely  as  I pour  forth  the  water  from  my  cisterns.”  1 Usirtasen  naturally 
assumed  the  active  duties  of  royalty  as  his  share.  “ He  is  a hero  who  works 
with  the  sword,  a champion  who  has  no  rival : he  beholds  the  barbarians, 
he  rushes  forward  and  falls  upon  their  predatory  hordes.  He  is  the  hurler 
of  javelins  who  makes  feeble  the  hands  of  the  foe;  those  whom  he  strikes 
never  more  lift  the  lance.  Terrible  is  he,  shattering  skulls  with  the  blows  of 
his  war-mace,  and  none  resisted  him  in  his  time.  He  is  a swift  runner  who 
smites  the  fugitive  with  the  sword,  but  none  who  run  after  him  can  overtake 
him.  He  is  a heart  alert  for  battle  in  his  time.  He  is  a lion  who  strikes  with 
his  claws,  nor  ever  lets  go  his  weapon.  He  is  a heart  girded  in  armour  at  the 
sight  of  the  hosts,  and  who  leaves  nothing  standing  behind  him.  He  is  a 
valiant  man  rushing  forward  when  he  beholds  the  fight.  He  is  a soldier 
rejoicing  to  fall  upon  the  barbarians : he  seizes  his  buckler,  he  leaps  forward 
and  kills  without  a second  blow.  None  may  escape  his  arrow;  before  he  bends 
his  bow  the  barbarians  flee  from  his  arms  like  hares,  for  the  great  goddess2 
has  charged  him  to  fight  against  all  who  know  not  her  name,  and  whom  he 
strikes  he  spares  not ; he  leaves  nothing  alive.”  3 The  old  Pharaoh  “ remained 
in  the  palace,”  waiting  until  his  son  returned  to  aunounce  the  success  of  his 
enterprises,4  and  contributing  by  his  counsel  to  the  prosperity  of  their 
common  empire.  Such  was  the  reputation  for  wisdom  which  he  thus 
acquired,  that  a writer  who  was  almost  his  contemporary  composed  a treatise  in 
his  name,  and  in  it  the  king  was  supposed  to  address  posthumous  instructions 
to  his  son  on  the  art  of  governing.  He  appeared  to  his  son  in  a dream,  and 
thus  admonished  him ; “ Hearken  unto  my  words ! — Thou  art  king  over 
the  two  worlds,  prince  over  the  three  regions.  Act  still  better  than  did  thy 

1 Saltier  Papyrus,  No.  2,  pi.  i.  11.  5-7.  There  has  been  considerable  discussion  as  to  (he  date  at 
which  fjsirtasen  I.  began  to  share  his  father’s  throne.  Bj  a stele  from  Abydos,  dating  from  the 
XXXth  year  of  Amenemhait  I.  and  the  Xth  of  Tsirtasen  (Mabiette,  Notice  des  Principauz  Monu- 
ments, 1864,  pp.  85,  86,  No.  72;  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxii. ; Catalogue  G€n€ral,  pp.  104,  105,  No.  558; 
Banville-Rouge,  Album  pliotograpliiqus,  No.  146,  Inscriptions  recueilliis  en  Egypte,  pi.  viii  ),  the  date 
is  fixed  as  the  XXth  year  of  Amenemhait. 

2 The  great  goddess  Sokhit,  with  the  head  of  a lioness,  had  destroyed  men  at  the  command  of  Ra, 
and  made  herself  drunken  with  their  blood  (cf.  pp.  165,  166  of  the  present  work)  ; and  from  that  time 
onward  she  was  the  goddess  of  battle-fields  and  carnage. 

3 Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1, 11.  51-65;  cf.  Maspeko,  Le  Papyrus  de  Berlin,  No.  1,  in  the  Melanges 
d' Arch&ologie  Egyptienne  et  Assyrienne,  vol.  iii.  pp.  77-82;  and  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit., 
pp.  102,  103. 

* Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  11.  50,  51 ; cf.  Maspebo,  Les  Conies  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  101,  102. 


CO-REGNANCY  PREVAILS  DURING  THE  XIIth  DYNASTY.  467 


predecessors. — Let  there  be  harmony  between  thy  subjects  and  thee, — lest  they 
give  themselves  up  to  fear ; keep  not  thyself  apart  in  the  midst  of  them  ; make 
not  thy  brother  solely  from  the  rich  and  noble,  fill  not  thy  heart  with  them 
alone  ; yet  neither  do  thou  admit  to  thy  intimacy  chance-comers  whose  place 
is  unknown.”1  The  king  confirmed  his  counsels  by  examples  taken  from  his 
own  life,  and  from  these  we  have  learned  some  facts  in  his  history.  The  little 
work  was  widely  disseminated  and  soon  became  a classic  ; in  the  time  of  the 
XIX"1  dynasty  it  was  still  copied  in  schools  and  studied  by  young  scribes  as 
an  exercise  in  style.2  Usirtasen’s  share  in  the  sovereignty  had  so  accustomed 
the  Egyptians  to  consider  this  prince  as  the  king  de facto,  that  they  had  gradu- 
ally come  to  write  his  name  alone  upon  the  monuments.3  When  Amenemlmit 
died,  after  a reign  of  thirty  years,  Usirtasen  was  engaged  in  a war  against  the 
Libyans.  Dreading  an  outbreak  of  popular  fteling,  or  perhaps  an  attempted 
usurpation  by  one  of  the  princes  of  the  blood,  the  high  officers  of  the  crown  kept 
Amenembait’s  death  secret,  and  despatched  a messenger  to  the  camp  to  recall 
the  young  king.  He  left  his  tent  by  night,  unknown  to  the  troops,  returned 
to  the  capital  before  anything  had  trauspired  among  the  people,  and  thus  the 
transition  from  the  founder  to  his  immediate  successor — always  a delicate  crisis 
for  a new  dynasty — seemed  to  come  about  quite  naturally.4  The  precedent  of 
co-regnancy  having  been  established,  it  was  scrupulously  followed  by  most  of 
the  succeeding  sovereigns.  In  the  XLII11,1  year  of  h;s  sovereignty,  and  aftet 

1 Sallitr  Papyrus,  No.  2,  pi.  i.  11.  2-4. 

2 We  have  this  text  in  two  papyri  in  Ihc  British  Museum,  Sallier  Papyri,  Nos.  1 ami  2,  in  the 
Millingen  Papyrus  (Iiecue il  de  Travaux,  vol.  ii.  p.  70,  and  plates),  and  Ostraca  5620-5638  in  the 
British  Museum.  It  has  been  translated  as  a whole  l>y  Maspero  (The  Instructions  of  Amenemhat  I. 
unto  his  son  Usertasen  I.,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  1st  edit.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  9-10),  by  Schack  (Die  Untei  - 
iveisur.gen  des  Konigs  Amenemhat  I),  and  by  Amelineau  (Etude  sur  les  prteeptes  d' Amenemhat  P~r,  in 
the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  x.  pp.  98-121,  and  vol.  xi.  pp.  1 00—1 16).  Parts  of  it  have  been  trans- 
lated by  Dumichen  (Bericlit  iiber  eine  Haremverschicorung  unter  Amenemlia  I , in  the  Zeilschrift,  1871, 
pp.  30-35)  and  by  Birch  (Egyptian  Texts,  pp.  10-20).  Ceriaiu  details  of  the  text  may  eecrtpe  our 
interpretation,  but  the  general  sense  is  clear. 

3 We  have  stelae  in  which  the  years  of  the  reign  of  Lsirtasen  alone  are  given,  for  the  VIP1'  year 
(Maspero,  Notes  sur  quelques  points  de  Grammaire  et  d’Histoire,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1881,  p.  1 1 G,  etseq.), 
for  the  IXth  year  (C  2 in  the  Louvre,  in  Pieuret,  Recueil  d’ Inscriptions  inddites,  vol.  ii.  p.  107,  et  seq. ; 
Gayet,  Steles  de  la  XIIe  dynastie,  pi.  ii. ; Piehl,  Inscriptions,  vol.  i.  pi.  ii. ; C 3 in  the  Louvre,  in 
Maspero,  Sur  une  formule  fundraire  des  Steles  de  la  XIIC  dynastie,  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Orientalist 
Congress  at  Lyons,  vol.  i , plate ; Pierret,  Recueil  cl’ Inscriptions,  vol.  ii.  p.  104,  et  seq. ; Gayet, 
Steles  de  la  XI Ic  dynastie,  pi.  iv.),  for  the  Xth  year  (Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxvi.,  and  Catalogue 
Gdndral,  p.  128,  No.  592;  E.  and  J.  de  Kocqe,  Inscriptions  recueillies  en  Egypte,  pi.  ix.).  The  III"1 
year,  which  is  the  date  given  by  the  Berlin  MS.  as  that  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple  of  Heliopolis 
(cf.  pp.  504-506  of  the  present  work),  belongs  to  the  beginning  of  the  co-regnancy,  although  tlsir- 
tasen  I.  is  alone  named. 

* Lie  died  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  second  month  of  Shait,  in  the  XXXth  year  of  his  reign,  and 
what  happened  at  the  time  is  told  at  the  beginning  of  the  Adventures  of  Sinuhit,  where  the  author 
seems  to  have  confined  himself  to  a record  of  facts  (Maspero,  Les  Premieres  Lignes  des  Aldmoires 
de  Sinuhit,  restitutes  d’apres  I’Ostracon  27410  du  Muste  de  Boulaq , in  the  Mdinoires  de  VInstitut 
Egyptien,  vol.  ii.  p.  3,  et  seq. ; Griffith,  Fragments  of  Old  Egyptian  Stories,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  452-458 ; cf.  Maspero,  Les  Conies  populaires  de 
V Egypte  Ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  96,  97). 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


4G8 

having  reigned  alone  for  thirty-two  years,  Usirtasen  I.  shared  his  throne  with 
Amenemhait  II.;1  and  thirty-two  years  later  Amenemhait  II.  acted  in  a similar 
way  with  regard  to  Usirtasen  II.2  Amenemlniit  III.  and  Amenemhait  IV.  were 
long  co-regnant.3  The  only  princes  of  this  house  in  whose  cases  any  evidence 
of  co-regnancy  is  lacking  are  Usirtasen  III.,  and  the  queen  Sovknofriuri, 
with  whom  the  dynasty  died  out. 

It  lasted  two  hundred  and  thirteen  years,  one  month,  and  twenty-seven 
days,4  and  its  history  can  be  ascertained  with  greater  certainty  and  complete- 


ness than  that  of  any  other  dynasty  which  ruled  over  Egypt.  We  are  doubt- 
less far  from  having  any  adequate  idea  of  its  great  achievements,  for  the 
biographies  of  its  eight  sovereigns,  and  the  details  of  their  interminable  wars 
are  very  imperfectly  known  to  us.  The  development  of  its  foreign  and 

1 See  Stele  Y.  4 of  the  Leyden  Museum,  which  is  dated  the  XLIVlh  year  of  Usirtasen  I.  and  the 
II"‘l  year  of  Amenemhait  II.  (Leemans,  Letlre  a Francois  Saholini,  pp.  34- 3G,  and  pi.  iv.  37;  and 
Description  raisonnCe  des  monuments  dgyptiens  du  Mustfe  de  Leijde,  p.  264;  Lepsics,  Auswahl  der 
wiehtigsten  Urlcunden,  pi.  x.). 

2 A votive  tablet  at  Asshan,  dated  the  XXXV1’1  year  of  Amenemhait  II.  and  the  IIIrd  year  of 
Usirtasen  II.  (Young,  Hieroglyphics,  pi.  lxi. ; Lepsics,  Auswahl  der  wichtigsten  Urkunden,  pi.  x.,  and 
Denlcm.,  ii.  123  e). 

3 E.  de  Rouge,  Lettre  a M.  Leemans,  in  the  Revue  Arclidologique,  1st  series,  vol.  vi.  p.  573.  We 
have  several  monuments  of  their  joint  reign  (Lepsius,  Auswahl  der  iviclitigsten  Urkunden,  pi.  x.,  and 
Denkm.,  ii.  140  m),  but  they  give  no  dates  enabling  us  to  fix  the  time  of  its  commencement. 

4 This  is  its  total  duration,  as  given  in  the  Turin  papyrus  (Lepsius,  Auswahl  der  xvicldigslcn 
Urkunden,  pi.  vii.  fragm.  72,  1.  3).  Several  Egyptologists  have  thought  that  Manetho  had,  in  his 
estimate,  counted  the  years  of  each  sovereign  as  consecutive,  and  have  hence  proposed  to  conclude  that 
the  dynasty  only  lasted  168  years  (Brugsch,  Geschiclite  AEgyptens,  pp.  114,  115),  or  160  (Lieblein, 
Recherches  sur  la  Chronologie  Egyptienne,  pp.  76  83),  or  194  (Ed.  Meyer,  Geschichte  des  Alterthums, 
vol.  i.  p.  122,  and  Geschichte  des  alien  AEgyptens,  p.  172,  note  1).  It  is  simpler  to  admit  that  the 
compiler  of  the  papyrus  was  not  in  error ; we  do  not  know  the  length  of  the  reigns  of  Usirtasen  II., 
Usirtasen  III.,  and  Amenemhait  III.,  aud  these  unknown  years  of  their  sovereignty  may  be  considered 
as  completing  the  tale  of  the  two  hundred  and  thirteen  years  of  Manetho. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a chromolithograph  in  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  133. 


ASIATICS  IN  EGYPT. 


469 


domestic  policy  we  can,  however,  follow  without  a break.  Asia  had  as  little 
attraction  for  these  kings  as  for  their  Memphite  predecessors ; they  seem 
to  have  always  had  a certain  dread  of  its  warlike  races,  and  to  have  merely 


SOME  OF  THE  BAND  OF  ASIATICS,  WITH  THEIR  BEASTS,  BROUGHT  BEFORE  KHNUMHOTPU. 

contented  themselves  with  repelling  their  attacks.  Amenemhait  I.  had  com- 
pleted the  line  of  fortresses  across  the  isthmus,1  and  these  were  carefully 
maintained  by  his  successors.  These  Pharaohs  were  not  ambitious  of  holding 


THE  WOMEN  PASSING  BY  IN  PROCESSION,  IN  CHARGE  OF  A WARRIOR  AND  OF  A MAN  PLAYING 

UPON  THE  LYRE. 

direct  sway  over  the  tribes  of  the  desert,  and  scrupulously  avoided  interfering 
with  their  affairs  as  long  as  the  “ Lords  of  the  Sands  ” agreed  to  respect  the 
Egyptian  frontier.2  Commercial  relations  were  none  the  less  frequent  and 

1 A passage  in  the  Adventures  of  Sinuhit,  in  which  the  hero  describes  the  eastern  frontier  of  the 
Delta,  shows  that  it  was  then  protected  by  a line  of  fortresses  ( Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  11.  16-19). 

2 Up  to  the  present  time  no  records  have  been  found  of  any  war  against  the  “ Lords  of  the  Sand,” 
excepting  under  Amenemhait  I.  (in  Stele  C 1 in  the  Louvre,  cf.  p.  464,  note'3,  of  the  present  work) 
and  under  ffsirtasen  I.  ( Stele  de  Montliotpu,  1.  10,  in  Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxiii.). 


470 


THE  FIB  ST  THEBAN  EM  PI  BE. 


certain  on  this  account.  Dwellers  by  the  streams  of  the  Delta  were  accustomed 
to  see  the  continuous  arrival  in  their  towns  of  isolated  individuals  or  of  whole 
bands  driven  from  their  homes  by  want  or  revolution,  and  begging  for  refuge 
under  the  shadow  of  Pharaoh’s  throne,  and  of  caravans  offering  the  rarest 
products  of  the  north  and  of  the  east  for  sale.  A celebrated  scene  in  one  of 
the  tombs  of  Beni-Hasan  illustrates  what  usually  took  place.  We  do  not  know 
what  drove  the  thirty-seven  Asiatics,  men,  women,  and  children,  to  cross  the 

A, 

Red  flea  and  the  Arabian  desert  and  hills  in  the  VI"  year  of  Usirtasen  II.;1 
they  had,  however,  suddenly  appeared  in  the  Gazelle  nome,  and  were  there 
received  by  Khiti,  the  superintendent  of  the  huntsmen,  who,  as  his  duty  was, 
brought  them  before  the  prince  Khnumhotpu.  The  foreigners  presented  the 
prince  with  green  eye-paint,  antimony  powder,  and  two  live  ibexes,  to  conciliate 
his  favour;  while  he,  to  preserve  the  memory  of  their  visit,  represented  them 
in  painting  upon  the  walls  of  his  tomb.  The  Asiatics  carry  bows  and  arrows, 
javelins,  axes,  and  clubs,  like  the  Egyptians,  and  wear  long  garments  or  close- 
fitting  loin-cloths  girded  on  the  thigh.  One  of  them  plays,  as  he  goes,  on  an 
instrument  whose  appearance  recalls  that  of  the  old  Greek  lyre.  The  shape 
of  their  arms,  the  magnificence  and  good  taste  of  the  fringed  and  patterned  stuffs 
with  which  they  are  clothed,  the  elegance  of  most  of  the  objects  which  they  have 
brought  with  them,  testify  to  a high  standard  of  civilisation, equal  at  least  to  that 
of  Egypt.  Asia  had  for  some  time  provided  the  Pharaohs  with  slaves,  certain 
perfumes,  cedar  wood  and  cedar  essences,  enamelled  vases,  precious  stones, 
lapis-lazuli,  and  the  dyed  and  embroidered  woollen  fabrics  of  which  Chaldaea 
kept  the  monopoly  until  the  time  of  the  Romans.2  Merchants  of  the  Delta 
braved  the  perils  of  wild  beasts,  and  robbers  lurking  in  every  valley,  while 
transporting  beyond  the  isthmus  products  of  Egyptian  manufacture,3  such  as 
fine  linens,  chased  oc  cloisonne  jewellery,  glazed  pottery,  and  glass  paste  or  metal 
amulets.  Adventurous  spirits  who  found  life  dull  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile, 
men  who  had  committed  crimes,  or  who  believed  themselves  to  be  suspected 
by  their  lords  on  political  grounds,  conspirators,  deserters,  and  exiles  were  well 
received  by  the  Asiatic  tribes,  and  sometimes  gained  the  favour  of  the  sheikhs. 
In  the  time  of  the  XIIth  dynasty,  Southern  Syria,  the  country  of  the  “Lords 
of  the  Sands,”  and  the  kingdom  of  Kadtima  were  full  of  Egyptians  whose 

1 T his  bas-relief  was  first  noticed  aud  described  by  Champollion  ( Monuments  de  VEgypte,  pi. 
occlxi.,  ccclxii.),  who  took  the  immigrants  for  Greeks  of  the  archaic  period  ( Lettres  Writes  d’Egypte, 
pp.  70,  77  ; and  Monuments,  vol.  ii.  pp.  410-112).  Others  have  wished  to  consider  it  as  representing 
Abraham,  the  sons  of  Jacob,  or  at  least  a band  of  Jews  entering  into  Egypt,  and  on  the  strength  of 
this  hypothesis  it  has  ofteu  been  reproduced : Rosellini,  Monument i Storici,  pis.  xxviii.,  xxix. ; 
Jjjrsics,  Denlcm.,  ii.  131,  132,  133;  Brugsch,  Hidoire  d’Egypte,  p.  63;  Griffith  and  Newberry,  in 
Archaeological  Survey  of  Egypt  Exploration  Fund,  vol.  i.  pis.  xxx.,  xxxi. 

On  this  point,  cf.  Ebkrs,  JEjypten  und  die  Bucher  Moses,  p.  288,  etseq. 

z Sallier  Papyrus,  No.  2,  pi.  vii.  11.  4-7 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  SINUHIT.  471 

eventful  careers  supplied  the  scribes  and  story-tellers  with  the  themes  of  many 
romances.1 

Sinuhit,  the  hero  of  one  of  these  stories,2  was  a son  of  Amenemhait  I.,  and 
had  the  misfortune  involuntarily  to  overhear  a state  secret.  He  happened 
to  be  near  the  royal  tent  when  news  of  his  father’s  sudden  death  was  brought 
to  Usirtasen.  Fearing  summary  execution,  he  fled  across  the  Delta  north  of 
Memphis,  avoided  the  frontier-posts,  and  struck  into  the  desert.  “ I pursued 
my  way  by  night ; at  dawn  I had  reached  Piiteni,  and  set  out  for  the  lake  of 
Kimoiri.3  Then  thirst  fell  upon  me,  and  the  death-rattle  was  in  my  throat, 
my  throat  cleaved  together,  and  I said,  ‘ It  is  the  taste  of  death ! ’ when 
suddenly  I lifted  up  my  heart  and  gathered  my  strength  together : I heard 
the  lowing  of  the  herds.  I perceived  some  Asiatics  ; their  chief,  who  had  been 
in  Egypt,  knew  me ; he  gave  me  water,  and  caused  milk  to  be  boiled  for 
me,  and  I went  with  him  and  joined  his  tribe.”  But  still  Sinuhit  did  not  feel 
himself  in  safety,  and  fled  into  Kadiima,  to  a prince  who  had  provided  an 
asylum  for  other  Egyptian  exiles,  and  where  he  “ could  hear  men  speak  the 
language  of  Egypt.”  Here  he  soon  gained  honours  and  fortune.  “ The  chief 
preferred  me  before  his  children,  giving  me  his  eldest  daughter  in  marriage, 
and  he  granted  me  that  I should  choose  for  myself  the  best  of  his  land  near 
the  frontier  of  a neighbouring  country.  It  is  an  excellent  land,  Aia  is  its 
name.  Figs  are  there  and  grapes ; wine  is  more  plentiful  than  water  ; honey 
abounds  in  it ; numerous  are  its  olives  aud  all  the  produce  of  its  trees ; there 
are  corn  and  flour  without  end,  and  cattle  of  all  kinds.  Great,  indeed,  was 
that  which  was  bestowed  upon  me  when  the  prince  came  to  invest  me,  install- 
ing me  as  prince  of  a tribe  in  the  best  of  his  land.  I had  daily  rations  of  bread 
and  wine,  day  by  day ; cooked  meat  and  roasted  fowl,  besides  the  mountain 
game  which  I took,  or  which  was  placed  before  me  in  addition  to  that  which 
was  brought  me  by  my  hunting  dogs.  Much  butter  was  made  for  me,  and 


1 Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  11.  31-34;  cf.  Maspero,  Les  Contes  populaires,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  99,  100. 

2 Part  of  the  text  is  to  be  found  in  Berlin  (Lepsics,  Denlcm.,  vi.  104-107),  part  in  England 
(Griffith,  Fragments  of  Old  Egyptian  Stories,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology, 
1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  452-458);  portions  of  it  were  copied  on  Ostraca  now  in  the  British  Museum 
(Birch,  Inscriptions  in  the  Hieratic  and  Demotic  Character,  p.  8,  pi.  xxiii.,  No.  5629), 'and  in  the 
Museum  of  Gizeh  (Maspero,  Les  premieres  Lignes  des  M&moires  de  Sinuhit,  in  the  Me  moires  de 
1’ Institut  Egyptien , vol.  ii.  pp.  1-23).  It  has  been  summarised  by  Chabas  (Les  papyrus  de  Berlin, 
rdcits  d’il  y a quatre  mille  ans,  pp.  37-51,  aud  Pantheon  Littdraire,  vol.  i.),  translated  into  English  by 
Goodwin  {The  Story  of  Saneha,  in  Frazer's  Magazine,  1865,  pp.  185-202  ; cf.  Records  of  the  Past,  1st 
edit.,  vol.  vi.  pp.  131-150),  into  French  by  Maspero  (Le  Papyrus Me  Berlin,  No.  1,  in  the  Melanges 
d’Archdologie,  vol.  iii  pp.  64-84,  132-160,  and  Les  Contes  populaires  de  V Egypte  Ancienne,  2nd  edit., 
pp.  87-132). 

3 Kimoiri  was  not  far  from  the  modern  village  of  El-Maghfar  (Naville,  The  Store-City  of  Pithom 
and  the  Route  of  the  Exodus,  pp.  21,  22),  and  its  lake  is  the  lake  of  Ismailiali,  whose  bed  was  once 
part  of  the  bed  of  the  Red  Sea,  or,  as  the  Egyptians  called  it,  the  “Very  Black  cf.  p.  351,  note  3, 
of  the  present  work. 


472 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


milk  prepared  in  every  kind  of  way.  There  I passed  many  years,  and  the 
children  which  were  born  to  me  became  strong  meD,  each  ruling  his  own  tribe. 
When  a messenger  was  going  to  the  interior  or  returning  from  it,  he  turned 
aside  from  his  way  to  come  to  me,  for  I did  kindness  to  all : I gave  water  to 
the  thirsty,  I set  again  upon  his  way  the  traveller  who  had  been  stopped  on  it, 
I chastised  the  brigand.  The  Pitaitiu,  who  went  on  distant  campaigns  to  fight 
and  repel  the  princes  of  foreign  lands,  I commanded  them  and  they  marched 
forth  ; for  the  prince  of  Tonu  made  me  the  general  of  his  soldiers  for  long 
years.  When  I went  forth  to  war,  all  countries  towards  which  I set  out 
trembled  in  their  pastures  by  their  wells.  I seized  their  cattle,  I took 
away  their  vassals  and  carried  off  their  slaves,  I slew  the  inhabitants,  the 
land  was  at  the  mercy  of  my  sword,  of  my  bow,  of  my  marches,  of  my  well- 
conceived  plans  glorious  to  the  heart  of  my  prince.  Thus,  when  he  knew 
my  valour,  he  loved  me,  making  me  chief  among  his  children  when  he  saw 
the  strength  of  my  arms. 

“ A valiant  man  of  Tonu  came  to  defy  me  in  my  tent ; he  was  a hero  beside 
whom  there  was  none  other,  for  he  had  overthrown  all  his  adversaries.  He 
said:  ‘Let  Sinuhit  fight  with  me,  for  he  has  not  yet  conquered  me!’  and  he 
thought  to  seize  my  cattle  and  therewith  to  enrich  his  tribe.  The  prince 
talked  of  the  matter  with  me.  I said  : ‘ I know  him  not.  Verily,  I am  not  his 
brother.  I keep  myself  far  from  his  dwelling ; have  I ever  opened  his  door,  or 
crossed  his  enclosures?  Doubtless  he  is  some  jealous  fellow  envious  at  seeing 
me,  and  who  believes  himself  fated  to  rob  me  of  my  cats,  my  goats,  my  kine, 
and  to  fall  on  my  bulls,  my  rams,  and  my  oxen,  to  take  them.  . . If  he  has 
indeed  the  courage  to  fight,  let  him  declare  the  intention  of  his  heart ! Shall 
the  god  forget  him  whom  he  has  heretofore  favoured  ? This  man  who  has 
challenged  me  to  fight  is  as  one  of  those  who  lie  upon  the  funeral  couch.’ 
I bent  my  bow,  I took  out  my  arrows,  I loosened  my  poignard,  I furbished  my 
arms.  At  dawn  all  the  land  of  Tonu  ran  forth ; its  tribes  were  gathered  to- 
gether, and  all  the  foreign  lands  which  were  its  dependencies,  for  they  were 
impatient  to  see  this  duel.  Each  heart  was  on  live  coals  because  of  me;  men 
and  women  cried  ‘Ah ! ’ for  every  heart  was  disquieted  for  my  sake,  and  they  said  : 
‘Is  there,  indeed,  any  valiant  man  who  will  stand  up  against  him?  Lo!  the 
enemy  has  buckler,  battle-axe,  and  an  armful  of  javelins.’  When  he  had  come 
forth  and  I appeared,  I turned  aside  his  shafts  from  me.  When  not  one  of  them 
touched  me,  he  fell  upon  me,  and  then  I drew  my  bow  against  him.  When  my 
arrow  pierced  his  neck,  he  cried  out  and  fell  to  the  earth  upon  his  nose;  I 
snatched  his  lance  from  him,  I shouted  my  cry  of  victory  upon  his  back.  While 
the  country  people  rejoiced,  I made  his  vassals  whom  he  had  oppressed  to  give 


TEE  MINING  SETTLEMENTS  OF  SINAI. 


473 


thanks  to  Montu.  This  prince,  Ammianshi,1  bestowed  upon  me  all  the 
possessions  of  the  vanquished,  and  I took  away  his  goods,  I carried  off  his 
cattle.  All  that  he  had  desired  to  do  unto  me  that  did  I unto  him  ; I took 
possession  of  all  that  was  in  his  tent,  I despoiled  his  dwelling ; therewith  was 
the  abundance  of  my  treasure  and  the  number  of  my  cattle  increased.” 2 
In  later  times,  in  Arab  romances  such  as  that  of  Antar  or  that  of  Abu-Zeit,  we 
find  the  incidents  and  customs  described  in  this  Egyptian  tale ; there  we  have 
the  exile  arriving  at  the  court  of  a great  sheikh  whose  daughter  he  ultimately 
marries,  the  challenge,  the  fight,  and  the  raids  of  one  people  against  another. 
Even  in  our  own  day  things  go  on  in  much  the  same  way.  Seen  from  afar, 
these  adventures  have  an  air  of  poetry  and  of  grandeur  which  fascinates 
the  reader,  and  in  imagination  transports  him  into  a world  more  heroic  and 
more  noble  than  our  own.  He  who  cares  to  preserve  this  impression  would 
do  well  not  to  look  too  closely  at  the  men  and  manners  of  the  desert. 
Certainly  the  hero  is  brave,  but  he  is  still  more  brutal  and  treacherous ; 
fighting  is  one  object  of  his  existence,  but  pillage  is  a far  more  important 
one.  How,  indeed,  should  it  be  otherwise  ? the  soil  is  poor,  life  hard  and 
precarious,  and  from  remotest  antiquity  the  conditions  of  that  life  have 
remained  unchanged ; apart  from  firearms  and  Islam,  the  Bedouin  of  to-day 
are  the  same  as  the  Bedouin  of  the  days  of  Sinuhit.3 

There  are  no  known  documents  from  which  we  can  derive  any  certain 
information  as  to  what  became  of  the  mining  colonies  in  Sinai  after  the  reign 
of  Papi  II.4  Unless  entirely  abandoned,  they  must  have  lingered  on  in  com- 
parative idleness  ; for  the  last  of  the  Memphites,  the  Heracleopolitans,  and  the 
early  Thebans  were  compelled  to  neglect  them,  nor  was  their  active  life  resumed 
until  the  accession  of  the  XIIUl  dynasty.5  The  veins  in  the  Wady  Magbara 
were  much  exhausted,  but  a series  of  fortunate  explorations  revealed  the 
existence  of  untouched  deposits  in  the  Sarbiit-el-Khadim,  north  of  the  original 

1 This  was  the  name  of  the  prince  of  TonO,  who  had  taken  Sinuhit  into  such  high  favour. 

2 Berlin  Papyrus,  No.  1,  11.  19-28,  78-147 ; cf.  MAsrERO,  Les  Contes  populaires , 2nd  edit.,  pp. 
99,  104-109. 

3 Maspero,  La  Syrie  avant  Vinvasion  des  Hdbreux,  pp.  G,  7 (cf.  La  Rerue  des  Etudes  Juives, 
vol.  xiv.). 

4 The  latest  inscription  of  the  Ancient  Empire  hitherto  fount  in  Sinai  is  that  of  the  IInd  year  of 
Papi  II.  (Lottin  de  Laval,  Voyage  dans  la  PCainsule  Arabique,  Hieratic  Inscription,  pi.  4,  No.  1 ; 
Lepsios,  Denkm .,  ii.  116  a). 

5 There  are  monuments  of  ffsirtasen  I.  at  Sarbut-el-Khadim  (Brugsch,  Geschichte  SEgyptens, 
p.  132;  Major  Felix,  Note  sopra  le  Dinastie  de’  Faraoni,  p.  11);  of  Amenemhait  II.  ( Account  of  the 
Survey,  p.  183)  ; of  Amenemhait  III.  at  Sarbdt-el-Khadim  and  at  Wady  Magbara  (Burton,  Excerpta 
Flieroghjphica,  pi.  xlii. ; Cuampollion,  Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  690-G92 ; 
Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  137  a-h,  140  n ; Account  of  the  Survey,  pp.  175-177,  183,  184,  and  Photographs, 
vol.  iii.  pis.  3,  4);  and  of  Amenemhait  IV.  also  in  both  places  (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  140  o-p;  Account 
of  the  Survey,  pp.  177,  184,  and  Photographs,  vol.  iii.  pi.  4).  No  monument  bearing  the  cartouches 
of  AmenemhS.it  I.,  or  which  can  be  dated  to  his  reign,  has  yet  been  found  in  Sinai. 


474 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


workings.1  From  the  time  of  Amenemhait  II.2  these  new  veins  were  worked, 
and  absorbed  attention  during  several  generations.  Expeditions  to  the 
mines  were  sent  out  every  three  or  four  years,  sometimes  annually,  under  the 
command  of  such  high  functionaries  as  “Acquaintances  of  the  King,”  “Chief 
Lectors,”  and  Captains  of  the  Archers.  As  each  mine  was  rapidly  worked 


Plan,  of  tlie  Temple 
of  Sarbut  el  - Khadim 

fnrm  G Bene  elite 
Seal© 

o~ ' $ lo  l5  eo  Me' 

& 


Nor^h 

t 


EXPLANATION 


A -Bu  tidings  of  the  tim  e of  A aietiernhiiil  IE £ IF. 
B Roch-tietmTemple  rrrth  hi/paskral  court . 

C Buildings  of  the-  time  of  Ramses  IV 

D . ..id- A. xd........Thutmosis  El 

E id. id Ramses  VI. 

F ...id  . . af.  TfuitmosisRI and  of  Amend  the s R 
G . ... id  . of  the  time  qf  Amendthcs  R 

H ...id id [/sirtasen  I 

restored  big  Miriephtah  , (completely  ruined / 
J Traces'  of  trail , Western  eartremitg. 


a Stela?  of  Amenemhaut  RL . 
b ..id  af'  Amenemhait  IT. 
c ~id  of  the  XR  Dynasty 
without  any  King's  Earn  e . 


d Stelae  of  Thdtmosis  IE . 
e ..id.,  of  Am  end  ties  El . 
f . id.  of  Seta  I. 
g ...id  . of  Ramses  R 
h . .uL  of  NaldiL-SeU 


sa  Irpright  Stelae  a Stelae  orerthrorm 


□ 


Excavation. 


\ Buildings. 


L Th 


out,  the  delegates  of  the  Pharaohs  were  obliged  to  find  new  veins  in 
order  to  meet  industrial  demands.  The  task  was  often  arduous,  and  the 
commissioners  generally  took  care  to  inform  posterity  very  fully  as  to  the 
anxieties  which  they  had  felt,  the  pains  which  they  had  taken,  and  the 
quantities  of  oxide  of  copper  or  turquoises  which  they  had  brought  into  Egypt. 
Thus  the  Captain  Haroeris  tells  us  that,  on  arriving  at  Sarbut  in  the  month 
Phamenoth  of  an  unknown  year  of  Amenemhait  III.,  he  made  a bad  beginning 
in  his  work  of  exploration.  Wearied  of  fruitless  efforts,  the  workmen  were  quite 
ready  to  desert  him  if  he  had  not  put  a good  face  on  the  business  and  stoutly 
promised  them  the  support  of  the  local  Hathor.  And,  as  a matter  of  fact, 
fortune  did  change.  When  he  began  to  despair : “ The  desert  burned  like 
summer,  the  mountain  was  on  fire,  and  the  vein  exhausted ; one  morning  the 
overseer  who  was  there  questioned  the  miners,  the  skilled  workers  who  were 

1 For  Sarbat-el-Khadim  and  its  history,  see  Birch’s  short  summary,  Egyptian  Remains,  in  the 
Account  of  the  Survey  of  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai,  ch.  vii.  pp.  180-1S2. 

2 See  an  undated  inscription,  and  one  dated  the  XXIVth  year  of  Amenemhait  II.,  near  the 
reservoir  of  Sarbht-el*Khadim  (Birch,  Egyptian  Remains,  in  the  Account  of  the  Survey,  ch.  vii. 

p.  183). 


SAB BUT-EL- READ IM  AND  ITS  CHAPEL. 


475 


used  to  the  mine,  and  they  said : c There  is  turquoise  for  eternity  in  the 
mountain.’  At  that  very  moment  the  vein  appeared.”  And,  indeed,  the  wealth 
of  the  deposit  which  he  found  so  completely  indemnified  Haroeris  for  his  first 
disappointments,  that  in  the  month  Pachons,  three  months  after  the  opening  of 
these  workings,  he  had  finished  his  task  and  prepared  to  leave  the  country, 
carrying  his  spoils  with  him.1 2  From  time  to  time  Pharaoh  sent  convoys  of 


THE  RUINS  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  HATHOR  AT  SARbCt-EL  KHADIM.2 


cattle  and  provisions — corn,  sixteen  oxen,  thirty  geese,  fresh  vegetables,  live 
poultry — to  his  vassals  at  the  mines.3  The  mining  population  increased  so  fast 
that  two  chapels  were  built,  dedicated  to  Hathor,  and  served  by  volunteer 
priests.4  One  of  these  chapels,  presumably  the  oldest,  consists  of  a single 
rock-cut  chamber,  upheld  by  one  large  square  pillar,  walls  and  pillar  having 
been  covered  with  finely  sculptured  scenes  and  inscriptions  which  are  now 
almost  effaced.  The  second  chapel  included  a beautifully  proportioned 
rectangular  court,  once  entered  by  a portico  supported  on  pillars  with 
Hathor-head  capitals,  and  beyond  the  court  a narrow  building  divided  into 
many  small  irregular  chambers.  The  edifice  was  altered  and  rebuilt,  and 
half  destroyed ; it  is  now  nothing  but  a confused  heap  of  ruins  from  which 
the  original  plan  cannot  be  traced.  Votive  stelae  of  all  shapes  and  sizes, 

1 Birch,  Egyptian  Remains,  in  the  Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  186. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  in  the  Ordnance  Survey,  Photographs,  vol.  iii.  pi.  8. 

3 Fragments  of  inscriptions  in  Birch,  Egyptian  Remains,  in  the  Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  186. 

4 Wilson,  Note  on  the  Ruins  at  Sarabit-el-Kliadim,  in  the  Account  of  the  Survey,  ch.  vii.  The 
views  of  the  ruins  are  reproduced  from  photographs  in  the  Ordnance  Survey,  vol.  iii.  pis.  vi.-xviii. 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


47  G 

in  granite,  sandstone,  or  limestone,  were  erected  here  and  there  at  random 
in  the  two  chambers  and  in  the  courts  between  the  columns,  and  flush 
with  the  walls.  Some  are  still  in  situ,  others  lie  scattered  in  the  midst  of 
the  ruins.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  reign  of  Amenemhait  III.,  the 
industrial  demand  for  turquoises  and  copper  ore  became  so  great  that  the 
mines  of  Sarbut*el-Khadim  could  no  longer  meet  it,  and  those  in  the  Wady 
Maghara  were  reopened.1  The  workings  of  both  sets  of  mines  were  carried 
on  with  unabated  vigour  under  Amenemhait  IV.,2  and  were  still  in  full  activity 
when  the  XIIIth  dynasty  succeeded  the  XIIth  on  the  Egyptian  throne. 
Tranquillity  prevailed  in  the  recesses  of  the  mountains  of  Sinai  as  well  as 
in  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  and  a small  garrison  sufficed  to  keep  watch  over  the 
Bedouin  of  the  neighbourhood.  Sometimes  the  latter  ventured  to  attack  the 
miners,  and  then  fled  in  haste,  carrying  off  their  meagre  booty  ; but  they  were 
vigorously  pursued  under  the  command  of  one  of  the  officers  on  the  spot,  and 
generally  caught  and  compelled  to  disgorge  their  plunder  before  they  had 
reached  the  shelter  of  their  “ douars.”  The  old  Memphite  kings  took  pride 
in  these  armed  pursuits  as  though  they  were  real  victories,  and  had  them 
recorded  in  triumphal  bas-reliefs  ; but  under  the  XIIth  dynasty  they  were 
treated  as  unimportant  frontier  incidents,  almost  beneath  the  notice  of  the 
Pharaoh,  and  the  glory  of  them — such  as  it  was — he  left  to  his  captains  then 
in  command  of  those  districts. 

Egypt  had  always  kept  up  extensive  commercial  relations  with  certain 
northern  countries  lying  beyond  the  Mediterranean.  The  reputation  for 
wealth  enjoyed  by  the  Delta  sometimes  attracted  bands  of  the  Haiu-nibu 
to  come  prowling  in  piratical  excursions  along  its  shores;3  but  their 
expeditions  seldom  turned  out  successfully,  and  even  if  the  adventurers 
escaped  summary  execution,  they  generally  ended  their  days  as  slaves  in  the 
Fayum,  or  in  some  village  of  the  Said.  At  first  their  descendants  preserved 
the  customs,  religion,  manners,  and  industries  of  their  distant  home,  and  went 


1 Inscriptions  of  the  II"'1,  XXXth,  XLIst,  XLH,ul,  XLIII"1,  and  XLIVth  years  of  Amenemhait  III. 
are  given  in  Burton,  Excerpta  hierogly phica,  pi.  xii. ; Champollion,  Monuments  de  V Egypt  et  de  la 
Nubie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  6S9-G91 ; Lepsius,  Denlem.,  ii.  137  c,f-i;  Birch,  Egyptian  Remains,  in  the  Account 
of  the  Survey,  ch.  vii.  pp.  175-177,  and  Photographs,  vol.  iii.  pi.  3. 

- See  inscriptions  of  the  Vth  and  VIIth  years  of  Amenemhait  IV.,  in  Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  137  d-e, 
110  n ; Account  of  the  Survey,  p.  177,  aud  Photographs,  vol.  iii.  pi.  4. 

3 Sonkhkari  of  the  XIth  dynasty  bo  sted  that  he  had  broken  the  yoke  of  the  Ilaiti-nibu  (Lepsius, 
Denltm.,  ii.  150  a,  1.  8 ; cf.  Golenisceeff,  Itesultats  fpigraphiques,  pi.  xvi.  1.  8).  Here  there  is  no 
question  of  a maritime  expedition,  as  Chabas  supposed  ( Etudes  sur  V Antiquitd Hidorique,  2nd  edit., 
pp.  174,  175),  but  of  Pharaoh’s  repulse  of  an  incursion  of  Asiatic  pirates.  The  “Islands  of  the 
Very-Green,”  i.e.  the  Mediterranean,  are  incidentally  mentioned  in  the  Memoirs  of  Sinuliit  ( Berlin 
Papyrus,  No.  1,  11.210,  211).  Prof.  Petrie  ( Kahun , Gurob,  and  Hauara,  p.  44,  and  lllahun , 
Kahun,  and  Gurob,  pp.  9-11)  has  proved  that  there  was  a settlement  of  Aegean  prisoners  in  the 
principality  of  Heracleopolis. 


NUBIA  BECOMES  PART  OF  EGYPT. 


477 


on  making  rough  pottery  for  daily  use  which  was  decorated  in  a style  recalling 
that  of  vases  found  in  the  most  ancient  tombs  of  the  Mge&n  archipelago ; but 
they  were  gradually  assimilated  to  their  surroundings,  and  their  grandchildren 
became  fellabin  like  the 
rest,  brought  up  from  in- 
fancy in  the  customs  and 
language  of  Egypt. 

The  relations  with  the 
tribes  of  the  Libyan  desert, 
the  Tihunu  and  the  Timi- 
hu,  were  almost  invariably 
peaceful ; although  occa- 
sional raids  of  one  of  their 
bands  into  Egyptian  terri- 
tory would  provoke  counter 
raids  into  the  valleys  in 
which  they  took  refuge  with 
their  flocks  and  herds.1 
Thus,  in  addition  to  the 
captive  Haiu-nibu,  another 
heterogeneous  element,  soon 
to  be  lost  in  the  mass  of 
the  Egyptian  population, 
was  supplied  by  detach- 
ments of  Berber  women  and 
children.  The  relations  of 
Egypt  with  her  northern 
neighbours  during  the  two 
hundred  years  of  the  XII*1' 
dynasty  were  chiefly  com- 
mercial, but  occasionally 
this  peaceful  intercourse 
was  broken  by  sudden  incursions  or  piratical  expeditions  which  called  for 
active  measures  of  repression,  and  were  the  occasion  of  certain  romantic 
episodes.  rI  he  foreign  policy  of  the  Pharaohs  in  this  connection  was  to  remain 
strictly  on  the  defensive.  Ethiopia  attracted  all  their  attention,  and  demanded 
all  their  strength.  The  same  instinct  which  had  impelled  their  predecessors 

1 It  was  while  on  an  expedition  against  the  Timih.d  that  Psirtasen  I.  learned  the  death  of 
his  father  Amenemhait  I.  (Maspfro,  Les  Contes  populates  de  VAncienne  Egypte,  2nd  edit., 
pp.  96,  97). 


478 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


to  pass  successively  beyond  Gebel-Silsileli  and  Elephantine  now  drove  the  XI1"‘ 

dynasty  beyond  the  second  cataract,  and  even  further.  The  nature  of  the  valley 

compelled  them  to  this  course.  From  the  Tacazze,  or  rather  from  the  con- 

lluence  of  the  two  Niles  down  to  the  sea,  the  whole  valley  forms  as  it  were  a 

Greater  Egypt ; for  although  separated  by  the  cataracts  into  different  divisions, 

it  is  everywhere  subject  to  the  same  physical  conditions.  In  the  course  of 

centuries  it  has  more  than  once  been  forcibly  dismembered  by  the  chances  of 

war,  but  its  various  parts  have  always  tended  to  reunite,  and  have  coalesced 

at  the  first  opportunity.  The  Amami,  the  Iritit,  and  the  Sitiu,  all  those  nations 

which  wandered  west  of  the  river,  and  whom  the  Pharaohs  of  the  VI1"  and 

subsequently  of  the  XIth  dynasty  either  enlisted  into  their  service  or  else 

conquered,  do  not  seem  to  have  given  much  trouble  to  the  successors  of 
/\ 

Amenemhait  I.  The  Uauaiu  and  the  Mazaiu  were  more  turbulent,  and  it 
was  necessary  to  subdue  them  in  order  to  assure  the  tranquillity  of  the 
colonists  scattered  along  the  banks  of  the  river  from  Philae  to  Korosko.  They 
were  worsted  by  Amenembait  I.  in  several  encounters.1  Usirtasen  I.  made 
repeated  campaigns  against  them,  the  earlier  ones  being  undertaken  in  his 
father’s  lifetime.2  Afterwards  he  pressed  on,  and  straightway  “ raised  his 
frontiers”  at  the  rapids  of  Wady  Haifa;3  and  the  country  was  henceforth  the 
undisputed  property  of  his  successors.  It  was  divided  into  nornes  like  Egypt 
itself;  the  Egyptian  language  succeeded  in  driving  out  the  native  dialecls, 
and  the  local  deities,  including  Diduu,  the  principal  god,  were  associated  or 
assimilated  with  the  gods  of  Egypt.  Khnumu  was  the  favourite  deity  of 
the  northern  nomes,  doubtless  because  the  first  colonists  were  natives  of 
Elephantine,  and  subjects  of  its  princes.4  In  the  southern  nomes,  which 
had  been  annexed  under  the  Theban  kings  and  were  peopled  with  Theban 
immigrants,  the  worship  of  Khnumu  was  carried  on  side  by  side  with  the 
worship  of  Anion,  or  Amon-Ea,  god  of  Thebes.5  In  accordance  with  local 
affinities,  now  no  longer  intelligible,  the  other  gods  also  were  assigned 
smaller  areas  in  the  new  territory — Thot  at  Pselcis  and  Pnubsit,  where 


1 Sallier  Papyrus,  No.  1,  pi.  ii.  1.  10. 

2 See  a stele  of  the  XXXth  year  of  Amenemlmit  I.  = the  IXth  year  of  fTsiitasen  I.  (Brcgsch,  Die 
Negerstdmme  der  Una-Inschri/t,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1882,  pp.  30,  31). 

3 The  triumphal  stele  of  Wady  Haifa,  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  Bohani,  which  recorded  this 
event,  is  now  in  Florence  (Champollion,  Retires  e'erites  d’Egypte,  2nd  edit.,  p.  124).  [A  missing 
portion  of  it  has  recently  been  discovered  by  Captain  Lyons,  and  sent  to  Florence. — Ed.] 

4 In  Nubia  Khnftmu  was  entitled  “ Governor  of  the  inhabitants  of  Lower  Nubia,  director  of  the 
gate  of  the  mountain  regions  ” (Brugsch,  Dictionnaire  Gdograpliique,  p.  1288).  Under  the  XVIII'1' 
dynasty  he  took  the  form  of  Khnhmu-Ea,  in  the  temples  of  Sebuuh  (Lepsius,  Denhm.,  iii.  179), 
Khinmeh  (ibid.,  id.,  66),  and  other  places. 

5 Lepsius  was  the  first  to  show  that  the  progress  of  the  Theban  colonisation  may  be  traced  by 
that  of  the  worship  of  Amon  (Ueber  die  ividderl.'opjigvi  Gutter  Ammon  und  Cltnumis,  in  the  Zeitschrijt, 
1877,  p.  14,  et  seq.). 


THE  WORKS  OF  THE  PHARAOHS  IN  NUBIA. 


479 


a gigantic  nabk  tree  was  worshipped,1  Ra  near  Derr,2  and  Horus  at  Miama 
and  Bauka.3 4  The  Pharaohs  who  had  civilized  the  country  here  received 
divine  honours  while  still  alive.  Usirtasen  III.  was  placed  in  triads  along 
with  Didun,  Amon,  and  Khnumu  ; temples  were  raised  to  him  at  Semneh,1 
Shataui,5  and  Doshkeh  ; 6 and  the  anniversary  of  a decisive  victory  which  he 
had  gained  over  the  barbarians  was  still  celebrated  on  the  21st  of  Pachons, 
a thousand  years  afterwards,  under  Tliutmosis  III.7  The  feudal  system 
spread  over  the  land  lying  between  the  two  cataracts,  where  hereditary 
barons  held  their  courts,  trained  their  armies,  built  their  castles,  and 
excavated  their  superbly  decorated  tombs  in  the  mountain- sides.  The 
only  difference  between  Nubian  Egypt  and  Egypt  proper  lay  in  the  greater 
heat  and  smaller  wealth  of  the  former,  where  the  narrower,  less  fertile,  and  less 
well-watered  land  supported  a smaller  population  and  yielded  less  abundant 
revenues. 

Pharaoh  kept  the  charge  of  the  more  important  strategical  points  in  his  own 
hands.  Strongholds  placed  at  bends  of  the  river  and  at  the  mouths  of  ravines 
leading  into  the  desert,  secured  freedom  of  navigation,  and  kept  off  the  pillaging 
nomads.  The  fortress  of  Derr  [Ivubban  ? — Ed.],  which  was  often  rebuilt,  dates 
in  part  at  least  from  the  early  days  of  the  conquest  of  Nubia.  Its  rectangular 
boundary — a dry  brick  wall — is  only  broken  by  easily  filled  up  gaps,  and  with 
some  repairs  it  would  still  resist  an  Ababdeh  attack.8  The  most  considerable 

1 The  present  Dakkeli  is  on  the  site  of  Pselcis.  The  Pnhbsit  (Pnubs,  Nupsi,  Nupsia)  of  the 
Greek  geographers  is  now  probably  represented  by  the  ruins  found  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river, 
near  the  village  of  Hamkeh,  just  before  the  entrance  to  the  second  cataract. 

2 The  sacred  name  of  Derr  was  Pi-ra,  “House  of  Ita”  (Brugsch,  Geographische  Inschriften. 
vol.  i.  p.  159). 

3 Miama,  the  Mama  of  the  classic  geographers  (Puny,  vi.,  xii.,  35,  2 ; Juba,  in  Didot-Muller’s 
Fragmenta  Historicum  Grxcorum,  vol.  iii.  pp.  477,  478),  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river,  seems  to 
have  been  what  is  now  the  village  of  Toshkeh,  where  Burckhardt  had  noticed  tombs  at  the  beginning 
of  this  century  ( Travels  in  Nulict,  p.  33).  The  Egyptian  town  of  Bauka,  which,  in  spite  of  the 
resemblance  between  the  two  names,  has  nothing  in  common  with  the  Aboccis  of  Ptolemy,  seems  to 
have  been  situated  on  the  site  of  the  present  village  of  Kuban  (Brugsch,  Die  Biblischen  sieben  Jalire 
der  Hungersnoth,  pp.  41-43). 

4 The  temple  was  not,  as  is  usually  affirmed,  built  by  Thittmosis  III.  (Lepsius,  Ueber 
die  widderkdpfigen  Gutter,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1877,  p.  21 ; Wiedemann,  AZgyptische  Geschichte, 
p.  253) ; Thiitmosis  III.  merely  restored  what  had  been  built  by  tfsirtaseu  III.,  as  was  shown 
by  E.  de  Eouge,  in  his  Me'moire  sur  quelques  pltd’nomeiies  celestes,  p.  22,  et  scq.  (cf.  Revue  ArchCo- 
logique,  1st  series,  vol.  ix.).  As  a matter  of  fact,  one  of  the  inscriptions  states  that  Thittmosis 
re-established  the  solemn  rites  and  sacrifices  instituted  by  tlsirtasen  in  the  temple  of  Lis 
father,  Didun  (Calliaud,  Voyage  a Meroe,  Atlas,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxix.  3 ; Lepsius,  Denim.,  iii.  55, 
11.  3,  4). 

5 Champollion,  Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi.  i.  3,  and  vol.  i.  p.  G09 ; Lepsius, 
Denkm.,  iii.  114  h,  in  the  time  of  the  Pharaoh  Ai,  one  of  the  last  sovereigns  of  the  XVIIIth 
dynasty. 

6 Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iii.  59,  under  Thittmosis  III. 

1 Lepsius,  Denkm.,  iii.  55,  1.  12;  cf.  E.  de  Eouge,  Ntfmoires  sur  quelques  phtfnomenes  celestes , 
pp.  25-27. 

8 The  most  ancient  bricks  in  the  fortifications  of  Derr,  easily  distinguishable  from  those  belonging 


480 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


Nubian  works  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  were  in  the  three  places  from  which  the 
country  can  even  now  be  most  effectively  commanded,  namely,  at  the  two 
cataracts,  and  in  the  districts  extending  from  Derr  to  Dakkeh.  Elephantine 
already  possessed  an  entrenched  camp  which  commanded  the  rapids  and  the 
land  route  from  Syene  to  Pliiloe.  Usirtasen  III.  restored  its  great  wall ; he 
also  cleared  and  widened  the  passage  to  Seliel,  as  did  Papi  I,  to  such  goed 
effect  that  easy  and  rapid  communication  between  Thebes  and  the  new  towns 
was  at  all  times  practicable.  Some  little  distance  from  Philoe  he  established 
a station  for  boats,  and  an  emporium  which  he  called  Hiru  Khakeri — “the 
Ways  of  Khakeri” — after  his  own  throne  name — Khakeri.1  Its  exact  site  is 
unknown,  but  it  appears  to  have  completed  on  the  south  side  the  system  of 
walls  and  redoubts  which  protected  the  cataract  provinces  against  either 
surprise  or  regular  attacks  of  the  barbarians.  Although  of  no  appreciable 
use  for  the  purposes  of  general  security,  the  fortifications  of  Middle  Nubia 
were  of  great  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  Pharaohs.  They  commanded 
the  desert  roads  leading  to  the  Red  Sea,  and  to  Berber  and  Gebel  Barkel  on 
the  Upper  Nile.  The  most  important  fort  occupied  the  site  of  the  present 
village  of  Kuban,  opposite  Dakkeh,2  and  commanded  the  entrance  to  the 
Wady  Olaki,  which  leads  to  the  richest  gold  deposits  known  to  Ancient 
Egypt.  The  valleys  which  furrow  the  mountains  of  Etbai',  the  Wady 
Shauanib,  the  Wady  Umm  Teyur,  Gebel  Iswud,  Gebel  Umm  Kabriteh,  all 

have  gold  deposits  of  their  own.  The  gold  is  found  in  nuggets  and  in 

pockets  in  white  quartz,  mixed  with  iron  oxides  and  titanium,  for 
which  the  ancients  had  no  use.  The  method  of  mining  practised  from 

A 

immemorial  antiquity  by  the  Uauaiu  of  the  neighbourhood  was  of  the 
simplest,  and  traces  of  the  workings  may  be  seen  all  over  the  sides  of  the 
ravines.  Tunnels  followed  the  direction  of  the  lodes  to  a depth  of  fifty-five 
to  sixty-five  yards  ; the  masses  of  quartz  procured  from  them  were  broken 
up  in  granite  mortars,  pounded  small  and  afterwards  reduced  to  a powder 
in  querns,  similar  to  those  used  for  crushing  grain ; the  residue  was 

sifted  on  stone  tables,  and  the  finely  ground  parts  afterwards  washed  in 

to  tho  later  restorations,  are  identical  in  shape  and  size  with  those  of  the  walls  at  Syene  and  EI-Kab  ; 
and  the  wall  at  El-Kab  was  certainly  built  not  later  than  the  XIIth  dynasty. 

1 The  widening  of  the  passage  was  effected  in  the  VIIIth  year  of  his  reign  (Wilbour,  Canalizing 
the  Cataract,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  202-204),  the  same  year  in  which  he  established 
the  Egyptian  frontier  at  Semneh.  The  other  constructions  are  mentioned,  but  not  very  clearly,  in 
a stele  of  the  same  year  which  came  from  Elephantine,  and  is  now  in  the  British  Museum  (Birch, 
Tablets  of  the  XII' h dynasty,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1875,  pp.  50,  51).  The  votive  tablet,  engraved  in 
honour  of  Antikit  at  Sehel  (Lepsitjs,  Denlcm.,  ii.  136  b),  in  which  the  king  boasts  of  having  made  for 
the  goddess  “ the  excellent  channel  [called]  ‘ the  Ways  of  Khakehri,’  ” probably  refers  to  this  widening 
and  deepening  of  the  passage  in  the  VIIIth  year. 

2 On  the  ruins  of  this  important  fortress,  see  the  notice  by  Prisse  d’Avennes,  published  by 
Chabas,  Lee  Inscriptions  des  Mines  d’or,  pp.  13,  14. 


THE  GOLD-MINES  OF  NUBIA  AND  THE  FORTRESS  OF  KUBBAN.  481 


bowls  of  sycamore  wood,  until  the  gold  dust  had  settled  to  the  bottom.1  This 
was  the  Nubian  gold  which  was  brought  into  Egypt  by  nomad  tribes,  and  for 
which  the  Egyptians  themselves,  from  the  time  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  onwards, 
went  to  seek  in  the  land  which  produced  it.  They  made  no  attempt  to 
establish  permanent  colonies  for  working  the  mines,  as  at  Sinai ; but  a detach- 
ment of  troops  was  despatched  nearly  every  year  to  the  spot  to  receive  the 
amount  of  precious  metal  collected  since  their  previous  visit.  The  king 


ONE  OF  THE  FACADES  OF  THE  FORTRESS  OF  KUBliAN.2 

Usirtasen  would  send  atone  time  the  prince  of  the  nome  of  the  Gazelle  on  such 
an  expedition,  with  a contingent  of  four  hundred  men  belonging  to  his  fief;3 
at  another  time,  it  would  be  the  faithful  Sibathor  who  would  triumphantly 
scour  the  country,  obliging  young  and  old  to  work  with  redoubled  efforts  for 
his  master  Amenemhait  II.4  On  his  return  the  envoy  would  boast  of  having 
brought  back  more  gold  than  any  of  his  predecessors,  and  of  having  crossed 
the  desert  without  losing  either  a soldier  or  a baggage  animal,  not  even  a 
donkey.  Sometimes  a son  of  the  reigning  Pharaoh,  even  the  heir-presumptive, 
would  condescend  to  accompany  the  caravan.  Amenemhait  III.  repaired  or 

1 The  gold-mines  and  the  method  of  working  them  under  the  Ptolemies  have  been  described  by 
Agatharchides  (Muller-Didot,  Geograpld  Grxci  Minores,  vol.  i.  pp.  123-129;  cf.  Diodorus  Siculus, 
iii.  12-14);  the  processes  employed  were  very  ancient,  and  had  hardly  changed  since  the  time  of  the 
first  Pharaohs,  as  is  shown  by  a comparison  of  the  mining  tools  found  in  these  districts  with  those 
which  have  been  collected  at  Sinai,  in  the  turquoise-mines  of  the  Ancient  Empire.  As  to  the 
present  condition  of  the  country,  cf.  a note  of  Prisse  d’Avennes,  in  Chabas,  Les  Inscriptions  des 
Mines  d’or,  pp.  27-29.  The  localities  in  which  working  drifts  are  met  with  have  been  marked  by 
Linant  de  Bellefonds  on  his  map  of  Etbaye,  1854. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Insiuger,  taken  in  1881. 

3 Biographical  inscription  of  Amoni-Amenemhait,  prince  of  the  Gazelle,  at  Beni-Hasan 
11.  3-8. 

* The  stele  of  Si-Hathor  is  in  the  British  Museum  : it  has  been  published  by  Birch,  Tablets  of  the 
XII"1  dynasty,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1874,  pp.  111-114 ; cf.  Birch,  Egyptian  Texts,  pp.  21,  22. 

2 i 


THE  FIRST  TIIEBAN  EM  FIRE. 


48  2 

rebuilt  the  fortress  of  Kubban,  the  starting-place  of  the  little  army,  and  the 
spot  to  which  it  returned.  It  is  a square  enclosure  measuring  328  feet  on 
each  side  ; the  ramparts  of  crude  brick  are  sloped  slightly  inwards,  and  are 
strengthened  at  intervals  by  bastions  projecting  from  the  external  face  of  the 
wall.  The  river  protected  one  side  ; the  other  three  were  defended  by  ditches 
communicating  with  the  Nile.  There  were  four  entrances,  one  in  the  centre 

of  each  fapade  : that  on  the 
east,  which  faced  the  desert, 
and  was  exposed  to  the 
severest  attacks,  was  flanked 
by  a tower.1 

The  cataract  of  Wady 
Haifa  offered  a natural  bar- 
rier to  invasion  from  the 
south.  Even  without  fortifi- 
cation, the  chain  of  granite 
rocks  which  crosses  the  val- 
ley at  this  spot  would  have 
been  a sufficient  obstacle  to 
prevent  any  fleet  which 
might  attempt  the  passage 
from  gaining  access  to  nor- 
thern N ubia.  The  N ile  here 
has  not  the  wild  and  im- 
posing aspect  which  it  as- 
sumes lower  down,  between 
Aswan  and  Philae.  It  is 

THE  SECOND  CATARACT  BETWEEN  HAMIiEH  AND  WADY  HALFA.  , , , , , j. 

bordered  by  low  and  receding 
hills,  devoid  of  any  definite  outline.  Masses  of  bare  black  rock,  here  and 
there  covered  by  scanty  herbage,  block  the  course  of  the  river  in  some  places  in 
such  profusion,  that  its  entire  bed  seems  to  be  taken  up  by  them.  For  a distance 
of  seventeen  miles  the  main  body  of  water  is  broken  up  into  an  infinitude  of  small 
channels  in  its  width  of  two  miles ; several  of  the  streams  thus  formed  present, 
apparently,  a tempting  course  to  the  navigator,  so  calm  and  safe  do  they  appear, 
but  they  conceal  ledges  of  hidden  reefs,  and  are  unexpectedly  forced  into  narrow 
passages  obstructed  by  granite  boulders.  The  strongest  built  and  best  piloted 
boat  must  be  dashed  to  pieces  in  such  circumstances,  and  no  effort  oi  skilfulness 
on  the  part  of  the  crew  would  save  the  vessel  should  the  owner  ventuie  to 


1 PliissE  d’Avennes,  in  Chabas,  Les  Inscriptions  des  Mines  d'Or,  p.  13, 


THE  SECOND  CATAKACT  AT  LOW  NILE,  SEEN  FROM  A1SUSIK. 

Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Beato. 


484 


THE  FIE  ST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


attempt  the  descent.  The  only  channel  at  all  available  for  transit  runs  from 
the  village  of  Aesha  on  the  Arabian  side,  winds  capriciously  from  one  bank  to 
another,  and  emerges  into  calm  water  a little  above  Nakhiet  Wady  Haifa. 
During  certain  days  in  August  and  September  the  natives  trust  themselves 
to  this  stream,  but  only  with  boats  lightly  laden;  even  then  their  escape 
is  problematical,  for  they  are  in  hourly  danger  of  foundering.1  As  soon  as 
the  inundation  begins  to  fall,  the  passage  becomes  more  difficult : by  the 
middle  of  October  it  is  given  up,  and  communication  by  water  between 
Egypt  and  the  countries  above  Wady  Haifa  is  suspended  until  the  return  of 
the  inundation.  By  degrees,  as  the  level  of  the  water  becomes  lower,  remains 
of  wrecks  jammed  between  the  rocks,  or  embedded  in  sandbanks,  emerge  into 
view,  as  if  to  warn  sailors  and  discourage  them  from  an  undertaking  so  fraught 
with  perils.  Usirtasen  I.  realized  the  importance  of  the  position  and  fortified 
its  approaches.  He  selected  the  little  Nubian  town  of  Bohani,  which  lay 
exactly  opposite  to  the  present  village  of  Wady  Haifa,2  and  transformed  it 
into  a strong  frontier  fortress.  Besides  the  usual  citadel,  he  built  there  a 
temple  dedicated  to  the  Theban  god  Amon  and  to  the  local  Horus ; he  then  set 
up  a stele  commemorating  his  victories  over  the  peoples  beyond  the  cataract. 
Ten  of  their  principal  chiefs  had  passed  before  Amon  as  prisoners,  their  arms 
tied  behind  their  backs,  and  had  been  sacrificed  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  by  the 
sovereign  himself : 3 he  represented  them  on  the  stele  by  enclosing  their  names 
in  battlemented  cartouches,  each  surmounted  by  the  bust  of  a man  bound 
by  a long  cord  which  is  held  by  the  conqueror.  Nearly  a century  later 
Usirtasen  III.  enlarged  the  fortress,  and  finding  doubtless  that  it  was  not 
sufficiently  strong  to  protect  the  passage  of  the  cataract,  he  stationed  outposts 
at  various  points,  at  Matuga,4  Fakus,  and  Kassa.  They  served  as  mooring- 

1 See  in  E.  de  Gottberg,  Les  Cataractes  du  Nil,  pp.  28-35,  the  description  of  the  precautions 
taken  even  down  to  the  present  day  by  the  Nubian  boatmen  when  passing  the  cataracts  ; so  far  as  the 
cataract  of  Wady  Haifa  in  particular  is  concerned,  cf.  Chelu,  Le  Nil,  le  Soudan,  VEgypte,  pp.  G2-G4. 

2 Brugsch  places  Bohani  on  the  right  bank,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wady  Haifa  (Die  Biblischen 
Sieben  Jaltre  der  Hungersnoth,  pp.  43,  44) ; but  the  stele  of  Bamses  I.,  discovered  by  Ghampollion  on 
the  left  bank  in  one  of  the  still  existing  temples,  mentions  gifts  made  by  this  monarch  to  the  god 
Miu-Amon,  who  resides  at  Bohani  ‘*in  his  divine  dwelling”  (11.  6,  7).  Bohani  was,  therefore,  situated 
at  the  precise  spot  where  we  now  find  the  ruins  of  three  temples  or  chapels  (Champolliox,  Monuments 
de  VEgypte,  vol.  i.  p.  34).  The  Boon  of  Ptolemy  was  also  on  the  left  bank:  if  it  is  identical  with 
Bohani,  the  Alexandiian  geographer,  or  his  authorities,  have  placed  it  higher  up  the  river  than  it 
actually  was. 

3 The  stele  is  now  at  Florence  (Schiaparelli,  Mmeo  Archeologico,  vol.  i.  pp.  243,  244) ; it  has 
been  published  several  times,  by  Champollion  ( Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  pi.  i.  1,  and 
vol.  i.  pp.  34-36,  vol.  ii.  p.  692),  then  by  Rosellini  ( Monumcnti  Storici , pi.  xxv.  4),  and  lastly  by  Berend 
( Principaux  Monuments  du  Muste  Egyptien  de  Florence,  pp.  51,  52). 

4 Letter  from  Captain  H.  G.  Lyons,  in  the  Academy,  No.  1057,  August  6,  1892,  p.  117:  “I 
have  discovered  old  Egyptian  fortresses  at  Haifa  and  at  Matuga,  twelve  miles  south,  the  latter  con- 
taining a cartouche  of  flsirtasen  III.”  We  possess  no  detailed  information  in  regard  to  these  two 
citadels. 


TEE  TWO  FORTE  ESSES  OF  SEMNEE. 


485 


places,  where  the  vessels  which  went  up  and  down  stream  with  merchandise 
might  be  made  fast  to  the  bank  at  sunset.  The  bands  of  Bedouin,  lurking 
in  the  neighbourhood,  would  have  rejoiced  to  surprise  them,  and  by  their 
depredations  to  stop  the  commerce  between  the  Said  and  the  Upper 

Nile,  during  the  few  weeks  in  which  it  could  be  „„ 

carried  on  with  a minimum  of  danger.  A narrow  ' • ' + 
gorge  crossed  by  a bed  of  granite,  through  which 
the  Nile  passes  at  Semneh,  afforded  another 
most  favourable  site  for  the  completion  of  this 
system  of  defence.  On  cliffs  rising  sheer 
above  the  current,  the  king  constructed  two 
fortresses,  one  on  each  bank  of  the  river, 
which  completely  commanded  the  ap- 
proaches by  land  and  water.  On  the  right 
bank  at  Kummeh,  where  the  position  was 
naturally  a strong  one,  the  engineers 
described  an  irregular  square,  measuring 
about  two  hundred  feet  each  side ; two 
projecting  bastions  flanked  the  entrance, 
the  one  to  the  north  covering  the  ap- 
proaching pathways,  the  southern  one 
commanding  the  river-bank.  A road 
with  a ditch  runs  at  about  thirteen  feet 
from  the  walls  round  the  building,  closely 
following  its  contour,  except  at  the 
north-west  and  south-east  angles,  where 

there  are  two  projections  which  formed  bastions.  The  town  on  the  other  bank, 
Samninu-Kharp-Khakeri,  occupied  a less  favourable  position  : 2 its  eastern  flank 
was  protected  by  a zone  of  rocks  and  by  the  river,  but  the  three  other  sides  were 
of  easy  approach.  They  were  provided  with  ramparts  which  rose  to  the  height 
of  eighty-two  feet  above  the  plain,  and  were  strengthened  at  unequal  distances 
by  enormous  buttresses.  These  resembled  towers  without  parapets,  overlooking 
every  part  of  the  encircling  road,  and  from  them  the  defenders  could  take  the 


THE  TRIUMPHAL  STELE  OF  USIRTASEN  I.1 


1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  of  the  original  in  the  museum  at  Florence. 

2 The  Egyptian  name  of  Semneh,  Samninu-Kharp-Khalieri,  is  given  in  an  inscription  of  the  III"1 
year  of  Sovkhotpu  I.  (E.  de  Kouge,  Inscription  des  rocliers  de  Semneh,  in  the  Revue  Archeologique, 
series  1,  vol.  v.  p.  312  ; Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  151  c),  where,  up  to  the  present,  no  one  appears  to  have 
gone  to  look  for  it.  We  meet  it  in  the  abridged  forms  of  Sciminit,  Samine,  in  a text  of  the  Ptolemaic 
period  (Dumichen,  Geographische  Inscliriften,  vol.  ii.  pi.  lxxi.  c) : an  inscription  in  barbaric  Greek, 
writes  it  Sammina,  and  acquaints  us  with  the  name  of  Kummeh,  spelt  Koummou,  the  Egyptian  form 
of  which  is  not  ceitain  (Lepsius,  Ueber  einen  alten  Nilmesser  bei  Semne  in  Nubien,  in  the  Monatsberichte 
of  the  Berlin  Academy  of  Sciences,  1844). 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


480 

attacking  sappers  in  flank.  The  intervals  between  them  had  been  so  calculated 
as  to  enable  the  archers  to  sweep  the  intervening  space  with  their  arrows. 
The  main  building  is  of  crude  brick,  with  beams  laid  horizontally  between  ; 
the  base  of  the  external  rampart  is  nearly  vertical,  while  the  upper  part  forms 
an  angle  of  some  seventy  degrees  with  the  horizon,  making  the  scaling  of  it, 


THE  RAPIDS  OF  THE  NILE  AT  SEMNEH,  AND  THE  TWO  FORTRESSES  BUILT  BY  USIRTASEN  III.1 


if  not  impossible,  at  least  very  difficult.  Each  of  the  enclosing  walls  of  the 
two  fortresses  surrounded  a town  complete  in  itself,  with  temples  dedicated  to 
their  founders  and  to  the  Nubian  deities,  as  well  as  numerous  habitations,  now 
in  ruins.1 2  The  sudden  widening  of  the  liver  immediately  to  the  south  of  the 
rapids  made  a kind  of  natural  roadstead,  where  the  Egyptian  squadron  could 
lie  without  danger  on  the  eve  of  a campaign  against  Ethiopia;  the  galiots  of 
the  negroes  there  awaited  permission  to  sail  below  the  rapids,  and  to  enter 
Egypt  with  their  cargoes.  At  once  a military  station  and  a river  custom-house, 

1 Map  drawn  up  by  Thuillier  from  the  somewhat  obsolete  survey  of  Cailliaud,  Voyage  a MCroC 
et  au  Fleuve  Blanc,  Atlas,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxiii. 

" The  site  of  the  two  ancient  towns  has  been  minutely  described  by  Cailliaud,  Voyage  a N£ro€, 
vol.  i p.  329  ; vol.  iii.  pp.  256-258;  and  Atlas,  vol.  ii.  pis.  xxiii.-xxx. ; and  thirty  years  later  by  M.  de 
Vcgue,  Fortifications  de  Semneh  en  Nubie,  in  the  Bulletin  Archeologique  de  V Athenaeum  Frangais,  1855, 
pp.  81-84;  cf.  Lepsius,  Benkm.,  i.  Ill,  112;  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt  dans  V AntiquiU,  vol.  i. 
lip.  493-502;  Maspero,  L’ ArchCulogie  Egyptienne,  pp.  28-31  : Marcel  Dieulafoy,  L’Acropole  de  Suse, 
pp.  167-170. 


THE  NILOMETER  AT  SEME  EH. 


487 


Semnek  was  the  necessary  bulwark  of  the  new  Egypt,  and  Usirtasen  III.  em- 
phatically proclaimed  the  fact,  in  two  decrees,  which  he  set  up  there  for  the 
edification  of  posterity.  “ Here  is,”  so  runs  the  first,  “ the  southern  boundary 
fixed  in  the  year  VIII.  under  his  Holiness  of  Khakeri,  Usirtasen,  who  gives  life 
always  and  for  ever,  in  order  that  none  of  the  black  peoples  may  cross  it  from 


THE  CHANNEL  OF  THE  NILE  BETWEEN  THE  TWO  FORTRESSES  OF  SEMNEH  AND  KUMMEH.1 

above,  except  only  for  the  transport  of  animals,  oxen,  goats,  and  sheep  belonging 
to  them.” 1  2 The  edict  of  the  year  XVI.  reiterates  the  prohibition  of  the  year 
VIII.,  and  adds  that  “ His  Majesty  caused  his  own  statue  to  be  erected  at  the 
landmarks  which  he  himself  had  set  up.”  3 The  beds  of  the  first  and  second 
cataracts  were  then  less  worn  away  than  they  are  now;  they  were  therefore  more 
efficacious  in  keeping  back  the  water  and  forcing  it  to  rise  to  a higher  level 

1 Reproduction  by  Faucber-Gudin  of  a sketch  published  by  Cailliaud,  Voyage  a MeroC,  Atlas, 
vol.  ii.  pi.  xxx. 

2 Lefsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  136  i ; cf.  Chabas,  Etudes  sur  V Antiquity  Historique,  2nd  edit.,  p.  135; 
Brugsch,  Geschichte  AEgyptens,  p.  152. 

3 Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  136  h.  The  iuscription  engraved  on  a stele  of  rose  granite  was  broken 
about  fifty  years  ago  in  order  to  facilitate  its  transport  to  Europe.  Part  of  it  is  preserved  in  the 
Berlin  Museum  (Erman,  Verzeicliniss  der  Mgyptischen  Alterthiimer,  p.  23,  No.  83),  and  part  in  the 
Bhlaq-Gizeh  Museum,  where  the  upper  half  was  placed  in  1884  by  the  Mhdir  of  Esneh ; a complete 
translation  of  it  has  been  given  by  Chabas,  Sur  V Antiquity  Historique,  2nd  edit.,  p.  133,  et  seq. ; and 
afterwards  by  Brugsch,  Geschichte  AEgyptens,  pp.  775-780. 


488 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


above.1  The  cataracts  acted  as  indicators  of  the  inundation,  and  if  their  daily 
rise  and  fall  were  studied,  it  was  possible  to  announce  to  the  dwellers  on  the  banks 
lower  down  the  river  the  progress  and  probable  results  of  the  flood.  As  long  as 
the  dominion  of  the  Pharaohs  reached  no  further  than  Philae,  observations  of  the 
Nile  were  always  taken  at  the  first  cataract;  and  it  was  from  Elephantine  that 
Egypt  received  the  news  of  the  first  appearance  and  progress  of  the  inundation. 
Amenemhait  III.  set  up  a new  nilometer  at  the  new  frontier,  and  gave  orders  to 
his  officers  to  observe  the  course  of  the  flood.2  They  obeyed  him  scrupulously, 
and  every  time  that  the  inundation  appeared  to  them  to  differ  from  the  average 
of  ordinary  years,  they  marked  its  height  on  the  rocks  of  Semneh  and  Kurnmeh, 
engraving  side  by  side  with  the  figure  the  name  of  the  king  and  the  date  of  the 
year.  The  custom  was  continued  there  under  the  XIIP11  dynasty ; afterwards, 
when  the  frontier  was  pushed  further  south,  the  nilometer  accompanied  it.3 

The  country  beyond  Semneh  was  virgin  territory,  almost  untouched  and 
quite  uninjured  by  previous  wars.  Its  name  now  appears  for  the  first  time  upon 
the  monuments,  in  the  form  of  Kausliu — the  humbled  Ivush.4  It  comprised  the 
districts  situated  to  the  south  within  the  immense  loop  described  by  the  river 
between  Dongola  and  Khartoum,  those  vast  plains  intersected  by  the  windings 
of  the  White  and  Blue  Niles,  known  as  the  regions  of  Kordofan  and  Darfur; 
it  was  bounded  by  the  mountains  of  Abyssinia,  the  marshes  of  Lake  Nu,  and  all 
those  semi-fabulous  countries  to  which  were  relegated  the  “Isles  of  the  Manes” 
and  the  “ Lands  of  Spirits.”  5 It  was  separated  from  the  Red  Sea  by  the 

1 It  i9  evident,  from  the  marks  engraved  on  the  rooks  by  the  Egyptian  officials,  that  (lie  Nile  used 
to  rise  from  six  to  eight  metres  higher  than  it  now  does  in  the  same  districts  of  Semneh,  during  the 
last  reigns  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  and  the  early  reigns  of  the  XIIIth  (Lepsitjs,  Brief  an  Elirenberg,  in 
the  Monatsberichte  of  the  Berlin  Academy  of  Sciences,  1815). 

2 The  earliest  of  these  marks  is  dated  the  IIIrd  year  of  Amenemhait  III.  (Lepsitjs,  Denim.,  ii.  139  a). 
We  also  possess  marks  of  the  yeais  V.,  VII.,  IX.,  XIV.,  XV.,  XXII.,  XXIII.,  XXIV.,  XXX  , XXXII., 
XXXVII.,  XL.,XLI.,XLIII.  of  this  king  (Lepsitjs,  Den7cm.,ii.  139  a-p  ; on  the  other  hand,  we  have  only 
one  mark  in  the  reign  of  his  successor,  Amenemhait  IV.,  which  is  dated  y ear  V.  (Lepsius,  Denim. , ii.  152 f). 

3 The  only  instances  of  these  high-water  marks  which  we  meet  with  under  the  XIIIth  dynasty  belong 
to  the  reign  of  Sakhemkhutouiri  Sovkhotpfi,  the  first  of  his  line  (E.  de  Bougf,,  Inscriptions  des  rocliers 
de  Semndh,  in  the  Revue  Archfologique,  series  1,  vol.  v.  pp.  311-314;  Lepsitjs,  Denim.,  ii.  151  a-d ); 
the  custom  of  making  them  probably  ceased  when  the  officers  of  Amenemhait  III.  had  disappeared. 

4 Kliaisit,  the  humiliated  or  prostrate  one,  is  the  official  epithet  of  Ethiopia  in  the  inscriptions. 

The  different  ways  in  which  this  word  is  spelt  on  the  Egyptian  monuments  show  us  that  the  pro- 
nunciation must  have  been  “Kaushu,”  which  later  became  Kushh,  Kftsh.  Lepsius,  who  connected 
the  Kushites  of  the  Nile  with  the  races  of  Elam,  thought  ( Nubisclie  Grammatil,  Einleilung,  p.  xc., 
et  seq.)  that  they  had  arrived  from  Asia  by  the  Straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb,  during  the  long 
interval  which  separates  Papi  II.  from  Amenemhait  I.,  and  that  they  had  driven  back  the  negro 
tribes  who  occupied  Nubia  under  the  VIth  dynasty  towards  the  Upper  Nile.  A comparison  of  the 
names  contained  in  the  inscription  of  Lni  with  those  which  we  meet  with  on  the  monuments  of  a later 
period,  show  us  that  the  population  of  the  Nubian  desert  did  not  change  during  this  lapse  of  time 
(Buugscii,  Die  Negerstdmme  der  Una-Tnschrift,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1882,  p.  30,  et  seq.).  I believe  that 
the  absence  of  the  name  of  Kahshh-Khsh,  from  the  texts  prior  to  the  XIIth  dynasty,  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  Egypt,  whose  boundaries  at  that  time  stopped  between  Korosko  and  Wady  Haifa,  was  separated 
from  the  tribes  who  inhabited  Ethiopia  by  a triple  rampart  of  Nubian  nations.  The  country  of  Kaflshh 
begins  beyond  Semneh;  it  could  not,  therefore,  come  -'onstant  contact  with  the  Egyptians  until 
after  the  Pharaohs  had  conquered  the  intermediate  ad  peoples  between  Asw  an  and  Semneh. 

5 See  what  has  already  been  said  as  to  these  fabu  .egions  on  pp.  19,  20  of  the  present  work. 


489 


THE  HUMBLED  KUSH  AND  ITS  INHABITANTS. 

land  of  Puanit ; and  to  the  west,  between  it  and  the  confines  of  the  world,  lay  the 
Timihu.  Scores  of  tribes,  white,  copper-coloured,  and  black,  bearing  strange 
names,  wrangled  over  the  possession  of  this  vaguely  defined  territory  ; some  of 
them  were  still  savage  or  emerging  from  barbarism,  while  others  had  attained 
to  a pitch  of  material  civilization  almost  comparable  with  that  of  Egypt.  The 
same  diversity  of  types,  the 
same  instability  and  the 
same  want  of  intelligence 
which  characterized  the 
tribes  of  those  days,  still 
distinguish  the  medley  of 
peoples  who  now  frequent 
the  upper  valley  of  the  Nile. 

They  led  the  same  sort  of 
animal  life,  guided  by  im- 
pulse, and  disturbed,  owing 
to  the  caprices  of  their  petty 
chiefs,  by  bloody  wars  which 
often  issued  in  slavery  or  in 
emigration  to  distant  regions. 

With  such  shifting  and  un- 
stable conditions,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  build  up  a 
permanent  State.  From 
time  to  time  some  kinglet 
more  daring,  cunning,  tenacious,  or  better  fitted  to  govern  than  the  rest, 
extended  his  dominion  over  his  neighbours,  and  advanced  step  by  step, 
till  he  united  immense  tracts  under  his  single  rule.  As  by  degrees  his 
kingdom  enlarged,  he  made  no  efforts  to  organize  it  on  any  regular  system, 
to  introduce  any  uniformity  in  the  administration  of  its  affairs,  or  to  gain 
the  adherence  of  its  incongruous  elements  by  just  laws  which  would  be 
equally  for  the  good  of  all : when  the  massacres  which  accompanied  his  first 
victories  were  over,  when  he  had  incorporated  into  his  own  army  what  was 
left  of  the  vanquished  troops,  when  their  children  were  led  into  servitude 
and  he  had  filled  his  treasury  with  their  spoil  and  his  harem  with  their  women, 
it  never  occurred  to  him  that  there  was  anything  more  to  be  done.  If  he  had 
acted  otherwise,  it  would  not  probably  have  been  to  his  advantage.  Both  his 
former  and  present  subjects  were  too  divergent  in  language  and  origin,  too 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-G-udin,  from  the  water-colour  drawing  by  Mr.  Blackden,  in  the  first  Memoir 
of  the  Archaeological  Survey  of  the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund,  Beni-Hasan,  vol.  i.  pi.  xlv. 


KUSH1TE  PRISONERS  BROUGHT  TO  EGYPT.1 


490 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


widely  separated  by  manners  and  customs,  and  too  long  in  a state  of  hostility  to 
each  other,  to  draw  together  and  to  become  easily  welded  into  a single  nation. 
As  soon  as  the  hand  which  held  them  together  relaxed  its  hold  for  a moment, 
discord  crept  in  everywhere,  among  individuals  as  well  as  among  the  tribes, 
and  the  empire  of  yesterday  resolved  itself  into  its  original  elements  even  more 
rapidly  than  it  had  been  formed.  The  clash  of  arms  which  had  inaugurated  its 
brief  existence  died  quickly  away,  the  remembrance  of  its  short-lived  glory 
was  lost  after  two  or  three  generations  in  the  horrors  of  a fresh  invasion  : its 
name  vanished  without  leaving  a trace  behind.  The  occupation  of  Nubia 
brought  Egypt  into  contact  with  this  horde  of  incongruous  peoples,  and  the 
contact  soon  entailed  a struggle.  It  is  futile  for  a civilized  state  to  think  of 
dwelling  peacefully  with  any  barbarous  nation  with  which  it  is  in  close 
proximity.  Should  it  decide  to  check  its  own  advances,  and  impose  limits 
upon  itself  which  it  shall  not  pass  over,  its  moderation  is  mistaken  for 
feebleness  and  impotence;  the  vanquished  again  take  up  the  offensive,  and 
either  force  the  civilized  power  to  retire,  or  compel  it  to  cross  its  former 
boundary.  The  Pharaohs  did  not  escape  this  inevitable  consequence  of 
conquest : their  southern  frontier  advanced  continually  higher  and  higher 
up  the  Nile,  without  ever  becoming  fixed  in  a position  sufficiently  strong  to 
defy  the  attacks  of  the  Barbarians.  Usirtasen  I.  had  subdued  the  countries 
of  Hahu,1  of  Khonthanunofir,2  and  Shaad,3  and  had  beaten  in  battle  the 
Shemik,  the  Khasa,  the  Sus,  the  Aqiu,  the  Anu,  the  Sabiri,  and  the  people 
of  Akiti  and  Makisa.4  Amenemhait  II.,5  Usirtasen  II.,1 5 and  Usirtasen  III.  never 

1 The  country  of  Hath,  whiclfproduees  gold  (Dumichen,  Geographische  Inschri/ten,  vol.  ii,  pi.  lxiii.  3, 
pi.  lxxiii.  2,  lxxvi.  5,  etc.),  belongs,  therefore,  to  the  part  of  the  Nubian  desert  which  extends  towards 
tbe  Red  Sea.  It  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  Samine  by  the  geographical  texts  of  the  Ptolemaic 
period  (Ddmichen,  Geog.  Ins.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  lxxi.  2),  which  enables  us  to  localize  its  position  between  the 
Nile  and  Wady  Galgabba,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  gold-mines  of  Etbaye.  The  inscription  of  the  VIIIth 
year  of  Psirtasen  III.  and  that  of  the  XVIth  year  of  the  same  monarch,  in  which  the  name  is  spelt 
differently,  both  refer  to  the  same  locality  (Brugsch,  Geog.  Ins.,  vol.  i.  pp.  46,  47 ; vol.  iii.  pp.  61,  65). 

2 The  territory  of  Khonthanfinofir,  situated  between  Kush  and  Egypt  (Brugsch,  Geog.  Ins.,  vol.  i. 
pp.  52,  53,  1.  ii.  pp.  5,  6),  seems  to  have  extended  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile,  from  the  chain 
of  mountains  which  border  on  the  river,  as  far  as  the  country  of  Akiti.  Cf.  Brugsch,  Die  Altdgyptische 
Volkertafel,  in  Verhandlungen  des  Vte"  Orientalisten  Congresses,  vol.  ii.,  Afrilcanische  Sektion,  pp.  57-59. 

3 Shaad  possessed  quarries  of  white  limestone,  from  which  Amenothes  II.  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty 
obtained  the  building  material  required  for  the  temple  of  Khnhmu  at  Semueh  (Lepsius,  Denkm., 
iii.  67).  The  country  bearing  this  name  must,  therefore,  have  been  near  this  town  (Brdgsch, 
Geographische  Inschriften,  vol.  i.  p.  45,  note  2,  and  p.  160),  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Nile. 

4 The  positions  of  these  tribes  are  not  known  to  us  ; the  name  of  Akiti,  the  only  one  which  we  are 
able  to  point  out  approximately  on  the  map,  shows  us  that  the  campaign  in  commemoration  of  which 
Usirtasen  I.  erected  the  triumphal  monument  of  Wady  Haifa  (cf.  pp.  484,  485  of  the  present  work) 
was  carried  on  to  the  eastward  of  the  Nile,  in  the  direction  of  the  gold-mining  district,  i.e.  of  Etbaye. 
The  date  of  the  XLII"'1  year  which  is  assigned  to  this  monument  (Wiedemann,  JEgyptische  Geschichte, 
p.  242)  was  arrived  at  by  a comparison  of  the  statements  contained  in  it  with  a passage  in  the 
inscription  of  Amoni-Amenemhait  at  Beni-Hasan. 

5 Expedition  of  Sihathor  into  the  country  of  Halt,  afterwards  Ahit,  between  Korosko  and  Eibaye 
(Birch,  Tablets  of  the  XIIth  dynasty,  in  the  Zeitscliri/t,  1874,  p.  112;  Brugsch,  Die  Biblischen  sieben 
Jahre  der  Hungersnoth,  pp.  106,  107). 

6 Stele  of  Monthotph  at  Aswan  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  123  d),  in  which  mention  is  made  of  “ striking 
down  enemies,”  who  must  in  this  instance  have  belonged  to  some  of  the  Nubian  races. 


THE  WARS  AGAINST  ETHIOPIA  AND  THEIR  RESULTS. 


491 


hesitated  to  “ strike  the  humbled  Kush  ” wlieuever  the  opportunity  presented 
itself.  The  last-mentioned  king  in  particular  chastised  them  severely  in  his 
VIIIth,1  XIIth,2  XVIth,3  and  XIXth  years,4  and  his  victories  made  him  so  popular, 
that  the  Egyptians  of  the  Greek  period,  identifying  him  with  the  Sesostris  of 
Herodotus,  attributed  to  him  the  possession  of  the  universe.5  On  the  base  of 
a colossal  statue  of  rose  granite  which  he  erected  in  the  temple  of  Tanis,  we  find 
preserved  a list  of  the  tribes  which  he  conquered  : the  names  of  them  appear  to 
us  most  outlandish — Alaka,  Matakarau,  Turasu,  Pamaika,  Uaraki,  Paramaka — 
and  we  have  no  clue  as  to  their  position  on  the  map.6  We  know  merely  that  they 
lived  in  the  desert,  on  both  sides  of  the  Nile,  in  the  latitude  of  Berber  or  there- 
abouts.  Similar  expeditions  were  sent  after  Usirtasen  s time,  and  Amenemhait 
III.  regarded  both  banks  of  the  Nile,  between  Semneh  and  Dongola,  as  forming 
part  of  the  territory  of  Egypt  proper.  Little  by  little,  and  by  the  force  of 
circumstances,  the  making  of  Greater  Egypt  was  realized ; she  approached 
nearer  and  nearer  towards  the  limit  which  had  been  prescribed  for  her  by 
nature,  to  that  point  where  the  Nile  receives  its  last  tributaries,  and  where 
its  peerless  valley  takes  its  origin  in  the  convergence  of  many  others. 

The  conquest  of  Nubia  was  on  the  whole  an  easy  one,  and  so  much  personal 
advantage  accrued  from  these  wars,  that  the  troops  and  generals  entered  on  them 
without  the  least  repugnance.  A single  fragment  has  come  down  to  us  which 
contains  a detailed  account  of  one  of  these  campaigns,  probably  that  conducted 
by  TJsirtasen  III.  in  the  XVIth  year  of  his  reign.7  The  Pharaoh  had  received 

1 Several  of  the  steles  at  Elephantine  refer  to  this  campaign  of  the  VIIIth  year  (Birch,  Tablets  of 
the  XIIth  dynasty,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1875,  pp.  50,  51),  also  at  the  cataract  (Wilbour,  Canalizing  the 
Cataract,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  202-204)  and  at  Semneh  (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  136  i). 

2 The  campaign  of  the  XIIth  year  seems  to  have  been  described  at  some  length  in  a rather 
mutilated  proscynema  on  the  road  from  Aswan  toPhilse  (Petrie,  A Season  in  Egypt,  pi.  xiii.,  No.  340). 

3 Lepshjs,  Denkm,.,  ii.  186  h. 

4 Steles  in  the  Museum  at  Geneva  (Maspero,  Notes  sur  diffe'rents points  de  Grammaire  et  d’Histoire,  in 
the  Melanges  d’ Archdologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  217-219)  and  in  the  Museum  at  Berlin  (Lepsius,  Denkm.,  235  Ii). 

5 The  fragments  of  Manetho  in  their  present  state  (Manetho,  Unger’s  edition,  p.  118)  apply  the 
name  Sesostris  to  flsirtasen  II.  M.  de  Rouge  ( Deuxieme  Lettre  a M.  Alfred  Maury  sur  le  Sdsostris 
de  la  XIIa  dynastie  de  Manethon,  in  the  Revue  Archeologique,  1st  series,  vol.  iv.  pp.  485,  et  seep)  has 
shown  that  the  passage  in  Manetho  is  more  applicable  to  flsirtasen  III.  Moreover,  we  cannot 
conceal  from  ourselves  the  fact  that  the  Sesostris  legend  really  belongs  to  Ramses  II.,  and  not  to  a 
monarch  of  the  XIIth  dynasty. 

6 Louvre  A 18.  This  statue  was  wrongfully  appropriated  by  Amenothes  III.  of  the  XVIIIth 
dynasty,  to  whom  the  defeat  of  the  races  inscribed  on  its  base  was,  and  is  still,  attributed  (E.  de 
Rouge,  Notice  des  Monuments,  1849,  pp.  4,  5 ; Birch,  Historical  Monument  of  Amenophis  111.  in  the 
Louvre  at  Paris,  in  the  Archxologia,  vol.  xxiv.  pp.  489-491 ; Brugsch,  Geographisclie  lnschriften, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  8,  9,  and  Geschichte  JEgyptens,  pp.  401,  402).  Deveria  ( Lettre  a M.  Auguste  Mariette  sur 
quelques  monuments  relatifs  aux  Hylcsos  ou  antdrieurs  a leur  domination,  in  the  Revue  Archeologique, 
2nd  series,  vol.  iv.  p.  252)  recognized  the  misappropriation,  but  without  committing  himself  in  regard 
to  the  original  name  of  the  king  represented.  Wiedemann  ( Mgyptische  Geschichte,  pp.  294,  295)  is 
inclined  to  believe  that  it  was  Apopi  II.  The  resemblance  borne  by  the  colossal  head  A 19  in  the 
Louvre  (which  belongs  to  the  same  statue  as  the  base  A 18)  to  the  portraits  of  flsirtasen  III.  leads  me 
to  believe  that  we  ought  to  attribute  this  monument  (which  comes  from  Bubastis)  to  that  monarch. 

7 Naville,  Bubastis,  pi.  xxxiv.  A,  and  pp.  9,  10.  Naville  believes  that  the  inscription  referred 
to  the  campaign  of  the  VIIIth  year,  or  to  that  of  the  XVIth,  which  are  mentioned  in  the  decrees  at 
Semneh  ; cf.  pp  486,  487  of  the  present  work. 


492 


THE  FIE  ST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


information  that  the  tribes  of  the  district  of  Hua,  on  the  Tacazze,1  were 
harassing  his  vassals,  and  possibly  also  those  Egyptians  who  were  attracted  by 
commerce  to  that  neighbourhood.  He  resolved  to  set  out  and  chastise  them 
severely,  and  embarked  with  his  fleet.  It  was  au  expedition  almost  entirely 
devoid  of  danger : the  invaders  landed  only  at  favourable  spots,  carried  off  any  of 
the  inhabitants  who  came  in  their  way,  and  seized  on  their  cattle — on  one  occasion 
as  many  as  a hundred  and  twenty-three  oxen  and  eleven  asses,  on  others  less. 
Two  small  parties  marched  along  the  banks,  and  foraging  to  the  right  and  left, 
drove  the  booty  down  to  the  river.  The  tactics  of  invasion  have  scarcely  under- 
gone any  change  in  these  countries;  the  account  given  by  Cailliaud  of  the  first 
conquest  of  Fazogl  by  Ismail-Pasha,  in  1822,  might  well  serve  to  complete 
the  fragments  of  the  inscription  of  Usirtasen  III.,  and  restore  for  us,  almost  in 
every  detail,  a faithful  picture  of  the  campaigns  carried  on  in  these  regions  by 
the  kings  of  the  XIItb  dynasty.2  The  people  are  hunted  down  in  the  same 
fashion  ; the  country  is  similarly  ravaged  by  a handful  of  well-armed,  fairly  dis- 
ciplined men  attacking  naked  and  disconnected  hordes,  the  young  men  are  mas- 
sacred after  a short  resistance  or  forced  to  escape  into  the  woods,  the  women  are 
carried  off  as  slaves,  the  huts  pillaged,  villages  burnt,  whole  tribes  exterminated 
in  a few  hours.  Sometimes  a detachment,  having  imprudently  ventured  into 
some  thorny  thicket  to  attack  a village  perched  on  a rocky  summit,  would 
experience  a reverse,  and  would  with  great  difficulty  regain  the  main  body  of 
troops,  after  having  lost  three-fourths  of  its  men.3  In  most  cases  there  was 
no  prolonged  resistance,  and  the  attacking  party  carried  the  place  with  the 
loss  of  merely  two  or  three  men  killed  or  wounded.  The  spoil  was  never  very 
considerable  in  any  one  locality,  but  its  total  amount  increased  as  the  raid  was 
carried  afield,  and  it  soon  became  so  bulky  that  the  party  had  to  stop  and 
retrace  their  steps,  in  order  to  place  it  for  safety  in  the  nearest  fortress.  The 
booty  consisted  for  the  most  part  of  herds  of  oxen  and  of  cumbrous  heaps  of 
grain,  as  well  as  wood  for  building  purposes.  But  it  also  comprised  objects  of 
small  size  but  of  great  value,  such  as  ivory,  precious  stones,  and  particularly  gold. 
The  natives  collected  the  latter  in  the  alluvial  tracts  watered  by  the  Tacazze 

1 The  district  of  Hda  is  mentioned  again  under  Ramses  III.  (Lepsius,  Derikm.,  iii.  209)  along 
with  Puanit;  it  was  a mountainous  country,  which  was  reached  by  water.  Possibly  we  ought  to 
place  it  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  itself:  the  vicinity  of  Pdanit,  however,  indicates  that  it  was  one  of 
the  countries  on  (lie  shores  of  the  Red  Sea,  or  one  of  those  watered  by  the  Atbara,  rather  than  the 
regions  of  the  Blue  Nile. 

2 I refer  the  reader  especially  to  the  chapters  in  which  Cailliaud  tells  of  the  raids  carried  out 
by  Ismail-Pasha  or  by  his  lieutenauts  on  the  Fazogl  ( Voyage  a Mdroe,  vol.  ii.  chaps,  xxxvii.-xxxix., 
pp.  354-398),  and  on  the  Qamamyl  (Voyage  a Meroe,  chaps,  xxxix.-xlii.,  vol.  ii.  p.  398,  c-t  seq.,  and 
vol.  iii.  pp.  1-56). 

3 See  Cailliaud  ( Voyage  a MdroV,  vol.  ii.  pp.  376-378)  for  an  account  of  the  attack  made  on 
Ismail’s  camp  by  the  negroes  of  Mount  Taby,  and  the  panic  which  ensued.  We  know  that  Ismail 
Pasha  himself  was  surprised  and  burnt  in  his  house  at  Shendy,  in  1822  (id.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  336,  337), 
by  Melek  Nimr  and  a band  of  rebels. 


TEE  MERCANTILE  EXPEDITIONS  TO  PE  AN  IT. 


493 


the  Blue  Nile  and  its  tributaries.  The  women  were  employed  in  searching 
for  nuggets,  which  were  often  of  considerable  size ; they  enclosed  them  in 
little  leather  cases,  and  offered  them  to  the  merchants  in  exchange  for  products 
of  Egyptian  industry,  or  they  handed  them  over  to  the  goldsmiths  to  be  made 
into  bracelets,  ear,  nose,  or  finger  rings,  of  fairly  fine  workmanship.  Gold  was 
found  in  combination  with  several  other  metals,  from  which  they  did  not  know 
how  to  separate  it : the  purest  gold  had  a pale  yellow  tint,  which  was  valued 
above  all  others,  but  electrum,  that  is  to  say,  gold  alloyed  with  silver  in  the  pro- 
portion of  eighty  per  cent.,  was  also  much  in  demand,  while  greyish- coloured 
gold,  mixed  with  platinum,  served  for  making  common  jewellery.1  None  of 
these  expeditions  produced  any  lasting  results,  and  the  Pharaohs  established  no 
colonies  in  any  of  these  countries.  Their  Egyptian  subjects  could  not  have 
lived  there  for  any  length  of  time  without  deteriorating  by  intermarriage  with 
the  natives  or  from  the  effects  of  the  climate  ; they  would  have  degenerated  into 
a half-bred  race,  having  all  the  vices  and  none  of  the  good  qualities  of  the 
aborigines.  The  Pharaohs,  therefore,  continued  their  hostilities  without  further 
scruples,  and  only  sought  to  gain  as  much  as  possible  from  their  victories.  They 
cared  little  if  nothing  remained  after  they  had  passed  through  some  district, 
or  if  the  passage  of  their  armies  was  marked  only  by  ruins.  They  seized  upon 
everything  which  came  across  their  path — men,  chattels,  or  animals — and  carried 
them  back  to  Egypt;  they  recklessly  destroyed  everything  for  which  they 
had  no  use,  and  made  a desert  of  fertile  districts  which  but  yesterday  had  been 
covered  with  crops  and  studded  with  populous  villages.  The  neighbouring 
inhabitants,  realizing  their  incapacity  to  resist  regular  troops,  endeavoured 
to  buy  off  the  invaders  by  yielding  up  all  they  possessed  in  the  way  of  slaves, 
flocks,  wood,  or  precious  metals.  The  generals  in  command,  however,  had  to 
reckon  with  the  approaching  low  Nile,  which  forced  them  to  beat  a retreat ; 
they  were  obliged  to  halt  at  the  first  appearance  of  it,  and  they  turned  home- 
wards “in  peace,”  their  only  anxiety  being  to  lose  the  smallest  possible  number 
of  men  or  captured  animals  on  their  return  journey. 

As  in  earlier  times,  adventurous  merchants  penetrated  into  districts  not 
reached  by  the  troops,  and  prepared  the  way  for  conquest.  The  princes  of 
Elephantine  still  sent  caravans  to  distant  parts,  and  one  of  them,  Siranpitu, 
who  lived  under  Usirtasen  I.  and  Amenemhait  II.,  recorded  his  explorations  on 
his  tomb,  after  the  fashion  of  his  ancestors  : 2 the  king  at  several  different 

1 Cailliaud  has  briefly  described  the  auriferous  sand  of  the  Qamamyl  and  the  way  in  which  it 

is  worked  ( Voyage  a vol.  iii.  pp.  16-19):  it  is  from  him  that  I have  borrowed  the  details  given 

in  the  text.  From  analyses  which  I made  at  the  Bulaq  Museum  of  Egyptian  jewellery  of  the 
time  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty,  which  had  been  broken  and  were  without  value,  from  an  archaeological 
or  artistic  point  of  view,  I have  demonstrated  the  presence  of  the  platinum  and  silver  mentioned  by 
Cailliaud  as  being  found  in  the  nuggets  from  the  Blue  Nile. 

2 According  to  the  inscription  on  the  tomb  which  he  hollowed  out  for  himself  in  the  mountain 
opposite  Elephantine. 


494 


THE  FIRST  TIIEBAN  EMPIRE. 


times  had  sent  him  on  expeditions  to  the  Soudan,  but  the  inscription  in  which 
he  gives  an  account  of  them  is  so  mutilated,  that  we  cannot  be  sure  which 
tribes  he  visited.  We  learn  merely  that  he  collected  from  them  skins,  ivory, 
ostrich  feathers — everything,  in  fact,  which  Central  Africa  has  furnished  as 
articles  of  commerce  from  time  immemorial.1  It  was  not,  however,  by  land 
only  that  Egyptian  merchants  travelled  to  seek  fortune  in  foreign  countries : 
the  Red  Sea  attracted  them,  and  served  as  a quick  route  for  reaching  the  land 
of  Puanit,  whose  treasures  in  perfumes  and  rarities  of  all  kinds  had  formed  the 
theme  of  ancient  traditions  and  navigators’  tales.2  Relations  with  it  had  been 
infrequent,  or  had  ceased  altogether,  during  the  wars  of  the  Heracleopolitan 
period  : on  their  renewal  it  was  necessary  to  open  up  afresh  routes  which  had 
been  forgotten  for  centuries.  Traffic  was  confined  almost  entirely  to  two  or 
three  out  of  the  many, — one  which  ran  from  Elephantine  or  from  Nekhabit  to 
the  “Head  of  Nekhabit,”  the  Berenice  of  the  Greeks ; 3 others  which  started 
from  Thebes  or  Koptos,  and  struck  the  coast  at  the  same  place  or  at  Sau, 
the  present  Kosseir.4  The  latter,  which  was  the  shortest  as  well  as  the 
favourite  route,  passed  through  Wady  Hammamat,  from  whence  the  Pharaohs 
drew  the  blocks  of  granite  for  their  sarcophagi.  The  officers  who  were 
sent  to  quarry  the  stone  often  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  visit 
the  coast,  and  to  penetrate  as  far  as  the  Spice  Regions.  As  early  as  the 
year  VIII.  of  Sonkheri,  the  predecessor  of  Amenemhait  I.,  the  “ sole  friend  ” 
Hunxi  had  been  sent  by  this  road,  “ in  order  to  take  the  command  of  a 
squadron  to  Puauit,  and  to  collect  a tribute  of  fresh  incense  from  the 
princes  of  the  desert.”  He  got  together  three  thousand  men,  distributed 
to  each  one  a goatskin  bottle,  a crook  for  carrying  it,  and  ten  loaves,  and 
set  out  from  Koptos  with  this  little  army.  No  water  was  met  with  on  the 
way : Hunii  bored  several  wells  and  cisterns  in  the  rock,  one  at  a halting-place 
called  Bait,  two  in  the  district  of  Adahait,  and  finally  one  in  the  valleys  of 
Adabehait.  Having  reached  the  seaboard,  he  quickly  constructed  a great 
barge,  freighted  it  with  merchandise  for  barter,  as  well  as  with  provisions,  oxen, 
cows,  and  goats,  and  set  sail  for  a cruise  along  the  coast : it  is  not  known  how 

1 In  the  inscription  ivory  is  called  uapiru,  uapuru,  which  seems  to  be  the  original  form  of  the 
Latin  ehur,  through  the  intermediate  form  aburu. 

2 As  to  these  voyages  on  the  Eed  Sea,  in  the  time  of  the  VIth  dynasty,  vide  pp.  396,  397,  and  431 
of  the  present  work. 

3 Tap-Nekhabit,  the  Head,  or  Cape  of  Nekhabit,  has  been  identified  by  Bkugsch  {Die  AEgyptische 
Volkertafel,  in  the  Verhandlungen  des  Vtc“  Orientalisten-Congresses,  vol.  ii.,  Afrikanisclie  Sehtion,  p.  62) 
with  a cape  situated  near  Berenice:  it  is  the  name  of  the  village  which  the  Greeks  called  Berenice. 
The  routes  from  Koptos  to  Berenice  and  from  Berenice  to  Elephantine  were  last  explored  by 
Golenischeff,  Due  Excursion  a Berenice,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  75-96. 

* Brugsch,  who  was  the  first  to  obtain  a clear  understanding  of  this  part  of  Egyptian  geography, 
places  Safi,  Sauu,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Myos-Hormos  ( Die  AEgyptische  Volkertafel,  pp.  35,  59,  64), 
in  the  direction  of  Wady  Gasus  : the  position  of  this  locality  seems  to  me  to  correspond  with  that  of 
the  ancient  Kosseir. 


NAVIGATION  ALONG  THE  COASTS  OF  THE  RED  SEA. 


495 


far  he  went,  but  he  came  back  with  a large  cargo  of  all  the  products  of  the 
“ Divine  Land,”  especially  of  incense.  On  his  return,  he  struck  off  into  the 
Uagai  valley,  and  thence  reached  that  of  Rohanu,  where  he  chose  out  splendid 
blocks  of  stone  for  a temple  which  the  king  was  building:  “Never  had 
‘ Boyal  Cousin  ’ sent  on  an  expedition  done  as  much  since  the  time  of  the  god 
Ra  ! ” 1 Numbers  of  royal  officers  aud  adventurers  followed  in  his  footsteps,  but 
no  record  of  them  has  been  preserved  for  us.  Two  or  three  names  only  have 
escaped  oblivion— that  of  Khnumhotpu,  who  in  the  first  year  of  Usirtasen  I. 
erected  a stele  in  the  Wady  Gasus  in  the  very  heart  of  the  “Divine  Land;” 


THE  ROUTES  LEADING  FROM  THE  NILE  TO  THE  RED  SEA,  BETWEEN  KOPTOS  AND  KOSSEIR. 

and  that  of  Khentkhitioira,  who  in  the  XXVIIIth  year  of  Amenemhait  II.  entered 
the  haven  of  Sau  after  a fortunate  cruise  to  Puanit,  without  having  lost  a 
vessel  or  even  a single  man.2  Navigation  is  difficult  in  the  Red  Sea.  The 
coast  as  a rule  is  precipitous,  bristling  with  reefs  and  islets,  and  almost  entirely 
without  strand  or  haven.  No  river  or  stream  runs  into  it ; it  is  bordered 
by  no  fertile  or  wooded  tract,  but  by  high  cliffs,  half  disintegrated  by  the 
burning  sun,  or  by  steep  mountains,  which  appear  sometimes  a dull  red,  some- 
times a dingy  grey  colour,  according  to  the  material — granite  or  sandstone — 
which  predominates  in  their  composition.  The  few  tribes  who  inhabit  this 
desolate  region  maintain  a miserable  existence  by  fishing  and  hunting : they 
were  considered,  during  the  Greek  period,  to  be  the  most  unfortunate  of  mortals, 
and  if  they  appeared  to  be  so  to  the  mariners  of  the  Ptolemies,  doubtless  they 

1 Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  150  a;  Golenisoheff,  RCsultals  gpigraphiques  d'une  excursion  a VOuady 
Hammamat,  pis.  xv.-xvii.  The  text  has  been  translated  into  French  by  Chabas,  Le  Voyage  d’un 
Egyptien,  pp.  56-63;  into  German  by  Brugsch,  Geschichte  JEgyptens,  pp.  110-113;  and  by  Lieblein, 
Handel  und  Schiffahrt  auf  dem  JRothen  Meere  in  alien  Zeiten,nach  agyptischen  Quellen;  into  Russian  by 
Golenisoheff,  R&ultats  fpigrapliiques,  pp.  9-11 ; into  Italian  by  Schiaparelli,  La  Catena  Orientale 
dell’  Egitto,  pp.  98-100. 

2 Stelae  brought  back  by  Wilkinson  and  preserved  at  Alnwick  Castle  (Wilkinson,  Manners  and 
Customs,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  253;  Birch,  Catalogue  of  the  Collection  of  Egyptian  Antiquities  at  Alnwick 
Castle,  p.  276,  et  seq.,  pis.  iii.,  iv. ; Brugsch,  Die  Altagyptische  Volkertafel,  in  the  Ahhandlungen  des 
yten  Internationalen  Orientalisten-Congresses,  vol.  ii.,  Afrikanische  Sektion,  pp.  54,  55,  68;  Erman, 
Stelen  aus  Uadi  Gasus  bei  Qoser,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1882,  pp.  203-205 ; and  in  Schweinfurth,  Alte 
Baureste  und  Hieroglypliisclie  Inschriften  im  Uadi  Gasus,  p.  11,  note  2). 


49(5 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


enjoyed  the  same  reputation  in  the  more  remote  time  of  the  Pharaohs.  A 
few  fishing  villages,  however,  are  mentioned  as  scattered  along  the  littoral ; 
watering-places,  at  some  distance  apart,  frequented  on  account  of  their  wells 
of  brackish  water  by  the  desert  tribes : such  were  Naliasit,1  Tap-Nekhabit,  Sau, 
and  Tau:  these  the  Egyptian  merchant-vessels  used  as  victualling  stations,  and 
took  away  as  cargo  the  products  of  the  country — mother-of-pearl,  amethysts, 
emeralds,  a little  lapis-lazuli,  a little  gold,  gums,  and  sweet-smelling  resins.  If 
the  weather  was  favourable,  and  the  intake  of  merchandise  had  been  scanty, 
the  vessel,  braving  numerous  risks  of  shipwreck,  continued  its  course  as  far 
as  the  latitude  of  Suakin  and  Massowak,  which  was  the  beginning  of  Puanit 
properly  so  called.  Here  riches  poured  down  to  the  coast  from  the  interior, 
and  selection  became  a difficulty : it  was  hard  to  decide  which  would  make 
the  best  cargo,  ivory  or  ebony,  panthers’  skins  or  rings  of  gold,  myrrh,  incense, 
or  a score  of  other  sweet-smelling  gums.  So  many  of  these  odoriferous  resins 
were  used  for  religious  purposes,  that  it  was  always  to  the  advantage  of  the 
merchant  to  procure  as  much  of  them  as  possible:  incense,  fresh  or  dried,  was 
the  staple  and  characteristic  merchandise  of  the  Bed  Sea,  and  the  good  people 
of  Egypt  pictured  Puanit  as  a land  of  perfumes,  which  attracted  the  sailor  from 
afar  by  the  delicious  odours  which  were  wafted  from  it.2 

These  voyages  were  dangerous  and  trying  : popular  imagination  seized  upon 
them  and  made  material  out  of  them  for  marvellous  tales.  The  hero  chosen 
was  always  a daring  adventurer  sent  by  his  master  to  collect  gold  from  the 
mines  of  Nubia;  by  sailing  further  and  further  up  the  river,  he  reached  the 
mysterious  sea  which  forms  the  southern  boundary  of  the  world.3  “ I set  sail 
in  a vessel  one  hundred  and  fifty  cubits  long,  forty  wide,  with  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  best  sailors  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  who  had  seen  heaven  and  earth, 
and  whose  hearts  were  more  resolute  than  those  of  lions.  They  had  foretold 
that  the  wind  would  not  be  contrary,  or  that  there  would  be  even  none  at  all ; 
but  a squall  came  upon  us  unexpectedly  while  we  were  in  the  open,  and  as  we 

1 Brugsch  suggests  very  felicitously  that_Nahasit  may  be  identical  with  Ptolemy’s  Nechesia 
(lEgyptische  Vollcertafel,  p.  64) : some  writers  wish  to  locate  it  at  Mersa  Zebara,  others  at  Mersa 
Mumbara,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  sufficient  reason  for  preferring  either  of  these  localities  to  the  other. 

2 The  trade  of  the  Egyptians  with  Puanit  and  their  voyages  in  the  Red  Sea  have  provided 
material  for  several  monographs  : Maspeuo,  J)e  quelques  navigations  des  Egyptians  s>ir  les  cotes  de  la 
Mer  Erytlir&e  (extracted  from  the  Revue  Historique,  1879,  vol.  ix.);  Lieblein,  Handel  und  Sclu'ffahrt 
auf  dem  Rothen  Meere  in  alten  Zeiten,  nach  agyptisclien  Quellen,  I88G  ; Khali.,  Das  Land  Punt,  1890 
(extracted  from  the  Sitzungsberielite  of  the  Viennese  Academy  of  Sciences,  vol.  xxxi.  pp.  1-82); 
Schiaparelli,  La  Catena  Orientate  dell’  Egitto,  1890. 

3 The  manuscript  of  this  story,  which  dates  back  at  least  as  far  as  the  end  of  the  XII"1  dynasty 
or  the  begiuuing  of  the  XIII"1,  was  discovered  and  translated  by  Golenisciieff,  Sur  un  Ancien  Conte 
Egyptien,  Notice  lue  au  Congres  des  Orientalistes  a Berlin,  1881  (and  in  the  Verhandlungen  des  Vlrn 
Inter nationalen  Orientalisten-Congresses,  vol.  ii.,  Afrikanische  Selction,  pp.  100-122) : Gole'nischetf’s 
translation  has  been  reproduced  with  slight  modifications  by  Maspero,  Les  Corites  populaires  de 
I’Bgypte  ancienne,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  131-146,  and  lxxxviii.-xcviii.  The  hieratic  text  of  the  romance  has 
nit  yet  been  published. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SHIPWRECKED  SAILOR. 


497 


approached  the  land,  the  wind  freshened  and  raised  the  waves  to  the  height  of 
eight  cubits.  As  for  me,  I clung  to  a beam,  but  those  who  were  on  the  vessel 
perished  without  one  escaping.  A wave  of  the  sea  cast  me  on  an  island, 
after  having  spent  three  days  alone  with  no  other  companion  than  my  own 
heart.  I slept  there  in  the  shade  of  a thicket ; then  I set  my  legs  in  motion 
in  quest  of  something  for  my  mouth.”  The  island  produced  a quantity  of 
delicious  fruit : he  satisfied  his  hunger  with  it,  lighted  a fire  to  offer  a sacrifice 
to  the  gods,  and  immediately,  by  the  magical  power  of  the  sacred  rites,  the 
inhabitants,  who  up  to  this  time  had  been  invisible,  were  revealed  to  his  eyes. 
“ I heard  a sound  like  that  of  thunder,  which  I at  first  took  to  be  the  noise  of 
the  flood-tide  in  the  open  sea  ; but  the  trees  quivered,  the  earth  trembled.  I 
uncovered  my  face,  and  I perceived  that  it  was  a serpent  which  was  approaching. 
He  was  thirty  cubits  in  length,  and  his  wattles  exceeded  two  cubits ; his  body 
was  incrusted  with  gold,  and  his  colour  appeared  like  that  of  real  lapis.  He 
raised  himself  before  me  and  opened  his  mouth;  while  I prostrated  myself  before 
him,  he  said  to  me  : ‘ Who  hath  brought  thee,  who  hath  brought  thee,  little  one, 
who  hath  brought  thee  ? If  thou  dost  not  tell  me  immediately  who  brought 
thee  to  this  island,  I will  cause  thee  to  know  thy  littleness : either  thou  shalt 
faint  like  a woman,  or  thou  shalt  tell  me  something  which  I have  not  yet  heard, 
and  which  I knew  not  before  thee.’  Then  he  took  me  into  his  mouth  and 
carried  me  to  his  dwelling-place,  and  put  me  down  without  hurting  me;  I was 
safe  and  sound,  and  nothing  had  been  taken  from  me.”  Our  hero  tells  the 
serpent  the  story  of  his  shipwreck,  which  moves  him  to  pity  and  induces  him 
to  reciprocate  his  confidence.  “Fear  nothing,  fear  nothing,  little  one,  let 
not  thy  countenance  be  sad ! If  thou  hast  come  to  me,  it  is  the  god  who 
has  spared  thy  life;  it  is  he  who  has  brought  thee  into  this  ‘Isle  of  the 
Double,’ 1 where  nothing  is  lacking,  and  which  is  filled  with  all  good  things. 
Here  thou  shalt  pass  one  month  after  another  till  thou  hast  remained  four 
months  in  this  island,  then  shall  come  a vessel  from  thy  country  with  mariners  ; 
thou  canst  depart  with  them  to  thy  country,  and  thou  shalt  die  in  thy  city. 
To  converse  rejoices  the  heart,  he  who  enjoys  conversation  bears  misfortune 
better ; I will  therefore  relate  to  thee  the  history  of  this  island.”  The  popula- 
tion consisted  of  seventy-five  serpents,  all  of  one  family  : it  formerly  comprised 
also  a young  girl,  whom  a succession  of  misfortunes  had  cast  on  the  island, 
and  who  was  killed  by  lightning.  The  hero,  charmed  with  such  good 
nature,  overwhelmed  the  hospitable  dragon  with  thanks,  and  promised  to  send 
him  numerous  presents  on  his  return  home.  “I  will  slay  asses  for  thee  in 

1 As  to  the  “ Isle  of  the  Double,”  and  the  singular  manner  in  which  the  author  of  the  story 
has  arranged  the  route  taken  by  his  hero,  cf.  what  has  been  said  above  on  pp.  19,  20  of  the 
present  work. 

2 K 


408 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


sacrifice,  I will  pluck  birds  for  thee,  I will  send  to  thee  vessels  filled  with  all  the 
riches  of  Egypt,  meet  for  a god,  the  friend  of  man  in  a distant  country  unknown 
to  men.”  The  monster  smiled,  and  replied  that  it  was  needless  to  think  of  send- 
ing presents  to  one  who  was  the  ruler  of  Puanit;  besides,  as  soon  as  thou  hast 
quitted  this  place,  thou  wilt  never  again  see  this  island,  for  it  will  be  changed 
into  waves.” — “ And  then,  when  the  vessel  appeared,  according  as  he  had 
predicted  to  me,  I went  and  perched  upon  a high  tree  and  sought  to  distinguish 
those  who  manned  it.  I next  ran  to  tell  him  the  news,  but  I found  that  he 
was  already  informed  of  its  arrival,  and  he  said  to  me:  ‘A  pleasant  journey 
home,  little  one;  mayst  thou  behold  thy  children  again,  and  may  thy  name  be 
well  spoken  of  in  thy  town  ; such  are  my  wishes  for  thee!  ’ He  added  gifts  to 
these  obliging  words.  I placed  all  these  on  board  the  vessel  which  had  come, 
and  prostrating  myself,  I adored  him.  He  said  to  me:  ‘After  two  months 
thou  shalt  reach  thy  country,  thou  wilt  press  thy  children  to  thy  bosom,  and 
thou  shalt  rest  in  thy  sepulchre.’  After  that  I descended  the  shore  to  the 
vessel,  and  I hailed  the  sailors  who  were  in  it.  I gave  thanks  on  the  shore  to 
the  master  of  the  island,  as  well  as  to  those  who  dwelt  in  it.”  This  might 
almost  be  an  episode  in  the  voyages  of  Sindbad  the  Sailor ; except  that  the 
monsters  which  Sindbad  met  with  in  the  course  of  his  travels  were  not  of  such 
a kindly  disposition  as  the  Egyptian  serpent : it  did  not  occur  to  them  to 
console  the  shipwrecked  with  the  charm  of  a lengthy  gossip,  but  they 
swallowed  them  with  a healthy  appetite.  Putting  aside  entirely  the  marvel- 
lous element  in  the  story,  what  strikes  us  is  the  frequency  of  the  relations 
which  it  points  to  between  Egypt  and  Puanit.  The  appearance  of  an 
Egyptian  vessel  excites  no  astonishment  on  its  coasts : the  inhabitants  have 
already  seen  many  such,  and  at  such  regular  intervals,  that  they  are  able  to 
predict  the  exact  date  of  their  arrival.  The  distance  between  the  two  countries, 
it  is  true,  was  not  considerable,  and  a voyage  of  two  months  was  sufficient 
to  accomplish  it. 

While  the  new  Egypt  was  expanding  outwards  in  all  directions,  the  old 
country  did  not  cease  to  add  to  its  riches.  The  two  centuries  during  which 
the  XIIth  dynasty  continued  to  rule  were  a period  of  profound  peace ; the 
monuments  show  us  the  country  in  full  possession  of  all  its  resources  and 
its  arts,  and  its  inhabitants  both  cheerful  and  contented.  More  than  ever  do 
the  great  lords  and  royal  officers  expatiate  in  their  epitaphs  upon  the  strict 
justice  which  they  have  rendered  to  their  vassals  and  subordinates,  upon  the 
kindness  which  they  have  shown  to  the  fellahin,  on  the  paternal  solicitude 
with  which,  in  the  years  of  insufficient  inundations  or  of  bad  harvests,  they 
have  striven  to  come  forward  and  assist  them,  and  upon  the  unheard-of 


RESTORATION  OF  THE  TEMPLES  OF  THE  DELTA. 


490 


disinterestedness  which  kept  them  from  raising  the  taxes  during  the  times  of 
average  Niles,  or  of  unusual  plenty.1  Gifts  to  the  gods  poured  in  from  one 
end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  and  the  great  building  works,  which  had  been 
at  a standstill  since  the  end  of  the  VIth  dynasty,  were  recommenced  simulta- 
neously on  all  sides.  There  was  much  to  be  done  in  the  way  of  repairing  the 
ruins,  of  which  the  number  had  accumulated  during  the  two  preceding 
centuries.  Not  that  the  most  audacious  kings  had  ventured  to  lay  their  hands 
on  the  sanctuaries : they  emptied  the  sacred  treasuries,  and  partially  confiscated 
their  revenues,  but  when  once  their  cupidity  was  satisfied,  they  respected  the 
fabrics,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  restore  a few  inscriptions,  or,  when  needed,  to 
replace  a few  stones.  These  magnificent  buildings  required  careful  supervision  : 
in  spite  of  their  being  constructed  of  the  most  durable  materials — sandstone, 
granite,  limestone — in  spite  of  their  enormous  size,  or  of  the  strengthening  of 
their  foundations  by  a bed  of  sand  and  by  three  or  four  courses  of  carefully 
adjusted  blocks  to  form  a substructure,2  the  Nile  was  ever  threatening  them, 
and  secretly  working  at  their  destruction.  Its  waters,  filtering  through  the 
soil,  were  perpetually  in  contact  with  the  lower  courses  of  these  buildings,  and 
kept  the  foundations  of  the  walls  and  the  bases  of  the  columns  constantly 
damp : the  saltpetre  which  the  waters  had  dissolved  in  their  passage,  crystal- 
lising on  the  limestone,  would  corrode  and  undermine  everything,  if  pre- 
cautions were  not  taken.  When  the  inundation  was  over,  the  subsidence  of  the 
water  which  impregnated  the  subsoil  caused  in  course  of  time  settlements  in 
the  most  solid  foundations:  the  walls,  disturbed  by  the  unequal  sinking  of  the 
ground,  got  out  of  the  perpendicular  and  cracked;  this  shifting  displaced  the 
architraves  which  held  the  columns  together,  and  the  stone  slabs  which  formed 
the  roof.  These  disturbances,  aggravated  from  year  to  year,  were  sufficient, 
if  not  at  once  remedied,  to  entail  the  fall  of  the  portions  attacked;  in  addition 
to  this,  the  Nile,  having  threatened  the  part  below  with  destruction,  often 
hastened  by  direct  attacks  the  work  of  ruin,  which  otherwise  proceeded  slowly. 
A breach  in  the  embankments  protecting  the  town  or  the  temple  allowed  its 
waters  to  rush  violently  through,  and  thus  to  effect  large  gaps  in  the  decaying 
walls,  completing  the  overthrow  of  the  columns  and  wrecking  the  entrance  halls 
and  secret  chambers  by  the  fall  of  the  roofs.3  At  the  time  when  Egypt  came 
under  the  rule  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  there  were  but  few  cities  which  did  not 
contain  some  ruined  or  dilapidated  sanctuary.  Amenemhait  I.,  although  fully 

1 Inscription  of  the  Prince  of  the  Gazelle  nome,  Amoni-Amencmhait  (11.  17-21),  at  Beni-Hasan  ; 
cf.  Maspero,  La  Grande  Inscription  de  Beni-Hassan,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  173,  174. 

2 Maspero,  ArchAologie  Egyptienne,  p.  47. 

* King  Smendes  of  the  XXIst  dynasty,  in  telling  of  the  works  carried  out  by  him  in  the  temple 
at  Karnak,  explains  that  a stream  of  water  had  undermined  and  destroyed  a part  of  the  sanctuary  in 
this  way  (Daressy,  Les  Carrieres  de  GeljClCin  et  le  roi  Smendes,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  x.  pp. 
136,  137 : Maspero,  A Stele  of  King  Smendes,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  v.  pp.  20,  23). 


500 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


occupied  in  reducing  the  power  of  the  feudal  lords,  restored  the  temples  as 
far  as  he  was  able,  and  his  successors  pushed  forward  the  work  vigorously  for 
nearly  two  centuries. 

The  Delta  profited  greatly  by  this  activity  in  building.  The  monuments 
there  had  suffered  more  than  anywhere  else : fated  to  bear  the  first  shock  of 
foreign  invasion,  and  transformed  into  fortresses  while  the  towns  in  which  they 
were  situated  were  besieged,  they  have  been  captured  again  and  again  by 
assault,  broken  down  by  attacking  engines,  and  dismantled  by  all  the  conquerors 
of  Egypt,  from  the  Assyrians  to  the  Arabs  and  the  Turks.  The  fellahin 
in  their  neighbourhood  have  for  centuries  come  to  them  to  obtain  limestone 
to  burn  in  their  kilns,  or  to  use  them  as  a quarry  for  sandstone  or  granite 
for  the  doorways  of  their  houses,  or  the  thresholds  of  their  mosques.  Not 
only  have  they  been  ruined,  but  the  remains  of  their  ruins  have,  as  it  were, 
melted  away  and  almost  entirely  disappeared  in  the  course  of  ages.  And  yet, 
wherever  excavations  have  been  made  among  these  remains  which  have 
suffered  such  deplorable  ill-treatment,  colossi  and  inscriptions  commemo- 
rating the  Pharaohs  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  have  been  brought  to  light. 
Amenemhait  I.  founded  a great  temple  at  Tanis  in  honour  of  the  gods  of 
Memphis  : 1 the  vestiges  of  the  columns  still  scattered  on  all  sides  show  that 
the  main  body  of  the  building  was  of  rose  granite,  and  a statue  of  the  same 
material  has  preserved  for  us  a portrait  of  the  king.  He  is  seated,  and  wears 
the  tall  head-dress  of  Osiris.  He  has  a large  smiling  face,  thick  lips,  a short 
nose,  and  big  staring  eyes : the  expression  is  one  of  benevolence  and  gentleness, 
rather  than  of  the  energy  and  firmness  which  one  would  expect  in  the  founder  of 
a dynasty.2  The  kings  who  were  his  successors  all  considered  it  a privilege  to 

embellish  the  temple  and  to  place  in  it  some  memorial  of  their  veneration  for 
/\ 

the  god.  Usirtasen  I.,  following  the  example  of  his  father,  set  up  a statue  of 
himself  in  the  form  of  Osiris  : he  is  sitting  on  his  throne  of  grey  granite,  and 
his  placid  face  unmistakably  recalls  that  of  Amenemhait  I.3  Amenemhait  II.,4 

1 E.  de  Rouge,  (Jours  du  College  de  France,  1869;  Petkie,  Tanis,  i.  p.  5. 

2 Mariette,  Deuxieme  Letlre  a M.  le  Vicomte  de  Rougif  sur  les  fouilles  de  Tanis,  p.  1,  and  Notice  des 
principaux  Monuments,  1864,  p.  260,  No.  1 ; Petrie,  Tanis,  i.  pp.  4,  5,  and  pi.  xiii.  1 ; A.  B.  Edwards, 
in  Harper's  New  Monthly,  1886,  p.  716,  et  seq.  The  statue  was  usurped  by  Minephtah. 

3 Mariette,  Deuxieme  Letlre  a M.  le  Vicomte  de  Rouge,  pp.  2,  3,  and  Notice  des  principaux  Monu- 
ments; Lepsius,  Entdeckung  eines  bilinguen  Deleretes,  in  the  Zeitschri/t,  1866,  p.  33;  Petrie,  Tanis,  i. 
p.  5,  and  pi.  xiii.  2;  A.  B.  Edwards,  in  Harper’s  New  Monthly,  1886,  p.  719.  The  pendant  of  this 
statue,  which  was  brought  to  Europe  byDrovetti  at  the  beginning  of  the  century, is  nowin  the  Berlin 
Museum  (Verzeichniss  der  JEgyptisclien  Altertiimer,  p.  75,  No.  371)  ; the  monument,  after  having  first 
been  usurped  by  Amenemhait  II.,  was  usurped  a second  time  by  Minephtah  (Lepsius,  Sur  les  deux 
Statues  colossales  de  la  Collection  Drovetti  qui  se  trouvent  actuellement  au  Musde  Royal  de  Berlin,  p.  4, 
et  seq. ; extracted  from  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  Archdologique,  1838). 

4 Petrie,  Tanis,  i.  pp.  5,  6,  and  pi.  xiii.  3,  4.  Mr.  Griffith  (Tanis,  ii.  p.  16)  thinks  with  Mariette 
(Notice  des  principaux  Monuments,  p.  261,  No.  3)  that  this  statue  is  identical  with  that  which  was 
published  in  a more  complete  form  in  Burton’s  Excerpta  Hieroglyphica,  pi.  xl.  5,  and  that  it  is 
intended  for  fTsirtasen  I. 


TAN  IS  AND  TEE  SPHINXES  OF  AMENEMHaIT  III 


501 


Usirtasen  II.,1  and  his  wife  Nofrit  have  also  dedicated  their  images  within 
the  sanctuaiy.  Nofrit’s  is  of  black  granite:  her  head  is  almost  eclipsed  by 
the  heavy  Hathor  wig,  consisting  of  two  enormous  tresses  of  hair  which 
surround  the  cheeks,  and  lie  with  an 
outward  curve  upon  the  breast ; her  eyes, 
which  were  formerly  inlaid,  have  fallen 
out,  the  bronze  eyelids  are  lost,  her 
arms  have  almost  disappeared.  What 
remains  of  her,  however,  gives  us  none 
the  less  the  impression  of  a youug  and 
graceful  woman,  with  a lithe  and  well- 
proportioned  body,  whose  outlines  are 
delicately  modelled  under  the  tight-fitting 
smock  worn  by  Egyptian  women ; the 
small  and  rounded  breasts  curve  outward 
between  the  extremities  of  her  curls  and 
the  embroidered  hem  of  her  garment ; and 
a pectoral  bearing  the  name  of  her  hus- 
band lies  flat  upon  her  chest,  just  below 
the  column  of  her  throat.2  These  various 
statues  have  all  an  evident  artistic  rela- 
tionship to  the  beautiful  granite  figures  of 
the  Ancient  Empire.  The  sculptors  who 
executed  them  belonged  to  the  same  school 
as  those  who  carved  Khephren  out  of  the 
solid  diorite  : there  is  the  same  facile  use  of  the  chisel,  the  same  indifference 
to  the  difficulties  presented  by  the  material  chosen,  the  same  finish  in  the 
detail,  the  same  knowledge  of  the  human  form.  One  is  almost  tempted  to 
believe  that  Egyptian  art  remained  unchanged  all  through  those  long  centuries, 
and  yet  as  soon  as  a statue  of  the  early  period  is  placed  side  by  side  with  one  of 
the  XIIth  dynasty,  we  immediately  perceive  something  in  the  one  which  is  lack- 
ing in  the  other.  It  is  a difference  in  feeling,  even  if  the  technique  remains 
unmodified.  It  was  the  man  himself  that  the  sculptors  desired  to  represent  in 
the  older  Pharaohs,  and  however  haughty  may  be  the  countenance  which  we 

1 Petrie,  Tunis,  i.  p.  6. 

2 Mariette,  Notice  des  principaux  Monuments,  p.  2G1,  No.  4;  BanVIlle-KocGe,  Album  photo- 
graph! qae  de  la  Mission  de  M.  de  Rougg,  No.  113;  Brugsch,  An  der  Eerausgeber,  in  the  Zeitschrift, 
1871,  pp.  124,  125 ; Petrie,  Tunis,  i.  p.  6. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  a photograph  by  Insinger.  In  addition  to  ihe  complete  statue, 
tlie  Museum  at  Gizeh  possesses  a toiso  from  the  same  source.  I believe  I can  recognize  another 
portrait  of  the  same  queen  in  a beautiful  statue  in  black  granite,  which  has  been  in  the  Museum  at 
Marseilles  since  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  (Mastero,  Cataloque  du  Mueee  dqyptien  de 
Marseille,  No.  6,  pp.  5,  G). 


the  statue  of  nofrit.3 


502 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


admire  in  the  Khephren,  it  is  the  human  element  which  predominates  in  him. 
The  statues  of  Amenemhait  I.  and  his  successors  appear,  on  the  contrary,  to 
represent  a superior  race : at  the  time  when  these  were  produced,  the  Pharaoh 
had  long  been  regarded  as  a god,  and  the  divine  nature  in  him  had  almost 
eliminated  the  human.  Whether  intentionally  or  otherwise,  the  sculptors 
idealized  their  model,  and  made  him  more  and  more  resemble  the  type  of  the 
divinities.  The  head  always  appears  to  be  a good  likeness,  but  smoothed  down 
and  sometimes  lacking  in  expression.  Not  only  are  the  marks  of  age  rendered 
less  apparent,  and  the  features  made  to  bear  the  stamp  of  perpetual  youth,  but 
the  characteristics  of  the  individual,  such  as  the  accentuation  of  the  eyebrows, 
the  protuberance  of  the  cheek-bones,  the  projection  of  the  under  lip,  are  all 
softened  down  as  if  intentionally,  and  made  to  give  way  to  a uniform  expression 
of  majestic  tranquillity.  One  king  only,  Amenemhait  III.,  refused  to  go  down 
to  posterity  thus  effaced,  and  caused  his  portrait  to  be  taken  as  he  really  was. 
He  has  certainly  the  round  full  face  of  Amenemhait  or  of  Usirtasen  I.,  and 
there  is  an  undeniable  family  likeness  between  him  and  his  ancestors ; but  at 
the  first  glance  we  feel  sure  that  the  artist  has  not  in  any  way  flattered  his 
model.  The  forehead  is  low  and  slightly  retreating,  narrow  across  the  temples ; 
his  nose  is  aquiline,  pronounced  in  form,  and  large  at  the  tip ; the  thick  lips 
are  slightly  closed  ; his  mouth  has  a disdainful  curve,  and  its  corners  are  turned 
down  as  if  to  repress  the  inevitable  smile  common  to  most  Egyptian  statues ; 
the  chin  is  full  and  heavy,  and  turns  up  in  front  in  spite  of  the  weight  of  the 
false  beard  dependent  from  it;  he  has  small  narrow  eyes,  with  full  lids;  his 
cheek-bones  are  accentuated  and  projecting,  the  cheeks  hollow,  and  the  muscles 
about  the  nose  and  mouth  strongly  defined.  The  whole  presents  so  strange 
an  aspect,  that  for  a long  time  statues  of  this  type  have  been  persistently 
looked  upon  as  productions  of  an  art  which  was  only  partially  Egyptian.  It  is, 
indeed,  possible  that  the  Tanis  sphinxes  were  turned  out  of  workshops  where 
the  principles  and  practice  of  the  sculptor’s  art  had  previously  undergone 
some  Asiatic  influence ; the  bushy  mane  which  surrounds  the  face,  and  the 
lion’s  ears  emerging  from  it,  are  exclusively  characteristic  of  the  latter.  The 
purely  human  statues  in  which  we  meet  with  the  same  type  of  countenance 
have  no  peculiarity  of  workmanship  which  could  be  attributed  to  the  imitation  of 
a foreign  ait.1  If  the  nameless  masters  to  whom  we  owe  their  existence  desired 

1 The  first  monuments  of  this  type  were  discovered  in  1860  at  Tanis,  by  Mariette,  who  thought  he 
recognized  a foreign  influence  in  them,  aud  attributed  them  to  the  shepherd-kings,  more  especially 
to  the  last  Apopi,  whose  cartouches  are  engraved  on  the  shoulder  of  several  statues  and  of  several 
sphinxes  (Mariette,  Letlre  a M.  le  Vicomtc  de  Rougd sur  les  fouilles  de  Tanis,  pp.  8-15;  and  Notice 
dei  principaux  Monuments,  1864,  p.  233,  No.  11,  and  p.  264,  Nos.  11-13).  The  hypothesis  generally 
adopted,  in  spite  of  some  doubts  raised  by  M.  de  Rouge  in  a note  which  he  added  to  Marietta's  letter, 
was  disputed  by  Maspero  ( Guide  du  Visiteur  au  Musde  de  Boulaq,  pp.  64,  65,  No.  107),  who  attributed 
these  figures  to  the  local  school  at  Tanis,  and  declared  that  they  belonged  to  one  of  the  dynasties 
previous  to  the  shepherds  ( Ardtdologie  Egyptienne,  pp.  216,  217).  M.  Golcnischetf  has  shown  that 


THE  WORKS  AT  BUBAST1S. 


503 


to  bring  about  a reaction  against  the  conventional  technique  of  their  contem- 
poraries, they  at  least  introduced  no  foreign  innovations  ; the  monuments  of  the 
Memphite  period  furnished  them  with  all  the  models  they  could  possibly  wish  for. 

Bubastis  had  no  less  occasion  than  Tanis  to  boast  of  the  generosity  of 
the  Theban  Pharaohs.  The 
temple  of  Bastit,  which  had 
been  decorated  by  Kheops 
and  Khephren,  was  still  in 
existence : 1 Amenemhait  I., 

Usirtasen  I,  and  their  im- 
mediate successors  confined 
themselves  to  the  restoration 
of  several  chambers,  and  to 
the  erection  of  their  own 
statues,2  but  Usirtasen  II I. 
added  to  it  a new  structure 
which  must  have  made  it 
rival  the  finest  monuments 
in  Egypt.  He  believed,  no 
doubt,  that  he  was  under 
particular  obligations  to  the 
lioness  goddess  of  the  city, 
and  attributed  to  her  aid, 

for  unknown  reasons,  some  , 

of  his  successes  in  Nubia ; 

it  would  appear  that  it  was  with  the  spoil  of  a campaign  against  the  country  of 
the  Hua  that  he  endowed  a part  of  the  new  sanctuary.4  Nothing  now  remains 
of  it  except  fragments  of  the  architraves  and  granite  columns,  which  have 
been  used  over  again  by  Pharaohs  of  a later  period  when  restoring  or  altering 
the  fabric.  A few  of  the  columns  belong  to  the  lotifonn  type.  The  shaft  is 


they  are  intended  for  the  Pharaoh  Amenemhait  III.  ( Amenemha  III.  et  les  Sphinx  de  San,  in  the 
Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  pp.  131-136). 

1 As  to  the  remains  of  the  constructions  of  Kheops  and  Khephrtn  at  Bubastis,  discovered  by 
Naville,  Bubastis,  pp.  3,  5,  6,  10,  and  pis.  viii.,  xxxii.  a-b,  cf.  pp.  364,  371  of  the  present  work. 

2 Inscription  of  Amenemhait  I.,  on  the  erection  of  one  of  his  statues  to  “his  mother  Bastit”  and 
the  restoration  of  a door  (Naville,  Bubastis,  p.  8,  and  pi.  xxxiii.  or.)  ; remains  of  a precession  of  Nile-gods, 
the  first  example  known,  which  was  consecrated  by  fJsirtasen  I.  (Naville,  Bubastis,  pp.  8,  9,  and 
pi.  xxxiv.  D,  E). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey,  taken  in  1881  (cf 
Banville-Rouge,  Album  plwtographique  de  la  Mission  de  M.  de  Bougd,  Nos.  120-122).  The  sphinx 
bears  on  its  breast  the  cartouche  of  Psiukhanil,  a Tanite  Pharaoh  of  the  XXIst  dynasty. 

4 The  fragment  found  by  Naville  ( Bubastis , pp.  9-11,  and  pi.  xxxiv.  A)  formed  part  of  an  inscription 
eugraved  on  a wall : the  wars  which  it  was  customary  to  commemorate  in  a temple  were  always  selected 
from  those  in  which  the  whole  or  a part  of  the  booty  had  been  consecrated  to  the  use  of  the  local  divinity 


T1I$  Fin  ST  TIIEDAN  EMPIRE. 


504 

composed  of  eight  triangular  stalks  rising  from  a bunch  of  leaves,  symmetrically 
arranged,  and  bound  together  at  the  top  by  a riband,  twisted  thrice  round  the 
bundle  ; the  capital  is  formed  by  the  union  of  the  eight  lotus  buds,  surmounted 
by  a square  member  on  which  rests  the  architrave.  Other  columns  have 
Hathor-headed  capitals,  the  heads  being  set  back  to  back,  and  bearing  the  flat 
head-dress  ornamented  with  the  urseus.  The  face  of  the  goddess,  which  is 
somewhat  flattened  when  seen  closely  on  the  eye-level,  stands  out  and 
becomes  more  lifelike  in  proportion  as  the  spectator  recedes  from  it;  the 
projection  of  the  features  has  been  calculated  so  as  to  produce  the  desired  effect 
at  the  right  height  when  seen  from  below.1  The  district  lying  between  Tanis 
and  Bubastis  is  thickly  studded  with  monuments  built  or  embellished  by  the 
Amenemkaits  and  Usirtasens : wherever  the  pickaxe  is  applied,  whether  at 
Fakus2  or  Tell-Nebeskek,f  remains  of  them  are  brought  to  light — statues, 
stelae,  tables  of  offerings,  and  fragments  of  dedicatory  or  historical  inscriptions. 
While  carrying  on  works  in  the  temple  of  Plitah  at  Memphis,4  the  attention  of 
these  Pharaohs  was  attracted  to  Heliopolis.  The  temple  of  Ba  there  was  either 
insufficient  for  the  exigencies  of  worship,  or  had  been  allowed  to  fall  into 
decay.  Usirtasen  III.  resolved,  in  the  third  year  of  his  reign,  to  undertake  its 
restoration.5  The  occasion  appears  to  have  been  celebrated  as  a festival  by  all 
Egypt,  and  the  remembrance  of  it  lasted  long  after  the  event : the  somewhat 
detailed  account  of  the  ceremonies  which  then  took  place  was  copied  out 
again  at  Thebes,  towards  the  end  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty.6  It  describes  the 
king  mounting  his  throne  at  the  meeting  of  his  council,  and  receiving,  as  was 
customary,  the  eulogies  of  his  “ sole  friends  ” and  of  the  courtiers  who  surrounded 
him : “ Here,”  says  he,  addressing  them,  “ has  my  Majesty  ordained  the  works 

1 All  of  these  monuments  were  discovered  by  Navi  lie,  and  published  in  liis  Bubastis,  pp.  9-14,  and 
pis.  v.,  vi.,  vii.,  is.,  xxiii.  A,  xxiv.  B,  xxxiii.  B-F,  xxxiv.  B-E. 

2 At  Tell  Qirqafah,  a gate  built  of  granite  by  Amenemhait  I , restored  by  Usirtasen  III. ; at  Tell 
Abu-Felus,  a statuette  in  black  granite  of  Queen  Sonit;  at  Dakdamun,  a table  of  offerings  inscribed 
in  tlic  name  of  Amenemhait  II.  (Masfero,  Notes  sur  different  points  de  Grammaire  et  d' Histoire, 
§ lxxv.,  in  the  Zeitschrift,  1885,  pp.  11-13;  Naville,  Goshen  and  the  Shrine  of  Saft  el-Henneli,  p.  22, 
and  pi.  ix.  A-B).  All  these  localities  are  grouped  within  a somewhat  restricted  radius  round  Fakus. 

3 A table  of  offerings  inscribed  in  the  name  of  Amenemhait  II.  (Petrie,  Nebeslieh,  pi.  ix.  1); 
seated  statue  of  Usirtasen  III.  (id.,  pi.  ix.  2 a-b,  and  p.  13). 

4 A table  of  offerings  inscribed  in  the  name  of  Amenemhait  III.,  discovered  at  Qom  el-Qalaah,  on 
the  aucient  site  of  Memphis  (Maeiette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  xxxiv.  f) ; block  of  Usirtasen  II. 
(id.,  pi.  xxvii.  a). 

5 The  leather  manuscript,  which  has  preserved  an  account  of  these  events,  is  in  the  Berlin 
Museum.  It  was  discovered  and  published  by  L.  Steen,  Urhunde  iiber  den  Bau  des  Sonnentempels 
zu  Oil  (in  the  Zeitschrift,  1874,  pp.  85-96),  who  believed  that  he  was  able  to  prove  from  it  the 
simultaneous  presence  of  Amenemhait  I.  and  tlsirtasen  I.  As  a matter  of  fact,  tlsirtasen  I.  alone 
is  mentioned,  and  he  alone  presides  over  the  ceremonies,  as  was  his  custom  (cf.  pp.  465-4G7  of  the 
present  work),  although  the  date  (year  III.)  makes  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple  fall  within  the 
time  during  which  he  shared  the  throne  with  his  father. 

G The  manuscript  contains  an  account  dated  in  the  Vth  year  of  Amenothes  IV.  (Stern,  Urhunde,  in 
the  Zeitschrift,  1874,  j).  86).  We  read  in  a Papyrus  at  Berlin  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,\ i.  121  c,  11.  17,  18)  a 
mystic  formula,  engraved,  so  the  story  goes,  on  the  wall  of  the  temple  of  tlsirtasen  I.  at  Heliopolis 
(Maspeeo,  Notes  sur  differents  points  de  Grammaire  et  d'  Histoire,  § ix.,  in  the  Zeitschrift , 1879,  p.  83). 


HELIOPOLIS  AND  THE  TEMPLE  OF  USIRTASEN  I. 


505 


which  shall  recall  my  worthy  and  noble  acts  to  posterity.  I raise  a monument, 
I establish  lasting  decrees  in  favour  of  Harmakhis,  for  he  has  brought  me 
into  the  world  to  do  as  he  did,  to  accomplish  that  which  he  decreed  should  be 
done  ; he  has  appointed  me  to  guide  this  earth,  he  has  known  it,  he  has  called 
it  together  and  he  has  granted  me  his  help  ; I have  caused  the  Eye  which  is  in 
him  to  become  serene,1  in  all  things  acting  as  he  would  have  me  to  do,  and  I 
have  sought  out  that  which  he  had  resolved  should  be  known.  I am  a king  by 
birth,  a suzerain  not  of  my  own  making ; I have  governed  from  childhood, 
petitions  have  been  presented  to  me  when  I was  in  the  egg,  I have  ruled  over 
the  ways  of  Auubis,2  and  he  raised  me  up  to  be  master  of  the  two  halves  of  the 
world,  from  the  time  when  I was  a nursling ; I had  not  yet  escaped  from 
the  swaddling-bands  when  he  enthroned  me  as  master  of  men ; creating  me 
himself  in  the  sight  of  mortals,  he  made  me  to  find  favour  with  the  Dweller  in 
the  Palace,3  when  I was  a youth  4 ...  I came  forth  as  Horus  the  eloquent,5  and 
I have  instituted  divine  oblations;  I accomplish  the  works  in  the  palace  of 
my  father  Aturnu,  I supply  his  altar  on  earth  with  offerings,  I lay  the  founda- 
tions of  my  palace  in  his  neighbourhood,  in  order  that  the  memorial  of  my 
goodness  may  remain  in  his  dwelling  ; for  this  palace  is  my  name,  this  lake  is 
my  monument,  all  that  is  famous  or  useful  that  I have  made  for  the  gods 
is  eternity.” 6 The  great  lords  testified  their  approbation  of  the  king’s  piety  ; 
the  latter  summoned  his  chancellor  and  commanded  him  to  draw  up  the  deeds 
of  gift  and  all  the  documents  necessary  for  the  carrying  out  of  his  wishes.  “ He 
arose,  adorned  with  the  royal  circlet  and  with  the  double  feather,  followed  by  all 
his  nobles  ; the  chief  lector  of  the  divine  book  stretched  the  cord  and  fixed  the 
stake  in  the  ground.”  7 This  temple  has  ceased  to  exist ; but  one  of  the  granite 
obelisks  raised  by  Usirtasen  I.  on  each  side  of  the  principal  gateway  is  still  stand- 
ing. The  whole  of  Heliopolis  has  disappeared  : the  site  where  it  formerly  stood 

1 The  god  of  Heliopolis  beiug  the  Sun  (cf.  p.  135,  et  seq.,  of  the  present  work),  “the  Eye  which 
is  in  him  ” is  the  solar  disk,  considered  as  the  Eye  of  Ba;  the  king,  by  his  promptness  in  complying 
with  the  wishes  of  the  divinity,  had  brightened  “the  Eye  which  is  in  it;”  in  other  words,  he  had 
increased  the  light  of  the  Eye,  which  would  probably  have  been  obscured  or  even  extinguished  by 
disobedience,  as  in  the  case  of  the  revolt  of  Apopi  or  of  Sit. 

Anubis,  the  jackal,  is  Uapuaitu,  the  “ Guide  of  the  roads  ” of  the  Soutli  and  North,  followed  by 
the  sun  in  his  journey  round  the  world  : in  stating  that  he  has  “ ruled  over  the  ways  of  Anubis,”  the 
king  proclaims  himself  master  of  the  regions  traversed  by  the  sun,  i.e.  of  the  whole  world. 

3 The  “ dweller  in  the  palace”  is  Pharaoh,  in  this  case  Amenemhait  I. ; it  was  with  the  consent 
of  riunft,  the  god  of  Heliopolis,  that  Amenemhait  I.  chose  flsirtasen  I.,  while  still  a youth,  from 
among  his  other  children,  iu  order  that  he  might  be  king  and  rule  over  the  whole  of  Egypt  in 
concert  with  himself. 

4 Stern,  Urkunde  uber  den  Ban  des  Sonnentempels  zu  On,  pi.  i.  11.  4-12. 

5 Horn  api  nasit ; literally,  “Horus  who  judges  with  the  tongue,”  who  pleads  and  expatiates  on 
the  merits  of  his  father  before  the  tribunal  of  the  gods,  flsirtasen  I.,  having  pleaded  the  cause  of 
the  god  before  Amenemhait  I.  (cf.  p.  4G6  of  the  present  work),  as  Horus  had  done  for  Osiris, 
obtained  from  his  father  everything  that  was  necessary  to  rebuild  and  endow  the  temple  of  Heliopolis. 

6 Stern,  Urlcunde  uber  den  Bau  des  Sonnentempels  zu  On,  pi.  i.  11.  14-17. 

7 Stern,  Urkunde  uber  den  Bau  des  Sonnentempels  zu  On,  pi.  i.  11. 13-15.  The  priest  here  performed 
with  the  king  the  more  important  of  the  ceremonies  necessary  in  measuring  the  area  of  the  temple, 
by  “ inserting  the  measuring  stakes,”  and  marking  out  the  four  sides  of  the  building  with  the  cord.' 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


506 

is  now  marked  only  by  a few  almost  imperceptible  inequalities  in  the  soil,  some 
crumbling  lengths  of  walls,  and  here  and  there  some  scattered  blocks  of  lime- 
stone, containing  a few  lines  of  mutilated  inscriptions  which  can  with  difficulty 
be  deciphered  ; the  obelisk  has  survived  even  the  destruction  of  the  ruins,  and 
to  all  who  understand  its  language  it  still  speaks  of  the  Pharaoh  who  erected  it.1 

The  undertaking  and  successful  completion  of  so  many  great  structures  had 
necessitated  a renewal  of  the  working  of  the  ancient  quarries,  and  the  opening 
of  fresh  ones.  Amenemhait  I.  sent  Antuf,  a great  dignitary,  chief  of  the 
prophets  of  Minu  and  prince  of  Ivoptos,  to  the  valley  of  Eohami,  to  seek  out 
line  granite  for  making  the  royal  sarcophagi.2  Amenemhait  III.  had,  in  the 
XLIIIrtl  year  of  his  reign,  been  present  at  the  opening  of  several  fine  veins  of 
white  limestone  in  the  quarries  of  Turah,  which  probably  furnished  material 
for  the  buildings  proceeding  at  Heliopolis  and  Memphis.3  Thebes  had  also  its 
share  of  both  limestone  and  granite,  and  Amon,  whose  sanctuary  up  to  this 
time  had  only  attained  the  modest  proportions  suited  to  a provincial  god,  at 
last  possessed  a temple  wdiich  raised  him  to  the  rank  of  the  highest  feudal 
divinities.  Arnolds  career  had  begun  under  difficulties  : he  had  been  merely  a 
vassal-god  of  Montu,  lord  of  Hermonthis  (the  Aunu  of  the  south),  who  had 
granted  to  him  the  ownership  of  the  village  of  Karnak  only.  The  unforeseen 
good  fortune  of  the  Antufs  wras  the  occasion  of  his  emerging  from  his  obscurity  : 
he  did  not  dethrone  Montu,  but  shared  with  him  the  homage  of  all  the 
neighbouring  villages — Luxor,  Medamut,  Bayadiyeh ; aud,  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Nile,  Gurnah  and  Medinet-Habu.  The  accession  of  the  XIIth  dynasty 
completed  his  triumph,  and  made  him  the  most  powerful  authority  in  Southern 
Egypt.  He  was  an  earth-god,  a form  of  Minu  who  reigned  at  Koptos,  at 
Akhmim  and  in  the  desert,4  but  he  soon  became  allied  to  the  sun,  and  from 
thenceforth  he  assumed  the  name  of  Amon-Ra.  The  title  of  “ suton  nutiru  ” 
which  he  added  to  it  would  alone  have  sufficed  to  prove  the  comparatively 
recent  origin  of  his  notoriety  ; as  the  latest  arrival  among  the  great  gods,  he 

1 On  the  obelisk  of  Matarieh,  cf.  S.  de  Sacy,  Relation  de  VEgypte  par  Abd-Allatif,  pp.  180,  181, 
225-229,  where  a number  of  passages  in  regard  to  the  history  of  these  ruins  are  quoted  from  Arab 
writers  ; the  other  obelisk,  fragments  of  which  may  still  be  seen,  either  fell  or  was  overturned  in  1100 
a.d.  The  inscriptions  are  reproduced  in  Burton's  Excerpta  Hicroqlyphica,  pi.  xxviii. ; Rosellini, 
Monumenti  Storici,  pi.  xxv.  1 ; Lepsius,  Denkrn.,  ii.  118/r.  A large  number  of  stones,  obtained  from 
Heliopolis  and  its  temple,  have  at  different  perioils  been  built  into  the  walls  of  the  principal  buildings 
of  Cairo,  especially  the  mosque  of  Khaliph  Hakem ; one  of  them,  which  serves  as  door-sill  to  the 
mosque  of  Shaaban,  bears  the  cartouche  of  tjsirtasen  I.  (Wiedemann,  JEgyptische  Geschichte,  p.  243). 

2 Lepsius,  Denkm.,  ii.  118  d,  and  Golenischeff,  Resultats  dpigrapliiques  d'une  excursion  a VOuady 
Hammamdt  (extracted  from  the  Compies  rendus  de  la  SocidlC  Russe  d’Archdologie),  pi.  viii.,  which 
contains  a more  complete  text  than  that  given  by  Lepsius;  cf.  Maspero,  Sur  quelques  inscriptions  du 
temps  d’ Amenemhait  I.  au  Oaady  Hammamdt,  p.  1,  et  seq.,  where  the  text  of  this  document,  which  can 
only  be  deciphered  and  interpreted  with  difficulty,  has  been  translated  and  commented  on  in  detail. 

3 Perrixg-Vyse,  Operations  carried  on  at  the  Pyramids  in  1837,  vol.  iii.,  plate,  and  p.  94 ; Lepsius, 
Denkm.,  ii.  143  i,  where  the  date  inscribed  at  the  top  of  the  stele  is  missing. 

4 Cf.  p.  99  of  the  present  work,  and  on  p.  148  a representation  of  the  Theban  Amon  wearing  the 
plumed  cap. 


THE  ENLARGEMENT  OF  THEBES. 


507 


employed,  to  express  his  sovereignty,  this  word  “ suton,”  king,  which  had 
designated  the  rulers  of  the  valley  ever  since  the  union  of  the  two  Egypts 
under  the  shadowy  Menes.1  Reigning  at  first  alone,  he  became  associated  by 
marriage  with  a vague  indefinite  goddess,  called  Maut,  or  Mut,  the  “mother,” 
who  never  adopted  any  more  distinctive  name : the  divine  son  who  com- 
pleted this  triad  was,  in  early  times,  Montu;  but  in  later  times  a being  of 
secondary  rank,  chosen  from  among  the  genii  appointed  to  watch  over  the  days 
of  the  month  or  the  stars,  was  added,  under  the  name  of  Khonsu.  Amenemhait 


THE  OBELISK  OF  USIRTASEN  I.  STILL  STANDING  IN  THE  PLAIN  OF  HELIOPOLIS.2 


laid  the  foundations  of  the  temple,  in  which  the  cultus  of  Amon  was  carried  on 
down  to  the  latest  times  of  paganism.3  The  building  was  supported  by  polygonal 
columns  of  sixteen  sides,  some  fragments  of  which  are  still  existing.  The  temple 
was  at  first  of  only  moderate  dimensions,  but  it  was  built  of  the  choicest  sandstone 
and  limestone,  and  decorated  with  exquisite  bas-reliefs.  Usirtasen  I.  enlarged  it,4 
and  built  a beautiful  house  for  the  high  priest  on  the  west  side  of  the  sacred  lake.5 

1 Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  15-17,  and  Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’ Archdologie 
Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  10,  11. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Insinger. 

3 Wilkinson,  Modern  Egypt  and  Thebes , vol.  ii.  p.  248  ; the  remains  mentioned  there  have  now 
disappeared  (Mariette,  Karnalc,  p.  41).  If  the  fragment  a in  Mariette’s  Karnah,  pi.  viii.,  refers 
to  the  reign  of  Amenemhait  I.,  we  may  pretty  safely  fix  on  the  year  XX.  as  the  probable  date  of  founda- 
tion. A statue  of  the  sovereign  in  rose  granite  (Mariette,  Karnah,  pi.  viii.  d,  and  p.  41),  as  also  a 
table  of  offerings  dedicated  by  him  (id.,  pi.  viii.  e,  and  pp.  41, 42),  have  been  discovered  in  the  vicinity 
of  this  fragment,  and  further  strengthen  the  case  for  attributing  it  to  the  reign  of  Amenemhait  I. 

4 His  name  is  engraved  on  several  fragments  of  columns  (Mariette,  Karnah,  pi.  viii.  b-c,  and 
p.  41),  as  well  as  on  a table  of  offerings  now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (Yirey,  Notice  des  principaux 
monuments  exposes  au  Musde  de  Gizdh,  p.  41,  No.  131). 

5 Mariette,  Karnah,  pi.  xl.,  and  pp.  62,  63;  E.  de  Rouge,  Etudes  des  Monuments  du  Massif  de 
Karnah,  in  the  Melanges  d'Arclifologie  Egyptienne  et  Assyrienne,  vol.  i.  pp.  38,  39. 


508 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


Luxor,1  Zorit,'2  Edfu,3  Hierakonpolis,  El-Kab,4  Elephantine,5  and  Dendera, Gsbared 
between  them  the  favour  of  the  Pharaohs;  the  venerable  town  of  Abydos  became 
the  object  of  their  special  predilection.  Its  reputation  for  sanctity  had  been 
steadily  growing  from  the  time  of  the  Papis : its  god,  Khontamentit,  who  was 
identified  with  Osiris,  had  obtained  in  the  south  a rank  as  high  as  that  of  the 
Mendesian  Osiris  in  the  north  of  Egypt.  He  was  worshipped  as  the  sovereign 
of  the  sovereigns  of  the  dead — he  who  gathered  around  him  and  welcomed  in  his 
domains  the  majority  of  the  faithful  of  other  cults.  His  sepulchre,  or,  more  cor- 
rectly speaking,  the  chapel  representing  his  sepulchre,  in  which  one  of  his  relics 
was  preserved,  was  here,  as  elsewhere,  built  upon  the  roof.7  Access  was  gained 
to  it  by  a staircase  leading  up  on  the  left  side  of  the  sanctuary : solemn  pro- 
cessions of  priests  and  devotees  were  wont  slowly  to  mount  it,  to  the  chanting  of 
funeral  hymns,  on  the  days  of  the  passion  and  resurrection  of  Osiris,  and  there, 
on  the  terrace,  removed  from  the  world  of  the  living,  and  with  no  other  witnesses 
than  the  stars  of  heaven,  the  faithful  celebrated  mysteriously  the  rites  of  the 
divine  death  and  embalming.  The  “ vassals  of  Osiris  ” flocked  in  crowds  to 
these  festivals,  and  took  a delight  in  visiting,  at  least  once  during  their  lifetime, 
the  city  whither  their  souls  would  proceed  after  death,  in  order  to  present  them- 
selves at  the  “ Mouth  of  the  Cleft,”  there  to  embark  in  the  “ bari  ” of  their 
divine  master  or  in  that  of  the  Sun.  They  left  behind  them,  “under  the 
staircase  of  the  great  god,”  a sort  of  fictitious  tomb,  near  the  representation 
of  the  tomb  of  Osiris,  in  the  shape  of  a stele,  which  immortalized  the  memory 
of  their  piety,  and  which  served  as  a kind  of  hostelry  for  their  soul,  when  the 
latter  should,  in  course  of  time,  repair  to  this  rallying-place  of  all  Osirian 
souls.8  The  concourse  of  pilgrims  was  a source  of  wealth  to  the  population, 

5 Virey,  Notice  des  principaux  Monuments  exposes  au  Mus€e  de  Gizdh,  p.  44,  No.  136.  Table  of 
offerings,  inscribed  with  the  name  of  Usirtasen  III.,  found  in  1887  in  the  excavations  at  Luxor. 

2 Table  of  offerings  inscribed  with  the  name  of  Dsirtasen  I.,  discovered  at  Zorit  (now  Taud)  in 
1881  (Maj-pero,  Notes  sur  diffe'rents  points  de  Grammaire  et  d’ Histoire,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1882,  p.  123). 

3 An  inscription  in  the  great  temple  of  Ilorus  mentions  the  works  of  an  Amenemhait  and  an 
Usirtasen  at  Edfu,  but  does  not  add  the  prsenomens  (Brugsch,  Drei  Festkalender  von  Apollinopolis 
Magna,  pi.  iv.  1.  23) : reference  is  probably  made  to  Amenemhait  I.  and  Dsirtasen  I. 

4 Murray-Wilkinson,  Handbook  of  Egypt,  p.  308 ; I have  not  been  able  to  find  these  fragments. 
M.  Gre'baut,  in  1891,  discovered  a sphinx  at  El-Kab  similar  to  that  which  is  reproduced  on  p.  503  of 
the  present  work  (Virey,  Notice  des  principaux  Monuments  expose's  au  Musde  de  Gize'li , p.  45,  No.  139). 

5 Birch,  Tablets  of  the  XIIth  Dynasty,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1875,  pp.  50,  51. 

0 DLimichen  pointed  out,  in  the  masonry  of  the  great  eastern  staircase  of  the  present  temple  of 
Hathor,  a stone  obtained  from  the  earlier  temple,  which  bears  the  name  of  Amenemhait  (Bauurkunde 
der  Tempelanlagen  von  Dendera,  p.  19  ; Mariette,  Dende'rah,  Supplement,  pi.  H,  e) ; another  fragment, 
discovered  and  published  by  Mariette  (Dend&rah,  Supplement,  pi.  H ,/),  shows  that  Amenemhait  I. 
is  here  agaiu  referred  to.  The  buildings  erected  by  this  monarch  at  Dendera  must  have  been  on  a 
somewhat  large  scale,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  size  of  this  last  fragment,  which  is  the  linlel  of  a door. 

7 This  is  the  tomb  referred  to  by  Plutarch  (De  Iside  et  Osiride,  § 20,  Parthey’s  edition,  p.  34), 
aud  which  was  so  long  sought  for  in  vain  by  Mariette,  who  believed  it  to  have  been  built  on  the  soil 
itself,  and  not  on  the  terrace  of  the  temple  (Maspero,  in  the  Revue  Critique,  1881,  vol.  i.  p.  83). 

8 Indeed,  the  inscriptions  state,  in  the  case  of  most  of  these  votive  stelse,  that  they  were  deposited 
“ under  the  staircase  of  the  great  god,”  and  that  they  were  regarded  as  representing  the  whole  tomb 


TEE  TEMPLES  OF  ABYDOS. 


509 


the  priestly  coffers  were  filled,  and  every  year  the  original  temple  was  felt  to 
be  more  and  more  inadequate 
to  meet  the  requirements  of 

A 

worship.  Usirtasen  I.  desired 
to  come  to  the  rescue  : 1 he 
despatched  Monthotpu,  one 
of  his  great  vassals,  to  su- 
perintend the  works.2  The 
ground-plan  of  the  portico  of 
white  limestone  which  pre- 
ceded the  entrance  court  may 
still  be  distinguished ; this 
portico  was  supported  by 
square  pillars,  and,  leaning 
against  the  remains  of  these, 
we  see  the  standing  colossi  of 
rose  granite,  crowned  with  the 
Osirian  head-dress,  and  with 
their  feet  planted  on  the 
‘•Nine  Bows,”  the  symbol  of 
vanquished  enemies.  The 
best  preserved  of  these  figures 
represents  the  founder,3  but 
several  others  are  likenesses 
of  those  of  his  successors  who 
interested  themselves  in  the 
temple.4  Monthotpu  dug  a 


USIRTASEN  I.  OF  ABYDOS.5 


(Maspero,  Etudes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  127-129):  hence  the  view,  which  obtained  during  the 
Greek  period,  and  according  to  which  the  richer  sort  of  Egyptians  caused  themselves  to  be  buried 
at  Abydos,  “ because  they  held  it  an  honour  to  repose  near  the  tomb  of  Osiris  ” (De  Iside  et  Osiride, 
§ 20,  Parthey’s  edition,  p.  31).  The  Greeks  confused  the  actual  burying-place  with  the  stelae 
representing  that  burying-place,  which  the  Egyptians  piously  deposited  near  the  staircase  leading 
to  the  resting-place  of  Osiris. 

1 The  foundation  is  attributed  to  flsirtasen  I.  by  Amonisonbfi,  who  restored  the  temple  under 
Pharaoh  Nozirri  of  the  XIII1'1  dynasty  (Stele  C 12,  in  the  Louvre,  11.  9, 10 ; cf.  P.  Horrack,  Sur  deux 
steles  de  V Ancien  Empire,  in  Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques , 3rd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  205,  207,  211). 

2 The  stele  of  Monthotpu  (Virey,  Notice  des  principaux  Monuments  exposes  au  Musie  de  Gizih, 
p.  38,  No.  120)  has  been  published  by  Mariette  ( Abydos , vol.  ii.  pi.  xxiii.),  by  E.  and  J.  de  Rouge 
( Inscriptions  lueroglyphiqu.es , pi.  ccciii.,  ccciv.),  by  Daressy  ( Remarques  et  Notes,  in  the  Eecueil  de 
Travaux,  vol.  ix.  pp.  111-119);  the  front  in  Brugsch  ( Gescliiclite  ASgyptens , pp.  132,  133),  and  in 
Lushington  ( The  Stele  of  Mentuliotep,  in  the  Trans,  of  the  Soc.  of  Bibl.  Archxology,  vol.  viii.  pp.  353, 3G9). 

3 It  was  transferred  to  Bulaq  in  1881  (Mariette,  Notice  des  principaux  Monuments , 1861,  p.  288, 
No.  3,  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxi.  a-c,  and  Catalogue  Giniral,  p.  29,  No.  315;  Banviule-Rouge,  Album 
photographique  de  la  Mission  de  M.  de  Rourji,  Nos.  Ill,  1 12). 

* Colossal  statue  of  Osirtasen  III.  (Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxi.  d,  and  Cat.  Gin.,  p.  29,  No.  316). 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  M.  de  Banville  (cf.  Banville-Rouge,  Album 
photographique  de  la  Mission  de  M.  de  Bougi,  Nos.  Ill,  112). 


510 


THE  FIB  ST  THEBAN  EM  PI  BE. 


well  which  was  kept  fully  supplied  by  the  infiltrations  from  the  Nile.  lie  enlarged 
and  cleaned  out  the  sacred  lake  upon  which  the  priests  launched  the  Holy  Ark. 
on  the  nights  of  the  great  mysteries.1 2  The  alluvial  deposits  of  fifty  centuries 
have  not  as  yet  wholly  filled  it  up:  it  is  still  an  irregularly  shapied  pond,  which 
dries  up  in  winter,  but  is  again  filled  as  soon  as  the  inundation  reaches  the 
village  of  El-Kharbeh.  A few  stones,  corroded  with  saltpetre,  mark  here  and 
there  the  lines  of  the  landing  stages,  a thick  grove  of  palms  fringes  its  northern 
and  southern  banks,  but  to  the  west  the  prospect  is  open,  and  extends  as  far 
as  the  entrance  to  the  gorge,  through  which  the  souls  set  forth  in  search 
of  Paradise  and  tlie  solar  bark.  Buffaloes  now  come  to  drink  and  wallow 


A PART  OF  THE  ANCIENT  SACRED  LAKE  OF  OSIRIS  NEAR  THE  TEMPLE  OF  ABTDOS.2 


at  midday  where  once  floated  the  gilded  “ bari  ” of  Osiris,  and  the  murmur 
of  bees  from  the  neighbouring  groves  alone  breaks  the  silence  of  the 
spot  which  formerly  resounded  with  the  rhythmical  lamentations  of  the 
pilgrims. 

Heracleopolis  the  Great,  the  town  preferred  by  the  earlier  Theban  Pharaohs 
as  their  residence  in  times  of  peace,  must  have  been  one  of  those  which  they 
proceeded  to  decorate  con  amove  with  magnificent  monuments.  Unfortunately 
it  has  suffered  more  than  any  of  the  rest,  and  nothing  of  it  is  now  to  be  seen 
but  a few  wretched  remains  of  buildings  of  the  Roman  time,  and  the  ruins  of 
a barbaric  colonnade  on  the  site  of  a Byzantine  basilica  almost  contemporary 
with  the  Arab  conquest.  Perhaps  the  enormous  mounds  which  cover  its  site 
may  still  conceal  the  remains  of  its  ancient  temples.  All  that  we  possess  to 
give  us  an  idea  of  its  splendour  are  the  scattered  allusions  to  it  in  the 
inscriptions.  We  know,  for  instance,  that  Usirtasen  III.  rebuilt  the  sanctuary 

1 Inscription  of  Monthotptl,  recto,  1.  22,  in  the  Gizeh  Museum. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey,  taken  in  1884. 


HERACLEOPOLIS  TEE  GREAT. 


511 


of  Harsh  afitu,  and  that  he  sent  expeditions  to  the  Wady  Hammamat  to  quarry 
blocks  of  granite  worthy  of  his  god  : 1 but  the  work  of  this  king  and  his 
successors  has  perished  in  the  total  ruin  of  the  ancient  town.  Something 
at  least  has  remained  of  what  they  did  in  that  traditional  dependency  of 
Heracleopolis,  the  Fayum  : 2 the  temple  which  they  rebuilt  to  the  god  Sobku 


THE  SITE  OF  THE  ANCIENT  HERACLEOPOLIS.3 


in  Shodit  retained  its  celebrity  down  to  the  time  of  the  Caesars,  not  so  much, 
perhaps,  on  account  of  the  beauty  of  its  architecture  as  for  the  unique  character 
of  the  religious  rites  which  took  place  there  daily.  The  sacred  lake  contained 
a family  of  tame  crocodiles,  the  image  and  incarnation  of  the  god,  whom  the 
faithful  fed  with  their  offerings— cakes,  fried  fish,  and  drinks  sweetened  with 
honey.  Advantage  was  taken  of  the  moment  when  one  of  these  creatures, 
wallowing  on  the  bank,  basked  contentedly  in  the  sun : two  priests  opened 
his  jaws,  and  a third  threw  in  the  cakes,  the  fried  morsels,  and  finally  the 
liquid.  The  crocodile  bore  all  this  without  even  winking  ; he  swallowed  down 
his  provender,  plunged  into  the  lake,  and  lazily  reached  the  opposite  bank, 

1 Expedition  in  the  XIVth  year  of  flsirtasen  III.  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  p.  136  a).  Naville’s 
excavations  brought  to  light  fragments  bearing  the  name  fTsirtasen  II.  ( Ahnas-el-Medineli , pp.  2,  10, 
11,  pi.  i.  d-e). 

2 Group  of  statues  representing  Amenemhait  I.,  discovered  at  Shodit  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  188  e-f), 
and  reference  to  gifts  made  by  this  monarch  to  the  temple  of  Sobkh  (Petrie,  Illahun,  Kahun  and 
Gurob,  pp.  40,  50).  Expedition  to  the  valley  of  Hammamat  in  the  XIXth  year  of  Amenemhait  III. : 
the  king  himself  goes  in  search  of  the  stone  required  for  the  monuments  of  Sobkh,  master  of  Shodit 
(Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  138  a ; cf.  138  b).  It  is  probably  to  these  works  that  reference  is  made  in  the 
few  lines  of  inscription  found  on  the  fragment  of  a pillar  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii.  118  cf),  according  to 
which  a king,  not  named,  but  who  certainly  belongs  to  the  XIIth  dynasty,  erected  a pillared  hall  in 
the  temple  of  his  father  Sobku. 

3  Prawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  GolenischefF. 


512 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


hoping  to  escape  for  a few  moments  from  the  oppressive  liberality  of  his  devotees. 
As  soon,  however,  as  another  of  these  approached,  he  was  again  beset  at  his 
new  post  and  stuffed  in  a similar  manner.1 2  These  animals  were  in  their  own 


SOBKU,  THE  GOD  OF  THE  FAYUM,  UNDER  THE  FORM  OF  A SACRED  CROCODILE.2 


way  great  dandies  : rings  of  gold  or  enamelled  terra-cotta  were  hung  from  their 
ears,  and  bracelets  were  soldered  on  to  their  front  paws.3 4  The  monuments  of 

Shodit,  if  any  still  exist,  are  buried 
under  the  mounds  of  Medinet  el- 
Fayurn,  but  in  the  neighbourhood 
we  meet  with  more  than  one  authen- 
tic relic  of  the  XII11'  dynasty.  It 
was  TJsirtasen  I.  who  erected  that 
curious  thin  granite  obelisk,  with  a 
circular  top,  whose  fragments  lie  for- 
gotten on  the  ground  near  the  village 
of  Begig : a sort  of  basin  has  been 
hollowed  out  around  it,  which  fills 
during  the  inundation,  so  that  the  monument  lies  in  a pool  of  muddy  water 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  Owing  to  this  treatment,  most  of  the 
inscriptions  on  it  have  almost  disappeared,  though  we  can  still  make  out  a 
series  of  five  scenes  in  which  the  king  hands  offerings  to  several  divinities.5 * * * 


THE  REMAINS  OF  THE  OBELISK  OF  BEGIG.’ 


1 Strabo,  xvii.  p.  811 ; cf.  Diodorus  Siculus,  i.  81. 

2 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bcy,  taken  in  1885.  The 
original  in  black  granite  is  now  in  the  Berlin  Museum.  It  represents  oue  of  the  sacred  crocodiles 
mentioned  by  Strabo;  we  read  on  the  base  a Greek  inscription  in  honour  of  Ptolemy  Neos  Dionysos, 
in  which  the  name  of  the  divine  reptile  “Peteshkhos,  the  great  god,”  is  mentioned  (Wilcken,  Der 
Labyrintlierbauer  Petesulclios,  in  the  Zeitsclirift,  1886,  p.  13G). 

3 Herodotus,  ii.  69  ; cf.  Wiedemann,  Hfrodot’s  Zweites  Buck,  pp.  289-304. 

4 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Gole'nischeff. 

5 Caristie,  Description  de  V Obdisque  de  Begyg,  aupres  de  Vancienne  Crocodilopolis,  in  the 

Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  iv.  pp.  517-520.  The  obelisk  has  been  reproduced  in  the  Description  de 

VEgypte,  Ant.,  iv.  pi.  Ixxi.,  in  Burton,  Excerpta  Hieroglyphica,  pi.  xxix,,  and  in  Lepsius,  Denhni., 

ii.  119. 


TEE  FIELDS  AND  WATERS  OF  TEE  FA  YUM.  513 

Near  to  Biahmu  there  was  an  old  temple  which  had  become  ruinous:1 
Amenemhait  III.  repaired  it,  and  erected  in  front  of  it  two  of  those  colossal 
statues  which  the  Egyptians  were  wont  to  place  like  sentinels  at  their  gates,  to 
ward  off  baleful  influences  and  evil  spirits.  These  statues  were  of  red  sand- 
stone, and  were  seated  on  very  high  limestone  pedestals,  placed  at  the  end  of  a 


THE  RUINED  PEDESTAL  OF  ONE  OF  THE  COLOSSI  OF  BIAHSIU.2 

rectangular  court;  the  temple  walls  hid  the  lower  part  of  the  pedestals,  so 
that  the  colossi  appeared  to  tower  above  a great  platform  which  sloped  slightly 
away  from  them  on  all  sides.3  Herodotus,  who  saw  them  from  a distance 
at  the  time  of  the  inundation,  believed  that  they  crowned  the  summits  of 
two  pyramids  rising  out  of  the  middle  of  a lake.4  Near  Illahun,  Queeu 
Sovkunofriuri  herself  has  left  a few  traces  of  her  short  reign.5 

1 The  existence  of  this  temple,  the  foundation  of  which  may  date  back  to  the  Heracleopolitan  or 
Memphite  dynasties,  is  proved  by  a fragment  of  inscription  (Petrie,  Eaicara,  Biahmu  and  Arsinoe, 
pi.  xxvii.  1),  in  which  King  Amenemhait  III.  declares  “ that  he  found  the  building  falling  into  ruius,” 
and  that  he  ordered  “ that  it  should  either  be  restored  or  rebuilt.” 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  after  Major  Brown  (cf.  The  Fayum  and  Lake  Moeris,  pi.  xxii.). 

3 The  ruins  of  Biahmu  were  in  the  XVIIth  century  in  a less  dilapidated  condition  than  at  present : 
Vansleb  ( Nouvelle  Relation  en  forme  de  journal  d'un  Voyage  fait  en  Egypte  en  1672  et  en  1673,  p.  260) 
assures  us  that  it  was  still  possible  to  see  there  a colossal  headless  granite  statue  standing  upright  on 
its  base,  and  five  smaller  pedestals — a statement  which  Paul  Lucas  repeats  with  his  usual  exaggeration. 
Jomard  has  described  the  ruins  (see  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  iv.  p.  447).  The  ruins  have  been 
recently  excavated  by  Petrie,  who  has  made  out  a plan  and  history  of  them  ( Eawara , Biahmu  and 
Arsinoe,  pp.  53-56,  pis.  xxvi.,  xxvii. ; cf.  Brown,  The  Fayurn  and  Lake  Moeris,  pp.  76,  77,  85-87). 

4 Herodotus,  cxlix.;  cf.  Wiedemann,  Eerodots  Zweites  Buck,  pp.  534-545.  Diodorus  Siculus 
adds  that  one  of  the  pyramids  was  said  to  belong  to  the  king  and  the  other  to  his  wife  (1.  52). 

5 Fragments  of  pillars  hear  her  name  side  by  side  with  the  prseuomen  of  her  father  Amenemhait  III. 

2 L 


514 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE 


The  Fayum,  by  its  fertility  and  agreeable  charm,  justified  the  preference 
which  the  Pharaohs  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  bestowed  upon  it.1  On  emerging 
from  the  gorges  of  Illahun,  it  spreads  out  like  a vast  amphitheatre  of  culti- 
vation, whose  slopes  descend  towards  the  north  till  they  reach  the  desolate 
waters  of  the  Birket-Keruu.  On  the  right  and  left,  the  amphitheatre  is 
isolated  from  the  surrounding  mountains  by  two  deep  ravines,  filled  with 
willows,  tamarisks,  mimosas,  and  thorny  acacias.  Upon  the  high  ground,  lands 


A VIEW  IN  THE  FAYUM  IN  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  THE  VILLAGE  OF  FIDESHN.2 


devoted  to  the  culture  of  corn,  dourah,  and  flax,  alternate  with  groves  of  palms 

and  pomegranates,  vineyards  and  gardens  of  olives,  the  latter  being  almost 

unknown  elsewhere  in  Egypt.  The  slopes  are  covered  with  cultivated  fields, 

irregularly  terraced  woods,  and  meadows  enclosed  by  hedges,  while  lofty  trees, 

clustered  in  some  places  and  thinly  scattered  in  others,  rise  in  billowy  masses 

of  verdure  one  behind  the  other.  Shodit  [Shadu]  stood  on  a peninsula 

stretching  out  into  a kind  of  natural  reservoir,  and  was  connected  with  the 

mainland  by  merely  a narrow  . dyke;  the  water  of  the  inundation  flowed 

(Lepsius,  Briefe  aus  JEgypten,  p.  74,  et  seq.;  Denkm.,  ii.  140  e,  f,  It ; Petrie,  Hawara,  Biahmu  and 
Arsinoe,  pi.  xxvii.  12;  cf.  Petrie,  Eahun,  Gurob  and  Hawara,  pi.  xi.  1).  Petrie  considers  that  the 
columns  of  the  XIIth  dynasty,  discovered  by  Naville  at  Heracleopolis,  came  from  the  Labyrinth,  but 
it  is  not  necessary  to  fall  back  on  this  supposition;  the  kings  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  constructed  a 
sufficient  number  of  monuments  at  Henassieh  to  account  for  the  remains  of  edifices  bearing  their 
names  without  its  being  necessary  to  search  for  their  source  elsewhere. 

1 As  to  the  Fayfitn,  see  Jomard,  Description  des  vestiges  d'A  r si  nod  oil  Crocodilopolis  (in  the  Descrip- 
tion de  VEgypte,  vol.  iv.  pp.  437,  456)  and  Mdinoire  sur  le  lac  Mceris  (in  the  Description  de  V Egypte, 
vol.  vi.  pp.  157-162);  also,  quite  recently,  Sciiweinfurth,  Reise  in  das  Depressionsgeliet  im  Umkreise 
des  Fajum  ini  Januar  1836  (in  the  Zeitschrift  der  Gesellschaft  fur  Erdekunde  zu  Berlin,  1886,  No.  2), 
where  the  geological  formation  of  the  country  is  treated  minutely,  and  the  work  of  Major  Brown,  The 
Fayum  and  Lake  Mceris,  in  which  questions  relating  to  the  history  of  the  province  are  discussed. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Golenischeff. 


THE  PHARAOHS  OF  THE  XIIth  DYNASTY  IN  THE  FAYUM.  515 


into  this  reservoir  and  was  stored  here  during  the  autumn.  Countless  little 
rivulets  escaped  from  it,  not  merely  such  canals  and  ditches  as  we  meet 
with  in  the  Nile  Valley,  hut  actual  running  brooks,  coursing  and  babbling 
between  the  trees,  spreading  out  here  and  there  into  sheets  of  water,  and 
in  places  forming  little  cascades  like  those  of  our  own  streams,  but 
dwindling  in  volume  as  they  proceeded,  owing  to  constant  drains  made 


THE  COURT  OF  THE  SMALL  TEMPLE  TO  THE  NORTH  OF  THE  BIRKET-KERUN.1 

on  them,  until  they  were  for  the  most  part  absorbed  by  the  soil  before 
finally  reaching  the  lake.  They  brought  down  in  their  course  part  of 
the  fertilizing  earth  accumulated  by  the  inundation,  and  were  thus  instru- 
mental in  raising  the  level  of  the  soil.  The  water  of  the  Birkeh  rose  or 
fell  according  to  the  season  of  the  year.2  It  formerly  occupied  a much  larger 
area  than  it  does  at  present,  and  half  of  the  surrounding  districts  was  covered 
by  it.  Its  northern  shores,  now  deserted  and  uncultivated,  then  shared  in  the 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Major  Brown  (cf.  The  Fayum,  and  Lake 
Moeris , pi.  xv.). 

2 A description  of  the  shores  of  the  lake  will  be  found  in  Jomard,  Memoir e sur  le  lac  Moeris  (in 
the  Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  vi.  pp.  162-164),  and  Schweinfurth,  Reise  in  das  Depressionsgehiet, 
p.  34,  et  seq. 


516 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EM  FIRE. 


benefits  of  the  inundation,  and  supplied  the  means  of  existence  for  a civilized 
population.  In  many  places  we  still  find  the  remains  of  villages,  and  walls 
of  uncemented  stone;  a small  temple  even  has  escaped  the  general  ruin,  and 
remains  almost  intact  in  the  midst  of  the  desolation,  as  if  to  point  out  the 
furthest  limit  of  Egyptian  territory.  It  bears  no  inscriptions,  but  the  beauty 
of  the  materials  of  which  it  is  composed,  and  the  perfection  of  the  work,  lead 
us  to  attribute  its  construction  to  some  prince  of  the  XIItb  dynasty.  An 
ancient  causeway  runs  from  its  entrance  to  what  was  probably  at  one  time  the 
nearest  spot  reached  by  the  lake.1  The  continual  sinking  of  the  level  of  the 


THE  SHORES  OF  THE  BIUKET-KERUN  NEAR  THE  EMBOUCHURE  OF  THE  WADY  NAZLEH.2 


Birkeh  has  left  this  temple  isolated  on  the  edge  of  the  Libyan  plateau,  and 
all  life  has  retired  from  the  surrounding  district,  and  has  concentrated  itself 
on  the  southern  shores  of  the  lake.  Here  the  banks  are  low  and  the  bottom 
deepens  almost  imperceptibly.  In  winter  the  retreating  waters  leave  exposed 
long  patches  of  the  shore,  upon  which  a thin  crust  of  snow-white  salt  is 
deposited,  concealing  the  depths  of  mud  and  quicksands  beneath.  Imme- 
diately after  the  inundation,  the  lake  regains  in  a few  days  the  ground  it  had 
lost : it  encroaches  on  the  tamarisk  bushes  which  fringe  its  banks,  and  the 
district  is  soon  surrounded  by  a belt  of  marshy  vegetation,  affording  cover  for 
ducks,  pelicans,  wild  geese,  and  a score  of  different  kinds  of  birds  which  disport 

1 This  temple  was  discovered  by  Schweinfurth  in  1884  (cf.  Reise  in  das  Depressionsgebiet  im 
TJmhreise  des  Fajums  in  Januar  1886,  extracted  from  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Gesellscha/t  fiir  Erdlcunde  zu 
Berlin,  1886,  p.  48,  et  seq.);  it  has  been  visited  since  then  by  Flinders  Petrie,  Ten  Years’  Digging  in 
Egypt,  pp.  104-106,  aud  by  Major  Brown,  The  Fayum  and  Lalce  Mceris,  pp.  52-56,  and  pis.  xiv.-xvi. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Golenischeff. 


MEMPHIS  AND  TEE  PYRAMIDS  OF  DAESEUR. 


517 


themselves  there  by  the  thousand.  The  Pharaohs,  when  tired  of  residing  in  cities, 
here  found  varied  and  refreshing  scenery,  an  equable  climate,  gardens  always  gay 
with  flowers,  and  in  the  thickets  of  the  Kerun  they  could  pursue  their  favourite 
pastimes  of  interminable  fishing  and  of  hunting  with  the  boomerang.1 

They  desired  to  repose  after  death  among  the  scenes  in  which  they  had 
lived.  Their  tombs  stretch  from  Heracleopolis  till  they  nearly  meet  the  last 
pyramids  of  the  Memphites : at  Dahshur  there  are  still  two  of  them  standing. 


THE  TWO  PYRAMIDS  OP  THE  XIIth  DYNASTY  AT  LISHT.2 


The  northern  one  is  an  immense  erection  of  brick,  placed  in  close  proximity 
to  the  truncated  pyramid,  but  nearer  than  it  to  the  edge  of  the  plateau,  so  as 
to  overlook  the  valley.3  We  might  be  tempted  to  believe  that  the  Theban 
kings,  in  choosing  a site  immediately  to  the  south  of  the  spot  where  Papi 
slept  in  his  glory,  were  prompted  by  the  desire  to  renew  the  traditions  of  the 
older  dynasties  prior  to  those  of  the  Heracleopolitans,  and  thus  proclaim 
before  all  men  the  antiquity  of  their  descent.  One  of  their  residences  was 
situated  at  no  great  distance,  near  Miniet  Dahshur,  the  city  of  Titoui,  the 
favourite  residence  of  Amenemliait  I.  It  was  here  that  those  royal  princesses, 
Nofirhonit,  Sonit-Sonbit,  Sithathor,  and  Monit,  his  sisters,  wives,  and  daughters, 

1 Several  personages  of  the  first  Theban  empire  bear  the  various  titles  belonging  to  the  “ masters 
of  the  royal  hunts  ” of  the  Fayum ; for  instance,  the  Sovkhotph,  whose  statue  is  iu  the  Marseilles 
Museum  (E.  Naville,  Un  Fonctionnaire  de  la  Xlle  dynastie,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i. 
pp.  107-112). 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey. 

3 This  pyramid  has  been  summarily  described  by  Perring  in  the  third  volume  of  Yyse’s  great 
work,  Operations  carried  on  at  the  Pyramids  in  1837,  vol  ii.  pp.  57-63. 


518 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


whose  tombs  lie  opposite  the  northern  face  of  the  pyramid,  flourished  side 
by  side  with  Amenemhait  III.  They  reposed  there  together,  as  they  had 
formerly  done  in  the  harem,  and,  in  spite  of  robbers,  their  mummies  have 
preserved  the  ornaments  with  which  they  were  adorned,  on  the  eve  of  burial,  by 
the  pious  act  of  their  lords.  The  art  of  the  ancient  jewellers,  which  we  have 
hitherto  known  only  from  pictures  on  the  walls  of  tombs  or  on  the  boards  of 

coffins,  is  here  exhibited  in  all  its 
refinement.  The  ornaments  comprise 
a wealth  of  gold  gorgets,  necklaces  of 
agate  beads  or  of  enamelled  lotus- 
flowers,  cornelian,  amethyst,  and  onyx 
scarabs.  Pectorals  of  pierced  gold- 
work,  inlaid  with  flakes  of  vitreous 
paste'  or  precious  stones,  bear  the 
cartouches  of  Usirtasen  III.  and  of 
Amenemhait  II.,  and  every  one  of 
these  gems  of  art  betrays  a perfection 
of  taste  and  a skilfulness  of  handling 
which  are  perfectly  wonderful.  Their  delicacy,  and  their  freshness  in  spite  of 
their  antiquity,  make  it  hard  for  us  to  realize  that  fifty  centuries  have  elapsed 
since  they  were  made.  We  are  tempted  to  imagine  that  the  royal  ladies  to 
whom  they  belonged  must  still  be  waiting  within  earshot,  ready  to  reply  to  our 
summons  as  soon  as  we  deign  to  call  them  ; we  may  even  anticipate  the  joy  they 
will  evince  when  these  sumptuous  ornaments  are  restored  to  them,  and  we  need 
to  glance  at  the  worm-eaten  coffins  which  contain  their  stiff  and  disfigured  mum- 
mies to  recall  our  imagination  to  the  stern  reality  of  fact.2  Two  other  pyramids, 
but  in  this  case  of  stone,  still  exist  further  south,  to  the  left  of  the  village  of 
Lisht : 3 their  casing,  torn  off  by  the  fellahiu,  has  entirely  disappeared,  and  from 
a distance  they  appear  to  be  merely  two  mounds  which  cut  the  desert  horizon  line, 
rather  than  two  buildings  raised  by  the  hand  of  man.  The  sepulchral  chambers, 
excavated  at  a great  depth  in  the  sand,  are  now  filled  with  water  which  has 
infiltrated  through  the  soil,  and  they  have  not  as  yet  been  sufficiently  emptied  to 
permit  of  an  entrance  being  effected  : do  they  contain  the  bodies  of  Amenem- 

1 Drawn  by  Faucber-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugsch-Bey. 

2 These  are  the  jewels  discovered  by  M.  de  Morgan  in  1894,  during  his  excavations  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  pyramid  of  Dahshur  (cf.  the  Comptes  Rendus  de  V Acaddmie  des  Inscriptions, 
1894). 

3 These  pyramids,  referred  to  by  Jojiard,  Description  des  Antiquitds  de  V Heptanomide  (in  the 
Description  de  VEgypte,  vol.  iv.  pp.  429,  430),  and  by  Perring-Vyse,  Operations  carried  on,  vol.  iii. 
pp.  77,  78,  were  opened  between  1882  and  1880.  It  was  not  possible  to  explore  the  chambers  (Maspero, 
Etudes  de  Mythologie  et  d’  Arclidologie  Egyptiennes,  vol.  i.  pp.  148,  149).  The  objects  which  were  found 
there  are  now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum  (Maspero,  Guide  du  Visiteur,  pp.  222,  223,  Nos.  1051-1057). 


TEE  PYRAMIDS  OF  ILLAEUN  AND  OF  BA  WAR  A.  519 

bait  I.,  or  of  Usirtasen  I.,1  or  of  Amenemhait  II.  ? We  know,  at  all  events, 

that  Usirtasen  II.  built  for  himself  the  pyramid  of  Ulahun,  and  Amenemhait 

/\ 

III.  that  of  Hawara.  “ Hotpu,”  the  tomb  of  Usirtasen  II.,  stood  upon  a rocky 
hill  at  a distance  of  some  two  thousand  feet  from  the  cultivated  lands.  To  the 
east  of  it  lay  a temple,  and  close  to  the  temple  a town,  Hait-Usirtasen-Hotpu — 
“the  Castle  of  the  Repose  of  Usirtasen” — which  was  inhabited  by  the  workmen 
employed  in  building  the  pyramid,  who  resided  there  with  their  families. 
The  remains  of  the  temple  consist  of  scarcely  anything  more  than  the  enclosing 
wall,  whose  sides  were  originally  faced  with  fine  white  limestone  covered  with 
hieroglyphs  and  sculptured  scenes.  It  adjoined  the  wall  of  the  town,  and  the 


THE  PYRAMID  OF  ILLAHCN,  AT  THE  ENTRANCE  OF  THE  FAYUM.2 


neighbouring  quarters  are  almost  intact : the  streets  were  straight,  and  crossed 
each  other  at  right  angles,  while  the  houses  on  each  side  were  so  regularly 
built  that  a single  policeman  could  keep  his  eye  on  each  thoroughfare  from  one 
end  to  the  other.  The  structures  were  of  rough  material  hastily  put  together, 
and  among  the  debris  are  to  be  found  portions  of  older  buildings,  stelae,  and 
fragments  of  statues.  The  town  began  to  dwindle  after  the  Pharaoh  had  taken 
possession  of  his  sepulchre ; it  was  abandoned  in  the  XIIIth  dynasty,  and  its 
ruins  were  entombed  in  the  sand  which  the  wind  heaped  over  them.3  The  city 
which  Amenemhait  III.  had  connected  with  his  tomb  maintained,  on  the 
contrary,  a long  existence  in  the  course  of  the  centuries.  The  king’s  last 
resting-place  consisted  of  a large  sarcophagus  of  quartzose  sandstone,  while 

1 The  task  of  building  the  pyramid  of  tUirtasen  I.  was  entrusted  to  Merri,  who  desciibes  it  on  a 
stele  preserved  in  the  Louvre  (0  3, 11. 1-7,  Pierbet,  Recueil  d' inscriptions  imfdites,  vol.  ii.  pp.  104, 105  ; 
Gayet,  Steles  do  la  XIIe  dynaslie,  pis.  iv.,  v. ; of.  Maspeko,  Notes  sur  diffdrents  points  de  Orammaire 
et  d'Eistoire,  in  the  Melanges  d’ Archtfologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  221, 222 ; Eludes  de  Mythologie,  vol.  i.  p.  3,  note  2), 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Golenischeflf. 

3 The  pyramid  of  Illahun  was  opened,  and  its  identity  with  the  pyramid  of  tlsirtasen  II.  proved 
by  Petrie,  Kahun,  Gurob  and  Hawara,  pp.  11,  12,  21-32,  and  Illahun,  Kahun  and  Gurob,  pp.  1-15. 


520 


THE  FIRST  TIIERAN  EMPIRE. 


bis  favourite  consort,  Nofriuphtah,  reposed  beside  him  in  a smaller  coffin.1 
The  sepulchral  chapel  was  very  large,  and  its  arrangements  were  of  a somewhat 
complicated  character.  It  consisted  of  a considerable  number  of  chambers, 
some  tolerably  large,  and  others  of  moderate  dimensions,  while  all  of  them 
were  difficult  of  access  and  plunged  in  perpetual  darkness:  this  was  the 
Egyptian  Labyrinth,  to  which  the  Greeks,  by  a misconception,  have  given  a 
world-wide  renown.2  Amenemhait  III.  or  his  architects  had  no  intention  of 
building  such  a childish  structure  as  that  in  which  classical  tradition  so 
fervently  believed.  He  had  richly  endowed  the  attendant  priests,  and 
bestowed  upon  the  cult  of  his  double  considerable  revenues,  and  the  chambers 
above  mentioned  were  so  many  storehouses  for  the  safe-keeping  of  the  treasure 
and  provisions  of  the  dead,  and  the  arrangement  of  them  was  not  more  singular 
than  that  of  ordinary  storage  depots.  As  his  cult  persisted  for  a long  period, 
the  temple  was  maintained  in  good  condition  during  a considerable  time : 
it  had  not,  perhaps,  been  abandoned  when  the  Greeks  first  visited  it.3 
The  other  sovereigns  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  must  have  been  interred  not  far 

\A 

from  the  tombs  of  Amenemhait  III.  and  Usirtasen  II. : they  also  had  their 
pyramids,  of  which  we  may  one  day  discover  the  site.4  The  outline  of  these 
was  almost  the  same  as  that  of  the  Memphite  pyramids,  but  the  interior 
arrangements  were  different.  As  we  find  it  at  Illahun  and  Dahshur,  the 
mass  of  the  work  consisted  of  crude  bricks  of  large  siz ',  between  which  fine 
sand  was  introduced  to  bind  them  solidly  together,  and  the  whole  was  covered 
with  a facing  of  polished  limestone.5  The  passages  and  chambers  are  not 
arranged  on  the  simple  plan  which  we  meet  with  in  the  pyramids  of  earlier  date.6 

1 Like  the  pyramid  of  Illahun,  that  of  Hawara  has  also  been  opened,  and  the  sarcophagus  of  the 
Pharaoh  dncovered  by  Petrie,  Hawara,  Biahmu  and  Arsinoe,  pp.  3-8 ; Kaliun,  Gurob  and  Hawara, 
pp.  5-8,  12-17. 

2 The  word  “Labyrinth,”  Aafivpivdos,  is  a Greek  adaptation  of  (he  Egyptian  name  rapu-rahunit, 
‘‘  temple  of  Itahtinit,”  pronounced  in  the  local  dialect  lapu-rahunit  (Mariette,  Leu  Papyrus 
Rgyptiens  du  Mus?e  de  Boulaq,  vol.  i.  p.  8,  note  2 ; Brugsch,  Bas  ZEgyptische  Seeland,  in  the  Zeitschri/t, 
1872,  p.  91,  Dictionnaire  g?ographique,  p.  501).  Brugsch  has  since  disputed  this  etymology,  which  he 
had,  however,  been  one  of  the  first  to  accept  (Tier  Moris-See,  in  the  Zeitschri/t,  vol.  xxx.  p.  70). 

3 As  to  the  Labyrinth  of  Egypt  and  the  conjectures  to  which  it  has  given  rise,  see  Jomard- 
C' aristie,  Description  des  ruines  situ?es  pres  de  la  pyramide  d' Haouarah,  consid?r?es  comme  les  restes 
du  Lahyrintlie,  et  comparaison  de  ces  ruines  avec  les  re'eits  des  anciens,  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte, 
vol.  iv.  pp.  478-524.  The  identity  of  the  ruins  at  Hawara  with  the  remains  of  the  Labyrinth,  admitted 
by  Jomard-Caristie  and  by  Lepsius  ( Briefe  aus  AEgypten,  p.  74,  et  seq.),  disputed  by  Vassali  ( Rapport  sur 
les  fouilles  du  Fayoum  adress?  a M.  Auguste  Mariette,  in  the  Recutil  de  Travaux,  vol.  vi.  pp.  37-41),  has 
been  definitely  proved  by  Petrie  ( Hawara , Biahmu  and  Arsinoe,  p.  4,  et  seq.),  who  found  remains  of 
the  buildings  erected  by  Amenemhait  III.  under  the  ruins  of  a village  and  some  Grmco-Roman  tombs. 

4 We  know  the  names  of  most  of  these  pyramids;  e.g.  that  of  Amenemhait  I.  was  called  Ka-nofir 
( Louvre , C 2,  1.  1 ; Gayet,  Stele  de  la  XII0  dynaslie,  pi.  ii.). 

5 The  peculiar  construction  of  these  pyramids,  to  which  attention  was  drawn  by  Jomard-Caristie, 
Pyramide  d'Haouarah  and  Description  de  la  Pyramide  d’lllahun  (in  the  Description  de  VEgypte, 
vol.  iv.  pp.  482-483,  514-51G),  has  been  gone  iuto  in  greater  detail  by  Vyse-Perring,  Operations 
carried  on  at  the  Pyramids  in  1S37,  vol.  iii.  pp.  80-83 ; cf.  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt  dans 
V Antiquit?,  vol.  i.  pp.  210,  211. 

6 See  the  plans  of  the  pyramid  of  Hawara  in  Petrie,  Kaliun,  Gurob  and  Hawara,  pis.  ii.— iv.,  and 
those  of  the  pyramid  of  Illahun  in  Petrie,  Illahun,  Gurob  and  Arsinoe , pi.  ii. 


INTERNAL  ARRANGEMENTS  OF  PYRAMIDS  OF  THE  XIIth  DYNASTY.  521 


Experience  had  taught  the  Pharaohs  that  neither  granite  walls  nor  the 
multiplication  of  barriers  could  preserve  their  mummies  from  profanation : 
no  sooner  was  vigilance  relaxed,  either  in  the  time  of  civil  war  or  under  a 
feeble  administration,  than  robbers  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  boring  passages 
through  the  masonry  with  the  ingenuity  of  moles,  they  at  length,  after  inde- 
fatigable patience,  succeeded  in  reaching  the  sepulchral  vault  and  despoiling 
the  mummy  of  its  valuables.  With  a view  to  further  protection,  the  builders 
multiplied  blind  passages  and  chambers  without  apparent  exit,  but  in  which 


THE  MOUNTAIN  OF  SIUT  WITH  THE  TOMBS  OF  THE  PK1XCES.1 


a portion  of  the  ceiling  was  movable,  and  gave  access  to  other  equally 
mysterious  rooms  and  corridors.  Shafts  sunk  in  the  corners  of  the  chambers 
and  again  carefully  closed  put  the  sacrilegious  intruder  on  a false  scent,  for, 
after  causing  him  a great  loss  of  time  and  labour,  they  only  led  down  to  the 
solid  rock.  At  the  present  day  the  water  of  the  Nile  fills  the  central 
chamber  of  the  Hawara  pyramid  and  covers  the  sarcophagus  ; it  is  possible 
that  this  was  foreseen,  and  that  the  builders  counted  on  the  infiltration  as 
an  additional  obstacle  to  depredations  from  without.2  The  hardness  of  the 
cement,  which  fastens  the  lid  of  the  stone  coffin  to  the  lower  part,  protects 
the  body  from  damp,  and  the  Pharaoh,  lying  beneath  several  feet  of  water, 
still  defies  the  greed  of  the  robber  or  the  zeal  of  the  archaeologist. 

The  absolute  power  of  the  kings  kept  their  feudal  vassals  in  check  : far 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Emil  Brugseh-Bcy,  taken  in  1884. 

2 Indeed,  it  should  be  noted  that  in  the  Graaco-Eoman  period  the  presence  of  water  in  a certain 
number  of  the  pyramids  was  a matter  of  common  knowledge,  and  so  frequently  was  it  met  with,  that 
it  was  even  supposed  to  exist  in  a pyramid  into  which  water  had  never  penetrated,  viz.  that  of 
Kheops.  Herodotus  (ii.  124)  relates  that,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  interpreters  who  acted 
as  his  guides,  the  waters  of  the  Nile  were  carried  to  the  sepulchral  cavern  of  the  Pharaoh  by  a 
subterranean  channel,  and  shut  it  in  on  all  sides,  like  an  island. 


522 


THE  FIB  ST  THEBAN  EM  PI  BE. 


from  being  suppressed,  however,  the  seignorial  families  continued  not  only  to 
exist,  but  to  enjoy  continued  prosperity.  Everywhere,  at  Elephantine,1  Ivoptos,2 
Thinis,3 *in  Aphroditopolis,  and  in  most  of  the  cities  of  the  Said  and  of  the  Delta, 

there  were  ruling  princeswho 
were  descended  from  the  old 
feudal  lords  or  even  from 
Pharaohs  of  the  Memphite 
period,  and  who  were  of  equal, 
if  not  superior  rank,  to  the 
members  of  the  reigning 
family.  The  princes  of  Siut 
no  longer  enjoyed  an  autho- 
rity equal  to  that  exercised 
by  their  ancestors  under  the 
Heracleopolitan  dynasties, 
but  they  still  possessed  con- 
siderable influence.  One  of 
them,  Hapizaufi  I.,  exca- 
vated for  himself,  in  the 

A 

reign  of  Usirtasen  I.,  not  far 
from  the  burying-place  of 
Khitiand  Tefabi,  that  beau- 
tiful tomb,  which,  though 
partially  destroyed  by  Cop- 
tic monks  or  Arabs,  still 
attracts  visitors  and  excites  their  astonishment.5  The  lords  of  Sbashotpu  in 
the  south,6  and  those  of  Hermopolis  in  the  north,  had  acquired  to  some  extent 

1 We  know  of  Siranpitu  I.  at  Elephantine  (cf.  pp.  493,  494  of  the  present  work),  under  Usir- 
tasen  I.  and  under  Amenemhait  II.  (Bouriant,  Les  Tombeaux  d’ Assouan,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux, 
vol.  x.  pp.  189,  190),  as  well  as  of  several  other  princes  whose  tombs  have  come  down  to  us  in  a less 
perfect  state  of  preservation. 

2 We  ought,  probably,  to  connect  the  Zautaqir,  mentioned  in  two  inscriptions  collected  by  Goleni- 
scheef  (RCsultats  dpigraphiques  d’une  excursion  au  Ouady  Hammamat,  pi.  ii.,  No.  4,  pi.  iii.,  No.  3, 
and  translated  by  Maspero,  Sur  quelques  inscriptions  du  temps  d’ Amenemhait  I.  au  Ouady  Hammamat, 
p.  10,  et  seq. ; cf.  p.  464  of  the  present  work),  with  the  principality  of  Koptos. 

3 The  most  important  of  the  princes  of  Tliinis  under  the  XIIth  dynasty  is  Antuf,  who  is  mentioned 
on  Stele  C 26  in  the  Louvre  (Gayet,  Steles  de  la  XIP  dynastie,  pis.  xiv.-xxii.). 

1 Zobui,  the  lordship  of  Aphroditopolis  Parva,  is  known  to  us,  in  so  far  as  this  period  is  concerned, 
from  a stele  in  the  Museum  at  Gizeh,  probably  of  the  time  of  Amenemhait  III. ; it  is  consecrated  to 
a walcil  of  the  Prince  of  Zobui  (Mariette,  Catalogue  General,  p.  192,  No.  6S7). 

5 So  far,  we  know  of  only  two  members  of  the  new  line  of  the  lords  of  Siut — Hapizaufi  I.,  who 
was  a contemporary  of  tTsirtasen  I.,  and  Hapizahfi  II. — whose  tombs,  described  by  Griffith,  The 
Inscriptions  of  Siut  and  Der-Rifeh,  pis.  i.-x.,  xx.,  contain  some  religious  texts  of  great  interest 
but  no  historical  details. 

6 The  tomb  of  Khnumnofir,  son  of  Mazi,  has  been  noted  by  Griffith,  The  Inscriptions  of  Siut 


TEE  PRINCES  OF  M0NA1T-KEUFUI. 


523 


the  ascendency  which  their  neighbours  of  Siut  had  lost.  The  Hermopolitan 

princes  dated  at  least  from  the  time  of  the  VIth  dynasty,  and  they  had  passed 

safely  through  the  troublous  times  which  followed  the  death  of  Papi  II.1 

A branch  of  their  family  possessed  the  nome  of  the  Hare,  while  another 

governed  that  of  the  Gazelle.2  The  lords  of  the  nome  of  the  Hare  espoused 

the  Theban  cause,  and  were  reckoned  among  the  most  faithful  vassals  of  the 

sovereigns  of  the  south : one  of  them,  Thothotpu,  caused  a statue  of  himself, 

worthy  of  a Pharaoh,3  to  be  erected  in  his  loyal  town  of  Hermopolis,  and 

their  burying-places  at  el-Bersheh  bear  witness  to  their  power  no  less  than 

to  their  taste  in  art.4  During  the  troubles  which  put  an  end  to  the 

XIth  dynasty,  a certain  Khnumhotpu,  who  was  connected  in  some  unknown 

manner  with  the  lords  of  the  nome  of  the  Gazelle,  entered  the  Theban  service 

and  accompanied  Amenemhait  I.  on  his  campaigns  into  Nubia.  He  obtained, 

as  a reward  of  faithfulness,  Monait-Khufui  and  the  district  of  Khuit- 

Horu, — “ the  Horizon  of  Horus,” — on  the  east  bank  of  the  Nile.5  On  becoming 

possessed  of  the  western  bank  also,  he  entrusted  the  government  of  the  district 

which  he  was  giving  up  to  his  eldest  son,  Nakhiti  I.  ; but,  the  latter  having 
/\ 

died  without  heirs,  Usirtasen  I.  granted  to  Biqit,  the  sister  of  Nakhiti,  the 
rank  and  prerogative  of  a reigning  princess.  Biqit  married  Nuhri,  one  of  the 
princes  of  Hermopolis,  and  brought  with  her  as  her  dowry  the  fiefdom  of 
the  Gazelle,  thus  doubling  the  possessions  of  her  husband’s  house.  Khnum- 
hotpu II.,  the  eldest  of  the  children  born  of  this  union,  was,  while  still 
young,  appointed  Governor  of  Monait-Khufui,  and  this  title  appears  to  have 
become  an  appanage  of  his  heir-apparent,  just  as  the  title  of  “ Prince  of 
Kaushu  ” was,  from  the  XIXth  dynasty  onwards,  the  special  designation  of  the 
heir  to  the  throne.  The  marriage  of  Khnumhotpu  II.  with  the  youthful  Khiti, 
the  heiress  of  the  nome  of  the  Jackal,  rendered  him  master  of  one  of  the  most 
fertile  provinces  of  Middle  Egypt.  The  power  of  this  family  was  further 
augmented  under  Nakhiti  II.,  son  of  Khnumhotpu  II.  and  Khiti:  Nakhiti, 
prince  of  the  nome  of  the  Jackal  in  right  of  his  mother,  and  lord  of  that 


and  Der-Rifeli,  pi.  xvi.  1,  as  belonging  to  the  XII"1  dynasty,  together  with  several  other  unpublished 
tombs  of  the  same  locality. 

1 At  any  rate,  the  Hermopolitan  princes  of  the  XII"'  dynasty  affirmed  that  those  of  the  VIth 
dynasty  were  their  direct  ancestors  (Maspero,  La  Grande  Inscription  de  Bdai-Hassan,  in  the  Recueil 
de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  178,  179),  and  treated  them  as  such  in  their  inscriptions  (Lepsius,  Denlcm.,  ii. 
112  a-e).  Thothotpu  caused  their  tombs  to  be  restored  as  being  those  of  his  fathers. 

’ Maspeko,  La  Grande  Inscription  de  Bdni-Eassan,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  177,  178. 

3 See  on  p.  335  of  the  present  work,  the  woodcut  representing  the  removal  of  this  colossal  statue. 

4 The  tombs  of  el-Bersheh  have  been  described  by  Nestor  L’hote,  Lettres  e'crites  de  VEijypte,  pp. 
46-52,  and  partly  reproduced  by  Prisse  d’Avennes,  Monuments,  pi.  xv.  p.  3 ; and  by  Lepsius,  Denlcm., 
ii.  134,  135.  The  most  important  of  them,  which  belonged  to  Thothotpu,  was  greatly  mutilated  some 
years  ago  by  dealers  in  antiquities. 

5 Newberry,  Beni-Hasan,  vol.  i.  pi.  xliv.  11.  4-7,  and  p.  84;  cf.  p.  464  of  the  present  work. 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


524 

of  the  Gazelle  after  the  death  of  his  father,  received  from  Usirtasen  II.  the 
administration  of  fifteen  southern  nomes,  from  Aphroditopolis  to  Thebes.1  This 
is  all  we  know  of  his  history,  but  it  is  probable  that  his  descendants  retained 
the  same  power  and  position  for  several  generations.  The  career  of  these 
dignitaries  depended  greatly  on  the  Pharaohs  with  whom  they  were  contem- 
porary: they  accompanied  the  royal  troops  on  their  campaigns,  and  with  the 
spoil  which  they  collected  on  such  occasions  they  built  temples  or  erected  tombs 
for  themselves.  The  tombs  of  the  princes  of  the  nome  of  the  Gazelle  are 
disposed  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile,  and  the  most  ancient  are  exactly 
opposite  Minieh.  It  is  at  Zawyet  el-Meiyetin  and  at  Ivom-el-Ahmar,  nearly 
facing  Hibonu,  their  capital,  that  we  find  the  burying-places  of  those  who 
lived  under  the  VIth  dynasty.  The  custom  of  taking  the  dead  across  the 
Nile  had  existed  for  centuries,  from  the  time  when  the  Egyptians  first 
cut  their  tombs  in  the  eastern  range  ; it  still  continues  to  the  present  day, 
and  part  of  the  population  of  Minieh  are  now  buried,  year  after  year,  in  the 
places  which  their  remote  ancestors  had  chosen  as  the  site  of  their  “ eternal 
houses.”  The  cemetery  lies  peacefully  in  the  centre  of  the  sandy  plain  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills;  a grove  of  palms,  like  a curtain  drawn  along  the  river-side, 
partially  conceals  it ; a Coptic  convent  and  a few  Mahommedan  hermits  attract 
around  them  the  tombs  of  their  respective  followers,  Christian  or  Mussulman. 
The  rock-hewn  tombs  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  succeed  each  other  in  one  long 
irregular  line  along  the  cliffs  of  Beni-Hasan,  and  the  traveller  on  the  Nile  sees 
their  entrances  continuously  coming  into  sight  and  disappearing  as  he  goes  up 
or  descends  the  river.  These  tombs  are  entered  by  a square  aperture,  varying 
in  height  and  width  according  to  the  size  of  the  chapel.  Two  only,  those  of 
Amoni-Amenemhait  and  of  Klmumhotpu  II.,  have  a columned  fagade,  of  which 
all  the  members — pillars,  bases,  entablatures — have  been  cut  in  the  solid 
rock:  the  polygonal  shafts  of  the  facade  look  like  a bad  imitation  of 
ancient  Doric.  Inclined  planes  or  flights  of  steps,  like  those  at  Elephantine, 
formerly  led  from  the  plain  up  to  the  terrace.3  Only  a few  traces  of  these  exist 
at  the  present  day,  and  the  visitor  has  to  climb  the  sandy  slope  as  best  he 
can  : wherever  he  enters,  the  walls  present  to  his  view  inscriptions  of  immense 
extent,  as  well  as  civil,  sepulchral,  military,  and  historical  scenes.  These  are 
not  incised  like  those  of  the  Memphite  mastabas,  but  are  painted  in  fresco  on 

1 The  history  of  the  principalities  of  the  Hare  and  of  the  Gazelle  has  been  put  together  by 
Maspero,  La  Grande  Inscription  de  Bdni-Hassan  (in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  1G9-181),  but 
parts  of  it  need  correction  from  fresh  documents  which  have  been  published  by  Newberry,  in  the 
Memoir  of  the  Archaeological  Survey  of  the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund,  Beni-Hasan,  vols.  i.  and  ii.,  and 
made  use  of  by  Griffith  in  Beni-Hasan,  ii.  pp.  5-16. 

2 Rosellini,  Monumenti  Civili,  vol.  i.  pp.  63,  61;  cf.  pp.  430,  431  of  the  present  volume  for  the 
description  of  these  tombs  at  Elephantine,  and  for  the  vignette  which  gives  their  external  aspect. 


THE  TOMBS  OF  BEN  I- HASAN. 


525 


the  stone  itself.  The  technical  skill  here  exhibited  is  not  a whit  behind  that  of 
the  older  periods,  and  the  general  conception  of  the  subjects  has  not  altered 
since  the  time  of  the  pyramid-building  kings.  The  object  is  always  the  same, 
namely,  to  ensure  wealth  to  the  double  in  the  other  world,  and  to  enable  him  to 
preserve  the  same  rank  among  the  departed  as  he  enjoyed  among  the  living  : 
hence  sowing,  reaping,  cattle-rearing,  the  exercise  of  different  trades,  the  pre- 
paration and  bringing  of  offerings,  are  all  represented  with  the  same  minute- 


THE  MODERN  CEMETERY  OF  ZAWYET  EL-ME1YETIN.' 


ness  as  formerly.  But  a new  element  has  been  added  to  the  ancient  themes. 
We  know,  and  the  experience  of  the  past  is  continually  reiterating  the  lesson, 
that  the  most  careful  precautions  and  the  most  conscientious  observation  of 
customs  were  not  sufficient  to  perpetuate  the  worship  of  ancestors.  The  day 
was  bound  to  come  when  not  only  the  descendants  of  Khnumhotpu,  but  a 
crowd  of  curious  or  indifferent  strangers,  would  visit  his  tomb  : he  desired  that 
they  should  know  his  genealogy,  his  private  and  public  virtues,  his  famous 
deeds,  his  court  titles  and  dignities,  the  extent  of  his  wealth  ; aud  in  order  that 
no  detail  should  be  omitted,  he  relates  all  that  he  did,  or  he  gives  the  repre- 
sentation of  it  upon  the  wall.  In  a long  account  of  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  lines,  he  gives  a resume  of  his  family  history,  introducing  extracts  from  his 
archives,  to  show  the  favours  received  by  his  ancestors  from  the  hands  of  their 


1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Insinger. 


526 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EM  EIRE. 


sovereigns.1  Amoni  and  Klnti,  who  were,  it  appears,  the  warriors  of  their  race, 
have  everywhere  recounted  the  episodes  of  their  military  career,  the  movements 
of  their  troops,  their  hand-to-hand  fights,  and  the  fortresses  to  which  they  laid 
siege.2  These  scions  of  the  house  of  the  Gazelle  and  of  the  Hare,  who  shared 
with  Pharaoh  himself  the  possession  of  the  soil  of  Egypt,  were  no  mere  princely 
ciphers  : they  had  the  tenacious  spirit,  the  warlike  disposition,  the  insatiable 
desire  of  enlarging  their  borders,  and  the  ability  to  accomplish  it  successfully 
by  court  intrigues  or  advantageous  marriage  alliances.  We  can  easily  picture 
from  their  history  what  Egyptian  feudalism  really  was,  what  were  its  com- 
ponent elements,  what  were  the  resources  it  had  at  its  disposal,  and  we  may 
well  be  astonished  when  we  consider  the  power  and  tact  which  the  Pharaohs 
must  have  displayed  in  keeping  such  vassals  in  check  during  two  centuries. 

Amenemhait  T.  had  abandoned  Thebes  as  a residence  in  favour  of  Heracle- 
opolis  and  Memphis,  and  had  made  it  over  to  some  personage  who  probably 

A 

belonged  to  the  royal  household.  The  nome  of  Uisit  had  relapsed  into  the 
condition  of  a simple  fief,  and  if  we  are  as  yet  unable  to  establish  the  series 
of  the  princes  who  there  succeeded  each  other  contemporaneously  with  the 
Pharaohs,  we  at  least  know  that  all  those  whose  names  have  come  down  to  us 
played  an  important  part  in  the  history  of  their  times,  Montunsisu,  whose  stele 
was  engraved  in  the  XXIV'1’  year  of  Amenemhait  I.,  and  who  died  in  the  joint 

A 

reign  of  this  Pharaoh  and  his  son  Usirtasen  I.,  had  taken  his  share  in  most 
of  the  wars  conducted  against  neighbouring  peoples, — the  Anitiu  of  Nubia,  the 
Monitii  of  Sinai,  and  the  “ Lords  of  the  Sands  : ” he  had  dismantled  their 
cities  and  razed  their  fortresses.3  The  principality  retained  no  doubt  the  same 
boundaries  which  it  had  acquired  under  the  first  Antufs,  but  Thebes  itself 
grew  daily  larger,  and  gained  in  importance  in  proportion  as  its  frontiers 
extended  southward.  It  had  become,  after  the  conquests  of  Usirtasen  III.,  the 
very  centre  of  the  Egyptian  world — a centre  from  which  the  power  of  the 
Pharaoh  could  equally  well  extend  in  a northerly  direction  towards  the  Sinaitic 
Peninsula  and  Libya,  or  towards  the  Red  Sea  and  the  “humiliated  Kush  ” in 
the  south.  The  influence  of  its  lords  increased  accordingly  : under  Amenem- 

1 The  inscription  of  Khnumhotpu  was  copied  for  the  first  time  by  Borton,  Excerpta  Hieroglyphica, 
pis.  xxiii.,  xxiv.  The  tomb  was  described  by  Champoi.lion  (Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  385-425),  and  many  of  the  scenes  were  reproduced  witli  much  accuracy  in  the  plates  to  his 
great  work,  as  well  as  in  that  of  Bosellini.  We  find  it  reproduced  in  its  entirety  in  Lepsius,  Denhn., 
ii.  123-130,  and  in  Newberry,  Beni-Hasan,  vol.  i.  pis.  xxii.-xxxviii. 

2 The  tomb  of  Amoni-Ameuemhait  has  been  described  with  great  minuteness  by  Champorlion, 
Monuments  de  VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  425-434,  and  by  Newberry,  Beni-Hasan,  vol.  i. 
pis.  iii.-xxxi. ; that  of  Prince  Klnti  has  also  been  described  in  the  younger  Champollion’s  Mon.  de 
VEgypte  et  de  la  Nubie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  334-358,  and  in  Newberry,  Beni-Hasan,  vol.  ii.  pp.  51-62,  pis.  ix.-xix. 

3 Stele  C 1 in  the  Louvre  (Gayet,  Steles  de  la  XII  dynastie,  pi.  i. ; Pierret,  Recueil  d’ Inscrip- 
tions, vol.  ii.  pp.  27,  28),  interpreted  by  Maspero,  TJn  Gotiverneur  de  Thebes  au  debut  de  la  XII’ 
dynastie  (extracted  from  the  Mtmoires  du  premier  Congres  International  des  Orientalistes  tenu  a Paris, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  48-61). 


THE  LORDS  OF  THEBES  UNDER  THE  XIITn  DYNASTY. 


527 


liait  III.  and  Amenemhait  IV.  they  were  perhaps  the  most  powerful  ol  the 
great  vassals,  and  when  the  crown  slipped  from  the  grasp  of  the  XIIth  dynasty, 
it  fell  into  the  hands  of  one  of  these  feudatories.  It  is  not  known  how  the 
transition  was  brought  about  which  transferred  the  sovereignty  from  the  elder 
to  the  younger  branch  of  the  family  of  Amenemhait  I.  When  Amenemhait  IV. 


THE  TOMBS  OF  PRINCES  OF  THE  G AZELI, E-NOME  AT  BENI-HASAN. 1 


died,  his  nearest  heir  was  a woman,  his  sister  Sovkrinofriuri : she  retained  the 
supreme  authority  for  not  quite  four  years,1 2  and  then  resigned  her  position 
to  a certain  Sovkhotpu.3  Was  there  a revolution  in  the  palace,  or  a popular 
rising,  or  a civil  war?  Did  the  queen  become  the  wife  of  the  new  sovereign, 
and  thus  bring  about  the  change  without  a struggle  ? Sovkhotpu  was  probably 

A 

lord  of  TTisit,  and  the  dynasty  which  he  founded  is  given  by  the  native 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a chromolithograph  in  Lepsius,  Denltm  , i.  pi.  61.  The  first  tomb  on 
the  left,  of  which  the  portico  is  shown,  is  that  of  Khnumhotpu  II. 

2 She  reigned  exactly  three  years,  ten  months,  and  eighteen  days,  according  to  the  fragments  of 
the  “ Royal  Canon  of  Turin”  (Lepsius,  Auswahl  der  wichtigsten  Urkunden,  pi.  v.  col.  vii.  1.  2). 

3 Sovkhotpu  Khutouiri,  according  to  the  present  published  versions  of  the  Turin  Papyrus  (Lepsius, 
Auswahl,  pi.  v.col.  vii.  1. 5), an  identification  which  led  Lieblein  ( Recherclies  sur  la  Chronologie Egypiienne, 
pp.  102,  103)  and  Wiedemann  ( JEgyptische  Gescliichte,  pp.  266,  267)  to  reject  the  generally  accepted 
assumption  that  this  first  king  of  the  XIII,h  dynasty  was  Sovkhotpu  Sakhemkhutouiri  (E.  de  Rouge, 
Inscriptions  des  rochers  de  Semneh,  in  the  Revue  Arclid  dogique,  1st  series,  vol.  v.  pp.  313,  314;  Lauth, 
Manetho  und  der  Turiner  Eonigspapyrus,  p.  236).  Still,  the  way  in  which  the  monuments  of  Sov- 
khotpu Sakhemkhutouiri  and  his  papyri  (Griffith,  in  Petrie’s  lllaliun,  Kaliun  and  Guroh,  p.  50)  are 
intermingled  with  the  monuments  of  Amenemhait  III.  at  Semneh  and  in  the  Fayum,  show  that  it  is 
difficult  to  separate  him  from  this  monarch.  Moreover,  an  examination  of  the  original  Turin  Papyrus 
shows  that  there  is  a tear  before  the  word  Khutoui  on  the  first  cartouche,  no  indication  of  which 
appears  in  the  facsimile,  but  which  has,  none  the  less,  slightly  damaged  the  initial  solar  disk  and 
removed  almost  the  whole  of  one  sign.  We  are,  therefore,  inclined  to  believe  that  Sakhemkhutouiri 
was  written  instead  of  Khutouiri,  and  that,  therefore,  all  the  authorities  are  in  the  right,  from  their 
different  points  of  view,  and  that  the  founder  of  the  XIIIth  dynasty  was  a Sakhemkhutouiri  I., 
while  the  Sovkhotpu  Sakhemkhutouiri,  who  occupies  the  fifteenth  place  in  the  dynasty,  was  a 
Sakhemkhfrtoftiri  II. 


528 


THE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


historians  as  of  Theban  origin.  His  accession  entailed  no  change  in  the 
Egyptian  constitution ; it  merely  consolidated  the  Theban  supremacy,  and 
gave  it  a recognized  position.  Thebes  became  henceforth  the  head  of  the 
entire  country:  doubtless  the  kings  did  not  at  once  forsake  Heracleopolis  and 
the  Fayum,  but  they  made  merely  passing  visits  to  these  royal  residences  at 
considerable  intervals,  and  after  a few  generations  even  these  were  given  up.1 
Host  of  these  sovereigns  resided  and  built  their  Pyramids  at  Thebes,  and  the 
administration  of  the  kingdom  became  centralized  there.2  The  actual  capital 
of  a king  was  determined  not  so  much  by  the  locality  from  whence  he  ruled, 
as  by  the  place  where  he  reposed  after  death.  Thebes  was  the  virtual  capital 
of  Egypt  from  the  moment  that  its  masters  fixed  on  it  as  their  burying-place. 

Uncertainty  again  shrouds  the  history  of  the  country  after  Sovkhotpu  I. : 
not  that  monuments  are  lacking  or  names  of  kings,  but  the  records  of 
the  many  Sovkhotpus  and  Xofirhotpus  found  in  a dozen  places  in  the  valley, 
furnish  as  yet  no  authentic  means  of  ascertaining  in  what  order  to  classify  them. 
The  XIIP11  dynasty  contained,  so  it  is  said,  sixty  kings,  who  reigned  for  a 
period  of  over  453  years.3  The  succession  did  not  always  take  place  in  the 
direct  line  from  father  to  son  : several  times,  when  interrupted  by  default  of 
male  heirs,  it  was  renewed  without  any  disturbance,  thanks  to  the  transmission 
of  royal  rights  to  their  children  by  princesses,  even  when  their  husbands  did  not 
belong  to  the  reigning  family.  Honthotpfi,  the  father  of  Sovkhotpu  III.,  was 
an  ordinary  priest,  and  his  name  is  constantly  quoted  by  his  son ; but  solar 
blood  flowed  in  the  veins  of  his  mother,  and  procured  for  him  the  crown.4 
The  father  of  his  successor,  Nofirhotpu  II.,  did  not  belong  to  the  reigning 
branch,  or  was  only  distantly  connected  with  it,  but  his  mother  Earn  ait  was 
the  daughter  of  Pharaoh,  and  that  was  sufficient  to  make  her  son  of  royal 

1 Prof.  Petrie  has  found  Papyri  of  Sovkhotpu  I.  at  Hawara  (Petrie,  Illahun,  Kahun  and  Gurob,  p.  50). 

2 We  know  of  the  pyramid  of  Sovkhumsauf  and  of  his  wife,  Queen  Nubkhas,  at  Thebes,  from  the 
testimony  of  the  Abbott  Papyrus  (pi.  iii.  11.  1-7,  pi.  vi.  11.  2,  3 ; Birch-Chabas,  Etude  snr  le  Papyrus 
Abbott,  in  the  Revue  Archddlogique,  1st  series,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  269-271 ; Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologiques, 
3rd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  63,  61,  68,  101;  Maspero,  Une  enquete  judiciare  a Thebes,  pp.  18,  19,  41,  73), 
and  of  the  Salt  Papyrus  (Chabas,  Melanges  Egyptologigues,  3rd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  1,  et  seq.).  The 
excavations  conducted  by  Mr.  de  Morgan  have  shown  that  Autiiabri  I.  Horu  caused  himself  to  be 
interred  on  the  plateau  of  Dahshur,  near  Memphis. 

3 This  is  the  number  given  in  one  of  the  lists  of  Manetho,  in  Muller-Didot,  Fragmenta  Histori- 
corum  Grxcorum,  vol.  ii.  pp.  565.  Lepsius’s  theory,  according  to  which  the  shepherds  overran  Egypt 
from  the  end  of  the  XIIth  dynasty  and  tolerated  the  existence  of  two  vassal  dynasties,  the  XIIIth 
and  XIVth  (Bunsen,  JEgyptens  Stelle  in  der  Weltgeschichte,  vol.  iii.  p.  3,  et  seq.),  was  disputed  and 
refuted  by  E.  de  Bouge  as  soon  as  it  appeared  ( Examen  Critique  de  I'ouvrage  de  M.  le  Chevalier  de 
Bunsen,  ii.  p.  52,  et  seq.) ; we  find  the  theory  again  in  the  works  of  some  contemporary  Egyptologists, 
but  the  majority  of  those  who  continued  to  support  it  have  since  abandoned  their  position,  e.g. 
Xaville,  Bubastis,  p.  15,  et  seq. 

4 The  genealogy  of  Sovkhotpu  III.  Safehmuaztouiri  was  made  out  by  Brugsch,  Geschichte 
-Egyptens,  p.  180,  and  completed  by  Wiedemann,  JEgyplische  Geschichte,  suppl , pp.  29,  30,  from 
a number  of  scarabaei  more  recently  collected  by  Petrie  in  Historical  Scarabs,  Nos.  290-292,  and  from 
several  inscriptions  in  the  Louvre,  especially  Inscription  C 8,  reproduced  in  Prisse  d’Avennes, 
Monuments  Egyptiens,  pi.  viii.  ; and  in  Piebret,  Recueil  d’ inscriptions  inddUes,  vol,  ii.  p.  107, 


THE  COLOSSAL  STATUE  OF  KING  SOVKHOTPU  IN  THE  LOU  VUE. 

Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin. 


2 M 


530 


THE  FIRST  TIIEBAN  EMPIRE. 


rank.1  With  careful  investigation,  we  should  probably  find  traces  of  several 
revolutions  which  changed  the  legitimate  order  of  succession  without,  however, 
entailing  a change  of  dynasty.  The  Nofirhotpu^  and  Sovkhotpus  continued 
both  at  home  and  abroad  the  work  so  ably  begun  by  the  Amenemhaits  and 
the  Usirtasens.  They  devoted  all  their  efforts  to  beautifying  the  principal 
towns  of  Egypt,  and  caused  important  works  to  be  carried  on  in  most  of  them — 
at  Karnak,2  in  the  great  temple  of  Amon,  at  Luxor,3  at  Bubastis,4  at  Tunis,6 
at  Tell-Mokhdam,6  and  in  the  sanctuary  of  Abydos.  At  the  latter  place, 
Khasoshushri  Nofirhotpu  restored  to  Kkontamentit  considerable  possessions 
which  the  god  had  lost ; 7 Nozirri 8 sent  thither  one  of  his  officers  to  restore  the 

A 

edifice  built  by  Usirtasen  1. ; Sovkumsauf  II.  dedicated  his  own  statue  in  this 
temple,9  and  private  individuals,  following  the  example  set  them  by  their  sove- 
reigns, vied  with  each  other  in  their  gifts  of  votive  stelm.10  The  pyramids  of 
this  period  were  of  moderate  size,  and  those  princes  who  abandoned  the  custom 
of  building  them  were  content  like  Autuabri  I.  Horu  with  a modest  tomb, 
close  to  the  gigantic  pyramids  of  their  ancestors.11  In  style  the  statues 
of  this  epoch  show  a certain  inferiority  when  compared  with  the  beautiful 

1 The  genealogy  of  Nofirhotpu  II.  has  been  obtained,  like  that  of  Sovkhotpu,  from  scarabs  recently 
brought  together  in  Petrie’s  Historical  Scarabs,  Nos.  293-298,  and  by  the  inscriptions  at  Konosso 
(Lefsius,  Dvnkm.,  ii.  151  /),  at  Sehel  (Mariette,  Monuments  divers,  pi.  lxx.  3),  and  at  Aswan  (Lepsius, 
Denkrn.,  ii.  151  e).  His  immediate  successors,  Sibathorri  and  Sovkhotpu  IV.,  and  later,  Sovkhotpu  V., 
are  mentioned  as  royal  princes  in  these  inscriptions  (Brugsch,  Geschiclde  JEgyptens,  p.  180). 

2 Table  of  offerings  of  Sonkhabri  Amoni-Antuf-Amenemhait  found  at  Karnak  (Mariette,  Karnak, 
pis.  ix.,  x.,  and  pp.  45,  46),  now  at  Gizeh  (Virey,  Notice  des  principaux  Monuments,  1893,  p.  39,  No. 
123);  statues  of  various  Sovkhotpus  (Mariette,  Karnak,  pi.  viii.  k-m,  and  pp.  44,45);  cartouche- 
block  of  Nofirhotpu  II.  and  Sovkhotpu  Khanofirri  (Mariette,  Karnak,  pi.  viii.  n-o,  and  p.  45). 

3 Architrave  with  the  name  of  Sovkhotpu  II.  (Grebaut,  Fouilles  de  Louqsor,  in  the  Bulletin  de 
V Inst.  Egyplien,  2nd  ser.,  vol.  x.  pp.  335,  336 ; cf.  Virey,  Notice  des  princ.  Monuments,  p.  44,  No.  136). 

4 An  architrave  with  the  name  of  Sakhemkhfttofiiri  Sovkhotph  I.  (Naville,  Bubastis,  vol.  i. 
pi.  xxxiii.  G-l),  showing  that  this  prince  must  have  constructed  a hall  of  large  size  in  the  temple 
at  Bubastis  (Naville,  Bubastis,  vol.  i.  p.  15).  Naville  thinks  that  a statue  from  Bubastis,  in  the 
Museum  at  Geneva,  belonged  to  a king  of  the  XIII11'  dynasty  before  it  was  appropriated  by  Ramses  II. 
(Naville,  Bubastis,  vol.  i.  pi.  xiv.). 

6  Statues  of  Mirmashau  (Burton,  Excerpta  Hieroglyphica,  pi.  xxx.  1,  7 ; Mariette,  Retire  a M.le 
Vicomte  de  Rouge  sur  les  fouilles  de  Tanis,  pp.  5-7,  and  Deuxieme  Lettre,  pp.  4,  5 ; Fragments  et  Docu- 
ments relatifs  aux  fouilles  de  Tanis,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux, \ ol.  ix.  p.  14  ; Banville-Rouge , Album 
photograpliique  de  la  Mission  de  M.  de  Rouge',  No.  114,  and  Inscriptions  recueilles  in  Egypte,  pl.lxxvi. ; 
Petrie,  Tanis,  i.  pi.  iii.  17  B,  and  pp.  8,9)  ; statues  of  Sovkhotpu  KhaQofini  in  the  Louvre  ( A 16, 17  ; 
cf.  E.  de  Rouge,  Notice  Sommaire  des  Monuments,  1880,  p.  16;  Petrie,  Tanis,  i.  p.  8)  and  at  Tanis 
(E.  and  J.  de  Rouge,  Inscriptions  recueilles  in  Egypte,  pi.  lxxvi  ; Petrie,  Tanis,  i.  pi.  iii.  16  A-B) ; 
statues  of  Sovkhotpfi  Khukhopirri  (Mariette,  Deuxieme  Lettre,  p.  4)  and  of  Monthotpu,  sou  of 
Sovkhotpu  Sakhmuaztouiri  (Brugsch,  Geschiclite  AEgyptens,  p.  182),  obelisk  of  Nahsi  (Petrie,  Tunis, 
i.  pi.  iii.  19  A-D,  and  p.  8;  Naville,  Le  Roi  Nehasi,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  p.  99). 

6 Statue  of  King  Nahsiri  (Naville,  Le  Roi  Nehasi,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  pp.  97-101). 

7 Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pis.  xxviii.-xxx.,  and  Cat.  Gditral  des  Monuments,  No.  766,  pp.  233, 334. 

8 Louvre  C 11,  12,  stelae  published  by  J.  de  Horrack,  Sur  deux  steles  de  VAncien  Empire ; Chabas, 
Mdanges  Egyptologiques,  3rd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  203-217  ; the  praenomen  of  the  king  was  Ri-ni-mait-anu 
(Maspero,  Notes  sur  different s points  de  Gram,  et  d’Bist.,  § 12,  in  the  Mdanges  d’ Archdologie,  vol.  i.  p.  140). 

9 Mariette,  Abydos,  vol.  ii.  pi.  xxvi.,  and  Catalogue  General,  No.  347,  p.  30. 

10  There  are  thousands  of  them  in  the  museums  ; those  discovered  by  Mariette  fill  a hundred  and 
fifty  pages  of  his  Catalogue  Gfnd-al  des  Monuments  d' Abydos,  Nos.  766-1046,  pp.  231-373. 

11  Tomb  of  Afituabri  I.  Horu,  discovered  at  Bahshfir  by  Mr.  de  Morgan  in  April,  1894, 


THE  XIIIth  DYNASTY : THE  SOVKHOTPUS  AND  THE  NOFIRHOTPUS.  531 


work  of  the  XIIth  dynasty : the  proportions  of  the  human  figure  are  not  so 
good,  the  modelling  of  the  limbs  is  not  so  vigorous,  the  rendering  of  the 
features  lacks  individuality;  the  sculptors  exhibit  a tendency,  which  had 
been  growing  since  the  time  of  the  Usirtasens,  to  represent  all  their  sitters 
with  the  same  smiling,  commonplace  type  of  countenance.  There  are, 
however,  among  the  statues  of  kings  and  private  individuals  which  have  come 
down  to  us,  a few  examples  of  really  fine  treatment.  The  colossal 
statue  of  Sovkhotpu  IV.,  which  is  now  in  the  Louvre  side  by 
side  with  an  ordinary-sized  figure  of  the  same  Pharaoh,  must  have 
had  a good  effect  when  placed  at  the  entrance  to  the  temple 
at  Tanis:1  his  chest  is  thrown  well  forward,  his  head  is 
erect,  and  we  feel  impressed  by  that  noble  dignity  which 
the  Memphite  sculptors  knew  how  to  give  to  the  bearing 
and  features  of  the  diorite  Khephren  enthroned  at  Gizeh. 

The  sitting  Mirmashau  of  Tanis  lacks  neither  energy  nor 
majesty,  and  the  Sovkumsauf  of  Abydos,  in  spite  of  the 
roughness  of  its  execution,  decidedly  holds  its  own  among 
the  other  Pharaohs.  The  statuettes  found  in  the  tombs,  and 
the  smaller  objects  discovered  in  the  ruins,  are  neither  less 
carefully  nor  less  successfully  treated.  The  little  scribe  at 
Gizeh,  in  the  attitude  of  walking,  is  a chef  d' oeuvre  of  deli- 
cacy and  grace,  and  might  be  attributed  to  one  of  the  best 
schools  of  the  XIIth  dynasty,  did  not  the  inscriptions 
oblige  us  to  relegate  it  to  the  Theban  art  of  the  XIIIth.2 
The  heavy  and  commonplace  figure  of  the  magnate 
now  in  the  Vienna  Museum  is  treated  with  a rather  coarse 
realism,  but  exhibits  nevertheless  most  skilful  tooling. 

It  is  not  exclusively  at  Thebes,  or  at  Tanis,  or  in  any  of 
the  other  great  cities  of  Egypt,  that  we  meet  with  excellent  examples  of  work, 
or  that  we  can  prove  that  flourishing  schools  of  sculpture  existed  at  this 
period  ; probably  there  is  scarcely  any  small  town  which  would  not  furnish 
us  at  the  present  day,  if  careful  excavation  were  carried  out,  with  some  monu- 
ment or  object  worthy  of  being  placed  in  a museum.  During  the  XIIIth 
dynasty  both  art  and  everything  else  in  Egypt  were  fairly  prosperous. 
Nothing  attained  a very  high  standard,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  nothing 


STATUE  OF  HAESUF  IN 
THE  VIENNA  MUSEUM.3 


1 E.  de  Rouge,  Notice  des  Monuments  Egyptiens,  1849,  pp.  3,  4;  ef.  tlie  woodcut  on  p.  529  of  the 
present  work. 

2 Maspeeo,  Voyage  d’ inspection  in  1884,  in  the  Bulletin  de  VInstitut  Egyptien,  2nd  series,  vol.  i. 
p.  64.  This  exquisite  example  has,  unfortunately,  remained  almost  unknown  up  to  the  present,  in 
consequence  of  its  small  size. 

3 Prawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  by  Ernest  de  Bergmann, 


THE  FIE  ST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


fell  below  a certain  level  of  respectable  mediocrity.  Wealth  exercised,  how- 
ever, an  injurious  influence  upon  artistic  taste.  The  funerary  statue,  for 
instance,  which  Autuabriu  I.  Horu  ordered  for  himself  was  of  ebony,  inlaid 
with  gold,1  whereas  Kheops  and  Khephren  were  content  to  have  theirs  of 
alabaster  and  diorite. 

During  this  dynasty  we  hear  nothing  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Sinaitic 
Peninsula  to  the  east,  or  of  the  Libyans  to  the  west : it  was  in  the  south, 

in  Ethiopia,  that  the  Pharaohs  expended  all 
their  surplus  energy.  The  most  important 
of  them,  Sovkhotpu  I.,  had  continued  to 
register  the  height  of  the  Nile  on  the  rocks 
of  Semneh,  but  after  his  time  we  are  unable 
to  say  where  the  Nilometer  was  moved  to,  nor, 
indeed,  who  displaced  it.  The  middle  basin 
of  the  river  as  far  as  Gebel-Barkal  was  soon 
incorporated  with  Egypt,  and  the  population 
became  quickly  assimilated.  The  coloniza- 
tion of  the  larger  islands  of  Say  and  Argo 
took  place  first,  as  their  isolation  protected 
them  from  sudden  attacks : certain  princes 
of  the  XIIIth  dynasty  built  temples  there, 
and  erected  their  statues  within  them,  just 
as  they  would  have  done  in  any  of  the  most 
peaceful  districts  of  the  Said  or  the  Delta. 
Argo  is  still  at  the  present  day  one  of  the 
largest  of  these  Nubian  islands  :2  it  is  said 
to  be  12b  miles  in  length,  and  about  2J  in 
width  towards  the  middle.  It  is  partly 
wooded,  and  vegetation  grows  there  with 
tropical  luxuriance ; creeping  plants  climb 
from  tree  to  tree,  and  form  an  almost  impenetrable  undergrowth,  which 
swarms  with  game  secure  from  the  sportsman.  A score  of  villages  are  dotted 
about  in  the  clearings,  and  are  surrounded  by  carefully  cultivated  fields, 
in  which  dourah  predominates.  An  unknown  Pharaoh  of  the  XIIIth 
dynasty  built,  near  to  the  principal  village,  a temple  of  considerable  size; 
it  covered  an  area,  whose  limits  may  still  easily  be  traced,  of  174  feet  wide  bv 

1 At  Gizeli ; it  was  obtained  during  the  excavations  made  by  De  Morgan  at  Dahshur  in  April,  1894. 

2 The  description  of  Argo  and  its  ruins  is  borrowed  from  Caillaud,  Voyage  a Mdrod,  vol.  ii.  pp.  1-7. 

3 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  the  sketch  by  Lepsius  (Denltm.,  ii.  120  h-i ; cf.  the  inscription,  ibid., 
151  i) : the  head  was  “quite  mutilated  and  separated  from  the  bust”  (Caili.iaud,  Voyage  a Mdrod, 
vol.  ii.  p.  5). 


STATUE  OF  SOVKHOTPU  JII. 3 


THE  ART  AND  MONUMENTS  OF  THE  Xlll1"  DYNASTY.  533 

292  long  from  east  to  west.  The  main  body  of  the  building  was  of  sandstone, 
probably  brought  from  the  quarries  of  Tombos : it  has  been  pitilessly 
destroyed  piecemeal  by  the  inhabitants,  and  only  a few  insignificant  fragments, 
on  which  some  lines  of  hieroglyphs  may  still  be  deciphered,  remain  in  situ. 
A small  statue  of  black  granite  of  good  workmanship  is  still  standing  in  the 
midst  of  the  ruins.  It  represents  Sovkhotpu  III.  sitting,  with  his  bauds 
resting  on  his  knees ; the  head,  which  has  been  mutilated,  lies  beside  the  body. 
The  same  king  erected  colossal  statues  of  himself  at  Tanis,  Bubastis,  and  at 


ONE  OF  THE  OVERTURNED  AND  BROKEN  STATUES  OF  MIR1IASHAU  AT  TANIS.1 


Thebes:  he  was  undisputed  master  of  the  whole  Nile  Valley,  from  near  the 
spot  where  the  river  receives  its  last  tributary  to  where  it  empties  itself 
into  the  sea.  The  making  of  Egypt  was  finally  accomplished  in  his  time, 
and  if  all  its  component  parts  were  not  as  yet  equally  prosperous,  the  bond 
which  connected  them  -was  strong  enough  to  resist  any  attempt  to  break  it, 
whether  by  civil  discord  within  or  invasions  from  without.  The  country  was 
not  free  from  revolutions,  and  if  we  have  no  authority  for  stating  that  they 
were  the  cause  of  the  downfall  of  the  XIIltl1  dynasty,  the  lists  of  Manetho 
at  least  show  that  after  that  event  the  centre  of  Egyptian  power  was  again 
shifted.  Thebes  lost  its  supremacy,  and  the  preponderating  influence  passed 
into  the  hands  of  sovereigns  who  were  natives  of  the  Delta.  Xois,  situated 
in  the  midst  of  the  marshes,  between  the  Phatnitic  and  Sebennytic  branches 
of  the  Nile,  was  one  of  those  very  ancient  cities  which  had  played  but  an 

1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  the  photograph  in  Bouge-Banville’s  Album  photogrcipliique  de  la 
Mission  tie  M.  de  Ruucjtf,  No.  11 4- 


584 


TllE  FIRST  THEBAN  EMPIRE. 


insignificant  part  in  shaping  the  destinies  of  the  country.  By  what  com- 
bination of  circumstances  its  princes  succeeded  in  raising  themselves  to 
the  throne  of  the  Pharaohs,  we  know  not : they  numbered,  so  it  was  said, 
seventy-five  kings,  who  reigned  four  hundred  and  eighty-four  years,  and  whose 
mutilated  names  blacken  the  pages  of  the  Turiu  Papyrus.  The  majority  of 
them  did  little  more  than  appear  upon  the  throne,  some  reigning  three  years, 
others  two,  others  a year  or  scarcely  more  than  a few  months:  they  give 
us  the  impression  of  being  a series  of  Pretenders,  out  of  jealousy  deposing 
each  other,  rather  than  a regularly  constituted  line  of  sovereigns.  The  feudal 
lords  who  had  been  so  powerful  under  the  Usirtasens  were  far  from  having 
lost  any  of  their  prestige  under  the  Sovkhotpus:  and  the  rivalries  of  usurpers 
of  this  kind,  who  seized  the  crown  without  being  strong  enough  to  keep  it, 
may  perhaps  explain  the  long  sequence  of  shadowy  Pharaohs  with  curtailed 
reigns  who  constitute  the  XIVth  dynasty.  They  did  not  withdraw  from 
Nubia,  of  that  fact  we  are  certain:  but  what  did  they  achieve  in  the  north 
and  north-east  of  the  empire?  The  nomad  tribes  were  showing  signs  of 
restlessness  on  the  frontier,  the  peoples  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  were 
already  pushing  the  vanguards  of  their  armies  into  Central  Syria.  While 
Egypt  had  been  bringing  the  valley  of  the  Nile  and  the  eastern  corner  of 
Africa  into  subjection,  Chaldsea  had  imposed  both  her  language  and  her  laws 
upon  the  whole  of  that  part  of  Western  Asia  which  separated  her  from 
Egypt : the  time  was  approaching  when  these  two  great  civilized  powers  of 
the  ancient  world  would  meet  each  other  face  to  face  and  come  into  fierce 
collision. 


ANCIENT  CHALDTBA. 


THE  CREATION,  THE  DELUGE,  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  GODS — THE  COUNTRY,  ITS  CITIES, 
INHABITANTS,  AND  EARLIEST  DYNASTIES. 


The  account  of  the  Creation : gods  and  monsters,  the  rebellion  of  Tidmat  —The  struggle 
between  Tidmat  and  Bel-Merodach,  the  formation  of  the  earth,  the  theogony — The  world  as  the 
Chaldceans  imagined  it — The  fish-god  Oannes  and  the  first  men. 

The  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris : their  tributaries  and  floods — The  Sumerians  and  the 
Semites:  the  country  reclaimed  from  the  rivers — The  flora:  cereals  and  palm  trees — The  fauna  : 
fish,  birds,  the  lion,  elephant,  and  ivild  ox  ( urus ),  domestic  animals — Northern  Chaldcea  and 
its  cities  : Southern  Chaldcea. 

The  ten  kings  prior  to  the  Deluge. — Xisuthros-Shamashnapisht im  and  the  Chaldcean  account 
of  the  Deluge : the  destruction  of  mankind,  the  resting  of  the  ark  on  Mount  Nizir,  the 
sacrifice  and  reconciliation  of  gods  and  men — The  kings  after  the  Deluge : Nera,  Elana, 
Nimrod. 

The  legend  of  Gilgames  and  its  astronomical  bearing — The  seduction  of  Eabani — The 
death  of  Khumlaba,  Islitar's  love  for  Gilgames,  and  the  struggle  with  the  urus  of  Ana — 
The  death  of  Eabani  and  the  voyage  in  search  of  the  country  of  life : scorpion-men,  the 
goddess  Sabitum  and  the  pilot  Arad-Ea — Shamashnapishtim' s ivelcome,  and  the  cure  of 


( 536  ) 

Gilganes — Th  return  to  Uruk  [ lVarka~\,  the  invocation  of  the  soul  of  Eabani — Antiquity  of 
the  poem  of  Gilgames. 

The  beginnings  of  true  history:  the  system  of  dynasties  established  by  the  Babylonian 
scribes — The  kings  of  Ayade:  Shargani-shar-ali  and  the  legend  concerning  him,  Naratnsin 
and  the  first  Chddxan  empire — The  cities  of  the  South  : La  gash  and  its  kings,  Urnind, 
Idinghiranaghin — The  vicegerents  of  Lagash : Gudea,  the  bas-reliefs  and  statues  of  Telloh — 
Uru  and  its  first  dynasty:  Urban  and  Dunghi — The  kings  of  La  r sain,  Nishin,  and  Uruk: 
the  second  dynasty  of  Urn. 


THE  HANKS  OP  THE  EUPHRATES  AT  HILLAH. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


ANCIENT  CHALD/EA, 


The  Creation,  the  Deluge,  the  history  of  the  gods — The  country,  its  cities,  its  inhabitants, 

its  early  dynasties. 


TN  the  time  when  nothing  which  was  called  heaven  existed 
1 above,  and  when  nothing  below  had  as  yet  received  the 
name  of  earth,2  Apsu,  the  Ocean,  who  first  was  their  father, 
and  Chaos-Tiamat,  who  gave  birth  to  them  all,  mingled  their 
waters  in  one,  reeds  which  were  not  united,  rushes  which 
bore  no  fruit.”  3 Life  germinated  slowly  in  this  inert  mass, 


in  which  the  elements  of  our  world  lay  still  in  confusion  : 


when  at  length  it  did  spring  up,  it  was  but  feebly,  and 
at  rare  intervals,  through  the  hatching  of  divine  couples 
devoid  of  personality  and  almost  without  form.  “ In  the 
> time  when  the  gods  were  not  created,  not  one  as  yet,  when 
they  had  neither  been  called  by  their  names,  nor  had  their 
destinies  been  assigned  to  them  by  fate,  gods  manifested  them- 


selves. Lukhmu  and  Lakhamu  were  the  first  to  appear,  and  waxed  great  for 


1 Drawn  by  Boudier,  after  J.  Dieui.afoy,  La  Terse,  la  Chaldde  et  la  Susiane,  p.  615.  The  initial, 


which  is  by  Faucher-Gudin,  is  reproduced  from  au  intaglio  in  the  Cabiuot  des  Me'dailles  (Lajard, 
Introduction  a V etude  du  culte  public  et  des  mysteres  de  Mitlira  en  Orient  et  en  Occident,  pi.  xvi.,  No.  7). 

2 In  Chaldsea,  as  in  Egypt,  nothing  was  supposed  to  have  a real  existence  until  it  had  received  its 
name : the  sentence  quoted  in  the  text  means  practically,  that  at  that  time  there  was  neither  heaven 
nor  earth  (Haupt,  Die  Sumeriscl.en  Familiengesilze,  pp.31, 32;  Sayce,  Relig.of  Anc.  Babylonians,  p.  385). 

3 Apsu  has  been  transliterated  ’Airatricv  in  Greek,  by  the  author  an  extract  from  whose  works  has 
been  preserved  by  Damascius  ( Damascii  Successoris  Solutiones,  Ruelle’s  edition,  pp.  321,  322).  He 
gives  a different  version  of  the  tradition,  according  to  which  the  amorphous  goddess  Mummu-Tiainat 
consisted  of  two  persons;  the  first,  Tauthe,  was  the  wife  of  Apason;  the  second,  Moymis  (Mcuityufj), 
was  the  son  of  Apason  aud  of  Tauthe'.  The  last  part  of  the  sentence  is  very  obscure  in  the  Assyrian 


538 


ANCIENT  C1IA LDJEA. 


ages  ; then  Anshar  and  Kisliar  were  produced  after  them.  Days  were  added  to 
days,  and  years  were  heaped  upon  years:  Anu, Inlil,  and  Ea  were  born  in  their 
turn,  for  Anshar  and  Kisliar  had  given  them  birth.”1  As  the  generations 
emanated  one  from  the  other,  their  vitality  increased,  and  the  personality  of 
each  became  more  clearly  defined  ; the  last  generation  included  none  but 
beings  of  an  original  character  and  clearly  marked  individuality.  Anu,  the 
sunlit  sky  by  day,  the  starlit  firmament  by  night;  Inlil-Bel,  the  king  of  the 
earth  ; Ea,  the  sovereign  of  the  waters  and  the  personification  of  wisdom.2 
Each  of  them  duplicated  himself,  Anu  into  Anat,  Bel  into  Belit,  Ea  into 
Damkina,  and  united  himself  to  the  spouse  whom  he  had  deduced  from 
himself.  Other  divinities  sprang  from  these  fruitful  pairs,  and  the  impulse 
once  given,  the  world  was  rapidly  peopled  by  their  descendants.  Sin,  Sha- 
mash,  and  Bammau,  who  presided  respectively  over  the  moon,  the  sun,  and  the 
air,  were  all  three  of  equal  rank;  next  came  the  lords  of  the  planets,  Ninib, 
Merodacb,  Nergal,  the  warrior-goddess  Ishtar,  and  Nebo ; then  a whole  army  of 
lesser  deities,  who  ranged  themselves  around  Anu  as  round  a supreme  master. 
Tiamat,  finding  her  domain  becoming  more  and  more  restricted  owing  to 
the  activity  of  the  others,  desired  to  raise  battalion  against  battalion,  and  set 
herself  to  create  unceasingly ; but  her  offspring,  made  in  her  own  image, 
appeared  like  those  incongruous  phantoms  which  men  see  in  dreams,  and 
which  are  made  up  of  members  borrowed  from  a score  of  different  animals. 

text,  and  has  been  translated  in  a variety  of  different  ways.  It  seems  to  contain  a comparison 
between  Apsu  and  Mummu-Tiamat  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  reeds  and  clumps  of  rushes  so  commou 
iu  Chaldsea  on  the  other  ; the  two  divinities  remain  inert  and  unfruitful,  like  water-plants  which  have 
not  yet  manifested  their  exuberant  growth. 

1 Tabltt  I.,  11.  7-15.  The  ends  of  nearly  all  these  lines  are  mutilated;  the  principal  parts  of  the 
text  only  have  been  restored,  with  certainty,  by  Fr.  Lexormaxt  (Les  Origines  de  V Histoire,  vol.  i. 
p.  496),  from  the  well-known  passage  in  D.imascius  (Ruelle’s  edition,  p.  322) ; E Ira  aZ  rpir-qv  t k rwv 
auTu>v,  Kurcrapri  /cal  ’Arawpbv  i | iiv  yereadai  rpeis,  'Ai'bv  /cal  “IKAiVov  /cal  ’A by.  The  identification  of 
‘'IAAii'os  with  Inlil,  pronounced  Illil  by  the  Assyrians,  is  due  to  Jensex  (De  Incantamentorum  Sumerico- 
A s^y riorum,  seriei  qux  dicitur  Shurhu  Tabula  VI.,  in  the  Zeilschrift  fur  Keilforscliung,  vol.  i.  p.  311, 
note  1,  and  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  p.  271). 

■ The  first  fragments  of  the  Cbaldsean  account  of  the  Creation  were  discovered  by  G.  Smith,  who 
described  them  in  the  Daily  Telegraph  (of  Marcdi  4,  1875),  and  published  them  in  the  Transactions 
of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology  (On  some  fragments  of  the  Chaldxan  Account  of  the  Creation, 
vol.  iv.  pp.  363,  364,  and  six  plates),  and  translated  in  his  Ohaldseau  account  of  Genesis  (1st  edit., 
pp.  61-100)  all  the  fragments  with  which  he  was  acquainted ; other  fragments  have  since  been  col- 
lected, but  unfortunately  not  enough  to  enable  us  to  entirely  reconstitute  the  legend.  It  covered 
at  least  six  tablets,  possibly  more.  Portions  of  it  have  been  translated  after  Smith,  by  Talbot  (The 
Revolt  in  Heaven,  in  the  Trans,  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archxology,  vol.  iv.  pp.  349-362,  The  Fight 
between  Bel  and  the  Dragon,  and  The  Chaldxan  Account  of  the  Creation,  in  the  Trans.,  vol.  v.  pp.  1-21, 
426-440;  cf.  Records  of  the  Past,  1st  series,  vol.  vii.  123,  et  seq. ; vol.  ix.  p.  135,  et  seq.),  by  Oppert 
(Fragments  cosmogoniques,  in  Ledrain,  Histoire  d’ Israel,  vol.  i.  pp.  411-422),  by  Lenormant  (Origines 
de  VHistoire,  vol.  i.  pp.  494-505,  507-517),  by  Schrader  (Die  Keilinschriften  und  das  Alte  Testament, 
2nd  edit.,  pp.  1-17),  by  Sayce  (lieligion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  377-390,  and  Records  of  the 
Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  122-146),  by  Jensen  (Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  261-364),  and 
lastly  by  Winckler  (Keilinschriftliche  Textbuch,  pp  88-97).  In  nearly  all  cases  I have  followed 
Jensen’s  translation.  Since  G.  Smith  wrote  The  Chaldxan  Account  of  Genesis  (pp.  101-107),  a 
fragment  of  a different  version  has  been  considered,  though  on  rather  uncertain  evidence,  to  be 
a part  of  the  dogma  of  the  Creation,  as  it  was  put  forth  in  the  sanctuary  of  Kutha. 


THE  GODS  AND  THE  MONSTERS — REVOLT  OF  TIAMAT. 


53(J 


They  appeared  in  the  form  of  bulls  with  human  heads,  of  horses  with  the 
snouts  of  dogs,  of  dogs  with  quadruple  bodies  springing  from  a single  fish-like 
tail.  Some  of  them  had  the  beak  of  an  eagle  or  a hawk  ; others,  four  wings 
and  two  faces ; others,  the  legs  and 
horns  of  a goat ; others,  again,  the  hind 
quarters  of  a horse  and  the  whole  body 
of  a man.1  Tiamat  furnished  them  with 
terrible  weapons,  placed  them  under 
the  command  of  her  husband  Kiogu, 
and  set  out  to  war  against  the  gods.'2 

At  first  they  knew  not  whom  to  send 
against  her.  Anshar  despatched  his 
son  Anu ; but  Anu  was  afraid,  and 
made  no  attempt  to  oppose  her.  He 
sent  Ea ; but  Ea,  like  Anu,  grew  pale 
with  fear,  and  did  not  venture  to  attack 
her.  Merodach,  the  son  of  Ea,  was  the 
only  one  who  believed  himself  strong 
enough  to  conquer  her.  The  gods, 
summoned  to  a solemn  banquet  in  the 
palace  of  Anshar,  unanimously  chose 
him  to  be  their  champion,  and  pro- 
claimed him  king.  “ Thou,  thou  art 
glorious  among  the  great  gods,  thy 
will  is  second  to  none,  thy  bidding  is 
Anu  ; Marduk  (Merodach),  thou  art  glorious  among  the  great  gods,  thy  will  is 
second  to  none,4  thy  bidding  is  Anu.6  From  this  day,  that  which  thou  orderest 
may  not  be  changed,  the  power  to  raise  or  to  abase  shall  be  in  thy  hand, 

1 The  description  of  these  monsters  is  borrowed  from  Berossus  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Com- 
inentaire  des  Fragments  cosmogoniqu.es  de  BCrose,  pp.  7,  8, 11, 12,  74-85);  their  creation  was  described 
in  the  second  tablet  of  the  Assyrian  edition  of  the  Creation  (Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  275,  27(5 ; 
Pinches,  A Babylonian  Duplicate  of  Tablets  I.  and  II.  of  the  Creation  Series  in  the  Babylonian  and 
Oriental  Record,  vol.  ii.  pp.  27-33),  and  in  the  fragment  which  remains  to  us  of  the  Kutha  version 
(Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  372,  373).  A certain  number  of  them  will  be  found 
represented  on  the  embroideries  of  the  royal  garment,  the  details  of  which  are  reproduced  in  Layard, 
Monuments  of  Nineveh,  vol.  i.  pis.  43-50. 

- The  preparations  of  Tiamat  are  described  in  the  third  tablet  (Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp. 
275-279);  the  text  is  in  too  mutilated  a state  to  permit  of  a connected  translation  being  given. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gu  lin  from  an  Assyrian  bas-relief  from  Khorsabad  (Botta,  Le  Monument  de 
Ninive,  pi.  74). 

4 The  Assyrian  runs,  “ thy  destiny  is  second  to  none.”  This  refers  not  to  the  destiny  of  the  god 
himself,  but  to  the  fate  which  he  allots  to  others.  I have  substituted,  here  and  elsewhere,  for  the 
word  “destiny,”  the  special  meaning  of  which  would  not  have  been  understood,  the  word  “will,” 
which,  though  it  does  not  exactly  reproduce  the  Assyrian  expression,  avoids  the  necessity  for 
paraphrases  or  formulas  calculated  to  puzzle  the  modern  reader. 

5 Or,  to  put  it  less  concisely,  “ When  thou  commaudest,  it  is  Anu  himself  who  commands,”  and 
the  same  blind  obedience  must  be  paid  to  thee  as  to  Anu. 


540 


ANCIENT  QHALD2EA. 


the  word  oi  thy  mouth  shall  endure,  and  thy  commandment  shall  not  meet 
with  opposition.  None  of  the  gods  shall  transgress  thy  law  ; but  whereso- 
ever a sanctuary  ol  the  gods  is  decorated,  the  place  where  they  shall  give 
their  oracles  shall  be  thy  place.1  Marduk,  it  is  thou  who  art  our  avenger  ! 
We  bestow  on  thee  the  attributes  of  a king;  the  whole  of  all  that  exists,  thou 
hast  it,  and  everywhere  thy  word  shall  be  exalted.  Thy  weapons  shall  not 
be  turned  aside,  they  shall  strike  thy  enemy.  0 master,  who  trusts  in  thee, 
spare  thou  his  life ; but  the  god  who  hath  done  evil,  pour  out  his  life  like 
water.”  They  clad  their  champion  in  a garment,  and  thus  addressed  him : 
“ Thy  will,  master,  shall  be  that  of  the  gods.  Speak  the  word,  ‘ Let  it  be  so,’ 
it  shall  be  so.  Thus  open  thy  mouth,  this  garment  shall  disappear  ; say  unto 
it,  ‘ Return,’  and  the  garment  shall  be  there.”  He  spoke  with  his  lips,  the 
garment  disappeared ; he  said  unto  it,  “ Return,”  and  the  garment  was 
restored.2  Merodach  having  been  once  convinced  by  this  evidence  that  he  had 
the  power  of  doing  everything  and  of  undoing  everything  at  his  pleasure,  the 
gods  handed  to  him  the  sceptre,  the  throne,  the  crown,  the  insignia  of 
supreme  rule,  and  greeted  him  with  their  acclamations : “ Be  king  ! — Go ! 
Cut  short  the  life  of  Tiamat,  and  let  the  wind  carry  her  blood  to  the  hidden 
extremities  of  the  universe.”  3 He  equipped  himself  carefully  for  the  struggle. 
“ He  made  a bow  and  placed  his  mark  upon  it ; ” 4 lie  had  a spear  brought 
to  him  and  fitted  a point  to  it;  the  god  lifted  the  lance,  brandished  it  in 
his  right  hand,  then  hung  the  bow  and  quiver  at  his  side.  He  placed  a 
thunderbolt  before  him,  filled  his  body  with  a devouring  flame,  then  made  a 
net  in  which  to  catch  the  anarchic  Tiamat ; he  placed  the  four  winds  in 
such  a way  that  she  could  not  escape,  south  and  north,  east  and  west,  and 
with  his  own  hand  he  brought  them  the  net,  the  gift  of  his  father  Anu.  He 
created  the  hurricane,  the  evil  wind,  the  storm,  the  tempest,  the  four  winds, 
the  seven  winds,  the  waterspout,  the  wind  that  is  second  to  none ; then  he 
let  loose  the  winds  he  had  created,  all  seven  of  them,  in  order  to  bewilder 
the  anarchic  Titlmat  by  charging  behind  her.  And  the  master  of  the 
waterspout  raised  his  mighty  weapon,  he  mounted  his  chariot,  a work  without 

1 The  meaning  is  uncertain.  The  sentence  seems  to  convey  that  henceforth  Merodach  would 
be  at  home  in  all  temples  that  were  constructed  in  honour  of  the  other  go  Is. 

2 Tablet  IV.,  11.  1-20;  cf.  Sayce,  The  Assyrian  Story  of  the  Creation,  in  the  Records  of  the  Fast, 
2nd  series,  pp.  136,  137 ; and  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Rabylonier,  pp.  278  -281. 

3 Sayce  was  the  first,  I believe  (The  Assyrian  Story  of  the  Creation,  in  the  Records  of  the  Fast, 
2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  141,  note  2),  to  cite,  in  connection  with  this  mysterious  order,  the  passage  in 
which  Berossus  tells  (Fk.  Lenokmant,  Essai  de  Commentaire  des  fragments  cosmogoniques  de  Be'ros? , 
pp.  9,  12)  how  the  gods  created  men  from  a little  clay,  moistened  with  the  blood  of  the  god  Belos. 
Here  there  seems  to  be  a fear  lest  the  blood  of  Tiamat,  mingling  with  the  mud,  should  produce  a crop 
of  monsters  similar  to  those  which  the  goddess  had  already  created  ; the  blood,  if  carried  to  the 
north,  into  the  domain  of  the  night,  would  there  lose  its  creative  power,  or  the  monsters  who  might 
spring  from  it  would  at  any  rate  remain  strangers  to  the  world  of  gods  and  men. 

4 Literally,  “he  made  his  weapon  known  ; ” perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  interpret  it,  “and  he 
made  it  know’ll  that  the  bow  would  henceforth  be  his  distinctive  weapon.” 


THE  STRUGGLE  OF  TIAMAT  AGAINST  MARDUK. 


541 


its  equal,  formidable ; he  installed  himself  therein,  tied  the  four  reins  to  the 
side,  and  darted  forth,  pitiless,  torrent-like,  swift.”1  He  passed  through  the 
serried  ranks  of  the  monsters  and  penetrated  as  far  as  Tiamat,  and  provoked  her 
with  his  cries.  ‘“Thou  hast  rebelled  against  the  sovereignty  of  the  gods,  thou 
hast  plotted  evil  against  them,  and  hast  desired  that  my  fathers  should  taste  of 
thy  malevolence ; therefore  thy  host  shall  be  reduced  to  slavery,  thy  weapons 
shall  be  torn  from  thee.  Come,  then,  thou  and  I must  give  battle  to  one 


UEL-31ERODACH,  ARMED  WITH  THE  THUNDERBOLT,  DOES  BATTLE  WITH  THE  TUMULTUOUS  TIAMAT.2 


another!’  Tiamat,  when  she  heard  him,  flew  into  a fury,  she  became  mad 
with  rage ; then  Tiamat  howled,  she  raised  herself  savagely  to  her  full  height, 
and  planted  her  feet  firmly  on  the  earth.  She  pronounced  an  incantation, 
recited  her  formula,  and  called  to  her  aid  the  gods  of  the  combat,  both  them 
and  their  weapons.  They  drew  near  one  to  another,  Tiamat  and  Marduk, 
wisest  of  the  gods;  they  flung  themselves  into  the  combat,  they  met  one 
another  in  the  struggle.  Then  the  master  unfolded  his  net  and  seized  her ; 
he  caused  the  hurricane  which  waited  behind  him  to  pass  in  front  of  him, 
and,  when  Tiamat  opened  her  mouth  to  swallow  him,  he  thrust  the  hurricane 
into  it  so  that  the  monster  could  not  close  her  jaws  again.  The  mighty  wind 

1 Tablet  IV.,  11.  31-52;  cf.  Sayce,  The  Assyrian  Story  of  the  Creation,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past, 
2nd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  137,  138;  and  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  280-283. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  bas-relief  from  Nirnrud  preserved  in  the  British  Museum 
(cf.  Layard,  The  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  2nd  series,  pi.  5). 


542 


ANCIENT  CHALDJEA. 


filled  her  paunch,  her  breast  swelled,  her  maw  was  split.  Marduk  gave  a 
straight  thrust  with  his  lance,  burst  open  the  paunch,  pierced  the  interior,  tore 
the  breast,  then  bound  the  monster  and  deprived  her  of  life.  "When  he  had 
vanquished  Tiamat,  who  had  been  their  leader,  her  army  was  disbanded,  her 
host  was  scattered,  and  the  gods,  her  allies,  who  had  marched  beside  her, 
trembled,  were  scared,  and  fled/’ 1 He  seized  hold  of  them,  and  of  Kingu 
their  chief,  and  brought  them  bound  in  chains  before  the  throne  of  his  father. 

He  had  saved  the  gods  from  ruin,  but  this  was  the  least  part  of  his 


A KUFA  LADEN  WITH  STONES  AND  MANNED  BY  A CREW  OF  FOUR  MEN.2 


task;  he  had  still  to  sweep  out  of  space  the  huge  carcase  which  encumbered  it, 
and  to  separate  its  ill-assorted  elements,  and  arrange  them  afresh  for  the  benefit 
of  the  conquerors.  “He  returned  to  Tiamat  whom  he  had  bound  in  chains. 
He  placed  his  foot  upon  her,  with  his  unerring  knife  he  cut  into  the  upper  part 
of  her;  then  he  cut  the  blood-vessels,  and  caused  the  blood  to  be  carried  by  the 
north  wind  to  the  hidden  places.  And  the  gods  saw  his  face,  they  rejoiced,  they 
gave  themselves  up  to  gladness,  and  sent  him  a present,  a tribute  of  peace  ; 
then  he  recovered  his  calm,  he  contemplated  the  corpse,  raised  it  and  wrought 
marvels. . He  split  it  in  two  as  one  does  a fish  for  drying  ; ”3  then  he  hung  up 
one  of  the  halves  on  high,  which  became  the  heavens  ; the  other  half  he  spread 
out  under  his  feet  to  form  the  earth,  and  made  the  universe  such  as  men  have 
since  known  it.  As  in  Egypt,  the  world  was  a kind  of  enclosed  chamber 

1 Tablet  IV.,  11.  99-106  ; cf  Sayce,  The  Assyrian  Story  of  the  Creation,  in  Ihe  Records  of  the  Fast, 
2nd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  139,  140 ; and  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  284-287. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  at  Koyunjik  (Layard,  The  Monuments  of  Nineveh, 
2nd  series,  pi.  12,  No.  2;  cf.  Place,  Ninive  et  VAssyrie,  pi.  44bis  a).  Behind  the  hufa  may  be  seen 
a fisherman  seated  astride  on  an  inflated  skin  with  his  fish-basket  attached  to  his  neck. 

3 Tablet  IV.,  11.  126-136  ; cf.  Sayce,  The  Assyrian  Story  of  the  Creation,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past, 
2nd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  141,  142;  and  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  276-289.  The 
story  of  the  separation  of  Tiamat  into  halves  filled  the  end  of  tablet  IY.  (cf.  Jensen,  Die  Kosmolonie, 
pp.  288.  289). 


balanced  on  the  bosom  of  the  eternal  waters.1  The  earth,  which  forms  the 
lower  part  of  it,  or  floor,  is  something  like  an  overturned  boat  in  appearance, 
and  hollow  underneath,  not  like  one  of  the  narrow  skiffs  in  use  among  other 
races,  but  a kufa,  or  kind  of  semicircular  boat  such  as  the  tribes  of  the  Lower 
Euphrates  have  made  use  of  from  earliest  antiquity  down  to  our  own  times.2 
The  earth  rises  gradually  from  the  extremities  to  the  centre,  like  a great 
mountain,  of  which  the  snow-region,  where  the  Euphrates  finds  its  source, 
approximately  marks  the  summit.3  It  was  at  first  supposed  to  be  divided  into 
seven  zones,  placed  one  on  the  top  of  the  other  along  its  sides,  like  the  stories 
of  a temple ; 4 later  on  it  was  divided  into  four  “ houses,”  each  of  which,  like  the 
“houses”  of  Egypt,  corresponded  with  one  of  the  four  cardinal  points,  and  was 

1 The  description  of  the  Egyptian  world  will  be  found  on  p.  16  of  the  present  work.  So  far  the 
only  systematic  attempt  to  reconstruct  the  Childsean  world,  since  Lenormant  (La  Magie  chez  les 
Chalde'ens,  pp.  141-144),  has  been  made  by  Jensen  ( Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  1890);  Jensen, 
after  examining  all  the  elements  which  went  to  compose  it,  one  after  another  (pp.  1-253), .suras  up  in 
a few  pages  (pp.  253-260),  and  reproduces  in  a plate  (pi.  iii.)  the  principal  results  of  his  inquiry.  It 
will  be  seen  at  a glance  how  much  I have  taken  from  his  work,  and  in  what  respects  the  drawing 
here  reproduced  differs  from  his. 

2 Diodorus  Siculus,  ii.  29  : Ilepl  8e  t ijs  yrjs  ISiuTaras  airotpaaeis  toiovvtcu  Aeyovres  vtrapxeiv  avTr\v 
crKCKpoeidri  koI  noiK-qv.  Cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  Le  Magie  chez  les  Chaldifens,  pp.  141,  142 ; Jensen,  Die 
Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  p.  247. 

3 It  is  the  Kharsag  leurliura,  the  “Mountain  of  the  World”  of  the  cuneiform  texts,  which  is 
usually  placed  at  the  north  (Fr.  Delitzsch,  Wo  lag  das  Paradies  ? pp.  117-122)  or  to  the  east,  more 
accurately  to  the  north-east  (Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  lez  Chalddens,  pp.  142,  156,  et  seq.,  and 
Les  Origines  de  VHistoire,  vol.  ii.  p.  123,  et  seq.).  Jensen  ( Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  p.  206, 
et  seq.)  seems  to  me  to  have  proved  that  this  was  a name  used  to  indicate  the  earth  itself;  the  over- 
turned boat  does,  as  a matter  of  fact,  somewhat  resemble  a round  mountain,  the  sides  of  which  rise 
gently  till  they  meet  at  the  same  point. 

* Fr.  Lenormant,  Les  Origines  de  VHistoire,  vol.  ii.  pp.  123-126;  Jensen,  Die  kosmologie, 
p.  170,  et  seq, 


544 


ANCIENT  CJ1  ALT) TEA. 


under  the  rule  of  particular  gods.1  Near  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  the  edges 
of  the  so-called  boat  curve  abruptly  outwards,  and  surround  the  earth  with 
a continuous  wall  of  uniform  height  having  no  opening.2  The  waters 
accumulated  in  the  hollow  thus  formed  as  in  a ditch ; it  was  a narrow  and 
mysterious  sea,  an  ocean  stream,  which  no  living  man  might  cross  save  with 
permission  from  on  high,  and  whose  waves  rigorously  separated  the  domain 
of  men  from  the  regions  reserved  to  the  gods.3  The  heavens  rose  above  the 
“mountain  of  the  world”  like  a boldly  formed  dome,  the  circumference  of 
which  rested  on  the  top  of  the  wall  in  the  same  way  as  the  upper  structures 
of  a house  rest  on  its  foundations.4  Merodach  wrought  it  out  of  a hard,  resisting 
metal  which  shone  brilliantly  during  the  day  in  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  at 
night  appeared  only  as  a dark  blue  surface,  strewn  irregularly  with  luminous 
stars.  He  left  it  quite  solid  in  the  southern  regions,  but  tunnelled  it  in  the  north, 
by  contriving  within  it  a huge  cavern  which  communicated  with  external  space 
by  means  of  two  doors  placed  at  the  east  and  the  west.5  The  sun  came  forth 
each  morning  by  the  first  of  these  doors  ; he  mounted  to  the  zenith,  following 
the  internal  base  of  the  cupola  from  east  to  south  ; then  he  slowly  descended 
again  to  the  western  door,  and  re-entered  the  tunnel  in  the  firmament,  where  he 
spent  the  night.6  Merodach  regulated  the  course  of  the  whole  universe  on  the 
movements  of  the  sun.  He  instituted  the  year  and  divided  it  into  twelve 
months.  To  each  month  he  assigned  three  decaus,  each  of  whom  exercised  his 

' Cf.  p.  128  of  the  present  work.  In  regard  to  the  Idbrat  arbai  or  irbiti,  consult  Jensen  ( Die 
Kosmologie,  pp.  163-170).  We  shall  see  later  on  (p.  596)  the  meaning  attached  to  this  term  in  the 
royal  titles.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  Idbrat  arbai  represent  four  houses,  and  are  an  astronomical  or 
astrological  expression  used  in  relation  to  the  geographical  knowledge  or  the  history  of  the  time. 

2 Fr.  Lenorjiant,  La  Magie  cliez  les  Chaldeens,  p.  113.  The  texts  call  this  curved  edge  shupuh  or 
sliubuh  shami,  the  embankment  of  the  heavens,  the  rampart  of  earth,  on  which  the  edge  of  the 
heavens  rested  (Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  dcr  Babtjlonier,  pp.  37-42). 

3 The  waters  which  surrounded  the  earth  were  called  abzu,  apsu,  like  the  primordial  waters  with 
which  they  were  sometimes  confused  (Fr.  Lenorjiant,  La  Magie  cliez  les  Chaldtfens,  p.  143;  Jensen, 
Die  Kosmologie  cler  Babylonier,  pp.  243-253;  Sayce,  The  Beligion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp. 
116,  117,  374,  375). 

4 The  texts  frequently  mention  these  ishid  shami,  foundations  of  the  heavens  (Jensen,  Die  Kos- 
mologie der  Babylonier,  pp.  9,  10);  but  instead  of  distinguishing  them  from  the  embankment  of  the 
heavens,  shupuh  shami,  as  Jensen  does  ( Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  40,  41),  I am  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  two  are  identical  (cf.  Fr.  Lenorjiant,  Le  Magie  chez  les  Cliald&ns,  p.  143). 

5 Jensen  ( Die  Kosmologie,  p.  10)  has  made  a collection  of  the  texts  which  speak  of  the  interior 
of  the  heavens  ( Kirib  shami ) and  of  their  aspect.  The  expressions  which  have  induced  many 
Assyriologists  to  conclude  that  the  heavens  were  divide  1 into  different  parts  subject  to  different  gods 
(Sayce,  The  Beligion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  189-191  ; A.  Jerejiias,  Die  Babylonisch- 
Assyrischen  Vorstellungen  vom  Leben  nach  dem  Tode,  pp.  59,  60)  may  be  explained  without  necessarily 
having  recourse  to  this  hypothesis;  the  “heaven  of  Anu,”  for  instance, is  an  expression  which  merely 
affirms  Anu’s  sovereignty  in  the  heavens,  and  is  only  a more  elegant  way  of  designating  the  heavens 
by  the  name  of  the  god  who  rules  them  (Jensen.  Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  11,  12).  The  gates  of  heaven 
are  mentioned  in  the  account  of  the  Creation  ( Tablet  V.,  1.  9). 

0 It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  Chaldseans  believed  that  the  sun  passed  over  the  world  in  the 
daytime,  and  underneath  it  during  the  night.  The  general  resemblance  of  their  theory  of  the 
universe  to  the  Egyptian  theory  leads  me  to  believe  that  they,  no  less  than  the  Egyptians  (cf. 
pp.  18,  19  of  the  present  work),  for  a long  time  believed  that  the  sun  and  moon  revolved  round  the 
earth  in  a horizontal  plane. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  EARTH  AND  SKY. 


545 


influence  successively  for  a period  of  ten  days;  he  then  placed  the  procession 
of  the  days  under  the  authority  of  Nibiru,1  in  order  that  none  of  them  should 
wander  from  his  track  and  be  lost.  “ He  lighted  the  moon  that  she  might  rule 
the  night,  and  made  her  a star  of  night  that  she  might  indicate  the  days  : 2 
‘ From  month  to  month,  without  ceasing,  shape  thy  disk,3  and  at  the  beginning 
of  the  month  kindle  thyself  in  the  evening,  lighting  up  thy  horns  so  as  to  make 
the  heavens  distinguishable ; on  the  seventh  day,  show  to  me  thy  disk  ; and 
on  the  fifteenth,  let  thy  two  halves  be  full  from  month  to  month.’  ” He  cleared 
a path  for  the  planets,  and  four  of  them  he  entrusted  to  four  gods ; the  fifth, 
our  Jupiter,  he  reserved  for  himself,  and  appointed  him  to  be  shepherd  of  this 
celestial  flock;  in  order  that  all  the  gods  might  have  their  image  visible  in 
the  sky,  he  mapped  out  on  the  vault  of  heaven  groups  of  stars  which  he  allotted 
to  them,  and  which  seemed  to  men  like  representations  of  real  or  fabulous 
beings,  fishes  with  the  heads  of  rams,  lions,  bulls,  goats  and  scorpions.4 

The  heavens  having  been  put  in  order,  he  set  about  peopling  the  earth,  and 
the  gods,  who  had  so  far  passively  and  perhaps  powerlessly  watched  him  at  his 
work,  at  length  made  up  their  minds  to  assist  him.  They  covered  the  soil 
with  verdure,  and  all  collectively  “ made  living  beings  of  many  kinds.  The 
cattle  of  the  fields,  the  wild  beasts  of  the  fields,  the  reptiles  of  the  fields, 
they  fashioned  them  and  made  of  them  creatures  of  life.”5  According  to  one 
legend,  these  first  animals  had  hardly  left  the  hands  of  their  creators,  when, 
not  being  able  to  withstand  the  glare  of  the  light,  they  fell  dead  one  after  the 
other.  Then  Merodach,  seeing  that  the  earth  was  again  becoming  desolate,  and 
that  its  fertility  was  of  no  use  to  any  one,  begged  his  father  Ea  to  cut  off  his 
head  and  mix  clay  with  the  blood  which  welled  from  the  trunk,  then  from  this 
clay  to  fashion  new  beasts  and  men,  to  whom  the  virtues  of  this  divine  blood 
would  give  the  necessary  strength  to  enable  them  to  resist  the  air  and  light.6 * 8 

1 Nibiru,  the  ferryman,  is  our  planet  Jupiter  (Jensen,  Der  Kakltab  Mischri  der  Antares,  in  the 
Zeitschrift  fiir  Assynologie,  vol.  i.  p.  265,  note  3;  and  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  128,  129). 

2 This  obscure  phrase  seems  to  be  explained,  if  we  remember  that  the  Chaldsean,  like  the  Egyptian 
day,  dated  from  the  rising  of  one  moon  to  the  rising  of  the  following  moon ; for  instance,  from  six 
o’clock  one  evening  to  about  six  o’clock  the  next  evening.  The  moon,  the  star  of  night,  thus  marks 
the  appearance  of  each  day  and  “indicates  the  days.” 

3 The  word  here  translated  by  “disk”  is  literally  the  royal  cap,  decorated  with  horns,  “ Agu,” 
which  Sin,  the  moon-god,  wears  on  his  head.  I have  been  obliged  to  translate  the  text  rather  freely, 
so  as  to  make  the  meaning  clear  to  the  modern  reader. 

4 The  arrangement  of  the  heavens  by  Merodach  is  described  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  and  beginning 
of  the  fifth  tablets  (Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  288-291 ; Sayce,  The  Assyrian  Story  of 
the  Creation,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  142-144).  The  text,  originally  somewhat 
obscure,  is  so  mutilated  in  places  that  it  is  not  always  possible  to  make  out  the  sense  with  certainty. 

5 The  creation  of  the  animals  and  then  of  man  is  related  on  the  seventh  tablet,  and  on  a tablet 
the  place  of  which,  in  the  series,  is  still  undetermined  (G.  Smith,  The  Chaldeean  Account  of  Genesis, 

pp.  75-80  ; Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  389,  390,  and  The  Assyrian  Story  of  the 

Creation,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  145  ; Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  290-292). 

8 lierossus  had  recorded  this  legend  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Commentaire,  pp.  8,  9,  12),  which 

1'  N 


540 


ANCIENT  ClIALDAE A. 


At  first  they  led  a somewhat  wretched  existence,  and  “ lived  without  rule  after 
the  manner  of  beasts.  But,  iu  the  first  year,  appeared  a monster  endowed  with 
human  reason  named  Oaunes,1  who  rose  from  out  of  the  Erythraean  sea,  at  the 
point  where  it  borders  Babylonia.  He  had  the  whole  body  of  a fish,  but  above 
his  fish’s  head  lie  had  another  head  which  was  that  of  a man,  and  human  feet 
emerged  from  beneath  his  fish’s  tail ; he  had  a human  voice,  and  his  image  is 
preserved  to  this  day.  He  passed  the  day  in  the  midst  of  men  without  taking 
any  food;  he  taught  them  the  use  of  letters,  sciences  and  arts  of  all  kinds,  the 
rules  for  the  founding  of  cities,  and  the  construction  of  temples,  the  principles 
of  law  and  of  surveying;  he  showed  them  how  to  sow  and  reap  ; he  gave  them 
all  that  contributes  to  the  comforts  of  life.  Since  that  time  nothing  excellent 
has  been  invented.  At  sunset  this  monster  Oannes  plunged  back  into  the  sea, 
and  remained  all  night  beneath  the  waves,  for  he  was  amphibious.  He  wrote 
a book  on  the  origin  of  things  and  of  civilization,  which  he  gave  to  men.”3 
These  are  a few  of  the  fables  which  were  current  arnoDg  the  races  of  the  Lower 
Euphrates  with  regard  to  the  first  beginnings  of  the  universe.  That  they 
possessed  many  other  legends  of  which  we  now  know  nothing  is  certain,  but 
either  they  have  perished  for  ever,  or  the  works  in  which  they  were  recorded 
still  await  discovery,  it  may  be  under  the  ruins  of  a palace  or  in  the  cup- 
boards of  some  museum.3  They  do  not  seem  to  have  conceived  the  possibility 
of  an  absolute  creation,  by  means  of  which  the  gods,  or  one  of  them,  should 
have  evolved  out  of  nothing  all  that  exists:  the  creation  was  for  them 
merely  the  setting  in  motion  of  pre-existing  elements,  and  the  creator 
only  an  organizer  of  the  various  materials  floating  iu  chaos.4  Popular  fancy 

seems  to  be  a clumsy  combination  of  two  traditions  relating  to  the  creation  of  man  (Sayce,  The 
Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  370,  371).  In  regard  to  Ea,  and  the  manner  in  which  he 
made  men  from  clay,  cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  Les  Origines  de  VHistoire,  vul.  i.  pp.  45-47 ; Jensen,  Die 
Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  293-295  ; Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp. 
141,  142. 

1 Different  etymologies  have  been  suggested  for  this  name ; the  one  most  generally  accepted  is 
that  proposed  by  Leuormant,  according  to  which  Oannes  is  the  Hellenised  form  of  Ea-hhan,  Ea- 
ghanna,  Ei  the  fish  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Les  Origines  de  VHistoire,  vol.  i.  p.  585).  Jensen  has  drawn 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  word  khan  or  ghanna  has  not,  up  to  the  present,  been  found  iu  any  text 
(Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  322,  323) ; the  name  Oaunes  remains,  therefore,  so  far, 
unexplained.  Ilommel  has  shown  elsewhere  (Die  Semitischen  Vblker  und  Sprachen,  vol.  i.  p.  488,  note) 
that  the  allusion  to  the  myth  of  Oannes,  referred  to  some  years  ago  by  Sayce  (Babylonian  Literature, 
p.  25;  cf.  Records  of  the  Past,  1st  series,  vol.  xi.  p.  155),  is  not  really  to  be  found  in  the  original  text. 

2 Eerossus,  fragment  ix.,  in  Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Cummentaire  sur  les  f ragments  cosmcgoniques 
de  Bfrose,  p.  182,  et  seq. 

3 As  to  these  variations  in  the  traditions,  see  the  observations  made  by  Smith  in  The  Chaldxun 
Account  of  Genesis,  p.  101,  et  seq.,  and  the  very  exhaustive  chapter  on  Cosmogonies  and  Astro-theology 
in  Sayce’s  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  367,  et  seq. 

4 Diodorus  Siculus  had  already  noticed  this  (ii.  30),  or  rather  the  writers  of  the  Alexandrine  period 
from  whom  he  obtained  his  information  had  done  so  : rr)v  per  too  uiap-ov  <pv<rtv  ai'Siiv  ipairiv  elvcu  xal 
yr/Te  apxvs  yivemv  eVx’I'fcVai,  yyff  verrepov  <p6opav  <bri5/£ecr0ai.  The  Chaldsean  account  of  the 
creation,  as  given  abjve  on  p.  537,  et  seq.,  of  the  present  work,  confirms  the  words  of  the  Greek 
historian. 


0 A AWES  AND  THE  EARLIEST  MEN. 


547 


in  different  towns  varied  the  names  of  the  creators  and  the  methods  employed 
by  them  ; as  centuries  passed  on,  a pile  of  vague,  confused,  and  contradictory 
traditions  was  amassed,  no  one  of  which  was  held 
to  be  quite  satisfactory,  though  all  found  parti- 
sans to  support  them.  Just  as  in  Egypt,  the 
theologians  of  local  priesthoods  endeavoured  to 
them  and  bring  them  into  a kind  of 
harmony  : many  they  rejected  and  others  they 
recast  in  order  to  better  reconcile  their  state- 
ments: they  arranged  them  in  systems,  from 
which  they  undertook  to  unravel,  under  inspira- 
tion from  on  high,  the  true  history  of  the  uni- 
verse. That  which  I have  tried  to  set  forth 
above  is  very  ancient,  if,  as  is  said  to  be  the  case, 
it  was  in  existence  two  or  even  three  thousand 
years  before  our  era ; but  the  versions  of  it  which 
we  possess  were  drawn  up  much  later,  perhaps 
not  till  about  the  VIIHl  century  b.c.1  It  had 
been  accepted  by  the  inhabitants  of  Babylon 
because  it  flattered  their  religious  vanity  by 
attributing  the  credit  of  having  evolved  order 
out  of  chaos  to  Merodach,  the  protector  of  their 
city.2 3  He  it  was  whom  the  Assyrian  scribes  had 
raised  to  a position  of  honour  at  the  court  of  the 
last  kings  of  Nineveh  : 4 it  was  Merodach’s  name  which  Berossus  inscribed  at  the 
beginning  of  his  book,  when  he  set  about  relating  to  the  Greeks  the  origin  of 
the  world  according  to  the  Chaldeans,  and  the  dawn  of  Babylonian  civilization. 

Like  the  Egyptian  civilization,  it  had  had  its  birth  between  the  sea  and 

1 The  question  as  to  whether  the  text  was  originally  written  in  Sumerian  or  in  the  Semitic  tongue 
has  frequently  been  discussed  {vide  the  bibliography  in  Bezold’s  Kurzgefasster  Ueberbliclc  iiber  die 
Babylonisch-Assgrische  Literatur,  p.  175);  the  form  in  which  we  have  it  at  present  is  not  very  old, 
and  does  not  date  much  further  back  than  the  reign  of  Assurbanipal  (Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the 
Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  386,  393),  if  it  is  not  even  contemporary  with  that  monarch  (Bezold, 
Kurzgefasster  Ueberblick , p.  175).  According  to  Sayce  (op.  cit.,  pp.  373,  374,  377,  378)  the  first 
version  would  date  back  beyond  the  XXth  century,  to  the  reign  of  Khammurabi ; according  to 
Jensen  ( Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  319,  320),  beyond  the  XXXth  century  before  our  era. 

2 Sayce  ( The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  378-391-393)  thinks  that  the  myth  originated 
at  Eridu,  on  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  afterwards  received  its  present  form  at  Babylon, 
where  the  local  schools  of  theology  adapted  it  to  the  god  Merodach. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  Assyrian  bas-relief  from  Nimrud  (Layard,  The  Monuments 
of  Nineveh,  2nd  series,  pi.  6,  No.  1). 

4 The  tablets  in  which  it  is  preserved  for  us  come  partly  from  the  library  of  Assurbanipal  at 
Nineveh,  partly  from  that  of  the  temple  of  Nebo  at  Borsippa;  these  latter  are  more  recent  than  the 
others,  and  seem  to  have  been  written  during  the  period  of  the  Persian  supremacy  (Sayce,  The 
Assyrian  Story  of  the  Creation,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  142,  note  3). 


548 


ANCIENT  C11ALBJEA. 


the  dry  land  on  a low,  marshy,  alluvial  soil,  flooded  annually  by  the  rivers 
which  traverse  it,  devastated  at  long  intervals  by  tidal  waves  of  extra- 
ordinary violence.1  The  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris  cannot  be  regarded  as 
mysterious  streams  like  the  Nile,  whose  source  so  long  defied  exploration  that 
people  were  tempted  to  place  it  beyond  the  regions  inhabited  by  man.2 
The  former  rise  in  Armenia,  on  the  slopes  of  the  Niphates,  one  of  the  chains 
of  mountains  which  lie  between  the  Black  Sea  and  Mesopotamia,  and  the 
only  range  which  at  certain  points  reaches  the  line  of  eternal  snow.  At  first 
they  flow  parallel  to  one  another,  the  Euphrates  from  east  to  west  as  far  as 
Malatiyeh,  the  Tigris  from  the  west  “ towards  the  east  in  the  direction  of 
Assyria.”  Beyond  Malatiyeh,  the  Euphrates  bends  abruptly  to  the  south-west, 
and  makes  its  way  across  the  Taurus  as  though  desirous  of  reaching  the  Medi- 
terranean by  the  shortest  route,3  but  it  soon  alters  its  intention,  and  makes  for 
the  south-east  in  search  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  Tigris  runs  in  an  oblique 
direction  towards  the  south  from  the  point  where  the  mountains  open  out,  and 
gradually  approaches  the  Euphrates.  Near  Bagdad  the  two  rivers  are  only 
a few  leagues  apart.  However,  they  do  not  yet  blend  their  waters ; after  pro- 
ceeding side  by  side  for  some  twenty  or  thirty  miles,  they  again  separate  and 
only  finally  unite  at  a point  some  eighty^  leagues  lower  down.  At  the  beginning 
of  our  geological  period  their  course  was  not  such  a long  one.  The  sea  then 
penetrated  as  far  as  lat.  33°,  and  was  only  arrested  by  the  last  undulations  of 
the  great  plateau  of  secondary  formation,  which  descend  from  the  mountain 
group  of  Armenia  : the  two  rivers  entered  the  sea  at  a distance  of  about  twenty 
leagues  apart,  falling  into  a gulf  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  last  spurs  of  the 
mountains  of  Iran,  on  the  west  by  the  sandy  heights  which  border  the  margin 
of  the  Arabian  Desert.4  They  filled  up  this  gulf  with  their  alluvial  deposit, 
aided  by  the  Adhem,  the  Diyaleh,  the  Kerkha,  the  Karun,  and  other  rivers, 
which  at  the  end  of  long  independent  courses  became  tributaries  of  the  Tigris. 
The  present  beds  of  the  two  rivers,  connected  by  numerous  canals,  at  length 
meet  near  the  village  of  Kornah  and  form  one  single  river,  the  Shatt-el-Arab, 

1 A local  legend  preserved  by  Ainsworth,  in  his  Researches  in  Assyria,  Babylonia,  and  Chaldxa, 
attributes  the  destruction  of  the  ancient  Bassorah  to  a series  of  inundations  and  tempests. 

2 For  a detailed  description  of  the  course  of  the  Tigiis  and  Euphrates,  see  Elisee  Eeclus,  Geographic 
universelle,  vol.  ix  p.  377,  et  seq.  The  Euphrates  was  called  in  Assyrian  Purattu,  the  river  of  rivers, 
“ tire  great  water,”  being  an  adaptation  of  the  Sumerian  Pura-nunu;  the  Tigris  was  Diglat  or  Idiglat 
(Fit.  Delitzsch,  Wo  lag  das  Parodies?  pp.  1G9-173).  The  classic  etymology  which  attributed  to  tliis 
last  name  the  meaning  of  arrow,  so  called  in  consequence  of  the  prodigious  rapidity  of  the  current 
(Strabo,  xi.  14,  8 ; Pliny,  1 list.  Nat.,  vi.  127 ; Quintus  Curtius,  iv.  9,  G),  is  of  Persian  origin. 

3 These  are  the  precise  words  used  by  Pomtonius  Mela,  De  Situ  Orbis,  iii.  8 : “ Occidentem 
petit,  ni  Taurus  obstet,  in  nostra  maria  venturus.” 

4 This  fact  has  been  established  by  Eoss  and  Lynch  in  two  articles  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society,  vol.  ix.  pp.  44G,  472.  The  Chaldseans  and  Assyrians  called  the  gulf  into  which 
the  two  rivers  debouched,  Nar  Marratum,  or  “salt  river,”  a name  which  they  extended  to  the 
Chaldiean  Sea,  i.e.  to  the  whole  Persian  Gulf  (Fit.  Delitzsch,  TFo  lag  des  Parodies  ? pp.  180-182). 


THE  TIGRIS  AND  EUPHRATES  WITH  THEIR  AFFLUENTS.  549 


which  carries  their  waters  to  the  sea.  The  mud  with  which  they  are  charged 
is  deposited  when  it  reaches  their  mouth,  and  accumulates  rapidly ; it  is  said 
that  the  coast  advances  about  a mile  every  seventy  years.1  In  its  upper 
reaches  the  Euphrates  collects  a number  of  small  affluents,  the  most  important 
of  which,  the  Kara-Su,  has  often  been  confounded  with  it.2  Near  the  middle 
of  its  course,  the  Sadjur  on  the  right  bank  carries  into  it  the  waters  of  the 
Taurus  and  the  Amanus,3  on  the  left  bank  the  Balikh  and  the  Khabur  4 con- 
tribute those  of  the  Karadja-Dagh  ; from  the  mouth  of  the  Khabur  to  the  sea 
the  Euphrates  receives  no  further  affluent.  The  Tigris  is  fed  on  the  left  by 
the  Bitlis-Khai,5  the  two  Zabs,6  the  Adhem,7  and  the  Diyaleh.8  The  Euphrates 
is  navigable  from  Sumeisat,  the  Tigris  from  Mossul,9  both  of  them  almost  as 
soon  as  they  leave  the  mountains.  They  are  subject  to  annual  floods,  which 
occur  when  the  winter  snow  melts  on  the  higher  ranges  of  Armenia.  The 
Tigris,  which  rises  from  the  southern  slope  of  the  Niphates  and  has  the  more 
direct  course,  is  the  first  to  overflow  its  banks,  which  it  does  at  the  beginning 
of  March,  and  reaches  its  greatest  height  about  the  10th  or  12th  of  May.  The 
Euphrates  rises  in  the  middle  of  March,  and  does  not  attain  its  highest  level 
till  the  close  of  May.  From  June  onwards  it  falls  with  increasing  rapidity  ; 
by  September  all  the  water  which  has  not  been  absorbed  by  the  soil  has 
returned  to  the  river-bed.  The  inundation  does  not  possess  the  same  importance 

' Loftus  ( Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  282)  estimated,  about  the  middle  of 
the  present  century,  the  progress  of  alluvial  deposit  at  about  one  English  mile  in  every  seventy 
years;  H.  Rawlinson  ( Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society , vol.  xxvii.  p.  186)  considers  that  the 
progress  must  have  been  more  considerable  in  ancieut  times,  and  estimates  it  at  an  English  mile  in 
thirty  years.  Kiepert  ( Lelirbuch  der  Alten  Geographic,  p.  138,  note  2)  thinks,  taking  the  above  estimate 
as  a basis,  that  in  the  sixth  century  before  our  era  the  fore-shore  came  from  about  ten  to  twelve  Ger- 
man miles  (47  to  56  English)  higher  up  than  the  present  fore-shore.  G.  Rawlinson  ( The  Five  Great 
Monarchies,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  4,  5)  estimates  on  his  part  that  between  the  thirtieth  and  twentieth 
centuries  b.c.,  a period  in  which  he  places  the  establishment  of  the  first  Chaldaean  Empire,  the  fore-shore 
was  more  than  120  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Shatt-el-Arab,  to  the  north  of  the  present  village  of  Kornah. 

2 This  is  the  Arzania  of  the  cuneiform  texts,  a name  which,  in  its  Hellenised  form  of  Arsanias, 
has  been  transferred  by  the  classical  geographers  and  historians  to  the  other  arm  of  the  Euphrates, 
the  Murad-Su  (Fk.  Delitzsch,  Wo  lag  das  Parodies  ? pp.  182,  183). 

3 In  Assyrian,  Sagura,  Saguri  (Schrader,  Keilinschriften  und  Geschichtsforschung,  p.  220). 

4 The  Balikh  is  called  in  Assyrian  Balikhi,  BaAixa>  BiAoxos,  Belios  (Ammianus  Makcellinus,  xxxiii. 
3,  7).  The  Khabur  has  not  changed  its  name  since  ancient  times  ; it  is  fed  on  the  right  by  the  Khar- 
mish  (Fr.  Delitzsch,  TFo  lag  das  Parodies  ? p.  183).  The  Greek  form  of  the  name  is  Xa&wpas,  ’AP6pf>as. 

5 The  Kentrites  of  Xenophon  ( Anabasis , iv.  2,  1). 

0 The  upper  Zab,  the  Lycos  of  the  Greeks,  is  in  Assyrian  Zabu  Elu ; the  lower,  the  Kapros,  is 
the  Zabu  Shupalu.  The  name  “Zabatos”  is  found  in  Herodotus  (v.  52),  applied  to  the  two  rivers 
(Kiepert,  Lehrbuch  der  Alten  Geographie,  p.  136,  note  3). 

7 The  Radanu  of  the  Assyrians,  the  Physcos  of  Xenophon  ( Anabasis , ii.  4,  25)  : the  name  is  still 
preserved  in  that  of  one  of  the  towns  watered  by  this  river,  Radhan  (Fr.  Delitzsch,  Wo  lag  das 
Parodies  p.  185). 

8 In  Assyrian,  Turnat,  the  Tornadotus  of  Plinv  (Hist.  Nat.,\ i.  132),  already  named  AiaAas  by  the 
Greek  geographers  (Kiepert,  Lehrbuch  der  Alten  Geographie,  p.  137,  note  4). 

0 Chesney,  The  Expedition  of  the  Survey  of  the  rivers  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  vol.  i.  pp.  44,  45 ; it 
was  at  Samosata  that  the  Emperor  Julian  had  part  of  the  fleet  built  which  he  took  with  him  in  his 
disastrous  expedition  against  the  Persians.  The  Tigris  is  navigable  from  Diarbekir  during  the  whole 
period  of  inundation  (Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  3). 


550 


ANCIENT  CH  ALDAS  A. 


for  the  regions  covered  by  it,  that  the  rise  of  the  Nile  does  for  Egypt.  In 
fact,  it  does  more  harm  than  good,  and  the  river-side  population  have  always 
worked  hard  to  protect  themselves  from  it  and  to  keep  it  away  from  their  lands 
rather  than  facilitate  its  access  to  them  ; they  regard  it  as  a sort  of  necessary 
evil  to  which  they  resign  themselves,  while  trying  to  minimize  its  effects.1 

The  first  races  to  colonize  this  country  of  rivers,  or  at  any  rate  the  first  of 
which  we  can  find  traces,  seem  to  have  belonged  to  three  different  types.  The 
most  important  were  the  Semites,  who  spoke  a dialect  akin  to  Aramaic,  Hebrew, 
and  Phoenician.  It  was  for  a long  time  supposed  that  they  came  down  from 
the  north,  and  traces  of  their  occupation  have  been  pointed  out  in  Armenia  in 
the  vicinity  of  Ararat,  or  halfway  down  the  course  of  the  Tigris,  at  the  foot 
of  the  Gordyaean  mountains.2  It  has  recently  been  suggested  that  we  ought 
rather  to  seek  for  their  place  of  origin  in  Southern  Arabia,  and  this  view  is 
gaining  ground  among  the  learned.3  Side  by  side  with  these  Semites,  the 
monuments  give  evidence  of  a race  of  ill-defined  character,  which  some  have 
sought,  without  much  success,  to  connect  with  the  tribes  of  the  Ural 4 or  Altai’ ; 
these  people  are  for  the  present  provisionally  called  Sumerians.5  They  came, 
it  would  appear,  from  some  northern  country ; they  brought  with  them  from 
their  original  home  a curious  system  of  writing,  which,  modified,  transformed, 
and  adopted  by  ten  different  nations,  has  preserved  for  us  all  that  we  know  in 


1 Tlie  traveller  Olivier  noticed  this,  and  writes  as  follows : “ The  land  there  is  rather  less  fertile 
[than  in  Egypt],  because  it  does  not  receive  the  alluvial  deposits  of  the  rivers  with  the  same  regularity 
as  that  of  the  Delta.  It  is  necessary  to  irrigate  it  in  order  to  render  it  productive,  and  to  protect  it 
sedulously  from  the  inundations  which  are  too  destructive  in  their  action  and  too  irregular”  ( Voyage 
dans  V Empire  Othoman,  VEgypte  et  la  Perse,  An  12,  vol.  ii.  p.  423). 

2 'This  is  the  opinion  expressed  by  Renan  ( Histoire  gdntrale  des  langues  stfmitiques,  2nd  edit.,  p.  29), 
where  a reference  will  be  found  to  the  authors  who  have  adopted  this  view  : since  Kenan,  J.  Guidi 
{Delia  Sede  primitiva  dei  Popoli  Semitici,  in  the  Memorie  della  11.  Accademia  dei  Lincei,  3rd  series, 
vol.  iii.),  Fr,  Lenormant  ( Les  Origines  de  VEistOire,  vol.  ii.  p.  196),  Hommel  {La  Patrie  oriyinaire  des 
Semites,  in  the  A tti  del  IV.  Congresso  Internazionale  degli  Orientalisti,  pp.  217,  218;  Die  Namen  der 
Sliugethiere,  p.  496,  et  seq. ; Die  Semitischen  Vollier  und  Sprachen,  pp.  7,  11,  12,  59-63,  95,  et  seq.) 
have  written  in  support  of  the  northern  origin  of  the  Semites. 

3 Sayce,  Assyrian  Grammar  for  Comparative  Fur  poses,  1st  edit.,  p.  13  ; Sprengeh,  Leben  und  Lehre 
des  Muhammad,  vol.  i.  p.  241,  et  seq. ; and  Alte  Geograpliie  Arabiens,  pp.  293-295,  especially  the  note 
on  p.  294 ; E.  Schrader,  Die  Abstammung  der  Clialdxer  und  die  Ursilze  der  Semiten,  in  the  Zeit- 
sclirift  der  D.  M.  Gesellchaft,  vol.  xxvii.  p.  397,  et  seq. ; Tiele,  Babylonisch-Assyrische  Gescliichte, 
pp.  106,  107. 

4 Fr.  Leuormant  has  energetically  defended  this  hypothesis  in  the  majority  of  his  works:  it  is 
set  forth  at  some  length  in  his  work  on  La  Langue  primitive  de  la  Chaldde.  Hommel,  on  the  other 
hand,  maintains  and  strives  to  demonstrate  scientifically  the  relationship  of  the  non-Semitic  tongue 
with  Turkish  {Geschichte  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  pp.  125,  244,  et  seq.). 

5 The  name  Accadian,  proposed  by  H.  Kawlinson  and  by  Hincks,  and  adopte  1 by  Sayce,  seems  to 
have  given  way  to  Sumerian,  the  title  put  forward  by  Oppert.  The  existence  of  the  Sumerian  or 
Sumero-Accadian  has  been  contested  by  Hale'vy  in  a numb,  r of  noteworthy  works  : Becherches  critiques 
sur  VOrigine  de  la  Civilisation  Babylonienne,  8vo,  1876  (which  appeared  in  the  Journal  Asiatique, 
1874-76)  ; Etude  sur  les  documents  pldlologiques  assyriens,  1878  ; Les  Nouvelles  Inscriptions  chalddennes 
et  la  question  de  Sumer  et  diAccad,  1882;  Observations  sur  les  noms  de  nornbre  sumCr tens,  1883  (articles 
collected  from  the  Melanges  de  Critique  et  d’ Histoire  relatifs  aux  peuples  se antiques,  8vo,  Paris,  1884); 
Documents  rdliyieux  de  V Assyrie  et  de  la  Babylonie  (8vo,  Paris,  1883) ; Aperrju  Grammatical  de 


SUMERIANS  AND  SEMITES. 


551 


regard  to  the  majority  of  the  empires  which  rose  and  fell  in  Western  Asia 
before  the  Persian  conquest.  Semite  or  Sumerian,  it  is  still  doubtful  which 
preceded  the  other  at  the  mouths  of  the  Euphrates.  The  Sumerians,  who  were 
for  a time  all-powerful  in  the  centuries  before  the  dawn  of  history,  had  already 
mingled  closely  with  the  Semites  when  we  first  hear  of  them.  Their  language 
gave  way  to  the  Semitic,  and  tended  gradually  to  become  a language  of 
ceremony  and  ritual,  which  was  at  last  learnt  less  for  everyday  use,  than  for 
the  drawing  up  of  certain  royal  inscriptions,  or  for  the  interpretation  of  very 
ancient  texts  of  a legal  or  sacred  character.  Their  religion  became  assimilated 
to  the  religion,  and  their  gods  identified  with  the  gods,  of  the  Semites.  The 
process  of  fusion  commenced  at  such  an  early  date,  that  nothing  has  really 
come  down  to  us  from  the  time  when  the  two  races  were  strangers  to  each 
other.  We  are,  therefore,  unable  to  say  with  certainty  how  much  each  borrowed 
from  the  other,  what  each  gave,  or  relinquished  of  its  individual  instincts 
and  customs.  We  must  take  and  judge  them  as  they  come  before  us,  as 
forming  one  single  nation,  imbued  with  the  same  ideas,  influenced  in  all  their 
acts  by  the  same  civilization,  and  possessed  of  such  strongly  marked  character- 
istics that  only  in  the  last  days  of  their  existence  do  we  find  any  appreciable 
change.  In  the  course  of  the  ages  they  had  to  submit  to  the  invasions  and 
domination  of  some  dozen  different  races,  of  whom  some — Assyrians  and 
Chaldteans — were  descended  from  a Semitic  stock,  while  the  others — Elamites, 
Cossseans,  Persians,  Macedonians,  and  Parthians — either  were  not  connected 
with  them  by  any  tie  of  blood,  or  traced  their  origin  in  some  distant  manner 
to  the  Sumerian  brand).  They  got  quickly  rid  of  a portion  of  these  super- 
fluous elements,  and  absorbed  or  assimilated  the  rest;  like  the  Egyptians, 
they  seem  to  have  been  one  of  those  races  which,  once  established,  were 
incapable  of  ever  undergoing  modification,  and  remained  unchanged  from  one 
end  of  their  existence  to  the  other. 

Their  country  must  have  presented  at  the  beginning  very  much  the  same 
aspect  of  disorder  and  neglect  which  it  offers  to  modern  eyes.  It  was  a flat 


V Allographie  Assyro-Babylonienne  (in  the  Actes  du  6"“’  Congres  International  des  Orientalistes,  vol.  i. 
pp.  535-568),  and  in  a number  of  other  articles  which  have  appeared  in  the  interval.  M.  Hale'vy 
wishes  to  recognize  in  the  so-called  Sumerian  documents  the  Semitic  tongue  of  the  ordinary 
inscriptions,  but  written  in  a priestly  syllabic  character  subject  to  certain  rules;  this  would  be 
practically  a cryptogram,  or  rather  an  allogram.  M.  Hale'vy  won  over  Messrs.  Guyard  and  Pognon 
in  1 ranee,  Delitzsch  and  a part  of  the  Delitzseli  schorl  in  Germany,  to  his  view  of  the  facts.  The 
controversy,  which  has  been  carried  on  on  both  sides  with  a somewhat  unnecessary  vehemence, 
still  rages  ; the  stage  which  it  has  reached  so  far  maybe  gathered  from  Lehmann’s  book,  Sclmmasch- 
schumuliin,  Konig  von  Babylonien  (pp.  57,  178).  Without  reviewing  the  arguments  in  detail,  and 
w hile  doing  lull  justice  to  the  profound  learning  displayed  by  M.  Hale'vy,  I feel  forced  to  declare 
with  Tiele  that  his  criticisms  “ oblige  scholars  to  carefully  reconsider  all  that  has  been  taken  as 
proved  in  these  matters,  but  that  they  do  not  warrant  us  in  rejecting  ns  untenable  the  hypothesis, 
still  a very  probable  one,  according  to  which  (he  difference  in  the  graphic  systems  corresponds  to  a 
real  difference  in  idiom  ” ( Babyloniscli-Assyrische  Geschiclite,  p.  67). 


552 


ANCIENT  CHALDTEA. 


interminable  moorland  stretching  away  to  the  horizon,  there  to  begin  again 
seemingly  more  limitless  than  ever,  with  no  rise  or  fall  in  the  ground  to  break  the 
dull  monotony;  clumps  of  palm  trees  and  slender  mimosas,  intersected  by  lines 
of  water  gleaming  in  the  distance,  then  long  patches  of  wormwood  and  mallow, 
endless  vistas  of  burnt-up  plain,  more  palms  and  more  mimosas,  make  up  the 
picture  of  the  land,  whose  uniform  soil  consists  of  rich,  stiff,  heavy  clay,  split  up 
by  the  heat  of  the  sun  into  a network  of  deep  narrow  fissures,  from  which  the 


shrubs  and  wild  herbs  shoot 
forth  each  year  in  spring-time. 
By  an  almost  imperceptible 
slope  it  falls  gently  away  from 
north  to  south  towards  the 
Persian  Gulf,  from  east  to  west 
towards  the  Arabian  plateau. 
The  Euphrates  flows  through 
it  with  unstable  and  changing 
course,  between  shifting  banks 
which  it  shapes  and  re-shapes 
from  season  to  season.  The 
slightest  impulse  of  its  current 
encroaches  on  them,  breaks 
through  them,  and  makes  open- 
ings for  streamlets, the  majority 


GIGANTIC  CHALDA5AN  REEDS.1 


of  which  are  clogged  up  and  obliterated  by  the  washing  away  of  their  margins, 
almost  as  rapidly  as  they  are  formed.  Others  grow  wider  and  longer,  and, 
sending  out  branches,  are  transformed  into  permanent  canals  or  regular  rivers, 
navigable  at  certain  seasons.  They  meet  on  the  left  bank  detached  offshoots  of 
the  Tigris,  and  after  wandering  capriciously  in  the  space  between  the  two  rivers, 
at  last  rejoin  their  parent  stream  : such  are  the  Shatt-el-Hai  and  the  Shatt-en- 
Nil.  The  overflowing  waters  on  the  right  bank,  owing  to  the  fall  of  the  land, 
run  towards  the  low  limestone  hills  which  shut  in  the  basin  of  the  Euphrates 
in  the  direction  of  the  desert ; they  are  arrested  at  the  foot  of  these  hills,  and 
are  diverted  on  to  the  low-lying  ground,  where  they  lose  themselves  in  the 
morasses,  or  hollow  out  a series  of  lakes  along  its  borders,  the  largest  of  which, 
Bahr-i-Nedjif,  is  shut  in  on  three  sides  by  steep  cliffs,  and  rises  or  falls 
periodically  with  the  floods.  A broad  canal,  which  takes  its  origin  in  the 
direction  of  Hit  at  the  beginning  of  the  alluvial  plain,  bears  with  it  the  over- 
flow, and,  skirting  the  lowest  terraces  of  the  Arabian  chain,  runs  almost 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  Assyrian  bas-relief  of  the  palace  ot  Nirnrud  (Layaud,  The 
Monuments  of  Nineveh,  2nd  series,  pi.  xxvii.). 


THE  LAND  RECLAIMED  FROM  THE  WATERS. 


553 


parallel  to  the  Euphrates.1  In  proportion  as  the  canal  proceeds  southward  the 
ground  sinks  still  lower,  and  becomes  saturated  with  the  overflowing  waters, 
until,  the  banks  gradually  disappearing,  the  whole  neighbourhood  is  converted 
into  a morass.  The  Euphrates  and  its  branches  do  not  at  all  times  succeed  in 
reaching  the  sea : 2 they  are  lost  for  the  most  part  in  vast  lagoons  to  which  the 
tide  comes  up,  and  in  its  ebb  bears  their  waters  away  with  it.  Eeeds  grow 
there  luxuriantly  in  enormous  beds,  and  reach  sometimes  a height  of  from 


THE  MARSHES  ABOUT  THE  CONFLUENCE  OF  THE  KERKHA  AND  TIGRIS.3 


thirteen  to  sixteen  feet ; banks  of  black  and  putrid  mud  emerge  amidst  the 
green  growth,  and  give  off  deadly  emanations.  Winter  is  scarcely  felt  here  : 
snow  is  unknown,  hoar-frost  is  rarely  seen,  but  sometimes  in  the  morning  a 
thin  film  of  ice  covers  the  marshes,  to  disappear  under  the  first  rays  of  the 
sun.4  For  six  weeks  in  November  and  December  there  is  much  rain : after 
this  period  there  are  only  occasional  showers,  occurring  at  longer  and  longer 

1 The  arm  of  the  Euphrates  which  skirts  the  chain  in  this  way  is  called  Pallacopas,  or,  according 
to  others,  Pallacottas  (Applan,  Bel.  civ.,  lib.  ii.  153,  Didot’s  edition)  : this  form,  if  it  is  authentic, 
would  allow  us  to  identify  the  canal  mentioned  by  classical  writers  with  the  Nar-Pallukat  of  the 
Babylonian  inscriptions  (Delattre,  Les  Travaux  IIydrauliqu.es  en  Bahylonie,  p.  47). 

2 Classical  writers  mention  this  fact  more  than  once  ; for  instance,  Arrian  ( Anabasis , vii.  7)  in  the 
time  of  Alexander,  and  Polybius  (ix.  40)  in  that  of  his  successors.  Pliny  (Hist.  Nat.,  vi.  27)  attributes 
the  disappearance  of  the  river  to  irrigation  works  carried  out  by  the  inhabitants  of  Uruk,  “ longo  tem- 
pore Euphratem  prseclusere  Orcheui,  et  accolse  agros  irrigantes,  nec  nisi  per  Tigrim  defertur  ad  mare.” 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  J.  Dieulafov,  A Suze,  1884-1880,  Journal  des 
Fouilles,  p.  93. 

4 Loftus  ( Travels  and  Researches  in,  Chaldxa,  pp.  73,  74,  146,  147)  attributes  the  lowering  of  the 
temperature  during  the  winter  to  the  wind  blowing  over  a soil  impregnated  witli  saltpetre.  “ We 
were,”  he  says,  “ in  a kind  of  immense  freezing  chamber.” 


554 


ANCIENT  CHALDEE  A. 


intervals  until  May,  when  they  entirely  cease,  and  the  summer  sets  in,  to  last 
until  the  following  November.  There  are  almost  six  continuous  months  of 
depressing  and  moist  heat,  which  overcomes  both  men  and  animals  and  makes 
them  incapable  of  any  constant  effort.1  Sometimes  a south  or  east  wind 
suddenly  arises,  and  bearing  with  it  across  the  fields  and  canals  whirlwinds 
of  sand,  burns  up  in  its  passage  the  little  verdure  which  the  sun  had  spared. 
Swarms  of  locusts  follow  in  its  train,  and  complete  the  work  of  devastation.  A 
sound  as  of  distant  rain  is  at  first  heard,  increasing  in  intensity  as  the  creatures 
approach.  Soon  their  thickly  concentrated  battalions  fill  the  heavens  on  all 
sides,  flying  with  slow  and  uniform  motion  at  a great  height.  They  at  length 
alight,  cover  everything,  devour  everything,  and,  propagating  their  species,  die 
within  a few  days : nothing,  not  a blade  of  vegetation,  remains  on  the  region 
where  they  alighted.2 

Notwithstanding  these  drawbacks,  the  country  was  not  lacking  in  resources. 
The  soil  was  almost  as  fertile  as  the  loam  of  Egypt,  and,  like  the  latter,  rewarded 
a hundredfold  the  labour  of  the  inhabitants.3  Among  the  wild  herbage  which 
spreads  over  the  country  in  the  spring,  and  clothes  it  for  a brief  season  with 
flowers,  it  was  found  that  some  plants,  with  a little  culture,  could  be  rendered 
useful  to  men  and  beasts.4  There  were  ten  or  twelve  different  species  of  pulse 
to  choose  from — beans,  lentils,  chick-peas,  vetches,  kidney  beans,  onions, 
cucumbers,  egg-plants,  “ gombo,”  and  pumpkins.  From  the  seed  of  the 
ses  .me  an  oil  was  expressed  which  served  for  food,  while  the  castor-oil  plant 
furnished  that  required  for  lighting.  The  safflower  and  henna  supplied  the 
women  with  dyes  for  the  stuffs  which  they  manufactured  from  hemp  and  flax. 
Aquatic  plants  were  more  numerous  than  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  but  they 
did  not  occupy  sueh  an  important  place  among  food-stufifs.  The  “ lily  bread  ” 
of  the  Pharaohs  would  have  seemed  meagre  fare  to  people  accustomed  from 
early  times  to  wheaten  bread.  Wheat  and  barley  are  considered  to  be  indi- 
genous on  the  plains  of  the  Euphrates ; it  was  supposed  to  be  here  that  they 

1 Loftus  ( Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldsea,  p.  9,  note)  says  that  lie  himself  had  witnessed  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Bagdad  during  the  daytime  birds  perched  on  the  palm  trees  in  an  exhausted 
condition,  and  panting  with  open  beaks.  The  inhabitants  of  Bagdad  during  the  summer  pass 
their  nights  on  the  housetops,  and  the  hours  of  day  in  passages  within,  expressly  constructed 
to  protect  them  from  the  heat  (Olivier,  Voyage  dans  VEmpire  Otlioman,  vol.  ii.  pp.  381,  382, 
392,  393). 

2 As  to  the  locusts,  see  Olivier  (op.  cit.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  424,  425  ; iii.  441),  who  was  on  two  occasions  a 
witness  of  their  invasions.  It  is  not,  properly  speaking,  a locust,  but  a cricket,  the  Acridium 
peregrinum,  frequently  met  with  in  Egypt,  Syria,  and  Arabia. 

3 Olivier,  who  was  a physician  and  naturalist,  and  had  visited  Egypt  as  well  as  Mesopotamia, 
thought  that  Babylonia  was  somewhat  less  fertile  than  Egypt  (op.  cit.,  vol.  ii.  423).  Loftus,  who 
was  neither,  and  had  not  visited  Egypt,  declares,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  are 
no  less  productive  than  those  of  the  Nile  (Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldata,  p.  14). 

4 The  Horn  of  Mesopotamia  is  described  briefly  by  Hcefer,  Chaldee,  pp.  180-182;  of.  Olivier’s 
account  of  it  (op.  cit,,  vol.  ii.  pp.  41G,  ct  seq.,  and  443,  et  seq.). 


TEE  FLORA : CEREALS  AND  TEE  DATE-PALM. 


555 


were  first  cultivated  in  Western  Asia,  and  that  they  spread  from  hence  to  Syria, 
Egypt,  and  the  whole  of  Europe.1  “ The  soil  there  is  so  favourable  to  the  growth 
of  cereals,  that  it  yields  usually  two  hundredfold,  and  in  places  of  exceptional 
fertility  three  hundredfold.  The  leaves  of  wheat  and  barley  have  a width  of 
four  digits.  As  for  the  millet  and  sesame,  which  in  altitude  are  as  great  as 
trees,  I will  not  state  their  height,  although  I know  it  from  experience,  being 
convinced  that  those  who  have  not  lived  in  Babylonia  would  regard  my 


THE  GATHERING  OF  THE  SPATHES  OF  THE  MALE  PALM  TREE.2 


statement  with  incredulity.”  3 Herodotus  in  his  enthusiasm  exaggerated  the 
matter,  or  perhaps,  as  a general  rule,  he  selected  as  examples  the  exceptional 
instances  which  had  been  mentioned  to  him  : at  present  wheat  and  barley  give 
a yield  to  the  husbandman  of  some  thirty  or  forty  fold.4  “ The  date-palm 
meets  all  the  other  needs  of  the  population ; they  make  from  it  a kind  of 
bread,  wine,  vinegar,  honey,  cakes,  and  numerous  kinds  of  stuffs;  the  smiths 
use  the  stones  of  its  fruit  for  charcoal ; these  same  stones,  broken  and  macerated, 

1 Native  traditions  collected  by  Berossus  confirm  this  (fragm.  i.  in  Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Com- 
mentaire  sur  les  fragments  cosmogoniques  de  Be'rose,  p.  6),  and  the  testimony  of  Olivier  is  usually  cited 
as  falling  in  with  that  of  the  Chaldaean  writer.  Olivier  is  considered,  indeed,  to  have  discovered  wild 
cereals  in  Mesopotamia.  He  only  says,  however  ( Voyage  dans  V Empire  Olhoman,  vol.  iii.  p.  460),  that 
on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  above  Anah  he  had  met  with  “ wheat,  barley,  and  spelt  in  a kind  of 
ravine;”  from  the  context  it  clearly  follows  that  these  were  plants  which  had  gone  back  into  a wild 
state — instances  of  which  have  been  observed  several  times  in  Mesopotamia.  A.  de  Candolle 
admitted  the  Mesopotamian  origin  of  the  various  species  of  wheat  and  barley  ( Origine  des  plantes 
cultures,  pp  354,  361 ; cf.  Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  ii.  p.  266). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a cylinder  in  the  Museum  at  the  Hague  (Menant,  Catalogue 
des  Cylindres  orientaux  du  Cabinet  des  Me'dailles,  pi.  iii.,  No.  14;  cf.  Lajard,  Introduction  a V Chide 
du  Culte  de  Mithra  en  Orient  et  en  Occident,  pi.  xxvii.  7).  The  original  measures  almost  an  inch  in 
height. 

3 Herodotus,  i.  193,  to  whose  testimony  may  be  added,  among  ancient  writers,  that  of 
Theophrastus  ( Historia  Plantarum,  viii.  7)  and  that  of  the  geographer  Strabo  (xvi.  p.  742). 

4 Olivier,  Voyage  dans  VEmpire  Othoman,  etc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  400. 


55G 


ANCIENT  ClIALDAE A. 


are  given  as  a fattening  food  to  cattle  and  sheep.”  1 Such  a useful  tree  was 
tended  with  a loving  care,  the  vicissitudes  in  its  growth  were  observed,  and  its 
reproduction  was  facilitated  by  the  process  of  shaking  the  flowers  of  the  male 
palm  over  those  of  the  female : the  gods  themselves  had  taught  this  artifice  to 
men,  and  they  were  frequently  represented  with  a bunch  of  flowers  in  their 
right  hand,  in  the  attitude  assumed  by  a peasant  in  fertilizing  a palm  tree.2 
Fruit  trees  were  everywhere  mingled  with  ornamental  trees — the  fig,  apple, 
almond,  walnut,  apricot,  pistachio,  vine,  with  the  plane  tree,  cypress,  tamarisk, 
and  acacia ; in  the  prosperous  period  of  the  country  the  plain  of  the  Euphrates 
was  a great  orchard  which  extended  uninterruptedly  from  the  plateau  of 
Mesopotamia  to  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf.3 

The  flora  would  not  have  been  so  abundant  if  the  fauna  had  been  sufficient 
for  the  supply  of  a large  population.4  A considerable  proportion  of  the  tribes 
on  the  Lower  Euphrates  lived  for  a long  time  on  fish  only.  They  consumed 
them  either  fresh,  salted,  or  smoked  : they  dried  them  in  the  sun,  crushed 
them  in  a mortar,  strained  the  pulp  through  linen,  and  worked  it  up  into  a kind 
of  bread  or  into  cakes.5  The  barbel  and  carp  attained  a great  size  in  these 
sluggish  waters,  and  if  the  Chaldseans,  like  the  Arabs  who  have  succeeded  them 
in  these  regions,  clearly  preferred  these  fish  above  others,  they  did  not  despise 
at  the  same  time  such  less  delicate  species  as  the  eel,  murena,  silurus,  and  even 
that  singular  gurnard  whose  habits  are  an  object  of  wonder  to  our  naturalists. 
This  fish  spends  its  existence  usually  in  the  water,  but  a life  in  the  open  air 
has  no  terrors  for  it : it  leaps  out  on  the  bank,  climbs  trees  without  much 
difficulty,  finds  a congenial  habitat  on  the  banks  of  mud  exposed  by  the 
falling  tide,  and  basks  there  in  the  sun,  prepared  to  vanish  in  the  ooze  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye  if  some  approaching  bird  should  catch  sight  of  it.6 

1 Strabo,  xvi.  i.  14  : cf.  Theophrastus,  Hist.  Plant.,  ii.  2 ; Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.,  xiii.  4.  Even  to  this 
day  the  inhabitants  use  the  palm  tree  and  its  various  parts  in  a similar  way  (A.  Rich,  Voyage  aux 
ruines  de  Babylone,  p.  154,  French  translation  by  Raimond,  formerly  French  Consul  at  Bagdad,  who 
has  added  to  the  information  supplied  by  the  English  author). 

2 E.  B.  Tylor  was  the  first  to  put  forward  the  view  that  the  Chaldaeaus  were  acquainted  with  the 
artificial  fertilization  of  the  palm  tree  from  the  earliest  times  {The  Fertilization  of  Date-Palms,  in  the 
Academy,  June  8,  1886,  p.  396,  and  in  Nature,  1890,  p.  283 ; The  Winged  Figures  of  the  Assyrian  and 
other  Ancient  Monuments,  in  the  Proceedings,  vol.  xii.,  1890,  pp.  383,  393  ; cf.  Bonavxa,  Did  the  Assyrians 
know  the  Sexes  of  the  Date-Palms  ? in  the  Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  iv.  pp.  64-69,  89-95). 

3 This  was  still  its  condition  when  the  Roman  legions,  in  their  last  campaign  under  J ulian,  invaded 
it,  in  the  IVth  century  of  our  era  : “ In  his  regionibus  agri  sunt  plures  consiti  vineis  varioque  pomorum 
genere : ubi  oriri  arbores  adsuetm  palmarum,  per  spatia  ampla  adusque  Mesenem  et  mare  pertinent 
magnum,  instar  ingentium  nemorum  ” (Ammianus  Marc.,  lib.  xxiv.  3,  12). 

4 Ilcefer  has  collected  all  the  information  we  possess  on  the  existing  fauna  of  the  country  of  the 
Tigris  and  Euphrates  ( Chaldde , pp.  182,  186),  and  his  work  is  the  only  one  we  have  upon  the  subject. 
As  to  the  animals  represented  and  named  on  the  monuments,  see  Fr.  Delitzsch,  Assyrische  Studien : 
I.  Assyrische  Tldernamen ; and  W.  Houghton,  On  the  Mammalia  of  the  Assyrian  Sculptures,  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  v.  pp.  33-64,  319-388. 

5 Herodotus,  i.  200.  The  odd  fashion  in  which  the  Arabs  of  the  Lower  Euphrates  catch  the 
barbel  with  the  harpoon  has  been  briefly  described  by  Layard,  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  p.  567. 

“ Ainsworth,  Researches  in  Assyria,  pp.  135.  136  ; Frazer,  Mesopotamia  and  Assyria,  p.  373. 


THE  FAUNA:  FISH  AND  BIRDS.  557 

Pelican?,  herons,  cranes,  storks,  cormorants,  hundreds  of  varieties  of  sea- 
gulls, ducks,  swans,  wild  geese,  secure  in  the  possession  of  an  inexhaustible 


A WINGED  GENIUS  HOLDING  IN  HIS  HAND  THE  SPATHE  OF  THE  MALE  DATE-PALM.1 

supply  of  food,  sport  and  prosper  among  the  reeds.  The  ostrich,  greater 
bustard,  the  common  and  red-legged  partridge  and  quail,  find  their  habitat 
on  the  borders  of  the  desert ; while  the  thrush,  blackbird,  ortolan,  pigeon, 
and  turtle-dove  abound  on  every  side,  in  spite  of  daily  onslaughts  from 
eagles,  hawks,  and  other  birds  of  prey.2  Snakes  are  found  here  and  there, 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  from  Nimrud  in  the  British  Museum. 

2 For  the  birds  represented  or  named  on  the  monuments,  see  the  monograph  by  W.  Houghton, 
The  Birds  of  the  Assyrian  Monuments  and  Records,  in  the  Trans,  of  the  Bihl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  42-142. 


558 


ANCIENT  Cl  I ALT)  Ai  A. 


but  they  are  for  the  most  part  of  innocuous  species  : three  poisonous  varieties 
only  are  known,  and  their  bite  does  not  produce  such  terrible  consequences 
as  that  of  the  horned  viper  or  Egyptian  uroeus.  There  are  two  kinds  of  lion 
— one  without  mane,  and  the  other  hooded,  with  a heavy  mass  of  black  and 
tangled  hair:  the  proper  signification  of  the  old  Chaldsean  name  was  “the  great 
dog,”  and  they  have,  indeed,  a greater  resemblance  to  large  dogs  than  to  the 
red  lions  of  Africa.1  They  fly  at  the  approach  of  man  ; they  betake  themselves 


THE  HEAVILY  WANED  LION  WOl'NDED  BY  AN  ARROW  AND  VOW1TING  BLOOD.2 


in  the  daytime  to  retreats  among  the  marshes  or  in  the  thickets  which  border 
the  rivers,  sallying  forth  at  night,  like  the  jackal,  to  scour  the  country.  Driven 
to  bay,  they  turn  upon  the  assailant  and  fight  desperately.  The  Chaldsean 
kings,  like  the  Pharaohs,  did  not  shrink  from  entering  into  a close  conflict 
with  them,  and  boasted  of  having  rendered  a service  to  their  subjects  by  the 
destruction  of  many  of  these  beasts.  The  elephant  seems  to  have  roamed  for 
some  time  over  the  steppes  of  the  middle  Euphrates  ; 3 there  is  no  indication 
of  its  presence  after  the  XIIIth  century  before  our  era,  and  from  that  time 

1 The  Sumerian  name  of  the  lion  is  ur-mahh,  “ the  great  dog.”  The  best  description  of  the  first- 
mentioned  species  is  still  that  of  Olivier  (Voyage  dans  V Empire  Othoman,  vol.  ii.  pp.  426,  427),  who 
saw  in  the  house  of  the  Pasha  of  Bagdad  five  of  them  in  captivity  ; cf.  Layard,  Nineveh  and  Babylon, 
p.  487. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  from  Nimrud,  in  the  British  Museum. 

3 The  existence  of  the  elephant  in  Mesopotamia  and  Northern  Syria  is  well  established  by  the 
Egyptian  inscription  of  Amenemhabi  in  the  XVth  century  before  our  era;  cf.  Fr.  Lenorhant,  Sur 
Vexistence  de  V elephant  dans  la  Mdsopotamie  au  XIE  siecle  avant  Vere  chr&ienne,  in  the  Comptei 
rendus  de  V Acaddmie  des  Inscriptions,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  178-183.  Pere  Delattre  has  collected  the 
majority  of  the  passages  in  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  bearing  upon  the  elephant  (Encore  un  mot  sur 
la  G^ograpliie  Assyrienne,  pp.  36-40). 


TEE  LION  AND  TEE  ULUS.  559 

forward  it  was  merely  an  object  of  curiosity  brought  at  great  expense  from 
distant  countries.  This  is 
not  the  only  instance  of  ani- 


mals which  have  disappeared 
in  the  course  of  centuries; 
the  rulers  of  Nineveh  were  so 
addicted  to  the  pursuit  of  the 
urus  that  they  ended  by  ex- 
terminating it.1  Several  sorts 
of  panthers  and  smaller  felidae 
had  their  lairs  in  the  thickets 
of  Mesopotamia.  The  wild 
ass  and  onager  roamed  iu 
small  herds  between  the 
Balikh  and  the  Tigris.  Attempts  were 


IE  URUS  IN  THE  ACT  OF  CHARGING.2 

made,  it  would  seem,  at  a very  early 


A HERD  OF  ONAGERS  PURSUED  BY  DOGS  AND  WOUNDED  BY  ARROWS.3 

period  to  tame  them  and  make  use  of  them  to  draw  chariots;  but  this  attempt 
either  did  not  succeed  at  all,  or  issued  in  such  uncertain  results,  that  it  was 

1 This  is  the  rimu  of  the  texts  and  the  colossal  bull  of  the  hunting  scenes  (W.  Houghton,  Oh  the 
Mammalia,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch,  Soc.,  vol.  v.  pp.  336-340). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  Assyrian  bas-relief  from  NimrOd  (Layard,  Monuments  of 
Nineveh,  1st  series,  pi.  11).  The  animal  is  partially  hidden  by  the  wheels  of  the  chariot. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  in  the  British  Museum  (cf.  Place,  Ninive,  pi.  51,  1). 


ANCIENT  CIIALDJEA. 


5 GO 

given  up  as  soon  as  other  less  refractory  animals  were  made  the  subjects  of 
successful  experiment.1  The  wild  boar,  and  his  relative,  the  domestic  hog,  were 
numerous  in  the  morasses.  Assyrian  sculptors  amused  themselves  sometimes 
by  representing  long  gaunt  sows  making  their  way  through  the  cane-brakes, 
followed  by  their  interminable  offspring.2  The  hog  remained  here,  as  in  Egypt, 


THE  CHIEF  DOMESTIC  ANIMALS  OF  THE  REGIONS  OF  THE  EUPHRATES.3 


in  a semi-tamed  condition,  and  the  people  were  possessed  of  but  a small  number 
of  domesticated  animals  besides  the  dog — namely,  the  ass,  ox,  goat,  and  sheep  ; 
the  horse  and  camel  were  at  first  unknown,  and  were  introduced  at  a later 
period.4 

We  know  nothing  of  the  efforts  which  the  first  inhabitants — Sumerians 
and  Semites — had  to  make  in  order  to  control  the  waters  and  to  bring  the 
land  under  culture:  the  most  ancient  monuments  exhibit  them  as  already 
possessors  of  the  soil,  and  in  a forward  state  of  civilization.5  Their  chief  cities 

1 Xenophon,  Anabasis,  i.  5;  cf.  Layard,  Nineveh  and  its  Remans,  vol.  i.  p.  324,  note; 
G.  Rawlinson,  The  Five  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  i.  pp.  222-225.  The  onager  represented  on  the 
monuments  seems  to  be  the  Equus  Hemippus  (W.  Houghton,  On  the  Mammalia,  in  the  Transactions, 
vol.  v.  pp.  379,  380). 

2 With  regard  to  the  wild  hog  or  wild  boar,  and  the  names  of  those  animals  in  the  cuneiform 
inscriptions,  see  Jensen,  Das  Wildschwein  in  den  Assyrisch-Babylonischen  Inschriften,  in  the 
Zeitscliri/t  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  pp.  306-312. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  Assyrian  bas-relief  from  Kouyunjik  (Layard,  The  Monuments 
of  Nineveh,  2nd  series,  pi.  35). 

4 The  horse  is  denoted  in  the  Assyrian  texts  by  a group  of  signs  which  mean  “ the  ass  of  the 
East,”  and  the  camel  by  other  signs  in  which  the  character  for  “ ass  ” also  appears.  The  methods  of 
rendering  these  two  names  show  that  the  subjects  of  them  were  unknown  in  the  earliest  times;  the 
epoch  of  their  introduction  is  uncertain.  A chariot  drawn  by  horses  appears  on  the  “ Stele  of  the 
Vultures”  about  3000  n.c. ; as  for  the  camels,  they  are  mentioned  among  the  booty  obtained  from 
the  Bedouin  of  the  desert. 

5 I will  not  enter  into  the  question  as  to  whether  Assyrian  civilization  did  or  did  not  come  by  sea 
to  the  mouths  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris.  The  legend  of  the  fish-god  Oanues  (Berossus,  frag.  1), 
which  seems  to  conceal  some  indication  on  the  subject  (cf.  Fb.  Lenormant,  Essai  sur  un  document 
mathcmatique,  pp.  123-135,  and,  Essai  de  Commentaire  sur  les  fragments  cosmogoniques,  pp.  220-223, 


TEE  CITIES  OF  TEE  NORTE  AND  SOUTE. 


561 


were  divided  into  two  groups  : one  in  the  south,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
sea ; the  other  in  a northern  direction,  in  the  region  where  the  Euphrates  and 
Tigris  are  separated  from  each  other  by  merely  a narrow  strip  of  land.  The 
southern  group  consisted  of  seven,  of  which  Eridu  lay  nearest  to  the  coast.1 
This  town  stood  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  at  a point  which  is  now 
called  Abu-Shahrein.2  A little  to  the  west,  on  the  opposite  bank,  but  at  some 


THE  SOW  AND  HER  LITTER  MAKING  THEIR  WAY  THROUGH  A BED  OF  REEDS.3 


distance  from  the  stream,  the  mound  of  Mugheir  marks  the  site  of  Uru,  the 
most  important,  if  not  the  oldest,  of  the  southern  cities.4  Lagash  occupied  the 

where  this  idea  is  developed  for  the  first  time),  is  merely  a mythological  tradition,  from  which  it 
would  be  wrong  to  deduce  historical  conclusions  (Tiele,  Babyloniscli-Assyrische  Gescliichte,  p.  101). 

1 The  majority  of  the  commonly  accepted  identifications  of  the  ancient  names  with  the  modern 
sites  were  due  to  the  first  Assyriologists — Hincks,  Oppert,  H.  Rawliuson.  As  these  identifications 
are  scattered  among  books  not  easily  procured,  I confine  my  references  to  works  in  which  Assyrio- 
logists of  the  second  generation  have  collected  them,  and  completed  them  by  further  research, 
especially  to  that  of  Fr.  Delitzsch,  Wo  lag  das  Parodies  ? and  to  that  of  Hommel,  Gescliichte 
Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  pp.  195-231,  which  contain  such  information  in  a convenient  form. 

2 Eridu,  shortened  into  Ritu  (Smith,  Early  History  of  Babylonia,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill. 
Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  i.  p.  29),  possibly  the  Rata  of  Ptolemy  (Optert,  Expedition  en  Mesopotamia,  vol.  i. 
p.  2G9),  in  the  non-Semitic  language  Nun  and  Eridugga  (Fr.  Delitzsch,  H o lag  das  Parodies  ? 
pp.  227-238).  Its  ruins  have  been  described  by  Taylor  ( Notes  on  Abu-Shahrein  and  Tel-el-Lahm,  in 
the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Soc.,  vol.  xiv.  p.  412,  et  seq.). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  from  Kouyuujik  (Layard,  The  Monuments  of 
Nineveh,  2nd  series,  pi.  12,  No.  1). 

* Urum,  Uru,  which  signifies  “ the  town  ” par  excellence  (Fr.  Delitzsch,  Wo  lag  das  Parodies  ? 
pp.  226,  227),  is  possibly  the  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  in  the  Bible  ( Genesis  xi.  28;  Nehemiah  ix.  7),  but 
this  identification  is  something  short  of  certain,  and  many  authorities  hesitate  to  adopt  it  (Halevy, 
Melanges  d' Epigrapliie  et  d’ Archdologie  semitiques,  pp.  72-86),  in  spite  of  the  authority  of  Rawliuson. 
Oppert,  who  at  first  read  the  name  Kaluuu,  to  find  in  it  the  Calneh  of  Scripture  ( Exped . en 
Me'sopotamie,  vol.  i.  p.  258),  finally  accepted  the  opinion  of  Rawlinson  ( Inscriptions  de  Dour-Sarhayan, 
pp.  3,  9,  note),  also  Schrader  ( Die  Keilinschriften  und  das  Alte  Testament,  1st  edit.,  pp.  383,  384). 
The  name  Mugheir  (more  correctly  Muqayyer),  which  it  bears  to-day,  signifies  “the  bituminous,” 
from  qir  = bitumen,  and  is  explained  by  the  employment  of  bitumen  as  cement  in  some  of  the 
structures  found  here. 

2 o 


ANCIENT  CHALDjEA. 


562 

site  of  the  modern  Telloli  to  the  north  of  Eridu,  not  fur  from  the  Shatt-el-Ilai ;* 
Nisin2  and  Mai’,3  Larsam  4 and  Uruk,5  occupied  positions  at  short  distances 
from  each  other  on  the  marshy  ground  which  extends  between  the  Euphrates 
and  the  Shatt-en-Nil.  The  inscriptions  mention  here  and  there  other  less 
important  places,  of  which  the  ruins  have  not  yet  been  discovered — Zirlab  and 
Shurippalc,  places  of  embarkation  at  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates  for  the  passage 
of  the  Persian  Gulf;6  and  the  island  of  Dilmun,  situated  some  forty  leagues 
to  the  south  in  the  centre  of  the  Salt  Sea, — “ Nar-Marratum.”  7 The  northern 
group  comprised  Nipur,8  the  “ incomparable;”  Barsip,  on  the  branch  which  flows 
parallel  to  the  Euphrates  and  falls  into  the  Bahr-i-Nedjif ; 9 Babylon,  the  “ gate 
of  the  god,”  the  “residence  of  life,”  the  only  metropolis  of  the  Euphrates 
region  of  which  posterity  never  lost  a reminiscence;  Kishu,10  Kuta,11  Agade;12 
and  lastly  the  two  Sipparas,13  that  of  Shamash  and  that  of  Anunit.  The  earliest 

1 The  name  was  read  at  first  SirtelLi,  Sirpurla,  Sirgulla : the  form  Lagash  was  discovered  by 
Pinches  ( Guide  to  the  Kouyunjik  Gallery,  p.  7 ; and  Lagash,  not  Zirgulla,  Zirpourla,  Sirpulla,  in  the 
Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  iii.  p.  24). 

2 Nisiu,  Nishin  or  Ishin  (Bezold,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  iv.  p.  1430),  for  the  two 
forms  exist,  was  identified  by  G.  Smith  ( Early  History  of  Babylonia,  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  i.  pp.  29,  30)  with  Karrak:  its  site  is  unknown. 

3 Mar  is  the  present  Tell-Ede  (Fr.  Delitzscu,  Wo  lag  das  Taradies  ? p.  223). 

4 La’sam  was  called  in  Sumerian  Babbar  unu,  “the  dwelling  of  the  sun”;  it  is  the  Senkereh  of  to-day. 

5 Uruk  was  called  Unug,  Unu,  in  the  ancient  language;  it  became  later,  in  the  Bible,  Erech 
( Genesis  x.  10,  ''Opex,  LXX.),  Araka  and  Orchoe  among  the  Greeks  (Strabo,  xvi.  1 ; Ptolemy,  v.  20)  ; 
it  is  now  Warka,  of  which  the  ruins  have  been  described  by  Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches  in 
Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  159,  et  seq. 

0 Zirlaba,  Zarilab,  is  in  the  non-Semitic  language  Kulunu,  “dwelling  of  the  seed;”  this  fact 
allows  us  to  identify  it  with  the  Calneh  or  Kalanueh  of  Genesis  x.  10,  in  opposition  to  Talmudical 
tradition,  according  to  which  it  would  be  the  same  as  Nipur,  Nift’er  (Neubauer,  Ge'ographie  du 
Talmud,  p.  346,  note  6).  The  identification  of  Zirlab-Kuluuu  with  Zerghul  (Oppert,  Expedition 
en  Me.:opotamie,  vol.  i.  pp.  269,  270)  is  no  longer  generally  accepted  (Tiele,  Babylonisch-Assyriche 
Geschichle,  p.  86).  The  texts  bearing  on  Shurippak,  Shuruppak,  were  collected  by  G.  Smith 
(The  Eleventh  Tablet  of  the  Izdubar  Legends,  in  the  'Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii. 
p.  589) ; they  do  not  furnish  means  for  identifying  the  site  of  the  city. 

7 The  site  of  Dilmun  is  fixed  by  Oppert  (Le  Siege  primitif  des  Assyriens  et  des  PhJniciens,  in  the 
Journal  Asiatique,  1880,  vol.  xv.  pp.  90-92,  349,  350)  and  by  Bawlinson  (in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal 
Asiat.  Soc.,  1880,  vol.  xii.  p.  201,  et  seq.)  at  Tylos,  the  largest  of  the  Bahrein  islands,  now  Samak 
Bahrein,  where  Captain  Durand  found  remains  of  Babylonian  occupation,  among  them  an  inscrip- 
tion (.7.  of  the  R.  Asiat.  Soc.,  1880,  pp.  192,  et  seq.).  Pr.  Delitzsch  would  identify  it  with  an  island, 
now  disappeared,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Shatt-el-Arab  (Wo  lag  das  Parodies  ? pp.  229,  230). 
Dilmun  is  called  Niluh  in  Sumerian  (Oppert-Menant,  Inscription  de  Khorsabad,  p.  116). 

8 Nipur,  Nippur,  in  Sumerian  Inlil,  is  Nifi’er,  near  the  Shatt-en-Nil,  on  the  border  of  the  Affedj 
marshes. 

0 Barsip,  Borsippa,  the  second  Babylon  (Pr.  Delitzsch,  TFo  lag  das  Paradits  1 pp.  216,  217),  is 
Birs-Nimrud  (Oppert,  Expedition  en  Mesopotamia,  vol.  i.  p.  200,  et  seq  ). 

10  Kishu  is  the  present  El-Ohaimir  (Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Viilker,  pp.  233,  235,  et  seq.). 

11  Kutu,  Kuta,  in  non-Semitic  speech  Gudua,  is  the  modern  Tell-lbrahim. 

12  Agade,  or  Agane,  has  been  identified  with  one  of  the  two  towns  of  which  Sippara  is  made  up 
(Fr.  Delitzsch,  TFo  lag  das  Parodies  ? pp.  209-212;  Pr.  Lenormant,  Les  Premieres  Civilisations, 
vol.  ii.  p.  195),  more  especially  with  that  which  was  called  Anunit  Sippara  (Hommel,  Geschichte  Baby- 
loniens  und  Assyriens,  p.  204) ; the  reading  Agadi,  Agade,  was  especially  assumed  to  lead  to  its  identi- 
fication with  the  Accad  of  Genesis  x.  10  (cf.  G.  Smith,  Assyrian  Discoveries,  p.  225,  note  1)  and  with 
the  Akkad  of  native  tradition.  This  opinion  has  been  generally  abandoned  by  Assyriologists  (Fr. 
Delitzsch-Murdteh,  Geschichte  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  2nd  edit.,  p.  73 ; Lehmann,  Scliamaschschu- 
muhin  Kdnig  von  Babylonien,  p.  73),  and  Agane  has  not  yet  found  a site.  It  was  not  far  from  Babylon. 

13  Sippara  of  Shamash  and  Sippara  of  Anunit  form  the  Sepharvaim  of  the  Bible  (2  Kings  xvii. 


TRIBES  BORDERING  ON  CHALDEE  A. 


563 


Chaldtean  civilization  was  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  two  banks  of  the 
Lower  Euphrates : except  at  its  northern  boundary,  it  did  not  reach  the  Tigris, 
and  did  not  cross  this  river.  Separated  from  the  rest  of  the  world — on  the  east 
by  the  marshes  which  border  the  river  in  its  lower  course,  on  the  north  by  the 
badly  watered  and  sparsely  inhabited  table-land  of  Mesopotamia,  on  the  west 
by  the  Arabian  desert — it  was  able  to  develop  its  civilization,  as  Egypt  had 


done,  in  an  isolated  area,  and  to  follow  out  its  destiny  in  peace.  The  only 
point  from  which  it  might  anticipate  serious  danger  was  on  the  east,  whence 
the  Kashshi  and  the  Elamites,  organized  into  military  states,  incessantly 
harassed  it  year  after  year  by  their  attacks.  The  Kashshi  were  scarcely 
better  than  half-civilized  mountain  hordes,  but  the  Elamites  were  advanced  in 
civilization,  and  their  capital,  Susa,  vied  with  the  richest  cities  of  the  Euphrates, 
Uru  and  Babylon,  in  antiquity  and  magnificence.  There  was  nothing  serious 
to  fear  from  the  Guti,  on  the  branch  of  the  Tigris  to  the  north-east,  or  from 
the  Shuti  to  the  north  of  these,  which  were  merely  marauding  tribes,  and  which, 
however  troublesome  they  might  he  to  their  neighbours  in  their  devastating 
incursions,  could  not  compromise  the  existence  of  the  country,  or  bring  it  into 

24,  31)  ; their  ruins  were  d scovered  by  Hormuzd  Eassam  in  the  two  mounds  of  Abu  Habba  and  Deir, 
which  are  separated  from  each  other  by  the  bed  of  an  ancient  canal  ( Recent  Discoveries  of  Ancient 
Babylonian  Cities,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Sor vel.  xri.  pp.  172-1S3). 


ANCIENT  CHALDJEA. 


564 

subjection.  It  would  appear  that  the  Chaldseans  had  already  begun  to  encroach 
upon  these  tribes  and  to  establish  colonies  among  them — El-Ashshur  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tigris,  Harran  on  the  furthest  point  of  the  Mesopotamian  plaiD, 
towards  the  sources  of  the  Balikh.  Beyond  these  were  vague  and  unknown 
regions  Tidanum,1  Martu,2  the  sea  of  the  setting  sun,  the  vast  territories  of 
Milukhkha  and  Magan.3  Egypt,  from  the  time  they  were  acquainted  with  its 
existence,  was  a semi-fabulous  country  at  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

How  long  did  it  take  to  bring  this  people  out  of  savagery,  and  to  build 
up  so  many  flourishing  cities  ? The  learned  did  not  readily  resign  themselves 
to  a confession  of  ignorance  on  the  subject.  As  they  had  depicted  the 
primordial  chaos,  the  birth  of  the  gods,  and  their  struggles  over  the  creation, 
so  they  related  unhesitatingly  everything  which  had  happened  since  the 
creation  of  mankind,  and  they  laid  claim  to  being  able  to  calculate  the  number 
of  centuries  which  lay  between  their  own  day  and  the  origin  of  things.  The 
tradition  to  which  most  credence  was  attached  in  the  Greek  period  at  Babylon, 
that  which  has  been  preserved  for  us  in  the  histories  of  Berossus,  asserts  that 
there  was  a somewhat  long  interval  between  the  manifestation  of  Oannes  and  the 
foundation  of  a dynasty.  “ The  first  king  was  Aloros  of  Babylon,  a Chaldaean 
of  whom  nothing  is  related  except  that  he  was  chosen  by  the  divinity  himself  to 
be  a shepherd  of  the  people.  He  reigned  for  six  sari,  amounting  in  all  to  36,000 
years;  for  the  saros  is  3600  years,  the  ner  600  years,  and  the  soss  60  years. 
After  the  death  of  Aloros,  his  son  Alaparos  ruled  for  three  sari,  after  which 

1 Tidanum  is  the  country  of  the  Lebanon  (Hommel,  Geschiclite  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  p.  329). 

2 Martu  is  the  general  name  of  the  Syro-Phoenician  country  in  the  non-Semitic  speech  (Fr. 
Delitzsch,  TFo  lag  das  Paradies  ? p.  271),  usually  read  Akharru  in  Semitic,  but  for  which  the  Tel-el- 
Amarna  tablets  indicate  the  reading  Arnurru  (Bezold-Budge,  The  Tell  el-Amarna  Tablets  in  the 
British  Museum , pi.  xlvii.,  note  2).  The  names  of  the  Kashshi,  the  Elamites,  and  their  neighbours 
will  be  explained  elsewhere,  when  these  people  enter  actively  into  this  history. 

3 The  question  concerning  Milukhkha  and  Magan  has  exercised  Assyriologists  for  twenty  years. 
The  prevailing  opinion  appears  to  be  that  which  identifies  Magan  with  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula,  and 
Milukhkha  with  the  country  to  the  north  of  Magan  as  far  as  the  Wady  Arisli  and  the  Mediterranean 
(Fr.  Lenormant,  Les  Noms  de  V Airain  et  de  Cuivre  dans  les  deux  langues  des  Inscriptions  cunfiformes 
de  la  Chaldee  et  de  l' Assyrie,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  vi.  pp.  347-353,  399,  402; 
Tiele,  Is  Sumer  en  Alclcad  het  zelfde  als  Mahan  en  Melukha  ? in  the  Comptes  rendus  of  the  Academy 
of  Amsterdam,  2 id  series,  part  xii. ; Delattre,  Esquisse  de  GCog.  Assyrienne,  pp.  53,55;  L’Asie 
Orient,  dans  les  Inscrip.  Assyr.,  pp.  149,  1G7  ; Amiaud , Sirpourla  d' apris  les  inscriptions  de  la  collection 
de  Sarzec,  pp.  11,  12,  13);  others  maintain,  not  the  theory  of  Delitzsch  (TFo  lag  das  Paradies  i 
pp.  129-131,  137-140),  according  to  whom  Magan  and  Milukhkha  are  synonyms  for  Shumir  and 
Akkad,  and  consequently  two  of  the  great  divisions  of  Babylonia,  but  an  analogous  hypothesis,  in 
which  they  are  regarded  as  districts  to  the  west  of  the  Euphrates,  either  in  Clialdtean  regions  or  on 
the  margin  of  the  desert,  or  even  in  the  desert  itself  towards  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula  (Hommel,  Ges. 
Babyl.  und  Assyriens,  pp.  234,  235 ; Jensen,  Die  Insch.  der  Konige  von  Lagasch,  in  the  Keilinschriftliche 
Bibliothelc,  vol.  iii.,  1st  part,  p.  53).  What  we  know  of  the  texts  induces  me,  in  common  with 
H.  Rawlinson  (The  Islands  of  Bahrein,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xii.  p.  212,  et  seq.), 
to  place  these  countries  on  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  between  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates  and 
the  Bahreiu  islands ; possibly  the  Makse  and  the  Melangit®  of  classical  historians  and  geographers 
(cf.  Sprenger,  Die  Alte  Geographie  Arabiens,  pp.  124-126,  261)  were  the  descendants  of  the  people  of 
Magan  (Makan)  and  Milukhkha  (Melugga),  who  had  been  driven  towards  the  entrance  to  the 
Persian  Gulf  by  some  such  event  as  the  increase  in  these  regions  of  the  Kaehdi  (Chaldseans). 


THE  TEN  KINGS  BEFORE  THE  DELUGE. 


565 


Amillaros,1  of  the  city  of  Pantibibla,2  reigned  thirteen  sari.  It  was  under 
him  that  there  issued  from  the  Red  Sea  a second  Annedotos,  resembling  Oannes 
in  his  semi-divine  shape,  half  man  and  half  fish.  After  him  Ammenon,  also 
from  Pantibibla,  a Chaldsean,  ruled  for  a term  of  twelve  sari ; under  him,  they 
say,  the  mysterious  Oannes  appeared.  Afterwards  Amelagaros  3 of  Pantibibla 
governed  for  eighteen  sari ; then  Davos,4  the  shepherd  from  Pantibibla,  reigned 
ten  sari : under  him  there 
issued  from  the  Red  sea  a 
fourth  Annedotos,  who  had  a 
form  similar  to  the  others, 
being  made  up  of  man  and 
fish.  After  him  Evedoran- 
chos  of  Pantibibla  reigned 
for  eighteen  sari ; in  his 
time  there  issued  yet  another 
monster,  named  Anodaphos, 
from  the  sea.  These  various 
monsters  developed  carefully 
and  in  detail  that  which  Oannes  had  set  forth  in  a brief  way.  Then 
Amempsinos  of  Larancha,6  a Chaldaean,  reigned  ten  sari ; and  Obartes,7  also 
a Chaldeean,  of  Larancha,  eight  sari.  Finally,  on  the  death  of  Obartes, 
his  son  Xisuthros8  held  the  sceptre  for  eighteen  sari.  It  was  under  him 
that  the  great  deluge  took  place.  Thus  ten  kings  are  to  be  reckoned  in  all, 
and  the  duration  of  their  combined  reigns  amounts  to  one  hundred  and  twenty 
sari.” 9 From  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  the  Deluge  they  reckoned 

1 Otherwise  Almelon. 

2 Pantibibla  has  been  identified  with  Sepharvaim  and  Sippara,  on  account  of  the  play  upon  the 
Hebrew  word  Sepher  (book),  which  is  thought  to  be  in  Sippara,  and  the  Greek  name  meaning  the 
town  of  all  the  boohs.  Fr.  Lenormant  (La  Langue  primitive  de  la  Clialdde,  pp.  341,  342)  latterly 
proposed  Uruk ; Delitzsch  ( Wo  lag  das  Paradies  ? p.  224)  prefers  Larak;  but  we  really  do  not  know 
the  Assyrian  term  which  corresponds  with  the  Pantibibla  of  Berossus. 

3 Otherwise  Megalaros. 

4 Otherwise  Daonos,  Daos. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-  Gudin,  from  an  intaglio  in  the  British  Museum  (Lajard,  Introduc- 
tion a Vdtude  du  Culte  public  et  de s mysteres  de  Mithra  en  Orient  et  en  Occident,  pi.  li., 
No.  4). 

6 Lenormant  (La  Langue  primitive  de  la  Clialdde,  p.  342)  proposes  to  substitute  Surapclia  in 
place  of  Larancha,  and  to  recognize  in  the  Greek  name  the  town  of  Shurappak,  Shurippak. 

7 A correction  of  Lenormant  for  Otiartes,  in  order  to  find  in  it  the  name  Ubaratutu,  who,  in  the 
account  of  the  Deluge,  is  made  the  father  of  Xisuthros ; the  variant  Ardates  is  explained,  according 
to  G.  Smith  (The  Eleventh  Tablet  of  the  Isdubar  Legend,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc., 
vol.  iii.  p.  532),  by  the  reading  Arda-tutu,  Arad-tutu,  from  the  signs  which  enter  into  it.  Finally, 
we  find  alongside  this  non-Semitic  pronunciation  the  Semitic  form  Kidin-Marduk  (Smith,  The  Eleventh 
Tablet,  etc.,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  iii.  pp.  532, 533),  of  which  the  tradition  recorded  by  Berossus  bears 
no  trace. 

8 Otherwise  Sisithes. 

9 Berossus,  fragm.  ix.-xi.,  in  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Commentaire,  pp.  241-251. 


5GG 


ANCIENT  C1IALDJEA. 


G91,200  years,  of  which  259,200  had  passed  before  the  coming  of  Aloros,  and 
the  remaining  432,000  were  generously  distributed  between  this  prince  and 
his  immediate  successors : the  Greek  and  Latin  writers  had  certainly  a fine 
occasion  for  amusement  over  these  fabulous  numbers  of  years  which  the 
Chahkeans  assigned  to  the  lives  and  reigns  of  their  first  kings.1 

Men  in  the  mean  time  became  wicked  ; they  lost  the  habit  of  offering  sacri- 
fices to  the  gods,  and  the  gods,  justly  indignant  at  this  negligence,  resolved  to  be 
avenged.2  Now,  Shamashnapishtim  3 was  reigning  at  this  time  in  Shurippak, 
the  “ town  of  the  ship  : ” he  and  all  his  family  were  saved,  and  he  related 
afterwards  to  one  of  his  descendants  how  Eahad  snatched  him  from  the  disaster 
which  fell  upon  his  people.4  “ Shurippak,  the  city  which  thou  thyself 
knowest,  is  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Euphrates ; it  was  already  an  ancient 
town  when  the  hearts  of  the  gods  who  resided  in  it  impelled  them  to  bring  the 
deluge  upon  it — the  great  gods  as  many  as  they  are ; their  father  Anu,  their 
counsellor  Bel  the  warrior,  their  throne-bearer  Ninib,  their  prince  Innugi.5 
The  master  of  wisdom,  Ea,  took  his  seat  with  them,”  G and,  moved  with  pity,  was 
anxious  to  warn  Shamashnapishtim,  his  servant,  of  the  peril  which  threatened 


1 Ciceko,  De  Divinatione,  i.  19. 

2 The  account  of  Berossus  implies  this  as  a cause  of  the  Deluge,  since  he  mentions  the  injunction 
imposed  upon  the  survivors  by  a mysterious  voice  to  be  henceforward  respectful  towards  the  gods, 
6eoaelie7s  (Berossos,  fragm.  15,  edit.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Commentaires,  p.  259).  The  Chaldasan  account 
considers  the  Deluge  to  have  been  sent  as  a punishment  upon  men  for  their  sins  against  the  gods, 
since  it  rep  esents  towards  the  end  (cf.  p.  571  of  this  History)  Ea  as  reproaching  Bel  for  having 
confounded  the  innocent  and  the  guilty  in  one  punishment  (cf.  Delitzsch,  Wo  lug  das  Parodies ? 
pp.  145,  146). 

3 The  name  of  this  individual  has  been  read  in  various  ways:  Shamashnapishtim,  “sun  of  life” 
(Haupt,  in  Schrader,  Die  Keilinschriften  d.  A.  Test.,  2nd  edit.,  p.  65) ; Sitnapishtim  (Jensen,  Die 
Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  384,  385 ; Delitzsch,  Worterbuch,  p.  334,  rem.  4 ; A.  Jeremias, 
Izdubar-Nimrod,  pp.  28,  52,  note  72),  “ the  saved ; ” Pirnapishtim  (Zimmern,  Balylonische  Busspsalmen, 
p.  68,  note  1 ; A.  Jeremias,  Die  Bdbylonisch-Assyrischen  Vorstellungen  des  Ltben  nach  dem  Tode, 
p 82).  In  one  passage  at  least  we  find,  in  place  of  Shamashnapishtim,  the  name  or  epithet  of  Adra- 
kliasis,  or  by  inversion  Khasisadra,  which  appears  to  signify  “ the  very  shrewd,”  and  is  explained 
by  the  skill  with  which  he  interpreted  the  oracle  of  Ea  (Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier, 
pp.  385,  386).  Khasisadra  is  most  probably  the  form  which  the  Greeks  have  transcribed  by  Xisuthros, 
Sisuthros,  Sisithes. 

* The  account  of  the  Deluge  covers  the  eleventh  tablet  of  the  poem  of  Gilgames.  The  hero, 
threatened  with  death,  proceeds  to  rejoin  his  ancestor  Shamashnapishtim  to  demand  from  him  the 
secret  of  immortality,  and  the  latter  tells  him  the  manner  in  which  ho  escaped  from  the  waters  : he 
had  saved  his  life  only  at  the  expense  of  the  destruction  of  men.  The  text  of  it  was  published  by 
Smith  (in  the  'Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  534-567),  by  Haupt,  fragment  by 
fragment  ( Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  pp.  95-132),  and  then  restored  consecutively  (pp.  133- 
149).  The  studies  of  which  it  is  the  object  would  make  a complete  library.  The  principal  transla- 
tions are  those  of  Smith  ( Transactions , vol.  iii.  pp.  534-567,  afterwards  in  The  Clialdxan  Account  of 
Genesis,  1876,  pp.  263-272),  of  Oppert  ( Fragments  de  Cosmogonie  Cliald&nne,  in  Ledrain,  Eistoire 
d’lsrael,  1879,  vol.  i.  pp.  422-433,  and  Le  Poeme  Clialdden  du  Deluge,  1885),  of  Lenormant  (Lcs 
Origines  de  V Eistoire,  1880,  vol.  i.  pp.  601-618),  of  Haupt  (in  Schrader,  Die  Keilinschriften  und  das 
A.  Test.,  1883,  pp.  55-79),  of  Jensen  (Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  1890,  pp.  365-446),  of 
A.  Jeremias  ( Izdubar-Nimrod , 1891,  pp.  32-36),  and  of  Sauveplane  (Due  Epopee  Babylonienne, 
Istuhar-Gilgames,  pp.  128-151).  I have  generally  followed  Jensen’s  translation. 

5 Innugi  appears  to  be  one  of  the  earth-gods  (Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  p.  389). 

6 Hactt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  p.  134,  11.  11-19. 


XISTJTHR  OS- SHAM  A SHNA  PISH  TIM. 


567 


him ; but  it  was  a very  serious  affair  to  betray  to  a mortal  a secret  of  heaven, 
and  as  he  did  not  venture  to  do  so  in  a direct  manner,  his  inventive  mind 
suggested  to  him  an  artifice.  He  confided  to  a hedge  of  reeds  the  resolution 
that  had  been  adopted:1  “Hedge,  hedge,  wall,  wall!  Hearken,  hedge,  and 
understand  well,  wall ! Man  of  Shurippak,  son  of  Ubaratutn,  construct  a 
wooden  house,  build  a ship,  abandon  thy  goods,  seek 
life;  throw  away  thy  possessions,  save  thy  life, 
and  place  in  the  vessel  all  the  seed  of 
life.  The  ship  which  thou  shalt  build, 
let  its  proportions  be  exactly  mea- 
sured, let  its  dimensions  and 
shape  be  well  arranged,  then 
launch  it  in  the  sea.”  2 3 Sha- 
mashnapishtim  heard  the 
address  to  the  field  of  reeds, 
or  perhaps  the  reeds  repeated  it 
to  him.  “I  understood  it,  and  I 
said  to  my  master  Ea:  ‘The  com- 
mand, 0 my  master,  which  thou 
hast  thus  enunciated,  I myself  will 
respect  it,  and  I will  execute  it : 
but  what  shall  I say  to  the  town, 
the  people  and  the  elders  ? ’ ” Ea 
opened  his  mouth  and  spake ; he 

said  to  his  servant:  “Answer  thus  and  say  to  them:  ‘Because  Bel  hates 
me,  I will  no  longer  dwell  in  your  town,  and  upon  the  land  of  Bel  I 
will  no  longer  lay  my  head,  but  I will  go  upon  the  sea,  and  will  dwell 
with  Ea  my  master.  Now  Bel  will  make  rain  to  fall  upon  you,  upon  the 
swarm  of  birds  and  the  multitude  of  fishes,  upon  all  the  animals  of 
the  field,  and  upon  all  the  crops;  but  Ea  will  give  you  a sign:  the  god 
who  rules  the  rain  will  cause  to  fall  upon  you,  on  a certain  evening, 
an  abundant  rain.  When  the  dawn  of  the  next  day  appears,  the  deluge 


ONE  OF  THE  TABLETS  OF  THE  DELUGE  SERIES. ' 


1 The  sense  of  this  passage  is  far  from  being  certain  ; I have  followed  the  interpretation  proposed, 
with  some  variations,  by  Pinches  ( Additions  and  Corrections,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Keilforschunj, 
vol.  i.  p.  348),  by  Haupt  ( Collation  der  Isduhar-Legenden,  in  the  Beitriige  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  p.  123, 
note),  aud  by  Jensen  ( Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  391-393).  The  stratagem  at  once  recalls 
the  history  of  King  Midas,  and  the  talking  reeds  which  knew  the  secret  of  his  ass’s  ears. 
In  the  version  of  Berossus,  it  is  Kronos  who  plays  the  part  here  assigued  to  Ea  in  regard  to 
Xisuthros. 

2 Haupt,  Das  Babylonisclie  Nimrodepos,  pp.  134,  135,  11.  19-31. 

3 Facsimile  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  the  photograph  published  by  G.  Smith,  Chaldxan  Account 
of  the  Deluge  from  terra-cotta  tablets  found  at  Nineveh. 


5G8 


ANCIENT  CI1ALDJEA. 


will  begin,  which  will  cover  the  earth  and  drown  all  living  things.’”1 
Shamashnapishtim  repeated  the  warning  to  the  people,  but  the  people  refused 
to  believe  it,  and  turned  him  into  ridicule.  The  work  went  rapidly  forward: 
the  hull  was  a hundred  and  forty  cubits  long,  the  deck  one  hundred  and  forty 
broad  ; all  the  joints  were  caulked  with  pitch  and  bitumen.  A solemn  festival 
was  observed  at  its  completion,  and  the  embarkation  began.2  “ All  that  I 
possessed  I tilled  the  ship  w'ith  it,  all  that  I had  of  silver, I filled  it  with  it;  all 
that  I had  of  gold  I filled  it  with  it,  all  that  I had  of  the  seed  of  life  of  every 
kind  I filled  it  with  it ; I caused  all  my  family  and  my  servants  to  go  up  into 
it ; beasts  of  the  field,  wild  beasts  of  the  field,  I caused  them  to  go  up  all 
together.  Shamash  had  given  me  a sign  : ‘ When  the  god  who  rules  the  rain, 
in  the  evening  shall  cause  an  abundant  rain  to  fall,  enter  into  the  ship  and 
close  thy  door.’  The  sign  was  revealed : the  god  w'ho  rules  the  rain  caused  to 
tall  one  night  an  abundant  rain.  The  day,  I feared  its  dawning ; I feared  to 
see  the  daylight ; I entered  into  the  ship  and  I shut  the  door ; that  the  ship 
might  be  guided,  I handed  over  to  Buzur-Bel,  the  pilot,3  the  great  ark  and  its 
fortunes.”  4 

“ As  soon  as  the  morning  became  clear,  a black  cloud  arose  from  the  foun- 
dations of  heaven.5  Eamman  growled  in  its  bosom  ; Nebo  and  Marduk  ran 
before  it — ran  like  two  throne-bearers  over  hill  and  dale.  Nera  the  Great  tore 
up  the  stake  to  which  the  ark  was  moored.6  Ninib  came  up  quickly  ; he  began 
the  attack  ; the  Anunnaki  raised  their  torches  and  made  the  earth  to  tremble 
at  their  brilliancy ; the  tempest  of  Eamman  scaled  the  heaven,  changed  all 
the  light  to  darkness,  flooded  the  earth  like  a lake.7  For  a whole  day  the 

1 Haupt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  pp.  135,  136, 11.  32-51.  The  end  of  the  text  is  mutilated  : 
I have  restored  the  general  sense  of  it  from  the  course  of  the  narrative. 

2 Haipt  (op.  cit.,  pp.  136,  137,  11.  51-80).  The  text  is  again  mutilated,  and  does  not  furnish 
enough  information  to  follow  in  every  detail  the  building  of  the  ark.  From  what  we  can  understand, 
the  vessel  of  Shamashnapishtim  was  a kind  of  immense  kelek,  decked,  but  without  masts  or  rigging 
of  any  sort.  The  text  identifies  the  festival  celebrated  by  the  hero  before  the  embarkation  with  the 
festival  Akitu  of  Merodach,  at  Babylon,  during  which  “ Nebo,  the  powerful  son,  sailed  from  Borsippa 
to  Babylon  in  the  bark  of  the  river  Asmu,  of  beauty  ” (Pognon,  Les  Inscriptions  Babyloniennes  du 
Wady-Brissa,  pp.  73,  80,  91,  95,  113,  114).  The  embarkation  of  Nebo  and  his  voyage  on  the  stream 
had  probably  inspired  the  information  according  to  which  the  embarkation  of  Shamashnapishtim 
was  made  the  occasion  of  a festival  Akitu,  celebrated  at  Shurippak ; the  time  of  the  Babylonian 
festival  was  probably  thought  to  coincide  with  the  anniversary  of  the  Deluge. 

3 It  has  been,  and  may  still  be,  read  Buzur-Shadi-rabi,  or  Buzur-Kurgal  (Haujpt,  in  Schrader, 
Die  Keilinscliriften  und  das  A.  Test.,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  58,  72;  Lenormant,  Les  Origines  de  V Histoire, 
vol.  i.  p.  609),  by  substituting  for  the  name  of  the  god  Bel  one  of  his  most  common  epithets : the 
meaning  is  Prote'ge  of  Bel,  or  of  the  Great  mountain  god  of  the  earth  (cf.  pp.  543,  544  of  this  History). 

4 'Haupt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  pp.  137,  138,  11.  52-96. 

5 Upon  the  foundations  of  heaven,  see  p.  544  of  this  History. 

6 The  meaning  is  not  clear,  and  the  translations  differ  much  at  this  point. 

7 The  progress  of  the  tempest  is  described  as  the  attack  of  the  gods,  who  had  resolved  on  the 
destruction  of  men.  Eamman  is  the  thunder  which  growls  in  the  cloud;  Nebo,  Merodach,  Nera  the 
Great  (Nergal),  and  Ninib,  denote  the  different  phases  of  the  hurricane  from  the  moment  when 
the  wind  gets  up  until  it  is  at  its  height;  the  Anunnaki  represent  the  lightning  which  flashes 
ceaselessly  across  the  heaven. 


THE  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  DELUGE  AND  TEE  DESTRUCTION  OF  MEN.  569 


hurricane  raged,  and  blew  violently  over  the  mountains  and  over  the  country  ; 
the  tempest  rushed  upon  men  like  the  shock  of  an  army,  brother  no  longer 
beheld  brother,  men  recognized  each  other  no  more.  In  heaven,  the  gods 
were  afraid  of  the  deluge ; 1 they  betook  themselves  to  flight,  they  clambered 
to  the  firmament  of  Anu ; the  gods,  howling  like  dogs,  cowered  upon  the  parapet.2 
Ishtar  wailed  like  a woman 
in  travail ; she  cried  out,  the 
lady  of  life,  the  goddess  with 
the  beautiful  voice : ‘ The 
because 

I have  prophesied  evil  before 
the  gods ! Prophesying  evil 
before  the  gods,  I have  coun- 
selled the  attack  to  bring  my 
men  to  nothing;3  and  these 
to  whom  I myself  have  given 
birth,  where  are  they?  Like  the  spawn  of  fish  they  encumber  the  sea!’  The 
gods  wept  with  her  over  the  affair  of  the  Anunnaki ; 5 the  gods,  in  the  place 
where  they  sat  weeping,  their  lips  were  closed.” 6 It  was  not  pity  only  which 
made  their  tears  to  flow  : there  were  mixed  up  with  it  feelings  of  regret  and  fears 
for  the  future.  Mankind  once  destroyed,  who  would  then  make  the  accustomed 
offerings  ? The  inconsiderate  anger  of  Bel,  while  punishing  the  impiety  of 
their  creatures,  had  inflicted  injury  upon  themselves.  “ Six  days  and  nights  the 
wind  continued,  the  deluge  and  the  tempest  raged.  The  seventh  day  at  day- 
break the  storm  abated ; the  deluge,  which  had  carried  on  warfare  like  an  army, 
ceased,  the  sea  became  calm  and  the  hurricane  disappeared,  the  deluge  ceased. 
I surveyed  the  sea  with  my  eyes,  raising  my  voice;  but  all  mankind  had 
returned  to  clay,  neither  fields  nor  woods  could  be  distinguished.7  I opened 

1 The  gods  enumerated  above  alone  took  part  in  the  drama  of  the  Deluge : they  were  the  confede- 
rates and  emissaries  of  Bel.  The  others  were  present  as  spectators  of  the  disaster,  and  were  terrified. 

2 The  upper  part  of  the  mountain  wall  is  here  referred  to,  upon  which  the  heaven  is  supported 
(cf.  p.  541  of  this  History).  There  was  a narrow  space  between  the  escarpment  and  the  place  upon 
which  the  vault  of  the  firmament  rested  : the  Babylonian  poet  represented  the  gods  as  crowded  like 
a pack  of  hounds  upon  this  parapet,  and  beholding  from  it  the  outburst  of  the  tempest  and  the  waters. 

3 The  translation  is  uncertain : the  text  refers  to  a legend  which  has  not  come  down  to  us,  in 
which  Ishtar  is  related  to  have  counselled  the  destruction  of  men. 

4 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a Chaldsean  intaglio  (G.  Smith,  Chaldxan  Account  of  the 
Deluge,  p.  283). 

5 The  Anunnaki  represent  here  the  evil  genii  whom  the  gods  that  produced  the  deluge  had  let 
loose,  and  whom  Ramman,  Nebo,  Merodach,  Nergal,  and  Ninib,  all  the  followers  of  Bel,  had  led 
to  the  attack  upon  men  : the  other  deities  shared  the  fears  and  grief  of  Ishtar  in  regard  to  the  ravages 
which  these  Anuunaki  had  brought  about  (cf.  below,  pp.  634-636  of  this  History). 

6 Haijpt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  pp.  138,  139,  11.  97-127. 

7 I have  adopted,  in  the  translation  of  this  difficult  passage,  the  meaning  suggested  by  Haupt 
(Naclitrage  und  Berichtigungen,  in  the  Beitriige  zur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  pp.  321,  322),  according  to 


past  returns  to  clay, 


570 


ANCIENT  CIlALrjEA. 


the  hatchway  and  the  light  fell  upon  my  face  ; I sank  down,  I cowered,  I wept, 
and  my  tears  ran  down  my  cheeks  when  I beheld  the  world  all  terror  and  all 
sea.  At  the  end  of  twelve  days,  a point  of  land  stood  up  from  the  waters,  the 
ship  touched  the  land  of  Nisir:1  the  mountain  of  Nisir  stopped  the  ship  and 
permitted  it  to  float  no  longer.  One  day,  two  days,  the  mountain  of  Nisir 
stopped  the  ship  and  permitted  it  to  float  no  longer.  Three  days,  four  days, 
the  mountain  of  Nisir  stopped  the  ship  and  permitted  it  to  float  no  longer. 
Five  days,  six  days,  the  mountain  of  Nisir  stopped  the  ship  and  permitted 
it  to  float  no  longer.  The  seventh  day,  at  dawn,  I took  out  a dove  and  let  it 
go  : the  dove  went,  turned  about,  and  as  there  was  no  place  to  alight  upon, 
came  back.  I took  out  a swallow  and  let  it  go:  the  swallow  went,  turned 
about,  and  as  there  was  no  place  to  alight  upon,  came  back.  I took  out  a 
raven  and  let  it  go : the  raven  went,  and  saw  that  the  water  had  abated,  and 
came  near  the  ship  flapping  its  wings,  croaking,  and  returned  no  more.”2 
Shamasknapishtim  escaped  from  the  deluge,  but  he  did  not  know  whether  the 
divine  wrath  was  appeased,  or  what  would  be  done  with  him  when  it  became 
known  that  he  still  lived.  He  resolved  to  conciliate  the  gods  by  expiatory 
ceremonies.  “ I sent  forth  the  inhabitants  of  the  ark  towards  the  four  winds,  I 
made  an  offering,  I poured  out  a propitiatory  libation  on  the  summit  of  the 
mountain.  I set  up  seven  and  seven  vessels,  and  I placed  there  some  sweet- 
smelling rushes,  some  cedar-wood,  and  storax.” 3 He  thereupon  re-entered 
the  ship  to  await  there  the  effect  of  his  sacrifice. 

The  gods,  who  no  longer  hoped  for  such  a wind-fall,  accepted  the 
sacrifice  with  a wondering  joy.  “The  gods  sniffed  up  the  odour,  the  gods 
sniffed  up  the  excellent  odour,  the  gods  gathered  like  flies  above  the  offering. 
When  Ishtar,  the  mistress  of  life,  came  in  her  turn,  she  held  up  the  great 
amulet  which  Anu  had  made  for  her.”  4 She  was  still  furious  against  those 

which  it  ought  to  be  translated,  “ The  field  makes  nothing  more  than  one  with  the  mountain  ; ” that 
is  to  say,  “ mountains  and  fields  are  no  longer  distinguishable  one  from  another.”  I have  merely 
substituted  for  mountain  the  version  wood,  piece  of  land  covered  with  trees,  which  Jensen  has  suggested 
{Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  433,  434). 

1 The  mountain  of  Nisir  is  replaced  in  the  version  of  Berossus  (Lenormant,  Essai  stir  les  fragment s 
cosmogoniques,  p.  259)  by  the  Gordysean  mountains  of  classical  geography  ; a passage  of  Assur-nazir- 
pal  informs  us  that  it  was  situated  between  the  Tigris  and  the  Great  Zab,  according  to  Delitzsch 
( Wo  lag  das  Parodies  ? p.  105)  between  35°  and  36°  N.  latitude.  The  Assyrian-speaking  people 
interpreted  the  name  as  Salvation,  and  a play  up  >n  words  probably  decided  the  placing  upon  its 
slopes  the  locality  where  those  saved  from  the  deluge  landed  on  the  abating  of  the  waters 
Fr.  Lenormant  ( Les  Origines  de  V Histoire,  vol.  ii.  p.  64)  proposes  to  identify  it  with  the  peak  Bowandxz. 

2 IIaupt,  Das  Babylouische  Nimrodepos,  pp.  140,  141,  11.  128-155. 

3 IIaupt,  ibid.,  p.  141,  11.  156-159.  The  word  which  I have  translated  storax,  more  properly 
denotes  an  odoriferous  bark  or  wood,  but  the  exact  species  remains  to  be  determined. 

4 IIaupt,  ibid.,  p.  141,  11.  160-164.  We  are  ignorant  of  the  object  which  the  goddess  lifted  up: 
it  may  have  been  the  sceptre  surmounted  by  a radiating  star,  sucli  as  we  see  on  certain  cylinders 
(cf.  below,  p.  659  of  this  History).  Several  Assyriologists  translate  it  arrow’s  or  lightning  (Sayce, 
The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  380,  note  3 ; IIaupt,  Collation  der  Izdubar-Leyenden,  in 
the  Beitrdqe  zur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  p.  136  ; A.  Jeremias,  Izdubar-Nimrod,  p.  35).  Ishtar  is,  in  fact, 
an  armed  goddess  who  throws  the  arrow  or  lightning  made  by  her  father  Auu,  the  heaven. 


THE  ARK  RESTS  ON  THE  MOUNTAINS  OF  NISIR. 


571 


who  had  determined  upon  the  destruction  of  mankind,  especially  against  Bel : 
“ These  gods,  I swear  it  on  the  necklace  of  my  neck  ! I will  not  forget  them  ; 
these  days  I will  remember,  and  will  not  forget  them  for  ever.  Let  the 
other  gods  come  quickly  to  take  part  in  tbe  offering.  Bel  shall  have  no 
part  in  the  offering,  for  he  was  not  wise ; but  he  has  caused  the  deluge,  and  he 
has  devoted  my  people  to  destruction.”  Bel  himself  had  not  recovered  his 
temper:  “ When  he  arrived  in  his  turn  and  saw  the  ship,  he  remained  immov- 
able before  it,  and  his  heart  was  filled  with  rage  against  the  gods  of  heaven. 
* Who  is  he  who  has  come  out  of  it  living  ? No  man  must  survive  the 


THE  JUnt  MOUNTAINS  SOMETIMES  IDENTIFIED  WITH  THE  NISIR  MOUNTAINS.1 


destruction!”’  The  gods  had  everything  to  fear  from  his  anger:  Ninib  was 
eager  to  exculpate  himself,  and  to  put  the  blame  upon  the  right  person.  Ea 
did  not  disavow  his  acts:  “he  opened  his  mouth  and  spake;  he  said  to  Bel 
the  warrior : ‘ Thou,  the  wisest  among  the  gods,  0 warrior,  why  wert  thou 
not  wise,  and  didst  cause  the  deluge  ? The  sinner,  make  him  responsible  for 
his  sin  ; the  criminal,  make  him  responsible  for  his  crime : but  be  calm,  and  do 
not  cut  off  all ; be  patient,  and  do  not  drown  all.  What  was  the  good  of  causing 
the  deluge  ? A lion  had  only  to  come  to  decimate  the  people.  What  was  the 
good  of  causing  the  deluge  ? A leopard  had  only  to  come  to  decimate  the 
people.  What  was  the  good  of  causing  the  deluge?  Famine  had  only  to 
present  itself  to  desolate  the  country.  What  was  the  good  of  causing  the 
deluge?  Nera  the  Plague  had  only  to  come  to  destroy  the  people.  As  for 
me,  I did  not  reveal  the  judgment  of  the  gods:  I caused  Khasisadra  to  dream 
a dream,  and  he  became  aware  of  the  judgment  of  the  gods,  and  then  he  made 
1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  G.  Smith,  Assyrian  Discoveries,  p.  108. 


572 


ANCIENT  CIIALE A: A. 


his  resolve.’”  Bel  was  mollified  at  the  words  of  Ea  : “he  went  up  into  the 
interior  of  the  ship  ; he  took  hold  of  my  hand  and  made  me  go  up,  even  me ; 
he  made  my  wife  go  up,  and  he  pushed  her  to  my  side ; lie  turned  our  faces 
towards  him,  he  placed  himself  between  us,  and  blessed  us:  ‘Up  to  this  time 
Shamashnapishtim  was  a man  : henceforward  let  Shamashnapishtim  and  his 
wife  be  reverenced  like  us,  the  gods,  and  let  Shamashnapishtim  dwell  afar 
off,  at  the  mouth  of  the  seas,  and  he  carried  us  away  and  placed  us  afar  off,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  seas.’  ” 1 Another  form  of  the  legend  relates  that  by  an  order 
of  the  god,  Xisuthros,  before  embarking,  had  buried  in  the  town  of  Sippara 
all  the  books  in  which  his  ancestors  had  set  forth  the  sacred  sciences — books 
of  oracles  and  omens,  “ in  which  were  recorded  the  beginning,  the  middle,  and 
the  end.  When  he  had  disappeared,  those  of  his  companions  who  remained  on 
board,  seeing  that  he  did  not  return,  went  out  and  set  off  in  search  of  him,  call- 
ing him  by  name.  He  did  not  show  himself  to  them,  but  a voice  from  heaven 
enjoined  upon  them  to  be  devout  towards  the  gods,  to  return  to  Babylon  and 
dig  up  the  books  in  order  that  they  might  be  handed  down  to  future  genera- 
tions ; the  voice  also  informed  them  that  the  country  in  which  they  were 
was  Armenia.  They  offered  sacrifice  in  turn,  they  regained  their  country  on 
foot,  they  dug  up  the  books  of  Sippara  and  wrote  many  more  ; afterwards 
they  refounded  Babylon.” 2 It  was  even  maintained  in  the  time  of  the 
Seleucidae,  that  a portion  of  the  ark  existed  on  one  of  the  summits  of  the 
Grordysean  mountains.3  Pilgrimages  were  made  to  it,  and  the  faithful  scraped 
off  the  bitumen  which  covered  it,  to  make  out  of  it  amulets  of  sovereign 
virtue  against  evil  spells.4 

The  chronicle  of  these  fabulous  times  placed,  soon  after  the  abating  of  the 
waters,  the  foundation  of  a new  dynasty,  as  extraordinary  or  almost  as 
extraordinary  in  character  as  that  before  the  flood.  According  to  Berossus 

1 IIaupt,  Das  Bdbylonische  Nimrodepos,  pp.  141,  143, 11.  1G5-205. 

2 Berossus,  fragm.  xv.,  xvi.  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Commentaire,  pp.  257-259, 337,  338).  Guyard 
has  pointed  out  survivals  of  the  personality  of  Xisuthros  in  the  Khidr  of  the  Arabian  legend  of 
Alexander,  and  in  the  life  of  Moses  in  the  Koran  ( Bulletin  de  la  Religion  Assyro-Babylonienne,  in  the 
Revue  de  VHistoire  des  Religions,  vol.  i.  pp.  344,  345);  cf.  A.  Jeremias,  Die  Babylonisch-Assyrischen 
Vorstellungen  vom  Leben  nach  deni  Tode,  p.  81,  note  1;  M.  Lidbarski,  TVer  ist  Chadir ? in  the 
Zeitschri/t  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  iv.  pp.  104-116. 

3 Berossus,  fragm.  xv.  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Commentaire,  pp.  259, 335,  336).  The  legend  about 
the  remains  of  the  ark  has  passed  into  Jewish  tradition  concerning  the  Deluge  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Les 
Origines  de  VHistoire,  vol.  ii.  pp.  3-6).  Nicholas  of  Damascus  relates,  like  Berossus,  that  they  were 
still  to  be  seen  on  the  top  of  Mount  B iris  {Fragm.  Hist.  Grxcorum,  edit.  Muller-Didot,  vol.  iii.  p.  415, 
fragm.  76).  From  that  time  they  have  been  continuously  seen,  sometimes  on  one  peak  and  sometimes 
on  another.  In  the  last  century  they  were  pointed  out  to  Chardin  ( Voyages  en  Perse,  vol.  vi. 
pp.  2,  3 ; 4,  1 ; 6,  1),  and  the  memory  of  them  has  not  died  out  in  our  own  century  (Macdonald- 
Kinneir,  Travels  in  Asia  Minor,  Armenia,  and  Kurdistan,  p.  453).  Discoveries  of  charcoal  and 
bitumen,  such  as  those  made  at  Gebel  Judi,  upon  one  of  the  mountains  identified  with  Nisir, 
probably  explain  many  of  these  local  traditions  (G.  Smith,  Assyrian  Discoveries,  p.  108). 

4 Fr.  Lenormant  recognized  and  mentioned  one  of  these  amulets  in  his  Catalogue  de  la  Collection 
de  M.  le  baron  de  Behr,  Ant,  N°  80. 


THE  KINGS  AFTER  THE  DELUGE. 


573 


it  was  of  Chaldaean  origin,  and  comprised  eighty-six  kings,  who  bore  rale 
during  34,080  years ; the  first  two,  Evechous  and  Khomasbelos,  reigned  2400 
and  2700  years,  while  the  later  reigns  did  not  exceed  the  ordinary  limits  of 
human  life.  An  attempt  was  afterwards  made  to  harmonize  them  with 
probability  : the  number  of  kings  was  reduced  to  six,  and  their  combined 
reigns  to  225  years.1  This  attempt  arose  from  a misapprehension  of  their  true 
character ; names  and  deeds,  everything  connected  with  them  belongs  to  myth 
and  fiction  only,  and  is  irreducible  to  history  proper.  They  supplied  to  priests 
and  poets  material  for  scores  of  different  stories,  of  which  several  have  come 
down  to  us  in  fragments.  Some  are  short,  and  serve  as  preambles  to  prayers 
or  magical  formulas ; others  are  of  some  length,  and  may  pass  for  real  epics. 
The  gods  intervene  in  them,  and  along  with  kings  play  an  important  part.  It 
is  Nera,  for  instance,  the  lord  of  the  plague,  who  declares  war  against  mankind 
in  order  to  punish  them  for  having  despised  the  authority  of  Anu.  He  makes 
Babylon  to  feel  his  wrath  first:  “The  children  of  Babel,  they  were  as  birds, 
and  the  bird-catcher,  thou  wert  he ! thou  takest  them  in  the  net,  thou  enclosest 
them,  thou  decimatest  them — hero  Nera ! ” One  after  the  other  he  attacks 
the  mother  cities  of  the  Euphrates  and  obliges  them  to  render  homage  to  him 
— even  Uruk,  “the  dwelling  of  Anu  and  Ishtar — the  town  of  the  priestesses,  of 
the  almehs,  and  the  sacred  courtesans;”  then  he  turns  upon  the  foreign  nations 
and  carries  his  ravages  as  far  as  Phoenicia.2  In  other  fragments,  the  hero 
Etana  makes  an  attempt  to  raise  himself  to  heaven,  and  the  eagle,  his  com- 
panion, flies  away  with  him,  without,  however,  being  able  to  bring  the  enterprise 
to  a successful  issue.3  Nimrod  and  his  exploits  are  known  to  us  from  the 
Bible.4  “ He  was  a mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord  : wherefore  it  is  said,  Even 
as  Nimrod  the  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord.  And  the  beginning  of  his 
kingdom  was  Babel,  and  Erech,  and  Accad,  and  Calneh,  in  the  land  of  Shinar.” 
Almost  all  the  characteristics  which  are  attributed  by  Hebrew  tradition  to 


1 Berossus,  fragm.  xi.,  Fragm.  Historicorum  Grxcorum,  edit.  Muller-Didot,  vol.  ii.  p.  503. 

2 Numerous  fragments  of  this  kind  of  mythological  epic  were  discovered  and  partly  translated  liy 
G.  Smith  ( The  Clialdsean  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  123-136  ; cf.  W.  B[oscawen],  The  Plague  Legends 
of  Chaldxa,  in  the  Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  i.  pp.  11-14).  They  were  published  and  the 
whole  translated  by  E.  J.  Harper,  Die  Babylonischen  Legenden  von  Etana,  etc.,  in  the  Beitrage  zur 
Assyriulogie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  425-437. 

3 For  the  legend  of  Etana,  see  below,  pp.  698-700  of  this  History. 

4 Genesis  x.  9,  10.  Among  the  Jews  and  Mussulmans  a complete  cycle  of  legends  have  developed 
around  Nimrod.  He  built  the  Tower  of  Babel  (Josepuus,  Ant.  Jud.,  lib.  i.  4,  § 2)  ; he  threw  Abraham 
into  a fiery  furnace,  aud  he  tried  to  mount  to  heaven  on  the  back  of  an  eagle  (Koran,  Sura,  xxix.  23  ; 
Yakout,  Lex.  Geogr.,  sub  voce  Niffcr).  Sayce  ( Nimrod  and  the  Assyrian  Inscriptions,  in  the  Trans- 
actions of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  248,  249)  and  Grivel  ( Revue  de  la  Suisse  catholique,  August, 
1871,  and  Transactions,  vol.  iii.  pp.  136-144)  saw  in  Nimrod  an  heroic  form  of  Merodach,  the  god  of 
Babylonia  : the  majority  of  living  Assyriologists  prefer  to  follow  Smith’s  example  {The  Chaldaean 
Account  of  the  Deluge,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  i.  p.  205,  and  Assyrian 
Discoveries,  pp.  165-167),  and  identily  him  with  the  hero  Gilgames. 


574 


ANCIENT  CHALDJEA. 


Nimrod  we  iind  in  Gil  games,  King  of  Uruk  and  descendant  of  the  Shamash- 
napislitim  who  had  witnessed  the  deluge.1  Several  copies  of  a poem,  in  which 
an  unknown  scribe  had  celebrated  his  exploits,  existed  about  the  middle  of  the 
VIIth  century  before  our  era  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Nineveh;  they  had  been 
transcribed  by  order  of  Assurbanipal  from  a more  ancient  copy,  and  the 
fragments  of  them  which  have  come  down  to  us,  in  spite  of  their  lacunae, 
enable  us  to  restore  the  original  text,  if  not  in  its  entirety,  at  least  in  regard 
to  the  succession  of  events.2  They  were  divided  into  twelve  episodes  corre- 
sponding with  the  twelve  divisions  of  the  year,  and  the  ancient  Babylonian 
author  was  guided  in  his  choice  of  these  divisions  by  something  more  than 
mere  chance.  Gilgames,  at  first  an  ordinary  mortal  under  the  patronage  of 
the  gods,  had  himself  become  a god  and  son  of  the  goddess  Aruru : 3 “he  had 
seen  the  abyss,  he  had  learned  everything  that  is  kept  secret  and  hidden,  he 
had  even  made  known  to  men  what  had  taken  place  before  the  deluge.”  4 The 
sun,  who  had  protected  him  in  his  human  condition,  had  placed  him  beside 
himself  on  the  judgment-seat,  and  delegated  to  him  authority  to  pronounce 
decisions  from  which  there  was  no  appeal : he  was,  as  it  were,  a sun  on  a small 
scale,  before  whom  the  kings,  princes,  and  great  ones  of  the  earth  humbly 

1 The  name  of  this  hero  is  composed  of  three  signs,  which  Smith  provisionally  rendered  Isdubar 
—a  reading  which,  modified  into  Gislidhubar,  Gistubar,  is  still  retained  by  many  Assyriologists. 
There  have  been  proposed  one  after  another  the  renderings  Dhubar,  Nararudu  (Smith,  The  Eleventh 
Tablet  of  the  Izdubar  Legends,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  558),  Auamarutu, 
Numarad,  Namrasit,  all  of  which  exhibit  in  the  name  of  the  hero  that  of  Nimrod.  Pinches  discovered, 
in  1890,  what  appears  to  be  the  true  signification  of  the  three  signs,  Gilgamesb,  Gilgames  ( Exit 
Gistubar,  in  the  Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  iv.  p.  201);  Sayce  ( The  Hero  of  the  Chaldsean 
Epic,  in  the  Academy,  1890,  No.  966,  p.  421)  and  Oppert  (Le  Persde  Clialdden,  in  the  Revue  d’Assyri- 
ologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  121-123)  have  compared  this  name  with  that  of  Gilgamos,  a Babylonian  hero,  of 
whom  iElian  (Hist.  Anirn.,  xii.  21)  has  preserved  the  memory.  A.  Jeremias  ( Izdubar-Nimrod , p.  2, 
note  1)  continued  to  reject  both  the  reading  and  the  identification. 

2 The  fragments  known  up  to  the  present  have  been  put  together,  arranged,  and  published  by 
Haupt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimroclepos,  Leipzig,  1884-1892,  and  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Asfyriologie,  vol.  i. 
pp.  48-79,  94-152.  A list  of  the  principal  works  dealing  with  them  will  be  found  in  Bezold, 
Kurzgefasster  TJeberblicl;,  pp.  171,  173.  A resume  has  been  given  of  them,  accompanied  with  partial 
translations,  by  A.  Jeremias,  Izdubar-Nimrod,  1891  ; and  a complete  French  translation  by 
Sauveplane,  line  Epopde  Babylonienne,  Islubar-Gilgames,  1894 : I have  confined  myself  almost 
entirely  to  the  arrangement  suggested  by  Haupt  and  Jeremias.  A fragment  of  the  catalogue  of  the 
mythological  works  in  the  Library  of  Nineveh,  discovered  by  Pinches  and  published  by  Sayce  (in 
Smith’s  The  Chaldsean  Account  of  Genesis,  2nd  edit.,  p.  10,  et  seq.),  puls  alongside  the  title  of  our 
poem  the  name  of  a certain  Sinliqiuunini,  who  is  considered  to  have  been  its  author  (Fr.  Lenormant, 
Les  Origines  de  V Histoire,  vol.  ii.  pp.  9,  10,  note);  it  is  perhaps  merely  the  name  of  one  of  the 
rliapsodists  who  recited  it  in  public  (A.  Jeremias,  Izdubar-Nimrod,  p.  13;  cf.  Haupt,  Collation  der 
Izdubar-Legenden,  in  the  Beitriige  zur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  p.  102,  note  2). 

3 Haupt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  p.  8, 1.  30.  The  position  occupied  by  the  goddess  Aruru 
is  otherwise  unknown  : we  ought  perhaps  to  regard  her  as  a form  of  Beltis,  Bilit-ildni,  the  lady  of 
the  gods  (Jensen,  Die  K<  smologie  der  Babylonier,  p.  294,  note  1).  It  is  possible  that  Gilgames  had 
for  his  father  Shamash,  the  sun-god,  who  protected  him  in  all  the  difficulties  of  his  career  (G.  Smith, 
The  Chaldsean  Account  of  Genesis,  p.  174). 

4 1st  Tablet,  II.  1-6 ; cf.  Haupt,  Das  Babyl.  Nimrodepos,  pp.  1,  6,  79,  and  the  Beitrdge  zur 
Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  pp.  102,  103,  318.  The  fragment  quoted  certainly  belonged  to  the  beginning  of 
the  poem,  and  contained  a summary  of  all  the  exploits  attributed  to  our  hero. 


THE  LEGEND  OF  GILGAMES. 


575 


bowed  their  heads.1  The  scribes  had,  therefore,  some  authority  for  treating 
the  events  of  his  life  after  the  model  of  the  year,  and  for  expressing  them  in 
twelve  chants,  which  answered  to  the  annual  course 
of  the  sun  through  the  twelve  months.2 

The  whole  story  is  essentially  an  account  of 
his  struggles  with  Ishtar,  and  the  first  pages 
reveal  him  as  already  at  issue  with  the  goddess. 

His  portrait,  such  as  the  monuments  have  pre- 
served it  for  us,  is  singularly  unlike  the  ordinary 
type : one  would  be  inclined  to  regard  it  as 
representing  an  individual  of  a different  race, 
a survival  of  some  very  ancient  nation  which 
had  held  rule  on  the  plains  of  the  Euphrates 
before  the  arrival  of  the  Sumerian  or  Semitic3 
tribes.  His  figure  is  tall,  broad,  muscular  to 
an  astonishing  degree,  and  expresses  at  once 
vigour  and  activity ; his  head  is  massive,  bony, 
almost  square,  with  a somewhat  flattened  face,  a 
large  nose,  and  prominent  cheek-bones,  the  whole 
framed  by  an  abundance  of  hair,  and  a thick 
beard  symmetrically  curled.  All  the  young  men 
of  Uruk,  the  well-protected,  were  captivated  by 
the  prodigious  strength  and  beauty  of  the  hero ; 
the  elders  of  the  city  betook  themselves  to 
Ishtar  to  complain  of  the  state  of  neglect  to  which  the  young  generation  had 

1 The  identity  of  Gilgames  with  the  Accadian  fire-god,  or  rather  with  the  sud,  was  recognized 
from  the  first  by  H.  Rawlinson  (in  the  Athenxum,  1872,  December  7 ; cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  Les 
Premieres  Civilisations,  vol.  ii.  p.  61,  ct  stq. ; Sayce,  Babylonian  Literature,  p.  27,  et  seq.),  and  has 
been  accepted  since  by  almost  all  Assyriologiats  (cf.  A.  Jeremias,  lzdubar-Eimrod,  pp.  3-5,  for  the 
latest  notice  of  it).  A tablet  brought  back  by  G.  Smith  (Sm.  13711,  1877),  called  attention  to  by 
Fr.  Delitzsch  (in  the  Tiglatpileser  of  Lhotzky,  p.  105),  and  published  by  Haupt  ( Das  Babyl.  Nim- 
rodepos,  pp.  93,  91),  contains  the  remains  of  a hymn  addressed  to  Gilgames,  “ the  powerful  king,  the 
king  of  the  Spirits  of  the  Earth  ” (translated  by  Jeremias,  Lzdubar-Nimmd,  pp.  3, 1 ; by  Sauveplane, 
line  Epopee  Babylonienne,  pp.  206-211 ; and  lastly  by  Boscawen,  Hymns  to  Gilgames,  in  the  Babylonian 
and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  vii.  p.  121,  et  seq.). 

2 The  identity  of  the  twelve  chants  with  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  first  noticed  by 
H.  Rawlinson  ( Athenxum , 1872,  December  7),  has  been  gradually  accepted  by  all  Assyriologists  (Lenor- 
mant, Les  Premieres  Civilisations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  67-81,  and  Les  Origines  de  I’Histoire,  p.  238,  et  seq., 
note  4 ; Sayce,  Babylonian  Literature,  p.  27,  et  seq. ; Haupt,  Der  Keilinscliriftliche  Sintfluthbericht, 
pp.  10,  11,  21,  notes  10,  11);  by  some,  however,  with  some  reserve  (A.  Jeremias,  Izdubar-Nimrod, 
pp.  66-68  ; Sauveplane,  Une  Epopee  Babylonienne,  pp.  Ixii.-lxix.). 

3 Smith  ( The  Chaldxan  Account  of  Genesis,  p.  194)  remarked  the  difference  between  the  repre- 
sentations of  Gilgames  and  the  typical  Babylonian  : he  concluded  from  this  that  the  hero  was  of 
Ethiopian  origin.  Hommel  ( Geschiclite  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  p.  292)  declares  that  his  features 
have  neither  a Sumerian  nor  Semitic  aspect,  and  that  they  raise  an  insoluble  question  in  ethnology. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  Assyrian  bas-relief  from  Khorsabad,  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Louvre  (A.  de  Longperier,  Notice  des  Antiquity  assyriennes,  3rd  edit.,  pp.  28-30,  Nos.  4,  5). 


ANCIENT  C11ALDJEA. 


57  (» 

relegated  them,  “lie  has  no  longer  a rival  in  their  hearts,  hut  thy  subjects 
are  led  to  battle,  and  Gilgames  does  not  send  one  child  back  to  his  father. 
Night  and  day  they  cry  after  him  : ‘It  is  he  the  shepherd  of  Uruk,  the  well- 
protected,1  he  is  its  shepherd  and  master,  he  the  powerful,  the  perfect  and  the 
wise.’  ’ 2 Even  the  women  did  not  escape  the  general  enthusiasm  : “ he  leaves 
not  a single  virgin  to  her  mother,  a single  daughter  to  a warrior,  a single  wife 
to  her  master.  Ishtar  heard  their  complaint,  the  gods  heard  it,  and  cried 
with  a loud  voice  to  Aruru:  ‘It  is  thou,  Aruru,  who  hast  given  him  birth  ; 
create  for  him  now  his  fellow,  that  he  may  be  able  to  meet  him  on  a day  wdien 
it  pleaseth  him,  in  order  that  they  may  fight  with  each  other  and  Uruk  may  be 
delivered.’  When  Aruru  heard  them,  she  created  in  her  heart  a man  of  Anu. 
Aruru  washed  her  hands,  took  a bit  of  clay,  cast  it  upon  the  earth,  kneaded 
it  and  created  Eabani,  the  warrior,  the  exalted  scion,  the  man  of  Ninib,3 
whose  whole  body  is  covered  with  hair,  whose  tresses  are  as  long  as  those  of  a 
woman  ; the  locks  of  his  hair  bristle  on  his  head  like  those  on  the  corn-god  ; 
he  is  clad  in  a vestment  like  that  of  the  god  of  the  fields  ; he  browses  with 
the  gazelles,  he  quenches  his  thirst  with,  the  beasts  of  the  field,  he  sports  with 
the  beasts  of  the  waters.”4  Frequent  representations  of  Eabani  are  found 
upon  the  monuments  ; he  has  the  horns  of  a goat,  the  legs  and  tail  of  a bull.5 
He  possessed  not  only  the  strength  of  a brute,  but  his  intelligence  also  embraced 
all  things,  the  past  and  the  future : he  would  probably  have  triumphed  over 
Gilgames  if  Shamash  had  not  succeeded  in  attaching  them  to  one  another  by 
an  indissoluble  tie  of  friendship.  The  difficulty  was  to  draw  these  two  future 
friends  together,  and  to  bring  them  face  to  face  without  their  coming  to  blows; 

1 Uruk  supuri  is  hardly  met  with  anywhere  else  than  in  the  poem  of  Gilgames.  The  expression 
seems  to  signify  “Uruk,  the  well-protected”  (A.  Jeremias,  Izdubar-Nimrod,  p.  9);  it  is  similar  to 
the  phrase  used  by  Arab  writers  to  designate  Cairo,  Kahirah-el-Mahrussah. 

2 Haupt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  p.  8,  11.  21-26;  cf.  p.  79, 11.  10-16.  The  text  is  mutilated, 
and  can  be  approximately  rendered  only.  Smith  ( Assyrian  Discoveries,  pp.  168,  169)  thought  at  first 
that  the  poem  began  by  an  account  of  a siege  of  Uruk,  by  the  deliverance  of  the  town  by  Gilgames, 
and  by  the  sudden  elevation  of  Gilgames  to  the  royal  dignity ; he  recognized  afterwards  his  mistake 
( The  Chaldxan  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  183-185),  and  adopted,  as  far  as  the  fragments  of  the  first 
tablets  are  concerned,  the  arrangement  now  commonly  accepted  by  Assyriologists  (A.  Jeremias, 
Izdubar-Nimrod,  p.  14,  et  seq. ; Sauvepi.ane,  Une  Epopee  Babylonienne,  p.  4,  et  seq.). 

3 Ninib  possesses,  among  other  titles,  that  of  the  god  of  labourers:  the  “man  of  Ninib” 
is,  therefore,  properly  speaking,  a peasant,  a man  of  the  fields  (A.  Jeremias,  op.  oil.,  p.  46, 
note  16). 

1 IIadpt,  Das  Babyl.  Nimrodepos,  pp.  8,  9,  11.  27-41. 

5 Smith  was  the  first,  I believe,  to  compare  his  form  to  that  of  a satyr  or  faun  (The  Chaldxan 
Account  of  Genesis,  p.  196);  this  comparison  is  rendered  more  probable  by  the  fact  that  the  modern 
inhabitants  of  Chaldsea  believe  in  the  existence  of  similar  monsters  (Rich,  Voyage  aux  ruines  de 
Babylone,  trans.  by  Raymond,  pp.  75,  76,  79,  210).  A.  Jeremias  (Die  Babylonisch-Assyrisclien 
Vorstellungen  vom  Leben  nach  dem  Tode,  p.  83,  note  4)  places  Eabani  alongside  Priapus,  who  is 
generally  a god  of  the  fields,  and  a clever  soothsayer.  Following  out  these  ideas,  we  might  com- 
pare our  Eabani  with  the  Graeco-Roman  Proteus,  who  pastures  the  flocks  of  the  sea,  and  whom 
it  was  necessary  to  pursue  and  seize  by  force  or  cunning  words  to  compel  him  to  give  oracular 
predictions. 


THE  SEDUCTION  OF  EABANI. 


5 77 


the  god  sent  his  courier  Saidu,  the  hunter,  to  study  the  habits  of  the  monster, 
and  to  find  out  the  necessary  means  to  persuade  him  to  come  down  peaceably 
to  Uruk.  “ Saidu,  the  hunter,  proceeded  to  meet  Eabani  near  the  entrance  of 
the  watering-place.  One  day,  two  days,  three  days,  Eabani  met  him  at  the 
entrance  of  the  watering-place.  He  perceived  Saidu,  and  his  countenance 
darkened  : he  entered  the  enclosure,  he  became  sad,  he  groaned,  he  cried  with 
a loud  voice,  his  heart  was  heavy,  his  features  were  distorted,  sobs  burst  from 
his  breast.  The  hunter' saw  from  a distance  that  his  face  was  inflamed  with 
anger,”  1 and  judging  it  more  prudent  not  to  persevere  further  in  his  enterprise, 


GILGAMES  EIGHTS,  ON  THE  LEFT  WITH  A BULL,  ON  THE  RIGHT  WITH  EABANI.2 


returned  to  impart  to  the  god  what  he  had  observed.  “ I was  afraid,”  said  he, 
in  finishing  his  narrative,  “and  I did  not  approach  him.  He  had  filled  up  the 
pit  which  I had  dug  to  trap  him,  he  broke  the  nets  which  I had  spread,  he 
delivered  from  my  hands  the  cattle  and  the  beasts  of  the  field,  he  did  not  allow 
me  to  search  the  country  through.”  3 Shamash  thought  that  where  the  strongest 
man  might  fail  by  the  employment  of  force,  a woman  might  possibly  succeed 
by  the  attractions  of  pleasure;  he  commanded  Saidu  to  go  quickly  to  Uruk 
and  to  choose  there  from  among  the  priestesses  of  Ishtar  one  of  the  most 
beautiful.4  The  hunter  presented  himself  before  Gfilgames,  recounted  to  him 
his  adventures,  and  sought  his  permission  to  take  away  with  him  one  of  the 


1 Hatjpt,  Das  Babylonisclie  Nimrodepos,  p.  9,  11.  42-50.  The  beginning  of  each  line  is  destroyed, 
and  the  translation  of  the  whole  is  only  approximate. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a Chaldsean  intaglio  in  the  Museum  at  the  Hague  (Menant, 
Catalogue  des  cylinders  orientaux  du  Cabinet  royal  des  N€dailles,  pi.  i.,  No,  ],  and  Becherches  sur  la 
Glyptique  orientate,  vol.  i.,  pi.  ii.,  No.  3;  cf.  Lajard,  Introduction  a Vehicle  du  culte  public  de  Mithra, 
pi.  xxvii.  9).  The  original  measures  about  1T70  inch  in  height. 

3 Haijpt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  p.  9, 11.  8-12. 

4 The  priestesses  of  Ishtar  were  young  and  beautiful  women,  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  goddess 
and  her  worshippers.  Besides  the  title  qadishlu,  priestess,  they  bore  various  names,  liizireti,  ulehati, 
kharimdti  (A.  .Teremias,  Izdiibar-Nimrod,  p.  59,  et  seq.);  the  priestess  who  accompanied  Saidu  was 
ap  ulcjiat, 

2 P 


ANCIENT  CTJALDAEA. 


578 

sacred  courtesans.  ‘“Go,  my  hunter,  take  the  priestess;  when  the  beasts  come 
to  the  watering-place,  let  her  display  her  beauty  ; he  will  see  her,  he  will 
approach  her,  and  his  beasts  that  troop  around  him  will  be  scattered.’”1  The 
hunter  went,  he  took  with  him  the  priestess,  he  took  the  straight  road;  the 
third  day  they  arrived  at  the  fatal  plain.  The  hunter  and  the  priestess  sat 
down  to  rest ; one  day,  two  days,  they  sat  at  the  entrance  of  the  watering-place 
from  whose  waters  Eabani  drank  along  with  the  animals,  where  he  sported  with 
the  beasts  of  the  water.2 

“ When  Eabani  arrived,  lie  who  dwells  in  the  mountains,  and  who  browses 
upon  the  grass  like  the  gazelles,  who  drinks  with  the  animals,  who  sports  with 
the  beasts  of  the  water,  the  priestess  saw  the  sityr.”  She  was  afraid  and 
blushed,  but  the  huuter  recalled  her  to  her  duty.  “It  is  he,  priestess.  Undo 
thy  garment,  show  him  thy  form,  that  he  may  be  taken  with  thy  beauty  ; be 
not  ashamed,  but  deprive  him  of  his  spul.  He  perceives  thee,  he  is  rushing 
towards  thee,  arrange  thy  garment;  he  is  coming  upon  thee,  receive  him  with 
every  art  of  woman ; his  beasts  which  troop  around  him  will  be  scattered,  and 
he  will  press  thee  to  his  breast.”  The  priestess  did  as  she  was  commanded  ; 
she  received  him  with  every  art  of  woman,  and  he  pressed  her  to  his  breast. 
Six  days  and  seven  nights,  Eabani  remained  near  the  priestess,  his  well-beloved. 
When  he  got  tired  of  pleasure  he  turned  his  face  towards  his  cattle,  and  he 
saw  that  the  gazelles  had  turned  aside  and  that  the  beasts  of  the  field  had  fled 
far  from  him.  Eabani  was  alarmed,  he  fell  into  a swoon,  his  knees  became 
stiff  because  his  cattle  had  fled  from  him.  While  he  lay  as  if  dead,  he  heard 
the  voice  of  the  priestess  : he  recovered  his  senses,  he  came  to  himself  full  of 
love  ; he  seated  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  priestess,  he  looked  into  her  face,  and 
while  the  priestess  spoke  his  ears  listened.  For  it  was  to  him  the  priestess 
spoke — to  him,  Eabani.  “ Thou  who  art  superb,  Eabani,  as  a god,  why  dost  thou 
live  among  the  beasts  of  the  field?  Come,  I will  conduct  thee  to  Uruk  the 
well-protected,  to  the  glorious  house,  the  dwelling  of  Anu  and  Ishtar — to  the 
place  where  is  Gilgames,  whose  strength  is  supreme,  and  who,  like  a Urus, 
excels  the  heroes  in  strength.”  While  she  thus  spoke  to  him,  he  hung  upon 
her  words,  he  the  wise  of  heart,  he  realized  by  anticipation  a friend.  Eabani 
said  to  the  priestess : “ Let  us  go,  priestess ; lead  me  to  the  glorious  and  holy 
abode  of  Anu  and  Ishtar — to  the  place  where  is  Gilgames,  whose  strength  is 

1 As  far  as  can  be  guessed  from  tlie  narrative,  interrupted  as  it  is  by  so  many  lacunae,  the  power 
of  Eabani  over  the  beasts  of  the  field  seems  to  have  depended  on  his  continence.  From  the  moment 
in  which  he  yields  to  his  passions  the  beasts  fly  from  him  as  they  would  do  from  an  ordinary  mortal; 
there  is  then  no  other  resource  for  him  but  to  leave  the  solitudes  to  live  among  men  in  towns.  This 
explains  the  means  devised  by  Shamash  against  him : cf.  in  the  Arabian  Nights  the  story  of 
Shehabeddin. 

,J  IIaitt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  p.  10, 1.  40;  p.  11, 1,  1, 


THE  DEATH  OF  RHUMB  ABA. 


579 


supreme,  and  who,  like  a Urus,  prevails  over  the  heroes  by  his  strength.  I 
will  fight  with  him  and  manifest  to  him  my  power  ; I will  send  forth  a panther 
against  Uruk,  and  he  must  struggle  with  it.”  1 The  priestess  conducted  her 
prisoner  to  Uruk,  but  the  city  at  that  moment  was  celebrating  the  festival 
of  Tammuz,  and  Gilgames  did  not  care  to  interrupt  the  solemnities  in 
order  to  face  the  tasks  to  which  Eabani  had  invited  him  : what  was  the 
use  of  such  trials  since  the  gods  themselves  had  deigned  to  point  out  to 
him  in  a dream  the  line  of  conduct  he  was  to  pursue,  and  had  taken  up 
the  cause  of  their  children.  Shamash,  in  fact,  began  the  instruction  of  the 
monster,  and  sketched  an  alluring  picture  of  the  life  which  awaited  him 
if  he  would  agree  not  to  return  to  his  mountain  home.  Not  only  would 
the  priestess  belong  to  him  for  ever,  having  none  other  than  him  for  husband, 
but  Gilgames  would  shower  upon  him  riches  and  honours.  “ He  will  give 
thee  wherein  to  sleep  a great  bed  cunningly  wrought ; he  will  seat  thee 
on  his  divan,  he  will  give  thee  a place  on  his  left  hand,  and  the  princes  of 
the  earth  shall  kiss  thy  feet,  the  people  of  Uruk  shall  grovel  on  the  ground 
before  thee.” 2 It  was  by  such  flatteries  and  promises  for  the  future  that 
Gilgames  gained  the  affection  of  his  servant  Eabani,  whom  he  loved  for 
ever. 

Shamash  had  reasons  for  being  urgent.  Khumbaba,  King  of  Elam,  had 
invaded  the  country  of  the  Euphrates,  destroyed  the  temples,  and  substituted 
for  the  national  worship  the  cult  of  foreign  deities ; 3 the  two  heroes  in  concert 
could  alone  check  his  advance,  and  kill  him.  They  collected  their  troops,  set 
out  on  the  march,  having  learned  from  a female  magician  that  the  enemy  had 
concealed  himself  in  a sacred  grove.  They  entered  it  in  disguise,  “ and  stopped 
in  rapture  for  a moment  before  the  cedar  trees ; they  contemplated  the  height 
of  them,  they  contemplated  the  thickness  of  them  ; the  place  where  Khumbaba 
was  accustomed  to  walk  up  and  down  with  rapid  strides,  alleys  were  made  in  it, 
paths  kept  up  with  great  care.  They  saw  at  length  the  hill  of  cedars,  the 
abode  of  the  gods,  the  sanctuary  of  Irnini,  and  before  the  hill,  a magnificent 

1 Haupt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  p.  11,  1.  2;  p.  13,  1.  2.  I have  softened  down  a 
good  deal  the  account  of  the  seduction,  which  is  described  with  a sincerity  and  precision  truly 
primitive. 

2 Hacpt,  op.  cit.,  p.  15, 11.  36-39. 

3 Khumbaba  contains  the  name  of  the  Elamite  god,  Khumba,  which  enters  into  the  composition 
of  names  of  towns,  like  Til-Khumbi ; or  into  those  of  princes,  as  Khumbanigash,  Khumbasundasa, 
Khumbasidir  (G.  Smith,  Chaldxan  Account  of  Genesis,  p.  185).  The  comparison  between  Khumbaba 
and  Combabos  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Les  Origines  de  VHistoire,  vol.  i.  p.  240),  the  hero  of  a singular 
legend,  current  in  the  second  century  of  our  era  (De  Dea  Syria,  §§  17-27),  does  not  seem  to  be 
admissible,  at  least  for  the  present.  The  names  agree  well  in  sound,  but,  as  Oppert  has  rightly 
said,  no  event  in  the  history  of  Combabos  finds  a counterpart  in  anything  we  know  of  that  of 
Khumbaba  up  to  the  present  ( Fragments  cosmogoniques,  in  Ledrain,  llistoire  de  VIsrael,  vol.  i 
p.  423). 


580 


ANCIENT  CflALDJEA. 


ocdar,  and  pleasant  grateful  shade.”  1 They  surprised  Khumbaba  at  the  moment 
when  he  was  about  to  take  his  outdoor  exercise,  cut  off  his  head,  and  came  back  in 
triumph  to  Uruk.2  “ Gilgames  brightened  his  weapons,  he  polished  his  weapons. 
He  put  aside  his  war-harness,  he  put  on  his  white  garments,  he  adorned  himself 
with  the  royal  insignia,  and  bound  on  the  diadem  : Gilgames  put  his  tiara  on  his 
head,  and  bound  on  his  diadem.”  3 Ishtar  saw  him  thus  adorned,  and  the  same 
passion  consumed  her  which  inflames  mortals.4  “ To  the  love  of  Gilgames  she 
raised  her  eyes,  the  mighty  Ishtar,  and  she  said,  ‘ Come,  Gilgames,  be  my  hus- 
band, thou. ! Thy  love,  give  it  to  me,  as  a gift  to  me,  and  thou  shalt  be  my  spouse, 
and  I shall  be  thy  wife.  I will  place  thee  in  a chariot  of  lapis  and  gold,  with 
golden  wheels  and  mountings  of  onyx  : thou  shalt  be  drawn  in  it  by  great  lions, 
and  thou  shalt  enter  our  house  with  the  odorous  incense  of  cedar-wood.  When 
thou  shalt  have  entered  our  house,  all  the  country  by  the  sea  shall  embrace  thy 
feet,  kings  shall  bow  down  before  thee,  the  nobles  and  the  great  ones,  the  gifts  of 
the  mountains  and  of  the  plain  they  will  bring  to  thee  as  tribute.  Thy  oxen 
shall  prosper,  thy  sheep  shall  be  doubly  fruitful,  thy  mules  shall  spontaneously 
come  under  the  yoke,  thy  chariot-horse  shall  be  strong  and  shall  galop,  thy  bull 
under  the  yoke  shall  have  no  rival.’  ” 5 Gilgames  repels  this  unexpected  decla- 
ration with  a mixed  feeling  of  contempt  and  apprehension : he  abuses  the  goddess, 
and  insolently  questions  her  as  to  what  has  become  of  her  mortal  husbands  during 
her  long  divine  life.  “ Tammuz,  the  spouse  of  thy  youth,  thou  hast  condemned 
him  to  weep  from  year  to  year.6  Allala,  the  spotted  sparrow-hawk,  thou  lovedst 
him,  afterward  thou  didst  strike  him  and  break  his  wing:  he  continues  in  the 
wood  and  cries  : ‘ 0,  my  wings  ! ’ 7 Thou  didst  afterwards  love  a lion  of  mature 
strength,  and  then  didst  cause  him  to  be  rent  by  blows,  seven  at  a time.8  Thou 

1 Haupt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  p.  24,  11.  1-8. 

2 G.  Smith  (The  Chaldxan  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.- 184,  185)  places  at  this  juncture  Gilgames’s 
accession  to  the  throne;  this  is  not  confirmed  by  the  fragments  of  ihe  text  known  up  to  the  present, 
and  it  is  not  even  certain  that  the  poem  relates  anywhere  the  exaltation  and  coronation  of  the  hero.  It 
would  appear  even  that  Gilgames  is  recognized  from  the  beginning  as  King  of  Uruk,  the  well-protected. 

3 Haupt,  op.  cit , p.  42,  11.  1-6. 

4 Ishtar’s  declaration  to  Gilgames  and  the  hero’s  reply  have  been  frequently  translated  and  sum- 
marized since  the  discovery  of  the  poem.  Smith  thought  to  connect  this  episode  with  the  “Descent 
of  Ishtar  to  Hades”  ( The  Chaldxan  Account  of  Genesis,  p.  228),  which  we  shall  meet  with  further  on 
in  this  History,  but  his  opinion  is  no  longer  accepted.  The  “Descent  of  Ishtar”  in  its  present 
condition  is  the  beginning  of  a magical  formula  : it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  acts  of  Gilgames. 

5 Haupt,  op.  cit.,  pp.  42,  43,  II.  7-21. 

6 Tammuz-Adonis  is  the  only  one  known  to  us  among  this  long  list  of  the  lovers  of  the  goddess. 
The  others  must  have  been  fairly  celebrated  among  the  Chaldseans,  since  the  few  words  devoted  to 
each  is  sufficient  to  recall  them  to  the  memory  of  the  reader,  but  we  have  not  as  yet  found  anything 
bearing  upon  their  adventures  (cf.  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  215,  et  seq.); 
in  the  table  of  the  ancient  Chaldaeo-Assyrian  classics,  which  had  been  copied  out  by  a Ninevite 
scribe  for  the  use  of  Assurbanipal,  the  title  of  the  poems  is  wanting  (Sayce-Smith,  The  Chaldxan 
Account  of  the  Deluge,  p.  x.,  et  seq  ). 

7 The  text  gives  happi  (Haupt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  pp.  44,  1.  50),  and  the  legend 
evidently  refer  s to  a bird  whose  cry  resembles  the  word  meaning  “ my  wings.”  The  spotted  sparrow- 
hawk  utters  a cry  which  may  be  strictly  understood  and  interpreted  in  this  way. 

8 This  is  evidently  the  origin  of  our  fable  of  the  Amorous  Lion  ” ( Fontaine's  Fables , bk.  iv.  fable  1). 


THE  LOVE  OF  ISHTAR,  AND  THE  STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  BULL  OF  ANU.  581 

lovedst  also  a stallion  magnificent  in  the  battle  ; thou  didst  devote  him  to  death 
by  the  goad  and  whip  ; thou  didst  compel  him  to  galop  for  ten  leagues,  thou 
didst  devote  him  to  exhaustion  and  thirst,  thou  didst  devote  to  tears  his  mother 
Silili.  Thou  didst  also  love  the  shepherd  Tabulu,  who  lavished  incessantly  upon 
thee  the  smoke  of  sacrifices,  and  daily  slaughtered  goats  to  thee ; thou  didst 
strike  him  and  turn  him  into  a leopard  ; his  own  servants  went  in  pursuit  of  him, 
and  his  dogs  followed  his  trail.1  Thou  didst  love  Ishullanu,  thy  father’s  gardener, 
who  ceaselessly  brought  thee  presents  of  fruit,  and  decorated  every  day  thy 
table.  Thou  raisedst  thine  eyes  to  him,  thou  seizedst  him  : ‘My  Ishullanu,  we 
shall  eat  melons,  then  shalt  thou  stretch  forth  thy  hand  and  remove  that  which 
separates  us.’  Ishullanu  said  to  thee : ‘ I,  what  dost  thou  require  from  me  ? 
0 my  mother,  prepare  no  food  for  me,  I myself  will  not  eat : anything  I should 
eat  would  be  for  me  a misfortune  and  a curse,  and  my  body  would  be  stricken  by 
a mortal  coldness.’  Then  thou  didst  hear  him  and  didst  become  angry,  thou 
didst  strike  him,  thou  didst  transform  him  into  a dwarf,  thou  didst  set  him  up  on 
the  middle  of  a couch ; he  could  not  rise  up,  he  could  not  get  down  from  where 
he  was.  Thou  lovest  me  now,  afterwards  thou  wilt  strike  me  as  thou  didst  these.”3 

“ When  Ishtar  heard  him,  she  fell  into  a fury,  she  ascended  to  heaven.  The 
mighty  Ishtar  presented  herself  before  her  father  Anu,  before  her  mother 
Anatu  she  presented  herself,  and  said  : * My  father,  Gilgames  has  despised  me. 
Gilgames  has  enumerated  my  unfaithfulnesses,  my  unfaithfulnesses  and  my 
ignominies.’  Anu  opened  his  mouth  and  spake  to  the  mighty  Ishtar  : ‘ Canst 
thou  not  remain  quiet  now  that  Gilgames  has  enumerated  to  thee  thy  unfaith- 
fulnesses, thy  unfaithfulnesses  and  ignominies  ? ’ ” 3 But  she  refused  to  allow 
the  outrage  to  go  unpunished.  She  desired  her  father  to  make  a celestial  urus 
who  would  execute  her  vengeance  on  the  hero ; and,  as  he  hesitated,  she 
threatened  to  destroy  every  living  thing  in  the  entire  universe  by  suspending 
the  impulses  of  desire,  and  the  effect  of  love.  Anu  finally  gives  way  to  her 
rage : he  creates  a frightful  urus,  whose  ravages  soon  rendered  uninhabitable 
the  neighbourhood  of  Uruk  the  well-protected.  The  two  heroes,  Gilgames  and 
Eabani,  touched  by  the  miseries  and  terror  of  the  people,  set  out  on  the  chase, 
and  hastened  to  rouse  the  beast  from  its  lair  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  in 

1 The  changing  of  a lover,  by  the  goddess  or  sorceress  who  loves  him,  into  a beast,  occurs  pretty 
frequently  iu  Oriental  tales  (cf.  in  the  Arabian  Nights  the  adventure  of  King  Bedr  with  Queen 
Labeh);  as  to  the  man  changed  by  Ishtar  into  a brute,  which  she  caused  to  be  torn  by  his  own 
hounds,  we  may  compare  the  classic  story  of  Artemis  surprised  at  her  bath  by  Acteeon. 

2 IIaupt,  Das  Babylonisclie  Nimrodepos,  pp.  44,  45,  11.  46-79 ; cf.  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the 
Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  246-248.  As  to  the  misfortune  of  Ishullanu,  we  may  compare  the  story  in 
the  Arabian  Nights  of  the  Fisherman  and  the  Genie  shut  up  in  the  leaden  bottle.  The  king  of  the 
Black  Islands  was  transformed  into  a statue  from  the  waist  to  the  feet  by  the  sorceress,  whom  he  had 
married  and  afterwards  offended;  he  remained  lying  on  a bed,  from  which  he  could  not  get  down, 
and  the  unfaithful  one  came  daily  to  whip  him. 

3 Haupt,  op.  cit.,  p.  45, 11.  80-91. 


582 


ANCIENT  CEALDTEA. 


the  marshes,  to  which  it  resorted  after  each  murderous  onslaught.  A troop  of 
three  hundred  valiant  warriors  penetrated  into  the  thickets  in  three  lines  to 
drive  the  animal  towards  the  heroes.  The  beast  with  head  lowered  charged 
them  ; but  Eabani  seized  it  with  one  hand  by  the  right  horn,  and  with  the  other 
by  the  tail,  and  forced  it  to  rear.  Gilgames  at  the  same  instant,  seizing  it  by 
the  leg,  plunged  his  dagger  into  its  heart.  The  beast  being  despatched,  they 
celebrated  their  victory  by  a sacrifice  of  thanksgiving,  and  poured  out  a 
libation  to  Shamask,  whose  protection  had  not  failed  them  in  this  last  danger. 
Ishtar,  her  projects  of  vengeance  having  been  defeated,  “ ascended  the  ramparts 
of  Uruk  the  well-protected.  She  sent  forth  a loud  cry,  she  hurled  forth  a 

malediction  : * Cursed  be 
Gilgames,  who  has  insulted 
me,  and  who  has  killed  the 
celestial  urus.’  Eabani 
heard  these  words  of  Ish- 
tar, he  tore  a limb  from 
the  celestial  urus  and  threw 
it  in  the  face  of  the  god- 
dess : ‘ Thou  also  1 will 
conquer,  and  I will  treat 
thee  like  him:  I will  fasten  the  curse  upon  thy  sides.’  Ishtar  assembled 
her  priestesses,  her  female  votaries,  her  frenzied  women,  and  together  they 
intoned  a dirge  over  the  limb  of  the  celestial  urus.  Gilgames  assembled  all 
the  turners  in  ivory,  and  the  workmen  were  astonished  at  the  enormous 
size  of  the  horns : they  were  worth  thirty  minw.  of  lapis,  their  diameter 
was  a half-cubit,  and  both  of  them  could  contain  six  measures  of  oil.” 2 
He  dedicated  them  to  Shamash,  and  suspended  them  on  the  corners  of  the 
altar;  then  he  washed  his  hands  in  the  Euphrates,  re-entered  Uruk,  and 
passed  through  the  streets  in  triumph.  A riotous  banquet  ended  the  day,  but 
on  that  very  night  Eabani  felt  himself  haunted  by  an  inexplicable  and  baleful 
dream,  and  fortune  abandoned  the  two  heroes.  Gilgames  had  cried  in  the 
intoxication  of  success  to  the  women  of  Uruk  : “ Who  shines  forth  among  the 
valiant?  Who  is  glorious  above  all  men?  Gilgames  shines  forth  among 
the  valiant,  Gilgames  is  glorious  above  all  men.”3  Ishtar  made  him  feel  her 
vengeance  in  the  destruction  of  that  beauty  of  which  he  was  so  proud ; she 


GILGAMES  AND  EABANI  FIGHTING  WITH  MONSTEBS.1 


1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  a Chaldsean  intaglio  in  the  New  York  Museum  (Menant, 
Ilechercltes  sur  la  Glyptique  orientale,  vol.  i.  pi.  i.,  No.  1).  The  origiual  is  about  an  inch  auJ  a half 
in  height. 

2 Haupt,  Das  Balylonisclie  Ninirodepos,  pp.  18-01,  11.  171-191. 

3 Haupt,  op.  cit.,  p.  49*  l1.  200-203. 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  ItlE  TREE  OF  LIFE — THE  SCORPION-MEN.  583 


covered  him  with  leprosy  from  head  to  foot,  and  made  him  an  object  of  horror 
to  his  friends  of  the  previous  day.  A life  of  pain  and  a frightful  death — he 
alone  could  escape  them  who  dared  to  go  to  the  confines  of  the  world  in  quest  of 
the  Fountain  of  Youth  and  the  Tree  of  Life  which  were  said  to  he  there  hidden  ; 1 
but  the  road  was  rough,  unknown,  beset  by  dangers,  and  no  one  of  those  who 
had  ventured  upon  it  had  ever  returned.  Gilgames  resolved  to  brave  every 
peril  rather  than  submit  to  his  fate,  and  proposed  this  fresh  adventure  to  his 
friend  Eabani,  w'ho,  notwithstanding  his  sad  forebodings,  consented  to  accom- 
pany him.  They  killed  a tiger  on  the  way,  but  Eabani  w'as  mortally  wounded 
in  a struggle  in  w'hich  they 
engaged  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Nipur,  and  breathed 
his  last  after  an  agony  of 
twelve  days’  duration. 

“ Gilgames  u'ept  bitterly 
over  his  friend  Eabani,  gro- 
velling on  the  bare  earth.” 

The  selfish  fear  of  death 
struggled  in  his  spirit  with 
regret  at  having  lost  so  dear 
a companion,  a tried  friend  in 
so  many  encounters.  “ I do 
not  wish  to  die  like  Eabani : 

sorrow  has  entered  my  heart,  the  fear  of  death  has  taken  possession  of  me, 
and  I am  overcome.  But  I will  go  with  rapid  steps  to  the  strong  Sha- 
mashnapishtim,  son  of  Ubaratutu,3  to  learn  from  him  how  to  become 
immortal.  He  leaves  the  plain  of  the  Euphrates,  he  plunges  boldly  into 
the  desert,  he  loses  himself  for  a whole  day  amid  frightful  solitudes.  “ I 
reached  at  nightfall  a ravine  in  the  mountain,  I beheld  lions  and  trembled, 
but  I raised  my  face  towards  the  moon-god,  and  I prayed : my  suppli- 
cation ascended  even  to  the  father  of  the  gods,  and  he  extended  over  me 
his  protection.  4 A vision  from  on  high  revealed  to  him  the  road  he  was 
to  take.  With  axe  and  dagger  in  hand,  he  reached  the  entrance  of  a dark 


THE  SCOBPION-MEX  OF  THE  HOONTAIXS  OF  JlisUO.2 


1 On  the  ideas  among  the  Babylonians  as  to  the  Fountain  of  Youth  and  the  Tree  of  Life,  see 
A Jebeihas,  Die  Babylonisch-Assyrischen  Vorstellungen  vom  Leben  nach  deni  Tude,  pp.  89-93; 
a sea  is  certainly  one  of  the  centres  from  which  they  have  been  spread  over  the  world. 

i awn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  Assyrian  intaglio  (Lajard,  Introduction  a V€tude  du  Culte 
public  etdes  Mysteres  de  Mttlira  en  Orient  et  en  Occident,  pi.  xxviii.  11).  There  are  several  other 
representatmns  of  the  same  subject  in  Menant,  Becherclies  sur  la  Glyptique  orientate,  vol.  i.  pp. 

J Haupt,  Das  Babylonische  Nimrod  epos,  p.  59,  11.  1-7, 

1 Haupp,  op  ciL,  p.  59,  II.  8-12;  cf.  p,  85,  II.  8-11. 


584 


ANCIENT  V1IALNJEA. 


passage  leading  into  the  mountain  of  Masliu,1  “ whose  gate  is  guarded  day  and 
night  by  supernatural  beings.  The  scorpion-men,  of  whom  the  stature  extends 
upwards  as  far  as  the  supports  of  heaven,  and  of  whom  the  breasts  descend  as 
low  as  Hades,  guard  the  door.  The  terror  which  they  inspire  strikes  down 
like  a thunderbolt ; their  look  kills,  their  splendour  confounds  and  overturns 
the  mountains;  they  watch  over  the  sun  at  his  rising  and  setting.  Gilgames 
perceived  them,  and  his  features  were  distorted  with  fear  and  horror ; their 
savage  appearance  disturbed  his  mind.  The  scorpion-man  said  to  his 
wife:  ‘He  who  comes  towards  us,  his  body  is  marked  by  the  gods.’2  The 
scorpion-woman  replied  to  him  : ‘ In  his  mind  he  is  a god,  in  his  mortal 
covering  he  is  a man.’  The  scorpion-man  spoke  and  said : ‘ It  is  as  the  father 
of  the  gods  has  commanded,  he  has  travelled  over  distant  regions  before  joining 
us,  thee  and  me.’  ”3  Gilgames  learns  that  the  guardians  are  not  evilly  disposed 
towards  him,  and  becomes  reassured,  tells  them  his  misfortunes  and  implores 
permission  to  pass  beyond  them  so  as  to  reach  “ Shamashnapishtim,  his  father, 
who  was  translated  to  the  gods^  and  who  has  at  his  disposal  both  life  and 
death.”  4 The  scorpion-man  in  vain  shows  to  him  the  perils  before  him,  of 
which  the  horrible  darkness  enveloping  the  Masliu  mountains  is  not  the  least : 
Gilgames  proceeds  through  the  depths  of  the  darkness  for  long  hours,  and  after- 
wards comes  out  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a marvellous  forest  upon  the  shore  of 
the  ocean  which  encircles  the  world.  One  tree  especially  excites  his  wonder : 
“ As  soon  as  he  sees  it  he  runs  towards  it.  Its  fruits  are  so  many  precious 
stones,  its  boughs  are  splendid  to  look  upon,  for  the  branches  are  weighed  down 
with  lapis,  and  their  fruits  are  superb.”  When  his  astonishment  had  calmed 
down,  Gilgames  begins  to  grieve,  and  to  curse  the  ocean  which  stays  his 
steps.  “ Sabitu,  the  virgin  who  is  seated  on  the  throne  of  the  seas,”  perceiving 
him  from  a distance,  retires  at  first  to  her  castle,  and  barricades  herself 
within  it.  He  calls  out  to  her  from  the  strand,  implores  and  threatens  her  in 
turn,  adjures  her  to  help  him  in  his  voyage.  “ If  it  can  be  done,  I will  cross 
the  sea;  if  it  cannot  be  done,  I will  lay  me  down  on  the  land  to  die.”  The 
goddess  is  at  length  touched  by  his  tears.  “ Gilgames,  there  has  never  been  a 
passage  hither,  and  no  one  from  time  immemorial  has  been  able  to  cross  the 
sea.  Shamash  the  valiant  crossed  the  sea ; after  Shamash,  who  can  cross  it  ? 

1 The  laud  of  Masliu  is  the  land  to  the  west  of  the  Euphrates,  coterminous  on  one  part  with  the 
northern  regions  of  the  Red  Sea,  on  the  other  with  the  Persian  Gulf  (G.  Smith,  The  Chaldxan 
Account  of  Genesis,  p.  262);  the  name  appears  to  be  preserved  in  that  of  the  classic  Mesene,  and 
possibly  in  the  land  of  Massa  of  the  Hebrews  (Delitzsch,  TVo  lay  das  Parodies  ? pp.  242,  243). 

2 Wo  must  not  forget  that  Gilgames  is  covered  with  leprosy;  this  is  the  disease  with  which  the 
Chaldman  gods  mark  their  enemies  when  they  wish  to  punish  them  in  a severe  fashion. 

3 Hatjpt,  Das  Babylonische  Ninirodepus,  p.  60,  1L  1-21, 

* Haupt,  op.  cit.,  p,  61, 11.  3-5, 


SB  A MA  SENA  PISE  TIM  RECEIVES  GILO  AMES. 


585 


The  crossing  is  troublesome,  the  way  difficult,  perilous  the  Water  of  Death, 
which,  like  a bolt,  is  drawn  between  thee  and  thy  aim.  Even  if,  Gilgames, 
thou  didst  cross  the  sea,  what  wouldest  thou  do  on  arriving  at  the  Water  of 
Death?”  Arad-Ea,1  Shamashnapishtim’s  mariner,  can  alone  bring  the  enterprise 
to  a happy  ending:  “ if  it  is  possible,  thou  shalt  cross  the  sea  with  him ; if  it 
is  not  possible,  thou  shalt  retrace  thy  steps.”  Arad-Ea  and  the  hero  took  ship: 
forty  days’  tempestuous  cruising  brought  them  to  the  Waters  of  Death,  which 
with  a supreme  effort  they  passed.  Beyond  these  they  rested  on  their  oars  and 
loosed  their  girdles  : the  happy  island  rose  up  before  them,  and  Shamash- 
napishtim  stood  upon  the 
shore,  ready  to  answer  the 
questions  of  his  grandson.2 

None  but  a god  dare 
enter  his  mysterious  para- 
dise : the  bark  bearing  an 
ordinary  mortal  must  stop 
at  some  distance  from  the 
shore,  and  the  conversation 
is  carried  on  from  on  board. 

Gilgames  narrates  once  more  the  story  of  his  life,  and  makes  known  the 
object  of  his  visit ; Shamashnapishtim  answers  him  stoically  that  death 
follows  from  an  inexorable  law,  to  which  it  is  better  to  submit  with  a good 
grace.  “However  long  the  time  we  shall  build  houses,  however  long  the 
time  we  shall  put  our  seals  to  contracts,  however  long  the  time  brothers  shall 
quarrel  with  each  other,  however  long  the  time  there  shall  be  hostility  between 
kings,  however  long  the  time  rivers  shall  overflow  their  banks,  we  shall 
not  be  able  to  portray  any  image  of  death.  When  the  spirits  salute  a 
man  at  his  birth,  then  the  genii  of  the  earth,  the  great  gods,  Mamitu  the 
moulder  of  destinies,  all  of  them  together  assign  a fate  to  him,  they  deter- 
mine for  him  his  life  and  death ; but  the  day  of  his  death  remains  unknown 
to  him.” 4 Gilgames  thinks,  doubtless,  that  his  forefather  is  amusing 

1 The  name  has  been  successively  read  Urkhamsi  (G.  Smith,  Chaldxan  Account,  in  the  Trans* 
actions  Bill.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  218),  Urbel  (Fr.  Lenorjjant,  Les  Premieres  Civilisations,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  30,  31),  Uriel  (OppEiit,  Fragments  de  Cosmogonie  chalde'enne,  in  Ledrain,  Hisloire  d' Israel,  vol.  i. 
p,  433) ; the  last  reading  adopted,  which  is  still  uncertain,  is  Arad-Ea,  the  servant  of  Ea,  or  Amil-Ea, 
the  man  of  Ea. 

2 This  narrative  covers  tablets  ix.  and  x.,  which  are  both  too  much  mutilated  to  allow  of  a con- 
tinuous translation.  Translations  of  several  passages  are  to  be  found  in  Gr.  Smith  {The  Chaldxan 
Account  of  Genesis,  pp  241-262),  in  Ft.  Jeremias  ( Izdubar-Nimrod , pp,  28-31),  and  in  Sauveplane  (Une 
Epopee  Babylonienne,  Istubar-Gilgames,  pp.  86-115), 

3 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a Chaldaeau  intaglio  in  the  British  Museum  (Menant,  Reclier * 
ches  sur  la  Glyptique  o-ientale,  pi.  ii.,  No.  4,  and  pp.  99,  100;  cf.  Lajard,  Introduction  a I’etude  da 
culte  de  Mithra,  pi.  iv.,  No.  8).  The  original  measures  a little  over  an  inch. 

4 Haupt,  Das  B .hylonische  Nimrodepos,  p.  66,  11.  26-39. 


ANCIENT  CI1AL1) TEA. 


580 

himself  at  his  expense  in  preaching  resignation,  seeing  that  he  himself  had 
been  able  to  escape  this  destiny.  “ I look  upon  thee,  Shamashnapishtim,  and 
thy  appearance  has  not  changed  : thou  art  like  me  and  not  different,  thou  art 
like  me  and  I am  like  thee.  Thou  wouldest  be  strong  enough  of  heart  to  enter 
upon  a combat,  to  judge  by  thy  appearance ; tell  me,  then,  how  thou  hast 
obtained  this  existence  among  the  gods  to  which  thou  hast  aspired?”1 
Shamashnapishtim  yields  to  his  wish,  if  only  to  show  him  how  abnormal  his 
own  case  was,  and  indicate  the  merits  which  had  marked  him  out  for  a destiny 
superior  to  that  of  the  common  herd  of  humanity.  He  describes  the  deluge  to 
him,  and  relates  how  he  was  able  to  escape  from  it  by  the  favour  of  Ea,  and 
how  by  that  of  Bel  he  was  made  while  living  a member  of  the  army  of  the 
gods.2  “‘And  now,’  he  adds,  ‘as  far  as  thou  art  concerned,  which  one  of  the 
Gods  will  bestow  upon  thee  the  strength  to  obtain  the  life  which  thou  seekest? 
Come,  go  to  sleep ! ’ Six  days  and  seven  nights  he  is  as  a man  whose  strength 
appears  suspended,  for  sleep  has  fallen  upon  him  like  a blast  of  wind. 
Shamashnapishtim  spoke  to  his  wife  : 1 Behold  this  man  who  asks  for  life, 
and  upon  whom  sleep  has  fallen  like  a blast  of  wind.’  The  wife  answers 
Shamashnapishtim,  the  man  of  distant  lands : ‘ Cast  a spell  upon  him, 
this  man,  and  he  will  eat  of  the  magic  broth ; and  the  road  by  which  he 
has  come,  he  will  retrace  it  in  health  of  body ; and  the  great  gate  through 
which  he  has  come  forth,  he  will  return  by  it  to  his  country.’  Shamash- 
napishtim spoke  to  his  wife : ‘ The  misfortunes  of  this  man  distress  thee : 
very  well,  cook  the  broth,  and  place  it  by  his  head.’  And  while  Gilgames 
still  slept  on  board  his  vessel,  the  material  for  the  broth  was  gathered ; on 
the  second  day  it  was  picked,  on  the  third  it  was  steeped,  on  the  fourth 
Shamashnapishtim  prepared  his  pot,  on  the  fifth  he  put  into  it  ‘Senility,’ 
on  the  sixth  the  broth  was  cooked,  on  the  seventh  he  cast  his  spell  sud- 
denly on  his  man,  and  the  latter  consumed  the  broth.  Then  Gilgames  spoke 
to  Shamashnapishtim,  the  inhabitant  of  distant  lands : ‘ I hesitated,  slumber 
laid  hold  of  me ; thou  hast  cast  a spell  upon  me,  thou  hast  given  me  the 
broth.’  ” 3 The  effect  would  not  have  been  lasting,  if  other  ceremonies  had 
not  followed  in  addition  to  this  spell  from  the  sorcerer’s  kitchen : Gilgames 
after  this  preparation  could  now  land  upon  the  shore  of  the  happy  island 
and  purify  himself  there.  Shamashnapishtim  confided  this  business  to  his 
mariner  Arad-Ea  : “ ‘ The  man  whom  thou  hast  brought,  his  body  is  covered 
with  ulcers,  the  leprous  scabs  have  spoiled  the  beauty  of  his  body.  Take  him, 

^'1  Haupt.  Das  Balylonische  Nimrudepos , p.  134,  11.  1-7. 

5 The  whole  account  of  the  Deluge,  which  covers  the  eleventh  tablet  of  the  copy  preserved  in  the 
library  of  Assurbanipal,  has  been  translated  above,  pp.  506-572  of  this  History. 

0 Haupt,  op.  cr'h,  pp.  143,  144, 11.  206-232. 


TEE  RETURN  OF  GIL  GAMES  TO  URUE  TEE  WELL-PROTECTED.  587 

Arad-Ea,  lead  him  to  the  place  of  purification,  let  him  wash  his  ulcers  white  as 
snow  in  the  water,  let  him  get  rid  of  his  scabs,  and  let  the  sea  bear  them  away 
so  that  at  length  his  body  may  appear  healthy.  He  will  then  change  the 
fillet  which  binds  his  brows,  and  the  loin-cloth  which  hides  his  nakedness  : until 
he  returns  to  his  country,  until  he  reaches  the  end  of  bis  journey,  let  him  by 
no  means  put  off  the  loin-cloth,  however  ragged;  then  only  shall  he  have  always 
a clean  one.’  Then  Arad-Ea  took  him  and  conducted  him  to  the  place  of 
purification : he  washed  his  ulcers  white  as  snow  in  the  water,  he  got  rid  of  his 
scabs,  and  the  sea  carried  them  away,  so  that  at  length  his  body  appeared  healthy. 
He  changed  the  fillet  which  bound  his  brows,  the  loin-cloth  which  hid  his 
nakedness  : until  he  should  reach  the  end  of  his  journey,  he  was  not  to  put  off 
the  loin-cloth,  however  ragged;  then  alone  was  he  to  have  a clean  one.”  1 The 
cure  effected,  Gilgames  goes  again  on  board  his  bark,  and  returns  to  the  place 
where  Shamashnapishtim  was  awaiting  him. 

Shamashnapishtim  would  not  send  his  descendant  back  to  the  land  of  the 
living  without  making  him  a princely  present.  “ His  wife  spoke  to  him,  to 
him  Shamashnapishtim,  the  inhabitant  of  distant  lands : * Gilgames  has  come, 
he  is  comforted,  he  is  cured ; what  wilt  thou  give  to  him,  now  that  he  is  about 
to  return  to  his  country  ? ’ He  took  the  oars,  Gilgames,  he  brought  the  bark 
near  the  shore,  and  Shamashnapishtim  spoke  to  him,  to  Gilgames : ‘ Gilgames, 
thou  art  going  from  here  comforted ; what  shall  I give  thee,  now  that  thou  art 
about  to  return  to  thy  country?  I am  about  to  reveal  to  thee,  Gilgames,  a 
secret,  and  the  judgment  of  the  gods  I am  about  to  tell  it  thee.  There  is  a 
plant  similar  to  the  hawthorn  in  its  flower,  and  whose  thorns  prick  like  the 
viper.  If  thy  hand  can  lay  hold  of  that  plant  without  being  torn,  break  from  it 
a branch,  and  bear  it  with  thee ; it  will  secure  for  thee  an  eternal  youth.’ 2 
Gilgames  gathers  the  branch,  and  in  his  joy  plans  with  Arad-Ea  future  enter- 
prises : ‘ Arad-Ea,  this  plant  is  the  plant  of  renovation,  by  which  a man  obtains 
life ; I will  bear  it  with  me  to  Uruk  the  well-protected,  I will  cultivate  a bush  from 
it,  I will  cut  some  of  it,  and  its  name  shall  be,  “ the  old  man  becomes  young  by 
it ; ” I will  eat  of  it,  and  I shall  repossess  the  vigour  of  my  youth.’  ” 3 He 
reckoned  without  the  gods,  whose  jealous  minds  will  not  allow  men  to  participate 
in  their  privileges.  The  first  place  on  which  they  set  foot  on  shore, “ he  per- 
ceived a well  of  fresh  water,  went  down  to  it,  and  whilst  he  was  drawing  water,  a 
serpent  came  out  of  it,  and  snatched  from  him  the  plant,  yea — the  serpent  rushed 

1 Haupt,  Dag  Balylonische  Nimrodepos,  pp.  145,  146,  11.  249-271.  Cf.  in  Leviticug  (xiii.  6, 
xiv.  8,  10)  the  injunction  given  to  the  cured  person  to  change  his  old  clothes  for  clean  linen;  the 
legislation  bearing  on  leprosy  was  probably  common  to  all  the  Oriental  world. 

2 Haupt,  op.  cit.,  p.  146,  147,  11.  274-2S6.  The  end  of  the  discourse  is  too  mutilated  to  bear 
translation:  I have  limited  myself  to  giving  a short  rfmm?  of  the  probable  meaning, 

3 Haupt,  op.  cit.,  p.  147,  11.  295-299. 


588 


ANCIENT  C1IALDJEA. 


out  and  bore  away  the  plant,  and  while  escaping  uttered  a malediction.  That 
day  Gilgames  sat  down,  he  wept,  and  his  tears  streamed  down  his  cheeks  ; he  said 
to  the  mariner  Arad-Ea : ‘ What  is  the  use,  Arad-Ea,  of  my  renewed  strength  ; 
what  is  the  use  of  my  heart’s  rejoicing  in  my  return  to  life  ? It  is  not  myself 
I have  served  ; it  is  this  earthly  lion  I have  served.  Hardly  twenty  leagues  on 
the  road,  and  he  for  himself  alone  has  already  taken  possession  of  the  plant. 
As  I opened  the  well,  the  plant  was  lost  to  me,  and  the  genius  of  the  fountain 
took  possession  of  it : who  am  I that  I should  tear  it  from  him  ? ’ ” 1 He 
re-embarks  in  sadness,  he  re-enters  Uruk  the  well-protected,  and  at  length 
begins  to  think  of  celebrating  the  funeral  solemnities  of  Eabani,  to  whom 
he  was  not  able  to  show  respect  at  the  time  of  his  death.2  He  supervises 
them,  fulfils  the  rites,  intones  the  final  chant:  “The  temples,  thou  shalt 
enter  them  no  more ; the  white  vestments,  thou  shalt  no  longer  put  them  on  ; 
the  sweet-smelling  ointments,  thou  shalt  no  longer  anoint  thyself  with  them 
to  envelop  thee  with  their  perfume.  Thou  shalt  no  longer  press  thy  bow  to 
the  ground  to  bend  it,  but  those  that  the  bow  has  wounded  shall  surround  thee  ; 
thou  no  longer  boldest  thy  sceptre  in  thy  hand,  but  spectres  fascinate  thee  ; 
thou  no  longer  adornest  thy  feet  with  rings,  thou  no  longer  givest  forth  a 
sound  upon  the  earth.  Thy  wife  whom  thou  lovedst  thou  embracest  her  no 
more ; thy  wife  whom  thou  hatedst  thou  beatest  her  no  more.  Thy  daughter 
whom  thou  lovedst  thou  embracest  her  no  more ; thy  daughter  whom  thou 
hatedst,  thou  beatest  her  no  more.  The  resounding  earth  lies  heavy  upon 
thee,  she  who  is  dark,  she  who  is  dark,  Ninazu  the  mother,  she  who  is  dark, 
whose  side  is  not  veiled  with  splendid  vestments,  whose  bosom,  like  a new- 
born animal,  is  not  covered.3  Eabani  has  descended  from  the  earth  to  Hades ; 
it  is  not  the  messenger  of  Nergal  the  implacable  who  has  snatched  him  away, 
it  is  not  the  plague  which  has  carried  him  off,  it  is  not  consumption  that  has 
carried  him  off,  it  is  the  earth  which  has  carried  him  off;  it  is  not  the  field 
of  battle  which  has  carried  him  off,  it  is  the  earth  which  has  carried  him 
off!  ”4  Gilgames  dragged  himself  along  from  temple  to  temple,  repeating  his 
complaint  before  Bel  and  before  Sin,  and  at  length  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of 
the  god  of  the  Dead,  Nergal:  “‘Burst  open  the  sepulchral  cavern,  open  the 


1 Haui'T,  Las  Babylonische  Nimrodepos,  pp.  147,  148,  11.  302,  316. 

2 The  text  of  the  twelfth  tablet  has  been  published  by  Boscawen  ( Notes  on  the  Religion  and 
Mythology  of  the  Assyrians,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iv.  pp.  270-286)7Trrrd  mote" 
completely  by  Haupt  (Die  zuiilfte  Tafel  des  Babylonisclien  Nimrodepos,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie, 
vol.  i.  pp.  48-79). 

3 Haupt,  Die  zvc'olfte  Tafel  des  Babylonisclien  Nimrodepos,  p.  57,  11.  11-30;  cf.  p.  49, 11.  32-45,  and 
p.  59,  11.  16-22.  The  text  is  mutilated,  and  cannot  be  entirely  restored,  in  spite  of  the  repetition  of 
the  same  phrases  in  different  places.  The  lacunae  do  not,  however,  prevent  its  being  intelligible,  and 
the  translation  reproduces  the  sense  and  drift,  if  not  the  literal  expression. 

* IIautt,  Die  zwolfte  Tafel,  p.  59,  11.  23-26 ; cf.  p.  55,  11.  1-4,  and  p.  61,  11.  17-19. 


ANTIQUITY  OF  TEE  POEM  OF  GILGAMES. 


589 


ground,  that  the  spirit  of  Eabani  may  issue  from  the  soil  like  a .blast  of  wind.’ 
As  soon  as  Nergal  the  valiant  heard  him,  he  burst  open  the  sepulchral  vault, 
he  opened  the  earth,  he  caused  the  spirit  of  Eabani  to  issue  from  the  earth  like 
a blast  of  wind.”1  Gilgames  interrogates  him,  and  asks  him  with  anxiety  what 
the  state  of  the  dead  may  be:  “‘Tell,  my  friend,  tell,  my  friend,  open  the 
earth  and  what  thou  seest  tell  it.’ — ‘ I cannot  tell  it  thee,  my  friend,  I cannot 
tell  it  thee ; if  I should  open  the  earth  before  thee,  if  I were  to  tell  to  thee 
that  which  I have  seen,  terror  would  overthrow  thee,  thou  wouldest  faint  away, 
thou  wouldest  weep.’ — ■*  Terror  will  overthrow  me,  I shall  faint  away,  I shall  weep, 
but  tell  it  to  me.’”2  And  the  ghost  depicts  for  him  the  sorrows  of  the  abode 
and  the  miseries  of  the  shades.  Those  only  enjoy  some  happiness  who  have 
fallen  with  arms  in  their  hands,  and  who  have  been  solemnly  buried  after  the 
fight ; the  manes  neglected  by  their  relatives  succumb  to  hunger  and  thirst. 
“On  a sleeping  couch  he  lies,  drinking  pure  water,  he  who  has  been  killed  in 
battle. — ‘Thou  hast  seen  him?’ — ‘I  have  seen  him;  his  father  and  his  mother 
support  his  head,  and  his  wife  bends  over  him  wailing.’  ‘But  he  whose  body 
remains  forgotten  in  the  fields, — thou  hast  seen  him  ? ’ — ‘ I have  seen  him  ; his 
soul  has  no  rest  at  all  in  the  earth.’  ‘ He  whose  soul  no  one  cares  for, — thou 
hast  seen  him  ? ’ — ‘ I have  seen  him  ; the  dregs  of  the  cup,  the  remains  of  a 
repast,  that  which  is  thrown  among  the  refuse  of  the  street,  that  is  what  he 
has  to  nourish  him.’  ” 3 

This  poem  did  not  proceed  in  its  entirety,  or  at  one  time,  from  the  imagi- 
nation of  a single  individual.  Each  episode  of  it  answers  to  some  separate 
legend  concerning  Gilgames,  or  the  origin  of  Uruk  the  well-protected ; the 
greater  part  preserves  under  a later  form  an  air  of  extreme  antiquity,  and,  if 
the  events  dealt  with  have  not  a precise  bearing  on  the  life  of  a king,  they  paint 
in  a lively  way  the  vicissitudes  of  the  life  of  the  people.4  These  lions,  leopards, 
or  gigantic  uruses  with  which  Gilgames  and  his  faithful  Eabani  carry  on  so 
fierce  a warfare,  are  not,  as  is  sometimes  said,  mythological  animals.5  Similar 
monsters,  it  was  believed,  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  the  marshes  of 
Chaldma,  and  gave  proof  of  their  existence  to  the  inhabitants  of  neighbouring 

1 Hattpt,  Die  zwolfte  Tafel,  p.  61,  11.  23-28  ; Boscawen,  Notes  on  the  Religion  and  Mythology  of 
the  Assyrians,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iv.  p.  282.  Cf.  the  invocation  by  the 
Witch  of  Endor  (1  Sam.  xxviii.  7-25). 

2 Hatjpt,  op.  cit.,  p.  63,  11.  1-6. 

3 Hadpt,  op.  cit.,  p.  51,11.  1-10,  and  p.  65,11.  2-12.  Cf.  pp.  114,  115  of  this  History  for  analogous 
ideas  among  the  Egyptians  as  to  the  condition  of  the  dead  who  were  neglected  by  their  relatives : 
the  Egyptian  doublo  had  to  live  on  the  same  refuse  as  the  Chahlsean  soul. 

4 G.  Smith  ( The  Chaldxan  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  173-190),  identifying  Gilgames  with  Nimrod, 
believes,  on  the  other  hand,  that  Nimrod  was  a real  king,  who  reigued  in  Mesopotamia  about  2250  b.c.  ; 
the  poem  contains,  according  to  him,  episodes,  more  or  less  embellished,  in  the  life  of  the  sovereign. 

5 As  to  existing  lions  in  Chaldtea,  and  the  terrors  with  which  they  inspire  the  natives,  see  Loftus, 
Travels  and.  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  pp.  242-244,  259,  262  ; cf.  p.  558  of  this  History 


500 


ANCIENT  C II AID  TEA. 


villages  by  such  ravages  as  real  lions  and  tigers  commit  in  India  or  the 
Sahara,  It  was  the  duty  of  chiefs  on  the  border  lands  of  the  Euphrates, 
as  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  as  among  all  peoples  still  sunk  in  semi-barbarism, 
to  go  forth  to  the  attack  of  these  beasts  single-handed,  and  to  devote  them- 
selves one  after  the  other,  until  one  of  them  more  fortunate  or  stronger  than 
the  rest  should  triumph  over  these  mischievous  brutes.  The  kings  of  Babylon 
and  Nineveh  in  later  times  converted  into  a pleasure  that  which  had  been  an 
official  duty  of  their  early  predecessors:  Gilgames  had  not  yet  arrived  at  that 
stage,  and  the  seriousness,  not  to  speak  of  the  fear,  with  which  he  entered  on 
the  fight  with  such  beasts,  is  an  evidence  of  the  early  date  of  the  portions  of  his 
history  which  are  concerned  with  his  hunting  exploits.  The  scenes  are  repre- 
sented on  the  seals  of  princes  who  reigned  prior  to  the  year  3000  B.c.,1  and  the 
work  of  the  ancient  engraver  harmonizes  so  perfectly  with  the  description  of 
the  comparatively  modern  scribe  that  it  seems  like  an  anticipated  illustration 
of  the  latter;  the  engravings  represent  so  persistently  and  with  so  little 
variation  the  images  of  the  monsters,  and  those  of  Gilgames  and  his  faithful 
Eabani,  that  the  corresponding  episodes  in  the  poem  must  have  already 
existed  as  we  know  them,  if  not  in  form,  at  least  in  their  main  drift.  Other 
portions  of  the  poem  are  more  recent,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  expedition 
against  Khumbaba  contains  allusions  to  the  Elamite2  invasions  from  which 
Chaldsea  had  suffered  so  much  towards  the  XXth  century  before  our  era. 
The  traditions  which  we  possess  of  the  times  following  the  Deluge,  embody, 
like  the  adventures  of  Gilgames,  very  ancient  elements,  which  the  scribes  or 
narrators  wove  together  in  a more  or  less  skilful  manner  around  the  name  of 
some  king  or  divinity.  The  fabulous  chronicle  of  the  cities  of  the  Euphrates 
existed,  therefore,  in  a piecemeal  condition — in  the  memory  of  the  people  or 
in  the  books  of  the  priests — before  even  their  primitive  history  began ; the 
learned  who  collected  it  later  on  had  only  to  select  some  of  the  materials  with 
which  it  furnished  them,  in  order  to  form  out  of  them  a connected  narrative, 
in  which  the  earliest  ages  were  distinguished  from  the  most  recent  only  in 
the  assumption  of  more  frequent  and  more  direct  interpositions  of  the  powers 
of  heaven  in  the  affairs  of  men.  Every  city  had  naturally  its  own  version, 

1 For  instance,  tlie  seal  of  King  Shargani-shar-ali  (Menant,  Eecherches  sur  la  Glyptique  orieniale, 
vol.  i.  p.  73;  Catalogue  de  la  Collection  de  Clercq,  vol.  i.  pi.  v.  46),  that  of  a scribe  attached  to  King 
Bingani-shar-ali  (Menant,  op.  cit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  75,  76),  and  several  others  described  by  Menant  or 
carefully  reproduced  in  his  Eecherches , vol.  i.  p.  77,  et  seq. 

2 Smith  thought  he  could  restore  from  the  poem  a part  of  Chaldaean  history ; he  supposed  Izdubar- 
Nimrod  to  have  been,  about  2250,  the  liberator  of  Babylon,  oppressed  by  Elam,  and  the  date  of  the 
foundation  of  a great  Babylonian  empire  to  have  coincided  with  his  victory  over  the  Elamites  ( The 
Chaldxan  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  188-190,  207).  The  anrals  of  Assurbauipal  (G.  Smith,  The  History 
of  Assurbanipal,  pp.  234-236,  250,  251)  show  us,  in  fact,  that  an  Elamite  king,  Kudurnankhundi,  had 
pillaged  Uruk  about  2280  B.c.,  and  had  transported  to  Susa  a statue  of  the  goddess  Ishtar, 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  HISTORY  PROPER. 


591 


in  which  its  own  protecting  deities,  its  heroes  and  princes,  played  the  most 
important  parts.  That  of  Babylon  threw  all  the  rest  into  the  shade  ; not  that  it 
was  superior  to  them,  but  because  this  city  had  speedily  become  strong  enough 
to  assert  its  political  supremacy  over  the  whole  region  of  the  Euphrates.  Its 
scribes  were  accustomed  to  see  their  master  treat  the  lords  of  other  towns  as 
subjects  or  vassals.  They  fancied  that  this  must  have  always  been  the  case, 
and  that  from  its  origin  Babylon  had  been  recognized  as  the  queen-city  to 
which  its  contemporaries  ren- 
dered homage.  They  made  its 
individual  annals  the  frame- 
work for  the  history  of  the 
entire  country,  and  from  the 
succession  of  its  princely  fami- 
lies on  the  throne,  diverse  as 
they  were  in  origin,  they  con- 
structed a complete  canon  of 
the  kings  of  Chaldaea. 

But  the  manner  of  grouping 
the  names  and  of  dividing  the 
dynasties  varied  according  to 
the  period  in  which  the  lists 
were  drawn  up,  and  at  the  pre- 
sent time  we  are  in  possession 
of  at  least  two  systems  which 
the  Babylonian  historians  at- 
tempted to  construct.  Berossus,  who  communicated  one  of  them  to  the 
Greeks  about  the  beginning  of  the  IInd  century  B.C.,  would  not  admit 
more  than  eight  dynasties  in  the  period  of  thirty-six  thousand  years  between 
the  Deluge  and  the  Persian  invasion.  The  lists,  which  he  had  copied  from 
originals  in  the  cuneiform  character,  have  suffered  severely  at  the  hands 
of  his  abbreviators,  who  omitted  the  majority  of  the  names  which  seemed 
to  them  very  barbarous  in  form,  while  those  who  copied  these  abbreviated 
lists  have  made  such  further  havoc  with  them  that  they  are  now  for  the  most 
part  unintelligible.  Modern  criticism  has  frequently  attempted  to  restore1 2 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a Chaldsean  intaglio  in  the  possession  of  the  British  Museum 
(Smith,  Chaldxan  Account  of  the  Deluge,  frontispiece ; cf.  Lajard,  Introd.  a Vdtude  da  culte  ’public  et 
des  mysteres  de  Mithra  en  Orient  et  Occident,  pi.  xix.  6).  The  original  measures  about  1?  inch  in  height. 

2 This  is  the  restoration  which  was  first  put  forward  by  A.  de  Gutschmid  ( Zu  den  Fragmenten 
des  Berosos  und  Etesias,  in  the  Rheinisches  Museum,  vol.  viii.,  1853,  p.  256  ; cf.  Kleine  Schriften,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  101,  102,  reproduced  with  some  corrections  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Geschichte  des  Alten  Orients , 
pp.  18-21,  and  in  the  Neue  Beitrdge,  pp.  82,  et  seqp,  115,  llfi). 


GILGAMES  STRUGGLES  WITH  A LION.1 


592 


ANCIENT  CllALDsEA. 


them,  with  varying  results;  the  reconstruction  here  given,  which  passes  for 
the  most  probable,  is  not  equally  certain  in  all  its  parts: — 


Is' 

Dynasty : 

86  Chaldaeans, 

34,091  years 

IInd 

55 

8 Medes, 

224  „ 

2450-2226 

IIIrd 

55 

11  Chaldaeans, 

248  „ 

2225-1977 

IVth 

55 

49  Chaldaeans, 

458  „ 

1977-1519 

ytn 

55 

9 Arabians, 

245  „ 

1518-1273 

VP" 

55 

45  Chaldaeans,1 

526  „ 

1273-747 

VIIth 

55 

8 Assyrians, 

121  „ 

746-625 

VIIIth 

55 

6 Chaldaeans, 

87  „ 

625- 538 

It  was  not  without  reason  that  Berossus  and  his  authorities  had  put  the  sum 
total  of  reigns  at  thirty-six  thousand  years  ; this  number  falls  in  with  a certain 
astrological  period,  during  which  the  gods  had  granted  to  the  Chaldaeans  glory, 
prosperity,  and  independence,  and  whose  termination  coincided  with  the  capture 
of  Babylon  by  Cyrus.2  Others  before  them  had  employed  the  same  artifice,  but 
they  reckoned  ten  dynasties  in  the  place  of  the  eight  accepted  by  Berossus: — 

1st  Dynasty  : ? Kings  of  Babylon  after  the  Deluge,  ? 


IInd 

55 

11  Kings  of  Babylon, 

294 

years 

IIIrd 

55 

11  Kings  of  Uru-azagga,3 

368 

IVth 

55 

36  Kings, 

576 

„ 9 months 

ytn 

55 

11  Kings  of  Pashe, 

72 

»>  b »> 

VIth 

5» 

3 Kings  of  the  Sea, 

21 

99  5 „ 

VIIth 

55 

3 Kings  of  Bazi, 

20 

3 

99  » 

VIIIth 

5’ 

1 Elamite  King, 

6 

‘9 

IXth 

55 

31  Kings  of  Babylon, 

? 

Xth 

55 

21  Kings  of  Babylon, 

194 

4 4 

: > st  9) 

1 After  the  example  of  G.  B.  Niebuhr  ( Kleine  Schriften,  vol.  i.  pp.  194-196),  Gutschmid  admitted 
here,  as  Oppert  did  ( Rapport  adresstf  au  Ministre  cle  V Instruction  Publique,  pp.  27,  28),  45  Assyrians ; 
he  based  his  view  on  Herodotus  (i.  115),  in  which  it  is  said  that  the  Assyrians  held  sway  in  Asia  for 
520  years,  until  its  conquest  by  the  Medes.  Upon  the  improbability  of  this  opinion,  see  Schrader’s 
demonstration  ( Keilinschriften  und  Geschichtsforschung,  p.  460,  et  seq.). 

2 The  existence  of  this  astronomical  or  astrological  scheme  on  which  Berossus  founded  his  chro- 
nology, was  pointed  out  by  Brandis  ( Rerum  Assyriarum  tempora  emendata,  p.  17),  afterwards  by 
Gutschmid  ( Zu  den  Fragmenten  des  Berosos  und  Ktesias,  in  the  Rheinisches  Museum,  vol.  viii.,  1853, 
p.  255 ; cf.  Kleine  Schriften,  vol.  ii.  p.  101) ; it  is  now  generally  accepted. 

3 The  Assyrian  word  was  at  first  read  Sisku  : it  is  probably  a name  of  Babylon. 

4 The  first  document  liaviug  claim  to  the  title  of  Royal  Canon  was  found  among  the  tablets  of 
the  British  Museum,  and  was  published  by  G.  Smith  (Ora  Fragments  of  an  Inscription  giving  part  of 
the  Chronology  from  which  the  Canon  of  Berossus  was  copied,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc., 
vol.  iii.  pp.  361-379).  The  others  were  successively  discovered  by  Pinches  (Note  on  a new  List  of 
Early  Babylonian  Kings,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  same  Society,  1880-81,  pp.  20-22,  37-49 ; The 
Babylonian  Kings  of  the  Second  Period,  in  the  Proceedings,  vol.  vi.  pp.  193-201,  and  vol.  vii.  pp.  65-71). 
Smith’s  list  is  the  fragment  of  a chronicle  in  which  the  VIth,  VIIth,  and  VIIIth  dynasties  only  are 
almost  complete.  One  of  Pinches’s  lists  consists  merely  of  a number  of  royal  names  not  arranged 
in  any  consistent  order,  and  containing  their  non-Semitic  as  well  as  their  Semitic  forms.  The 
other  two  lists  are  actual  canons,  giving  the  names  of  the  kings  and  the  years  cf  their  reigns; 
unfortunately  they  are  much  mutilated,  and  the  lacunae  in  them  cannot  yet  be  filled  up.  All  of  them 
have  been  translated  by  Sayce,  The  Dynastic  Tablets  and  Chronicles  of  the  Babylonians,  in  the 
Ttecords  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  1-21,  32-36. 


TEE  BABYLONIAN  DYNASTIES. 


593 


Attempts  have  been  made  to  bring  the  two  lists  into  harmony,  with 
varying  results ; 1 in  my  opinion,  a waste  of  time  and  labour.2  For  even 
comparatively  recent  periods  of  their  history,  the  Chaldaeans,  like  the 
Egyptians,  had  to  depend  upon  a collection  of  certain  abbreviated,  incoherent, 
and  often  contradictory  documents,  from  which  they  found  it  difficult  to 
make  a choice:  they  could  not,  therefore,  always  come  to  an  agreement 
when  they  wished  to  determine  how  many  dynasties  had  succeeded  each 
other  during  these  doubtful  epochs,  how  many  kings  were  included  in  each 
dynasty,  and  what  length  of  reign  was  to  be  assigned  to  each  king.  We 
do  not  know  the  motives  which  influenced  Berossus  in  his  preference  of  one 
tradition  over  others;  perhaps  he  had  no  choice  in  the  matter,  and  that 
of  which  he  constituted  himself  the  interpreter  was  the  only  one  which 
was  then  known.  In  any  case,  the  tradition  he  followed  forms  a system 
which  we  cannot  modify  without  misinterpreting  the  intention  of  those  who 
drew  it  up  or  who  have  handed  it  down  to  us.  We  must  accept  or  reject 
it  just  as  it  is,  in  its  entirety  and  without  alteration : to  attempt  to  adapt  it 
to  the  testimony  of  the  monuments  would  be  equivalent  to  the  creation  of  a 
new  system,  and  not  to  the  correction  simply  of  the  old  one.  The  right  course 
is  to  put  it  aside  for  the  moment,  and  confine  ourselves  to  the  original  lists 
whose  fragments  have  come  down  to  us:  they  do  not  furnish  us,  it  is  true, 
with  a history  of  Chaldrea  such  as  it  unfolded  itself  from  age  to  age,  but  they 
teach  us  what  the  later  Chaldaeans  knew,  or  thought  they  knew,  of  that 
history.  Still  it  is  wise  to  treat  them  with  some  reserve,  and  not  to  forget 
that  if  they  agree  with  each  other  in  the  main,  they  differ  frequently  in  details. 
Thus  the  small  dynasties,  which  are  called  the  VIth  and  VIIth,  include  the 
same  number  of  kings  on  both  the  tablets  which  establish  their  existence,3 


1 The  first  attempts  in  this  direction  were  naturally  made  by  Smith  and  Pinches  upon  the 
discovery  of  the  tablets  ( Transactions  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vul.  iii.  p.  361,  et  seq. ; Proceedings,  vol.  iii. 
p.  20,  et  seq.;  cf.  37,  et  seq.;  vol.  vii.  p.  65,  et  seq.,  and  p.  193,  et  seq.);  others  have  tince  tried  to 
combine  all  or  a portion  of  the  lists  with  all  or  a portion  of  the  canon  of  Berossus,  e.g.  Hommel 
{Die  Semitischen  Viilker,  vol.  i.  pp.  326-341,  483,  484,  Zur  Altbabylonischen  Clironologie,  in  the 
Zeitschrift  fur  Keilscliriftforschung,  vol.  i.  pp.  32-44 ; Geschichte  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  pp. 
168-176),  Delitzsch  ( Die  Sprache  der  Kossxer,  pp.  19-21,  64,  et  seq.),  Schrader  (Die  Keilinschriftliclie 
Babylonische  Konigsliste,  in  the  Sitzungsbericlite  der  Berliner  Aliademie,  1887,  vol.  xxxi.  pp.  579-608, 
and  vol.  xlvi.  pp.  947-951). 

2 See,  for  the  differences  between  these  two  canons,  Oppert  (La  Non-Identitd  de  Phul  et  de 
Teglathphalazar,  in  the  Revue  d’Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  pp.  169,  170,  note),  Tiele  (Babylonisch- 
Assyrische  Geschichte,  pp.  109-112),  Winckler  (Enter suchungen  zur  A Itorientalischen  Geschichte, 
pp.  3-6). 

3 The  text  and  translation  were  given  by  Pinches  (The  Babylonian  Kings  of  the  Second  Period, 
in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  vi.  pp.  196,  197,  and  col.  iii.  of  the  tablet)  and  by 
G.  Smith  (On  Fragments  of  an  Inscription,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  iii.  pp.  374-376) ; Sayce 
gives  the  translation  only  (The  Dynastic  Tablets,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  pp. 
17-21).  Upon  the  differences  between  the  two  lists,  see,  for  the  latest  treatment  of  the  subject, 
Winckler,  Enter  suchungen  zur  Altorientalischen  Geschichte,  p.  14. 

2 Q 


504 


ANCIENT  CT1ALDJE  A. 


but  the  number  of  years  assigned  to  the  names  of  the  kings  and  the  total 
years  of  each  dynasty  vary  a little  from  one  another: — 

VI1"  DYNASTY 


OF  THE  SEA  COUNTRY. 


17  years 



SlMASHSHIGU 

18  years  — 

Simashshiau 

— 

3 months 

Eamukinzir 

— 5 months 

Eamukin 

0 years 

— 

Kashshunadinakhe 

3 years  — 

Kashshunadinakhe 

23  years 

3 months 

3 kings 

21  years  5 months 

3 kings 

VII'"  DYNASTY 

OF  BAZI. 


15[?]  years 

— j Euebarshakinshumu 

1 7 years  — 

Eulbarshakinshumu 

2 years 

— 1 [Ninip]kudurusur 

3 years  — 

Ninipkudur[usur] 

— 

3 months  [Shilanim]shukamuna 

— 3 months 

Shilanimshukamuna 

; 1 7 years 

3 months  3 kings 

20  years  3 months 

3 kings 

Is  the  difference  in  the  calculations  the  fault  of  the  scribes,  who,  in 
mechanically  copying  and  recopying,  ended  by  fatally  altering  the  figures? 
Or  is  it  to  be  explained  by  some  circumstance  of  which  we  are  ignorant — an 
association  on  the  throne,  of  which  the  duration  is  at  one  time  neglected  with 
regard  to  one  of  the  co-regents,  and  at  another  time  with  regard  to  the  other; 
or  was  it  owing  to  a question  of  legitimacy,  by  which,  according  to  the 
decision  arrived  at,  a reign  was  prolonged  or  abbreviated?  Cotemporaneous 
monuments  will  some  day,  perhaps,  enable  us  to  solve  the  problem  which  the 
later  Chaldoeans  did  not  succeed  in  clearing  up.  While  awaiting  the  means 
to  restore  a rigorously  exact  chronology,  we  must  be  content  with  the 
approximate  information  furnished  by  the  tablets  as  to  the  succession  of  the 
B ibylonian  kings. 

Actual  history  occupied  but  a small  space  in  the  lists — barely  twenty 
centuries  out  of  a whole  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  : beyond  the  historic 
period  the  imagination  was  given  a free  rein,  and  the  few  facts  which  were 
known  disappeared  almost  completely  under  the  accumulation  of  mythical 
narratives  and  popular  stories.  It  was  not  that  the  documents  were  entirely 
wanting,  for  the  Chaldaeans  took  a great  interest  in  their  past  history,  and 
made  a diligent  search  for  any  memorials  of  it.  Each  time  they  succeeded 
in  disinterring  an  inscription  from  the  ruins  of  a town,  they  were  accustomed 
to  make  several  copies  of  it,  and  to  deposit  them  among  the  archives,  where 
they  would  be  open  to  the  examination  of  their  archaeologists.1  When  a 

1 We  have  a considerable  number  of  examples  of  copies  of  ancient  texts  made  in  this  manner. 
For  instance,  the  dedication  of  a temple  at  Uruk  by  King  Singashid,  copied  by  the  scribe  Nabuba- 
latsuikbi,  son  of  Mizirai  (“  the  Egyptian”),  for  the  temple  of  Ezida  (Pinches,  Sing  tsliid’s  Gift  to 
the  Temple  E-ana , in  the  Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  i.  pp.  8-11);  the  legendary  history  of 


THE  KINGS  OF  BABYLON  AND  AGADE. 


595 


prince  undertook  the  rebuilding  of  a temple,  he  always  made  excavations 
under  the  first  courses  of  the  ancient  structure  in  order  to  recover  the  docu- 
ments which  preserved  the  memory  of  its  foundation  : if  lie  discovered  them,  he 
recorded  on  the  new  cylinders,  in  which  he  boasted  of  his  own  work,  the  name 
of  the  first  builder,  and  sometimes  the  number  of  years  which  had  elapsed 
since  its  erection.1  We  act  in  a similar  way  to-day,  and  our  excavations,  like 
those  of  the  Chaldseans,  end  in  singularly  disconnected  results:  the  materials 
which  the  earth  yields  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  first  centuries  consist 
almost  entirely  of  mutilated  records  of  local  dynasties,  isolated  names  of 
sovereigns,  dedications  of  temples  to  gods,  on  sites  no  longer  identifiable, 
of  whose  nature  we  know  nothing,  and  too  brief  allusions  to  conquests  or 
victories  over  vaguely  designated  nations.2  The  population  was  dense  and  life 
active  in  the  plains  of  the  Lower  Euphrates.  The  cities  in  this  region  formed  at 
their  origin  so  many  individual  and,  for  the  most  part,  petty  states,  whose  kings 
and  patron  gods  claimed  to  be  independent  of  all  the  neighbouring  kings  and 
gods : one  city,  one  god,  one  lord — this  was  the  rule  here  as  in  the  ancient 
feudal  districts  from  which  the  nomes  of  Egypt  arose.3  The  strongest  of  these 
principalities  imposed  its  laws  upon  the  weakest:  formed  into  unions  of  two  or 
three  under  a single  ruler,  they  came  to  constitute  a dozen  kingdoms  of  almost 
equal  strength  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates.4  On  the  north  we  are  acquainted 
with  those  of  Agade,  Babylon,  Kuta,  Kharsag-Kalama,  and  that  of  Kishu, 
which  comprised  a part  of  Mesopotamia  and  possibly  the  distant  fortress  of 

King  Sargon  of  Agade,  copied  from  the  inscription  on  the  base  of  his  statue,  of  which  there  will  be 
fuither  mention  (pp.  597-599  of  this  History);  a dedication  of  the  King  Khammurabi  (Jensen, 
Inschriften  aus  der  Regierungsztit  Eammurabis,  in  the  Keilscliriftliche  Bibliothclc,  vol.  iii.  1st  part, 
pp.  120-123);  the  inscription  of  Agumkakrimi  (Boscawen,  On  an  Early  Clialdsean  Inscription,  in 
the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iv.  p.  132),  which  came  from  the  library  of  Assuibanipal. 

1 Nabonidos,  for  instance,  the  last  king  of  Babylon  before  the  Persian  conquest,  has  left  us  a 
memorial  of  his  excavations.  He  found  in  this  manner  the  cylinders  of  Shagashaltiburiash  at 
Sippara  (Rawlinson,  W.  A.  Insc , vol.  v.  pi.  64,  col.  iii.  11.  27-30),  those  of  Khammurabi  (id.,  vol.  i. 
pi.  69,  col.  ii.  11.  4-8;  Bezold,  Tico  Inscriptions  of  Nabonidus,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Bibl.  Arch. 
Soc.,  vol.  xi.  pp.  84-103),  and  those  of  Naramsin  (W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  v.  pi.  64,  col.  ii.  pp.  57-60). 

2 An  idea  as  to  what  these  documents  are  may  be  obtained  from  the  first  part  of  vol.  iii.  of  the 
Keilscliriftliche  Bibliotheh  of  Schrader,  in  which  Messrs.  Jensen,  Winckler,  and  Peiser  have  published 
a transcription  of  them  in  Roman  characters,  together  with  a German  translation  of  the  majority. 

3 See  what  has  been  said  at  p.  70  of  this  History  as  to  the  Egyptian  principalities. 

4 The  earliest  Assyriologists,  H.  Rawlinson  ( Notes  on  the  Early  History  of  Babylonia,  in  the 
Journ.  of  the  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.,  and  the  essay  on  the  Early  History  of  Babylonia,  in  the  Herodotus  of 
G.  Rawlinson,  vol.  i.  p.  351,  et  seq.),  Oppert  (Expedition  en  Mdsopotamie,  vol.  i.  pp.  275-277,  and 
Histoire  des  Empires  de  Chaldee  et  d’Assyrie  d'apres  les  monuments,  pp.  13-38),  considered  the  local 
kings  as  having  been,  for  the  most  part,  kings  of  all  Chaldsea,  and  placed  them  in  succession  one 
after  the  other  in  the  framework  of  the  most  ancient  dynasties  of  Berossus.  The  merit  of  having 
established  the  existence  of  series  of  local  dynasties,  and  of  having  given  to  Chaldsean  history  its 
modern  form,  belongs  to  G.  Smith  (Early  Histonj  of  Babylonia,  in  the  Transactions  Bibl.  Arcli.  Soc., 
vol.  i.  p.  28,  et  seq.,  developed  in  his  History  of  Babylonia,  pp.  63-82,  published  alter  his  death  by 
Sayce).  Smith’s  idea  was  adopted  by  Me'nant  (Bctbylone  et  la  Chaldde,  pp.  57-117),  by  Delitzsch- 
Miirdter  (Ges.  Bab.  und  Assyr.,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  73-84),  by  Tiele  (Bab.-Assyr.  Ges,  pp.  100-127),  by 
Winckler  (Ges.  Bab.  und  Assyr.,  p.  18,  et  seq.),  and  by  all  Assyriologists,  with  modifications  suggested 
by  the  progress  of  decipherment. 


ANCIENT  CIJALEJEA. 


596 

Harran:1  petty  as  these  States  were,  their  rulers  attempted  to  conceal 
their  weakness  by  assuming  such  titles  as  “Kings  of  the  Four  Houses  of 
the  World,”  “ Kings  of  the  Universe,”  “ Kings  of  Shumir  and  Akkad.” 2 
Babylon  already  possessed  a real  supremacy  among  them.  We  are  pro- 
bably wise  in  not  giving  too  much  credit  to  the  fragmentary  tablet  which 
assigns  to  it  a dynasty  of  kings,  of  which  we  have  no  confirmatory  infor- 
mation from  other  sources — Amilgula,  Shamashnazir,  Amilsin,  and  several 
others:8  this  list,  however,  places  among  these  phantom  rulers  one  indi- 
vidual at  least,  Shargina-Sharrukin,4  who  has  left  us  material  evidences  of  his 
existence.  This  Sargon  the  Elder,  whose  complete  name  is  Shargani-shar-ali,5 

1 The  existence  in  ancient  times  of  the  kingdom  of  Kish,  Kisliu,  suggested  by  Jensen  ( Inschriflen 
Schamaschschumukins,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliotliek,  vol.  in*,  p.  202,  note),  has  been  demonstrated 
by  Hilprecht  (The  Babijlonian  Expedition  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  i.  pp.  23,  24). 

2 The  official  names  of  these  kingdoms  are  recorded  in  the  preamble  of  the  kings  of  Chaldsea,  and 
afterwards  in  that  of  the  kings  of  Assyria.  The  latter  were  regularly  entitled  Shar  Kibrat  arbai, 
King  of  the  Four  Houses  of  the  World  (cf.  pp.  543,  544  of  this  History),  Shar  Kishshati,  King  of  the 
Universe.  Winckler  has  put  forth  the  view  that  these  epithets  had  each  of  them  an  application 
to  a small  state  already  independent  ( Sumer  und  Al;l;ad,  in  the  Mitt,  des  Ah.  Orientcdisclier  Vereins  zu 
Berlin,  vol.  i.  pp.  9-11,  14).  For  example,  having  supposed  that  the  Kingdom  of  the  Four  Houses  had 
Babylon  as  its  centre  ( Sumer  und  Akkad,  pp.  9-11),  he  transferred  the  seat  of  it  to  Kuta  ( [Enters . zur  Alt. 
Ges.,  pp.  76,  78, 83  ; Ges.  Bab.  und  Ass.,  p.  31);  he  identifies,  somewhat  hesitatingly,  that  of  Kisshati  with 
El-Ashshur  (Sumer  und  Akkad,  p.  11);  afterwards  with  Harran(Ges.  Bab.  und  Assyr.,  p.  31, n.  2).  This 
opinion  has  been  vigorously  contested  by  Lehmann,  Schamaschschumukin,  Ktinig  von  Bab  , p.  74,  et  seq. 

3 See  Pinches,  Notes  on  a New  List  of  Early  Babylonian  Kings,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Bibl. 
Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  37,  38,  where  it  is  said  that  these  are  the  kings  which  came  after  the  Deluge, 
but  that  their  enumeration  is  not  in  the  order  of  succession.  The  names  are  given  both  in  their 
Semitic  and  non-Semitic  forms.  I have  adopted  the  former. 

4 Shargina  was  rendered  Sharrukin  in  tlie  Assyrian  period.  Sharrukin,  Skaruldn,  appears  to 
have  signified  “[God]  has  instituted  him  king”  (Schrader,  Die  Assyrisch-Babylonisclien  Keilin- 
schriften,  p.  159,  et  seq.;  cf.  Winckler,  Die  Keilschrifttexte  Sargons,  p.  xiv.),  and  to  have  been 
interpreted  sometimes  “the  lawful  king”  by  the  Assyrians  themselves.  The  identity  of  Shargani- 
shar-ali  of  Agade  with  Shargina-Sharrukin,  proposed  by  Pinches  (On  Babylonian  Art,  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  vi.  pp.  11-14,  107,  108),  The  Early  Babylonian  King-List, 
in  the  Proceedings,  vol.  vii.  pp.  6G-71),  disputed  by  Me'naut  (The  Inscription  of  Sargon,  in  the 
Proceedings,  vol.  vi.  pp.  88-92),  by  Oppert  (Quelques  Remarques  justificatives,  in  the  Zeitsclirift  fiir 
Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  p.  134,  and  La  plus  ancienne  inscription  sCniitique  jusquici  connue,  in  the  Revue 
d’Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  p.  21,  et  seq),  and  since  by  others,  appears  to  have  led  to  false  conclusions 
from  the  form  in  which  it  is  presented  in  the  inscriptions.  Shargani  was  considered  to  have  been 
only  a faulty  reading  of  the  more  complete  name,  Shargani-shar-luh  according  to  Menant  (op.  cit., 
pp.  90-92),  Shar[Bin]gani-shar-imsi  (Oppert  in  Menant,  La  Collection  de  Clercq,  p.  50,  No.  46), 
Shargani-shar-ali  (Oppert,  Quelques  Remarques,  in  the  Zeitsclirift  fiir  Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  p.  124), 
Shargani-shar-makhazi  (Winckler,  Enter suchungen,  p.  79,  note  4),  Bingani-shar-iris  (Oppert,  La  plus 
ancienne  Inscrip.,  in  the  Revue  d’Assyriologie,  vol.  iv.  p.  22).  Hommel  (Geschichte,  p.  302)  translated 
Shargani-shar-ali  by  Shargani,  king  of  the  city,  and  a recently  discovered  variant  inclined  Father 
Scheil  (Inscription  de  Naramsin,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xv.  pp.  62-64)  to  believe  that  Hommel  was 
right,  and  consequently  that  the  king  was  really  called  Shargani,  and  not  Shargaui-shar-ali. 
Hommel’s  hypothesis  (Geschichte,  p.  307,  et  seq.),  according  to  which  there  would  have  been  in  the 
ancient  Chaldaian  empire  two  Sargons— Sargon  the  father  of  Naramsin,  towards  3800  b.c.,  and 
Sargon-Shargani  of  Agade,  about  2000  b.c. — has  been  rejected  by  other  Assyriologists. 

5 His  first  title  is  “Shargani-shar-ali,  King  of  Agade,”  but  his  name  has  been  found  in  the  ruins 
of  Sippara  (Pinches,  On  Babylonian  Art,  in  the  Proceedings,  vol.  vi.  p.  11);  Nabonidos  called  him 
“ King  of  Babylon  ” (Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  69,  col.  ii.  1.  30),  and  the  chronological  lists 
mention  his  palace  in  that  city  (Smith,  On  Fragments  of  an  Inscription,  in  the  Transactions,  vol. 
iii.  pp.  367,  368,  374-376).  The  American  expedition  of  Dr.  Peters  discovered  at  Nipur  inscriptions 
which  prove  that  he  ruled  over  that  town  (Hilprecht,  Babyl.  Exped.  of  Univ.  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  i. 
pp.  15,  16,  pis.  1-3;  cf.  Scheil,  Nouvelle  Inscription  de  Naramsin,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xv.  pp.  62-64). 


SHARGANI-SHAR-ALI  AND  SIS  LEGEND. 


597 


was  the  son  of  a certain  Ittibel,  who  does  not  appear  to  have  been  king.1  At 
first  his  possessions  were  confined  to  the  city  of  Agade  and  some  undetermined 
portion  of  the  environs  of  Babylon,  but  he  soon  succeeded  in  annexing  Babylon 
itself,  Sippara,  Kishu,  and  Nipur,  and  obtained  the  reputation  of  a formidable 
conqueror,  although  we  cannot  ascertain  from  contemporary  evidence  the  names 
of  the  countries  to  which  he  carried  his  warlike  expeditions.2  His  activity  as  a 
builder  was  in  no  way  behind  his  warlike  zeal.  He  built  Ekur,  the  sanctuary  of 
Bel  in  Nipur,  and  the  great  temple  Eulbar  in  Agade,  in  honour  of  Anunit,  the 
goddess  presiding  over  the  morning  star.3  He  erected  in  Babylon  a palace 
which  afterwards  became  a royal  burying-place.4  He  founded  a new  capital, 
a city  which  he  peopled  with  families  brought  from  Kishu  and  Babylon : for 
a long  time  after  his  day  it  bore  the  name  which  he  bestowed  upon  it,  Dur- 
Sharrukin.5  This  sums  up  all  the  positive  knowledge  we  have  about  him,  and 
the  later  Chaldaeans  seem  not  to  have  been  much  better  informed  than  ourselves. 

They  filled  up  the  lacunae  of  his  history  with  legends.  As  he  seemed  to 
them  to  have  appeared  suddenly  on  the  scene,  without  any  apparent  connection 
with  the  king  who  preceded  him,  they  assumed  that  he  was  a usurper  of 
unknown  origin,  irregularly  introduced  by  the  favour  of  the  gods  into  the 
lawful  series  of  kings.  An  inscription  engraved,  it  was  said,  on  one  of  his 
statues,  and  afterwards,  about  the  VIIIth  century  b.c.,  copied  and  deposited 
in  the  library  of  Nineveh,  related  at  length  the  circumstances  of  his 
mysterious  birth.6  “Sharrukin,  the  mighty  king,  the  king  of  Agade,  am  I. 
My  mother  was  a princess ; my  father,  I did  not  know  him ; the  brother 

The  conquest  of  Kishu  is  mentioned  in  the  astrological  texts  (Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  34, 
col.  i.  11.  8-10;  cf.  Hilprecht,  op.  cit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  25,  26),  as  well  as  that  of  the  “Four  Houses  of 
the  World”  (Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  34,  col.  i.  11.  6,  14;  cf.  Smith,  Early  History,  iu  the 
Transactions,  vol.  i.  pp.  48,  49),  which  title  attributes  to  him,  at  least  in  the  view  of  the  scribes  of 
Assurbanipal,  universal  dominion  (Lehmann,  SchamaschschumuMn,  p.  94).  As  Naramsin,  son  and 
successor  of  Shargani,  assumed  the  same  titles  on  his  original  monuments,  we  may  believe  that  he 
inherited  them  from  his  father,  and  provisionally  accept  the  evidence  of  the  astrological  text 
(Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  3,  No.  7, 11.  2-4). 

1 Hilprecht,  Babyl.  Exped.  Univ.  Penns.,  vol.  i.  pi.  2,  pp.  15,  16. 

1 Hilprecht,  ibid.,  vol.  i.  pi.  2,  pp.  15,  16. 

3 The  fact  is  mentioned  in  an  inscription  of  Nabonidos,  discovered  at  Mugheir,  now  in  the 
British  Museum  (Rawlinson,  W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  69,  col.  ii.  1.  29),  translated  by  Peiser  in  the 
Keilschriftliche  Bibliotheh,  vol.  iii.  2nd  part,  p.  85. 

4 Smith,  On  Fragments  of  an  Inscription,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  iii.  pp.  367,  368,  374-376. 

5 Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  34,  col.  i.  1.  10.  I believe  that  this  is  the  Dur-Sharrukin 
mentioned  on  the  Michaux  Stone  (col.  i.  1.  14;  cf.  Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  v,d.  i.  pi.  70),  whose  site 
is  still  unknown.  Of.  Delitzsch,  TFo  lag  das  Parodies  ? p.  208. 

6 We  have  two  copies,  both  mutilated,  of  the  text : it  is  published  in  the  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  4, 
No.  7,  translated  by  Smith  (Early  History,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  i.  pp.  46,  47 ; 
cf.  The  Chaldeean  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  299,  300),  and  examined  and  translated  again  by  many  Assyrio- 
logists — Talbot  (A  Fragment  of  Ancient  Assyrian  Mythology,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  i.  pp.  271,  280; 
cf.  Records  of  the  Past,  1st  series,  vol.  v.  p.  1,  et  seq).,  Lenormant  (Les  Premieres  Civilisations,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  104-110),  Me'nant  ( Babylone  et  la  Chaldee,  p.  99,  et  seq.),  Delitzsch  (Wo  lag  das  Parodies' ? pp.  209, 
210),  Hommel  (Geschichte  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  pp.  302,  303),  Winckler  (Legends  Sargons  von 
Agane,  in  the  Keilsch.  Bibliothek,  vol.  iii.  1st  part,  pp.  100-103,  and  Gesch.  Babyl.  und  Assyriens,  p.  30). 


ANCIENT  CEALDJEA. 


598 

of  my  father  lived  in  the  mountains.  My  town  was  Azupiraui,  which  is 
situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Euphrates.  My  mother,  the  princess,  conceived 
me,  and  secretly  gave  birth  to  me:  she  placed  me  in  a basket  ol  reeds,  she 
shut  up  the  mouth  of  it  with  bitumen,  she  abandoned  me  to  the  river,  which 
did  not  overwhelm  me.  The  river  bore  me;  it  brought  me  to  Akki,  the 
drawer  of  water.  Akki,  the  drawer  of  water,  received  me  in  the  goodness 
of  his  heart;  Akki,  the  drawer  of  water,  made  me  a gardener.  As  gardener, 
the  goddess  Ishtar  loved  me,  and  during  forty-four  years  I held  royal  sway ; 
I commauded  the  Black  Heads,1  aud  ruled  them.”  This  is  no  unusual  origin 
for  the  founders  of  empires  and  dynasties;  witness  the  cases  of  Cyrus  and 
liomulus.2  Sargon,  like  Moses,  and  many  other  heroes  of  history  or  fable, 
is  exposed  to  the  waters:  he  owes  his  safety  to  a poor  fellah  who  works  his 
shadouf  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  to  water  the  fields,  and  he  passes 
his  infancy  in  obscurity,  if  not  in  misery.  Having  reached  the  age  of  manhood, 
Ishtar  falls  in  love  with  him  as  she  did  with  his  fellow-craftsman,  the  gardener 
Ishullanu,3  and  he  becomes  king,  we  know  not  by  what  means.  The  same 
inscription  which  reveals  the  romance  of  his  youth,  recounts  the  successes  of 
his  manhood,  and  boasts  of  the  uniformly  victorious  issue  of  his  warlike  exploits. 
Owing  to  lacunm,  the  end  of  the  account  is  in  the  main  wanting,  and  we  are  thus 
prevented  from  following  the  development  of  his  career,  but  other  documents 
come  to  the  rescue  and  claim  to  furnish  its  most  important  vicissitudes.  He 
had  reduced  the  cities  of  the  Lower  Euphrates,  the  island  of  Dilrnun,  Durilu,4 
Elam,  the  country  of  Kazalla;5  he  had  invaded  Syria,  conquered  Phoenicia, 
crossed  the  arm  of  the  sea  which  separates  Cyprus  from  the  coast,  and  only 
returned  to  his  palace  after  an  absence  of  three  years,  and  after  having  erected 
his  statues  on  the  Syrian  coast.  He  had  hardly  settled  down  to  rest 

1 The  phrase  “ Black  Heads,”  niahi  salmat  halchadi,  has  been  taken  in  an  ethnological  sense  ns 
designating  one  of  the  races  of  Chaldma,  the  Semitic  (Hommel,  Gesch.  Babyl.  und  Assyrian,  p.  241, 
note  2);  other  Assyriologists  consider  it  as  denoting  mankind  in  general  (Pogxox,  L' Inscription  de 
Bavian,  pp,  27,  28;  Schrader,  in  the  Zntschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  p.  320).  The  latter  meaning 
seems  the  more  probable. 

2 Smith  ( Early  Hist,  of  Babylonia,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  i.  p.  47)  had  already  compared  the 
infancy  of  Sargon  with  that  of  Moses ; the  comparison  with  Cyrus,  Bacchus,  and  Romulus  was 
made  by  Talbot  (A  Fragment  of  Assyrian  Mythology,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  i.  pp.  272-277). 
Traditions  of  the  same  kind  are  frequent  in  history  or  folk-tales. 

3 See  above,  p.  581  of  this  History,  for  the  treatment  inflicted  by  Ishtar  on  Ishullanu. 

* Durilu  was  on  the  frontier  of  Elam  (Delitzsch,  Tf  o lag  das  Parodies  ? p.  230),  seat  of  a petty  pi  iu- 
cipality,  one  of  whose  princes,  Mutabil,  is  known  to  us  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Clioix  de  Texles  cun€if orm.es’, 
p.  7,  No.  5)  in  the  time  anterior  to  Kliammurabi  (Hommel,  Gesch.  Babyl.  und  Assyrieus,  p.  225,  note  1). 
The  more  or  less  comprehensible  parts  of  the  tablet  relating  the  life  of  Sargon  stop  at  this  point. 

5 Kazalla  was  ruled  over  by  a king  with  a Semitic  name,  Kashtubila;  the  site  is  unknown.  If  we 
must  really  read  Kazalla  (IIommel,  Gesch.  Bab.  und  Assyriens,  pp.  30G,  32G)  and  not  Susalla  (Amiaud, 
The  Inscriptions  of  Telloli,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  80;  cf.  Heuzey-Sarzec, 
Dtfcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  x.),  or  Subgalla,  Mugalla,  Musalla  (Jensen,  Inschriften  der  Eonigc  und 
Stattlialter  von  Lagasch,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliolheh,  vol.  iii.  1st  part,  p.  34),  the  name  cited  on 
the  S'atue  B de  Gudta  (col.  vi.  11.  5,  6),  Kazalla  would  be  a district  in  Syria. 


NARAMSIN  AND  TEE  FIRST  CHALDJEAN  EMPIRE. 


599 


when  a rebellion  broke  out  suddenly ; the  chiefs  of  Chaldaea  formed  a league 
against  him,  and  blockaded  him  in  Agade : Ishtar,  exceptionally  faithful  to 
the  end,  obtains  for  him  the  victory,  and  he  comes  out  of  a crisis,  in  which 
he  might  have  been  utterly  ruined,  with  a more  secure  position  than  ever. 
All  these  events  are  regarded  as  having  occurred  sometime  about  3800  b.c., 
at  a period  when  the  VIth  dynasty  was  flourishing  in  Egypt.1  They  are  not 
improbable  in  themselves,  and  we  might  have  accepted  them  without  hesita- 
tion if  the  work  in  which  they  are  related  were  not  an  astrological  treatise.2 
The  writer  was  anxious  to  prove,  by  examples  drawn  from  the  chronicles,  the 
value  of  portents  of  victory  or  defeat,  of  civic  peace  or  rebellion — portents 
which  he  deduced  from  the  configuration  of  the  heavens  on  the  various  days 
of  the  month : on  going  back  as  far  as  Sargon  of  Agade  for  his  instances,  he 
must  have  at  once  increased  the  respect  for  himself  on  account  of  his  know- 
ledge of  antiquity,  and  the  difficulty  which  the  common  herd  must  have  felt 
in  verifying  his  assertions.  His  good  faith  is  somewhat  open  to  suspicion, 
since  some  of  the  exploits  which  he  attributes  to  the  ancient  Sargon  had  been 
recently  accomplished  by  a king  of  the  same  name:  the  brilliant  career 
of  Sargon  of  Agade  seems,  in  his  account  of  it,  to  be  no  other  than  the 
still  more  glorious  life  of  Sargon  of  Nineveh  thrown  back  into  the  distant 
past.3  If  the  tissue  of  events  which  he  describes  is,  indeed,  an  invention  of 
a later  age,  the  fraud  proves  to  us  at  least  the  high  prestige  which  the  learned 
men  of  Assyria  ascribed  to  the  memory  of  the  Chaldoean  conqueror. 

Naramsin,  who  succeeded  Sargon  about  3750  b.c.,4  inherited  his  authority, 
and  to  some  extent  his  renown.  The  astrological  tablets  assert  that  he  attacked 

1 The  date  3800  b.c.  for  the  reigti  of  Sargon  has  been  deduced  approximately  from  the  date  which 
the  inscription  of  Nabonidos  (see  note  4 below)  furnishes  for  the  reign  of  Naramsin. 

2 The  passages  in  this  treatise  bearing  on  Sargon  and  Naramsin,  collected  and  published  for  the 
tirst  time  by  G.  Smith  {On  the  Early  Hist.,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  i.  pp.  47-51),  have  been  since 
reproduced  by  Menant  {Babylone  et  la  Cliald£e,  pp.  100-103),  by  Hommel  {Gtscli.  Bahyl.  und  Assyrians, 
pp.  304,  306,  310),  and  by  Winckler  (in  the  Keilscliriftliche  Bibliothek,  vol.  iii1.  pp.  102-107). 

3 Hommel  {Geschiclde,  p.  307)  believes  that  the  life  of  our  Sargon  was  modelled,  not  on  the 
Assyrian  Sargon,  but  on  a second  Sargon,  whom  he  places  about  2000  b.c.  (cf.  p.  596,  note  4,  of  this 
History).  Tiele  ( Babyl.-Assyr . Gesch.,  p.  115)  refuses  to  accept  the  hypothesis,  but  his  objections  are 
not  weighty,  in  my  opinion;  Hilprecht  ( Babyl . Exp.  TJniv.  of  Penns.,  vol.  i.  p.  21,  et  seq.)  accepts  the 
authenticity  of  the  facts  in  their  details.  There  is  a distant  resemblance  between  the  life  of  the 
legendary  Sargon  and  the  account  of  the  victories  of  Eamses  II.  ending,  as  Herodotus  (ii.  100)  tells  us, 
in  a conspiracy  on  his  return. 

4 The  date  of  Naramsin  is  given  us  by  the  cylinder  of  Nabonidos,  who  is  cited  lower  down.  It 
was  discovered  by  Pinches  ( Some  Recent  Discoveries,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  v. 
pp.  8,9,  12).  Its  authenticity  is  maintained  by  Oppert  {Journal  Asiatique,  1883,  vol.  i.  p.  89),  by 
Latrille  {Der  Nabonidcylinder  V.  R.  64,  in  the  Zeitschrift  Jur  Eeilforschung,  vol.  ii.  pp.  357-359),  by 
Tiele  {Geschiclde,  p.  114),  by  Hommel  {Geschiclde,  pp.  166,  167,  309,  310),  who  felt  at  first  some 
hesitation  (in  Die  Semitischen  Volker,  pp.  347,  et  seq.,  487-489),  by  Delitzsch-Miirdter  {Geschichte, 
2nd  edit.,  pp.  72,  73) ; it  has  been  called  in  question,  with  hesitation,  by  Ed.  Meyer  {Gescli.  Alter- 
tliums,  vol.  i.  pp.  161,  162),  and  more  boldly  by  Winckler  {Untersucliungen,  pp.  44,  45,  and  Geschichte, 
pp.  37,  38).  There  is  at  present  no  serious  reason  to  question  its  accuracy,  at  least  relatively,  except 
the  instinctive  repugnance  of  modern  critics  to  consider  as  legitimate,  dates  which  carry  them  back 
further  into  the  past  thau  they  are  accustomed  to  go. 


ANCIENT  CITALDTEA. 


(500 

the  city  of  Apirak,  killed  the  king,  Rishramman,  and  led  the  people  away  into 
slavery.  Another  of  his  warlike  expeditions  is  asserted  to  have  found  its 
field  of  operations  in  a district  of  Magan,  which,  in  the  view  of  the  writer, 
undoubtedly  represented  the  Siuaitic  Peninsula  and  perhaps  Egypt.1  The 
expedition  against  Magan  no  doubt  took  place,  and  one  of  the  few  monuments 
of  Naramsin  which  have  reached  us  refers  to  it.  It  was  from  this  region, 
indeed,  that  the  Chaldsean  kings  obtained  the  blocks  of  hard  stone  out  of  which 
the  valuable  vessels  for  use  in  the  temples  and  palaces  were  constructed  ; 2 
they  were  accustomed  to  send  thither  from  time  to  time  bodies  of  men  to 
fetch  back  such  materials  as  they  were  in  need  of.  Magan  was,  therefore, 
not  Egypt  certainly,  but  that  district  of  Arabia  which  lay  on  the  confines  of 
Southern  Chaldsea  and  the  Persian  Gulf.3  Other  inscriptions  tell  us  incidentally 
that  Naramsin  reigned  over  the  “four  Houses  of  the  world”  and  also  over 
Babylon,  Sippara,  and  Nipur.4  Like  his  father,  he  had  worked  at  the  building 
of  the  Ekur  of  Nipur  and  the  Eulbar  of  Agade ; 5 he  erected,  moreover,  at  his  own 
cost,  the  temple  of  the  Sun  at  Sippara.6  The  latter  passed  through  many  and 
varied  vicissitudes.  Restored,  enlarged,  ruined  on  several  occasions,  the  date  of 
its  construction  and  the  name  of  its  founder  were  lost  in  the  course  of  ages.  The 
last  independent  King  of  Babylon,  Nabonaid  [Nabonidos],  at  length  discovered 
the  cylinders  in  which  Naramsin,  son  of  Sargon,  had  signified  to  posterity  all  that 
he  had  done  towards  the  erection  of  a temple  worthy  of  the  deity  to  the  god  of 
Sippara  : “ for  three  thousand  two  hundred  years  not  one  of  the  kings  had  been 
able  to  find  them.”  We  have  no  means  of  judging  what  these  edifices  were 
like  for  which  the  Chaldteans  themselves  showed  such  veneration  ; they  have 
entirely  disappeared,  or,  if  anything  remains  of  them,  the  excavations  hitherto 

1 Rawlinson,  TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  34,  col.  ii.  11.  10-18. 

2 E.(j.  an  alabaster  vase  with  the  name  of  Naramsin,  lost  in  the  Tigris;  the  inscription  was  first 
translated  by  Oppert  ( Expedition  en  Mesopotamia,  vol.  i.  p.  273,  vol.  ii.  p.  327  ; cf.  Rawlinson,  IF.  A. 
Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  3,  No.  7).  There  is  some  doubt  as  to  whether  the  translation  should  ruu,  “Vase, 
booty  from  Magan”  (Oppert,  Die  Franzosisclien  Ausgrabungen,  in  Verhandlunnge  of  the  IVth  Oriental 
Congress,  vol.  ii.  p.  245),  or  “ Conqueror  of  the  land  of  Magan”  (Oppert,  La  plus  ancienne  inscription 
sCmitique,  in  the  Revue  d’Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  p.  20),  or  “Vase  of  polished  work  from  Magan” 
(Homjiel,  Gescliichte,  pp.  278,  279,  308,  309,  and  note  1).  The  first  reading  was  “ Conqueror  of 
Apirak  and  Magan  ” (S.mitit,  Early  Hist.,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  i.  p.  52 ; Menant,  Babylone  et 
Chaldee,  p.  103;  Tiele,  Gescliichte,  p.  115). 

3 See,  for  the  original  site  of  Magan,  p.  561,  note  3,  of  this  History. 

1 On  the  lost  alabaster  vase  he  is  “king  of  the  four  Houses,”  and  on  a cylinder  of  Nabonidos, 
“ King  of  Babylon  ; ” Sippara  belonged  to  him,  for  he  constructed  a temple  there,  and  Dr.  Peters  has 
brought  to  light  iu  his  excavations  inscriptions  which  show  that  he  owned  the  city  of  Nipur 
(Hilprecht,  Babyl.  Exped.  of  the  Univ.  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  i.  pp.  18,  19,  pi.  3,  No.  4;  The  Academy, 
1891,  September  3,  p.  199;  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  vii.  pp.  333,  et  seq.). 

5 Hilprecht,  op.  cit.,  vol.  i.  pi.  4 ; Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  69,  col.  ii.  11.  29-31 ; cf.  Peiser, 
Inschriften  Nabonids,  iu  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliotlielc,  vol.  iii.  2nd  part,  p.  85. 

6 Rawlinson,  TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  v.  pi.  64,  col.  ii,  11.  57-60 ; cf.  Pinches,  Some  Recent  Discoveries,  in 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  v.  pp.  8,  9,  12.  The  text  giving  us  this  information  is 
that  in  which  Nabonidos  affirms  that  Naramsin,  son  of  Sargon  of  Agade,  had  founded  the  temple  of 
the  Sun  at  Sippara,  3200  years  before  himself,  which  would  give  us  3750  b.c.  for  the  reign  of  Naramsin. 


ART  IN  SOUTHERN  CEALD2EA. 


601 


carried  out  have  not  revealed  it.  Many  small  objects,  however,  which  have 
accidentally  escaped  destruction  give  us  a fair  idea  of  the  artists  who  lived  in 
Babylon  at  this  time,  and  of  their  skill  in  handling  the  graving-tool  and  chisel. 
An  alabaster  vase  with  the  name  of  Naramsin,1  and  a mace-head  of  exquisitely 
veined  marble,  dedicated  by  Shargani-skar-ali  to  the  sun-god  of  Sippara,2  are 
valued  only  on  account  of  the  beauty  of  the  material  and  the  rarity  of  the 
inscription;  but  a porphyry  cylinder,  which  belonged  to  Ibnishar,  scribe  of  the 
above-named  Shargani,  must  be  ranked  among  the  masterpieces  of  Oriental 
engraving.3  It  represents  the  hero  Gilgames,  kneeling  and  holding  with  both 
hands  a spherically  shaped  vase,  from  which  flow  two  copious  jets  forming 
a stream  running  through  the  country  ; an  ox,  armed  with  a pair  of  gigantic 


THE  SEAL  OF  SHARGANI-SHAR- ALI  I GILGAMES  WATERS  THE  CELESTIAL  OX.4 


crescent-shaped  horns,  jerks  back  its  head  to  catch  one  of  the  jets  as  it  falls. 
Everything  in  this  little  specimen  is  equally  worthy  of  admiration — the  purity 
of  outline,  the  skilful  and  delicate  cutting  of  the  intaglio,  the  fidelity  of  the 
action,  and  the  accuracy  of  form.  A fragment  of  a bas-relief  of  the  reign  of 
Naramsin  shows  that  the  sculptors  were  not  a bit  behind  the  engravers  of  gems. 
This  consists  now  only  of  a single  figure,  a god,  who  is  standing  on  the  right, 
wearing  a conical  head-dress  and  clothed  in  a hairy  garment  wdiick  leaves  his 
right  arm  free.  The  legs  are  wanting,  the  left  arm  and  the  hair  are  for  the 
most  part  broken  away,  while  the  features  have  also  suffered ; its  distinguishing 
characteristic  is  a subtlety  of  workmanship  which  is  lacking  in  the  artistic 
products  of  a later  age.  The  outline  stands  out  from  the  background  with 
a rare  delicacy,  the  details  of  the  muscles  being  in  no  sense  exaggerated  : were 
it  not  for  the  costume  and  pointed  beard,  one  would  fancy  it  a specimen  of 

1 This  is  the  vase  which  was  lost  in  the  Tigris  (Oppert,  Expedition  en  Mdsopotamie,  vol.  i.  p.  273). 

2 Pinches,  On  Babylonian  Art , in  the  Transactions,  vol.  vi.  pp.  11, 12  ; cf.  p.  620  of  the  present  work. 

3 Discovered  and  published  by  Me'nant  ( Recherclies  sur  la  Glyptique  orientate , vol.  i.  p.  73,  et  seq.), 
now  in  the  possession  of  M.  de  Clercq  (Menant,  Catalogue  de  la  Collection  de  Clercq,  vol.  i.  pi.  v., 
No.  461). 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Menant,  Cat.  de  la  Collection  de  Clercq,  vol.  i.  pi,  v.,  No.  461). 


ANCIENT  CHALDEE  A. 


(!0‘2 


Egyptian  work  of  the  best  Memphite  period.  One  is  almost  tempted  to  believe 
in  the  truth  of  the  tradition  which  ascribes  to  Naramsin  the  conquest  of  Egypt, 

or  of  the  neighbouring  countries:  the  conquered 
might  in  this  case  have  furnished  patterns  for 
the  conqueror.1 

Did  Sargon  and  Naramsin  live  at  so  early 
a date  as  that  assigned  to  them  by  Nabonidos  ? 
The  scribes  who  assisted  the  kings  of  the 
second  Babylonian  empire  in  their  archaeo- 
logical researches  had  perhaps  insufficient 
reasons  for  placing  the  date  of  these  k ings 
so  far  back  in  the  misty  past  : should 
evidence  of  a serious  character  constrain  us 
to  attribute  to  them  a later  origin,  we  ought 
not  to  be  surprised.  In  the  mean  time  our 
best  course  is  to  accept  the  opinion  of  the 
Chaldaeans,  and  to  leave  Sargon  and  Na- 
ramsin in  the  century  assigned  to  them  by 
Nabonidos,  although  from  this  point  they  look 
down  as  from  a high  eminence  upon  all  the 
rest  of  Chaldcean  antiquity.  Excavations  have 
brought  to  light  several  personages  of  a similar  date, 
whether  a little  earlier,  or  a little  later : Bingani-shar- 
ali,8  Man-ish-turba,  and  especially  Alusharshid,  who  lived  at  Ivishu  and 
Nipur,1  and  gained  victories  over  Elam.5  After  this  glimpse  of  light  on 
these  shadowy  kings  darkness  once  more  closes  in  upon  us,  and  conceals 
from  us  the  majority  of  the  sovereigns  who  ruled  afterwards  in  Babylon. 
The  facts  and  names  which  can  be  referred  with  certainty  to  the  following 
centuries  belong  not  to  Babylon,  but  to  the  southern  States,  Lagash,  Uruk,  Uru, 
Nishiu,  and  Larsam.6  The  national  writers  had  neglected  these  principalities  ; 


BAS-RELIEF  OF  NARAMSIN.  - 


' Published  by  Solicit  (Une  Nouvelle  Inscription  de  Naramsin,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xv.  pp.  62-64  ; 
cf.  Maspf.ro,  Sur  le  bas-relief  de  Naramsin,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xv.  pp.  65,  66).  Oppert  ( Die  Fran- 
zosischen  Ausgrabungen  in  Chaldxa,  in  the  Vcrhandlungen  of  the  IVth  Oriental  Congress,  vol.  ii.  p. 
637)  had  noticed  the  resemblance  of  the  statues  of  Telloh  to  those  of  Egyptian  work. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  a photograph  published  by  Father  Scheil,  TJn  Nouveau  Bas-relief  de 
Naramsin,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xv.  pp.  62-64. 

3 Menant,  Recherches  sur  la  Glyptique  orientate,  vol.  i.  pi.  1,  No.  1,  and  pp.  75-77. 

4 Winckler,  Sumer  und  Akkad,  in  the  Mitteilungen  des  Ale.  Orientalisclien-Vereins,  vol.  i. 
p.  IS. 

5 Hilprecht,  Babyl.  Exped.  of  TJniv.  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  i.  pis.  5-10,  and  pp.  19-21. 

6 The  facts  concerning  these  petty  kingdoms  have  been  pointed  out  by  Winckler  ( TJntersuchungen , 
pp.  65-90),  whose  conclusions,  disputed  by  Lehmann  (Schamdschschumukin,  pp.  68-100),  have  been 
accepted  by  Delitzsch-Miirdter  ( Gescliiclde , 2nd  edit.,  p.  76,  et  seq.). 


THE  SOUTHERN  CITIES:  LAG  ASH  AND  ITS  KINGS. 


603 


we  possess  neither  a resume  of  their  chronicles  nor  a list  of  their  dynasties,  and 
the  inscriptions  which  speak  of  their  gods  and  princes 
are  still  very  rare.  Lagash,  as  far  as  our  evidence 
goes,  was,  perhaps,  the  most  illustrious  of 
all  these  cities.1  It  occupied  the  heart 
of  the  country,  and  its  site  covered  both 
sides  of  the  Shatt-el-Hai : the  Tigris  sepa- 
rated it  on  the  east  from  Anshan,  the 
westernmost  of  the  Elamite  districts,  with 
which  it  carried  on  a perpetual  frontier 
war.2 *  All  parts  of  the  country  were  not 
equally  fertile  ; the  fruitful  and  well-culti- 
vated district  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Shatt-el-Hai  gave  place  to  impoverished 
lands  ending  to  the  eastward,  finally  in 
swampy  marshes,  which  with  great  diffi- 
culty furnished  means  of  sustenance  to 
a poor  and  thinly  scattered  population  of 
fisher-folk.  The  capital,  built  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river,  stretched  out  to  the  north- 
east and  south-west  a distance  of  some  five 
miles.4  It  was  not  so  much  a city  as  an 

agglomeration  of  large  villages,  each  grouped  around  a temple  or  palace— 
Uruazagga,  Gishgalla,  Girsu,  Nina,  and  Lagash,5  which  latter  imposed  its 
name  upon  the  whole.  A branch  of  the  river  Shatt-el-Hai  protected  it  on  the 


the 

ARSIS 
OF  THE  CITY 
AND 

KINGS  OF  LAGASH. 


1 Wc  are  indebted  almost  exclusively  to  the  researches  of  M.  de  Sarzec,  and  his  discoveries  at 
.Tel loh,  for  what  we  know  of  it.  The  results  of  his  excavations,  acquired  by  the  Trench  government, 
arc  now  in  the  Louvre.  The  description  of  the  ruins,  the  text  of  the  inscriptions,  and  an  account 
of  the  statues  and  other  objects  found  in  the  course  of  the  work,  have  been  published  by  Heuzey- 
Sarzec,  Ddcouvertes  en  Chaldee.  The  name  of  the  ancient  town  has  been  read  Sirpurla,  Zir^ulla 
(Smith,  Early  History , in  the  Transactions,  vol.  i.  p.  30;  Boscawen,  On  some  Early  Babylonian 
Inscriptions,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  vii.  pp.  276,  277),  Sirtella  (Oppert,  Die  Franzosisclien  Ausgra- 
bungen,  in  the  Verhandlungen  of  the  IV1'1  Oriental  Congress,  vol.  ii.  p.  224,  and  Journal  Asiatique, 
1882,  vol.  xix.  p.  79),  Sirbulla  (Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  VOlker,  p.  458,  note  103).  Pinches  ( Guide 
to  the  Kouyunjik  Gallery,  p.  7,  note  2,  and  Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  iii.  p.  23)  met  in 
a syllabary  the  reading  Lagash  for  the  signs  which  enter  into  the  name ; Lagash  may  be  the  more 
recent  name  for  the  primitive  Shirpurla  (Jensen,  Inschri/ten  der  Kdnige,  iu  the  Keilschriftliche 
Bibliotliek,  vol.  iii.  1st  part,  p.  5). 

For  example,  in  the  time  of  Gudea  ( Inscription  B,  11.  64-69  ; cf.  Amiaud,  Inscriptions  of  Telloh, 
in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  82,  and  in  Heuzey-Sarzec,  De'couvertes  en  Chalde'e, 
p.  xi. ; Jensen,  Inschriften  der  Komge,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliothek,  vol.  iii.  1st  part,  p.  39). 
See  the  mention  of  the  taking  of  Anshan  by  this  prince  iu  p.  610  of  the  present  work. 

Diawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  from  Lagash,  now  in  the  Louvre  (Heuzey-Sarzec, 
De'couvertes,  pi.  1,  No.  2). 

4 The  description  of  the  site  will  be  found  in  Heuzey-Sarzec  (op.  cit.,  p.  8,  et  seq.). 

Amiaud,  Sirpurla,  pp.  1-8,  Amiaud  thinks  that  the  four  tells  marked  N-P  on  Sarzec’s  plan 


(304 


ANCIENT  CTIALVJEA. 


south,  and  supplied  the  village  of  Nina  with  water;  no  trace  of  an  inclosing 
wall  has  been  found,  and  the  temples  and  palaces  seem  to  have  served  as 
refuges  for  the  people  in  case  of  attack.  It  had  as  its  arms,  or  totem,  a double- 
headed eagle  standing  on  a lion  passant,  or  on  two  demi-lions  placed  back  to 
back.1  The  chief  of  the  gods  it  adored  was  called  Ningirsu,  the  lord  of 
Girsu,  in  whose  sanctuary  he  dwelt : his  companion  Bau,  and  his  associates 


FRAGMENT  OF  A BAS-EELIEF  DEDICATED  BY  URNINA,  KING  OF  LAGASH.2 


Ninagal,  Innanna  and  Ninsia,  shared  with  one  another  the  possession  of  the 
divisions  of  the  city.3  The  princes  were  first  called  kings,  and  afterwards 
took  the  title  of  vicegerents — patesi — when  they  were  obliged  to  acknow- 
ledge as  their  suzerain  a more  powerful  king,  that  of  Uruk  or  of  Babylon.4 

Urukagina  was  the  first  in  date  (3200  b.c.)  of  the  kings  of  Lagash  whose 
memory  has  come  down  to  us  : he  restored  or  enlarged  several  temples,  and 

indicate  tlie  site  of  Nina;  the  other  tells  are  considered  to  represent  the  site  of  Girsu.  Gishgalla 
and  Uruazagga  are  regarded  as  being  outside  the  region  excavated.  Ilommel  thought  ( Geschichte 
Babyloniens  uiul  Assyriens,  pp.  315,  327,  328,  337),  and  perhaps  continues  to  thiuk,  that  Nina  is 
Nineveh,  and  Girsu  possibly  Uruk. 

1 With  regard  to  these  arms  of  Lagash,  cf.  Heuzey,  Les  Origines  orientates  de  V Art,  vol.  i.  pp. 
40-42;  Heczey-Sarzec,  D&ouvertes,  pp.  87-91;  and  finally  Heczey,  Les  Armoiries  ChaldCennes,  in 
the  Monuments  et  Me  moires  de  la  Fondation  Piot,  vol.  i.  pp.  7-20. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gndin,  from  a bas-relief  from  Lagash,  now  in  the  Louvre  (Heizey-Sarzec, 
Dd'couvertes,  pi.  1 bis,  No.  2). 

3 For  details  as  to  the  deities  worshipped  at  Lagash,  see  Amiaud,  Sirpurla,  pp.  15-10;  cf.  pp. 
636-039  of  the  present  work,  upon  the  identification  of  the  Sumerian  with  the  Semitic  divinities. 

* The  reading  “ patisi,”  “ patesi,”  of  the  word  used  to  designate  the  sovereign  of  the  petty 
Chaldseau  states,  for  a long  time  disputed,  is  now  established  by  ascertained  variants  (W.  IIayes 
Ward,  Oil  an  inscribed  Babylonian  Weight,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  American  Oriental  Society, 
October,  18S5,  pp.  xii.,  xiii. ; cf.  Lehmann,  Aus  einem  Briefe,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Assyriologie,  vol.  iv. 
p.  292,  and  Jensen,  Inschriften  der  Kijnige,  in  the  Kcilschriftliche  Bibliotheh,  vol.  iii.  1st  part,  pp.  6-7). 
The  title  has  been  translated  “viceroy,”  “priest,”  “employe',”  and  it  is  considered  to  denote  the 
dependence  of  the  person  who  bore  it,  either  in  reference  to  a sovereign  or  to  a god.  I understand 
“patesi”  to  mean  the  same  as  “ropait”  in  Egyptian  (cf.  pp.  70,  71  of  the  present  work).  It  is  an 
old  title  of  the  feudal  princes  of  Chaldsea,  both  civil  and  religious,  since  these  princes  exercised 
religious  as  well  as  civil  authority : they  made  use  of  it  at  the  outset,  when  they  were  independent 
of  one  another,  and  they  continued  to  use  it  when  they  became  dependent  on  a more  powerful  ruler 
or  king.  The  kings  themselves  coidd  make  use  of  it,  with  or  without  epithets,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  Pharaohs  used  the  title  “ ropait : ” it  was  an  affectation  of  antiquity  on  the  banks  of  the 
Euphrates  as  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile. 


URNINA  AND  1D1NQIRANA  GIN. 


605 


dug  the  caual  which  supplied  the  town  of  Nina  with  water.1  A few  generations 
later  we  find  the  ruling  authority  in  the  hands  of  a certain  Urnina,  whose  father 
Ninigaldun  and  grandfather  Gurshar  received  no  titles — a fact  which  proves  that 


IDINGIItANAGIN  HOLDING  THE  TOTEM  OF  LAGASH.2 


they  could  not  have  been  reigning  sovereigns.3  Urnina  appears  to  have  been 
of  a peaceful  and  devout  disposition,4  as  the  inscriptions  contain  frequent 
references  to  the  edifices  he  had  erected  in  honour  of  the  gods,  the  sacred 
objects  he  had  dedicated  to  them,  and  the  timber  for  building  purposes  which 


1 This  is  the  canal  which  Urukagiua  and  Gudea  had  cleaned:  it  was  called  Nina-[ki]-tuma, 
favourite  river  of  the  goddess  Nina,  or  rather  of  the  town  of  Nina  (Amiaod,  Sirpula,  p.  5). 

s Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  bas-relief  F2  in  the  Louvre  (Heczey,  Reconstruction  partielle 
de  In  Stele  da  roi  Eannadu,  pi.  ii.). 

3 The  series  of  the  first  kings  and  vicegerents  of  Lagash  have  been  made  out  in  the  last  instance 
by  Heuzey  (Ge'ndalogies  de  Sirpourla  d’apres  les  Decouvertes  de  M.  de  Sarzee,  in  the  Revue  d' Assyriologie, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  78-81),  and  Urukagina  heads  the  list  (id.,  p.  81),  a view  which  has  been  accepted  by 
Jensen  (Keilscliriftliclie  Bibliotliel;,  vol.  iii.  part  1,  pp.  7,  8,  10);  while  Hommel  (Geschichle,  p.  291) 
gives  him  a third  place  in  the  series  of  kings.  The  views  as  to  the  period  of  these  princes  vary 
much.  Hommel  ( Geschichte , p.  291)  assigns  Urukagiua  to  4200  B.C.,  about  three  hundred  years 
after  his  Urghanna,  whom  he  puts  at  the  head  of  the  list;  and  Heuzey,  without  committing  himself 
to  even  an  approximate  number,  is  inclined  to  place  the  kings  of  Lagash  before  Shargani  and 
Naramsin.  Hilprecht  (Dabijl.  Exped.  of  Univ.  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  i.  p.  19)  believes  them  to  be 
anterior  to  Shargani-shar-ali ; he  asserts  that  this  king  reduced  the  kingdom  to  subjection,  and 
brought  its  kings  into  the  condition  of  vicegerents.  These  hypotheses  are  based  merely  on  artistic 
considerations,  whose  evidence  has  not  been  regarded  as  decisive  by  all  experts  (cf.  Maspero,  Sur  le 
relief  de  Naramsin,  in  the  Recueil,  vol.  xv.  pp.  65,  60).  The  interval  of  two  thousand  years  which  is 
assumed  to  have  elapsed  between  the  earliest  and  latest  sovereigns  of  these  primitive  dynasties  of 
Lagash  does  not  seem  to  be  justified  by  the  materials  yet  discovered.  The  importance  of  the  town 
was  not  of  so  long  duration : we  shall  act  wisely  if  we  place  its  earliest  sovereigns  three  or  four 
hundred  years  before  those  of  Uru,  Urbau  and  Dnngi  (Winckleii,  Untersucliungen,  p.  43). 

4 The  inscriptions  of  Urnina  were  published  in  Heczey-Sarzec,  Ddcouvertes  en  Chalde'e,  pi.  1, 
No.  2,  pi.  2,  Nos.  1,  2,  pi.  31 ; cf.  Heczey,  Les  Origines  Orientates  de  VArt,  vol.  i.  pp.  36-39.  Oppert 
(in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  VAcademie  des  Inscriptions,  1883,  pp.  76,  et  seq.),  Amiaud  (in  the  Records 
of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  64,  et  seq.  ; cf.  Heczey-Sarzec,  Ddcouvert°s  en  Ghaldde,  p.  xxix.), 
Jensen  (Keilsch.  Bibliothelc,  vol.  iii.  part  1,  pp.  10-15)  have  given  us  translations  of  the  monuments 
of  Urnina.  Hommel  pronounces  the  name  Urghanna  (Die  Konige  und  Patisi  von  Zirgulla,  in  the 
Zeitschrift  fur  Keilfurschung,  vol.  ii.  pp.  179,  et  seq.),  but  the  pronunciation  UrniDa,  without  claiming 
absolute  certainty,  seems  likely  to  prevail. 


ANCIENT  C II Ah  DAE  A. 


GOG 


lie  had  brought  from  Magan,  but  tliere  is  no  mention  in  them  o(  any  war.1  His 


IDINGIRANAGIN 
IN  HIS  CHARIOT 
LEADING  HIS  TROOPS.2 


son  Akurgal  was  also  a builder  of  tem- 
ples, but  his  grandson  Idingiranagin,3  who 
succeeded  Akurgal,  was  a warlike  and  combative  prince, 
fie  seems  to  have  been  the  ally,  or  possibly  the  suzerain,  of  Uru  and  Uruk ; 

he  carried  liis  expeditions  as  far  as  the  mountains  of 
Elam,  and  vanquished  the  troops  of  the  land  of 
Isban,  and  there  is  now  in  the  Louvre  a trophy 
’iich  he  dedicated  in  the  temple  of  Nin- 
girsu  on  his  return  from  the  campaign. 
It  is  a large  stele  of  close-grained 
white  limestone,  rounded  at  the 
top,  and  covered  with  scenes  and 
inscriptions  on  both  its  faces. 
One  of  these  faces  treats  only  of 
religious  subjects.  Two  warlike  god- 
desses, crowned  with  plumed  head-dresses 
and  crescent-shaped  horns,  are  placed  before 
a heap  of  weapons  and  various  other  objects, 
sent  some  of  the  booty  collected  in  the  cam- 
that  they  accompany  a tall  figure  of  a god  or  king, 


VULTURES  FEED- 
ING  UPON  THE  DEAD 


which  probably  repre 
paign.  It  would  appear 


1 Akurgal  was  first  noticed  by  Heuzey  (Les  Origines  Orientales  de  VArt , vol.  i.  p.  44) ; we  know 
of  him  up  to  the  present  only  from  the  monuments  of  his  father  and  his  sou. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  in  the  Louvre  (Heuzey,  Reconstruction  parlielle  de 
la  Stele  du  roi  Eannadu,  pi.  1 F1).  The  attendant  standing  behind  the  king  has  been  obliterated, 
but  we  see  clearly  tbe  contour  of  his  shoulder,  and  his  hands  holding  the  reins. 

3 The  name  of  this  prince  was  read  Eannadu  by  Heuzey,  following  Oppert  and  Amiaud. 

4 Isban-ki,  literally  “ Country  of  the  bow,”  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  texts  of  this  period 
(Oppert,  Inscriptions  archaiques  de  trois  briques  chalde'ennes,  in  the  Revue  d’ Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  p.  87), 
but  we  are  not  able  to  locate  it. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  fragment  of  a bas-relief  in  the  Louvre  (Heuzey-Sarzec, 
Dtfcouvertes  en  Chaldefe,  pi.  3 A). 


THE  VICEGERENTS  OF  LAGASR.  607 


possibly  that  of  the  deity  Ningirsu,  patron  of  Lagash  and  its  kings.  Nin- 
girsu  raises  in  one  hand  an  ensign,  of 
which  the  staff  bears  at  the  top  the 
royal  totem,  the  eagle  with  outspread 
wings  laying  hold  by  his  talons  of 
two  half-lions  back  to  back ; with 
the  other  hand  he  brings  a club 
down  heavily  upon  a group  of  pri- 
soners, who  struggle  at  his  feet  in 
the  meshes  of  a large  net.  This  is 
the  human  sacrifice  after  the  vic- 
tory, such  as  we  find  it  in  Egypt — 
the  offering  to  the  national  god  of  a 
tenth  of  the  captives,  who  struggle 
in  vain  to  escape  from  their  fate. 


THE  FIELD  OF  BATTLE  COVERED  WITH  CORPSES 


THE  SACRIFICE  FOR 
THE  DEAD  AFTER  TIIE 
BATTLE,2 


On  the  other  face  of  the  stele  the  battle  is 
at  its  height.  Idingiranagin,  standing  upright 
in  his  chariot,  which  is  guided  by  an  attendant, 
charges  the  enemy  at  the  head  of  his  troops, 
and  the  plain  is  covered  with  corpses  cut  down 
by  his  fierce  blows  : a flock  of  vultures  accom- 
pany him,  and  peck  at  each  other  in  their 
struggles  over  the  arms,  legs,  and  decapi- 
tated heads  of  the  vanquished.  Victory 
once  secured,  he  retraces  his  steps  to 
bestow  funeral  honours  upon  the 
dead.  The  bodies  raised  regularly 
in  piles  form  an  enormous  heap  : 
priests  or  soldiers  wearing  loin-cloths 
mount  to  its  top,  where  they  spread 
out  the  offerings  which  they  had 
The  sovereign,  moreover,  has  consigned  to 
execution  in  their  honour  a portion  of  the  prisoners,  and  deigns  to  kill  with  his 
own  hand  one  of  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  enemy.3  The  design  and  execution 


brought  up  in  their  reed-baskets. 


1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  fragment  of  a bas-rolief  in  the  Louvre  (Heuzey-Sarzec, 
DAcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  3 B). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  fragment  of  a bas-relief  in  the  Louvre  (Heuzey-Sarzec, 
ibid.,  pi.  3 C). 

This  is  the  monument  called  the  “ Stele  of  the  Vultures.”  M.  Heuzey  has  devoted  to  its 
consideration  several  very  interesting  articles,  which  he  has  collected  for  the  most  part  in  his  Etudes 
d’Archdologie  orientate,  vol.  i.  pp.  49-82  ; the  last  which  has  appeared  ( Reconstruction  de  la  Stile  du  roi 
Eannadu,  extracted  from  the  Comptes  rendus  de  V Acaddmie  des  Inscriptions,  1892,  vol.  xx.  pp.  2G2-274) 
announces  the  discovery  of  fresh  fragments  which  enable  us  to  understand  better  the  arrangement 


ANCIENT  CHALDEE  A. 


f>08 


of  (liese  scenes  are  singularly  rude;  men  and  beasts — indeed,  all  the  figures— 
have  exaggerated  proportions,  uncouth  forms,  awkward  positions,  and  an  uncer- 
tain and  heavy  gait.1  The  sculptors  of  Idingiranagin  were  merely  clumsy 
and  barbarous  workmen  in  comparison  with  the  artists  who  had  worked  for 
Xaramsin  long  before.  They  belonged  to  a provincial  school,  probably  of 
recent  formation  ; the  political  success  of  Lagash  had  probably  been  too  sudden 
to  allow  sufficient  leisure  to  the  craftsmen,  to  whom  the  recording  of  its 

fortunes  were  entrusted,  to  take  instruc- 
tion and  to  improve  their  style  at 
the  artistic  schools  of  the  great  and 
ancient  cities.  They  gave  to  the 
conquered  the  same  features  and 
the  same  costumes  as  those  with 
which  they  invested  the  conquerors; 
we  might,  therefore,  be  justified 
in  looking  for  the  site  of  Isban  in 
Chaldaea,  and  we  find,  indeed,  among 
the  conquests  of  which  Idingiranagin 
beasts,  and  of  which  he  refers  the  honour 
to  his  god,  at  least  one  Chalda?an  city — 
Uruk.8  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  take  into  account  the  supposition  that  the 
peoples  of  the  neighbouring  Elamite  regions  resembled  those  of  Chaldaea  both  in 
appearance  and  in  dress,  we  shall  be  tempted  to  place  Isban  in  Susian  territory  : 
Idingiranagin  meant  in  such  a case  to  represent  episodes  in  one  of  these 
wars  which  were  continually  carried  on  between  one  bank  of  the  Tigris  and  the 
other  with  varying  issues. 

The  prosperity  of  this  petty  local  dynasty  faded  quickly  away.  Whether 
it  was  that  its  resources  were  too  feeble  to  stand  for  any  length  of  time 
the  exigencies  and  strain  of  war,  or  that  intestine  strife  had  been  the  chief 
cause  of  its  decline,  we  cannot  say.  Its  kings  married  many  wives  and 
became  surrounded  with  a numerous  progeny : Urnina  had  at  least  four 


KING  URNINA  AND  IIIS  FAMILY. 


of  the  monument.  The  fragments  have  been  reproduced  in  part  by  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en 
Chaldee,  pis.  3,  4. 

1 For  the  different  views  of  this  monument,  see,  besides  the  notes  of  M.  Heuzey  quoted  above, 
F.  Reber,  Ueber  altchaldaische  Kunst , in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  22-24.  A small 
head  of  the  same  period  serves  as  a tail-piece  to  the  present  chapter,  p.  536  of  this  work  (cf.  Heuzey- 
Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  24,  No.  1). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  in  the  Louvre  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en 
Chaldee,  pi.  2 bis,  No.  2).  Cf.  another  bas-relief  of  the  same  king,  p.  707;  and  for  the  probable 
explanation  of  these  pierced  plaques,  see  p.  717  of  the  present  work. 

3 Heuzey-Sarzec,  De'couvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  31,  and  Genealogies  de  Sirpurla,  in  the  Revue 
d'Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  p.  81 ; Oitert,  Inscriptions  archaiques,  in  the  Revue  d'Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
86,  87. 


GUDEA. 


609 


sons.1  They  often  entrusted  to  their  children  or  their  sons-in-law  the  govern- 
ment of  the  small  towns  which  together  made  up  the  city  : these  represented 
so  many  temporary  fiefs,  of  which  the  holders  were  distinguished  by  the  title 
of  “vicegerents.”2  This  dismemberment  of  the  supreme  authority  in  the 
interests  of  princes,  who  believed  for  the  most  part  that  they  had  stronger 
claims  to  the  throne  than  its  occupant,  was  attended  with  dangers  to  peace 
and  to  the  permanence  of  the  dynasty.  Rivalries,  it  would  appear,  arose 
among  the  descendants  of  Idingiranagin,  and  speedily  brought  about  the 
fall  of  Lagash.  It  is  probable,  though  we  have  no  direct  evidence  of  the  fact, 
that  it  became  a dependency  of  some  neighbouring  state,  possibly  of  Uru:3 
in  any  case,  it  renounced,  either  willingly  or  under  compulsion,  any  claims 
to  royal  dignity,  and  its  rulers  were  content  with  the  title  of  “ vicegerents.”4 
The  texts  furnish  us  with  evidence  of  the  existence  of  at  least  half  a dozen 
descendants  of  Akurgal : Inannatuma  I.,  his  son  Intina,5  his  grandson  Inanna- 
tuma  II.,  and  others  of  uncertain  sequence,  followed  by  Urbau  and  his  son 
Gudea.6  These  were  all  piously  devoted  to  Ningirsu  in  general,  and  in 
particular  to  the  patron  of  their  choice  from  among  the  divinities  of  the 
country — Papsukal,  Dunziranna,  and  Ninagal.  They  restored  and  enriched 
the  temples  of  these  gods : they  dedicated  to  them  statues  or  oblation  vases 
for  the  welfare  of  themselves  and  their  families.  It  would  seem,  if  we  are  to 
trust  the  accounts  which  they  give  of  themselves,  that  their  lives  were  passed  in 

1 Several  bas-reliefs  from  Telloh  sliow  the  kings  surrounded  by  their  children  (HefzeY-SarzEc, 
Decouverles  en  Clialdee,  pi.  2 bis,  and  Genealogies  de  Sirpurla,  in  the  Revue  d’Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
82-84). 

2 Akurgal,  as  well  as  his  son  Idingiranagin,  seems  to  have  been  “ vicegerent  ” before  becoming 
“king”  of  Lagash  (Heuzey,  Genealogies  de  Sirpurla,  in  the  Revue  d’Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  82,  83). 

3 “I  think  that  it  is  difficult  not  to  see,”  in  the  change  of  title,  “an  indication  of  Sirpurla-ki’s 
loss  of  primitive  independence,  and  of  its  subjection  to  another  city,  probably  that  of  Ur.  ...  It  is 
true  that  Gudea  comes  before  us  as  a powerful  prince,  . . .”  but  “ dependence  has  many  grades,  and 
it  was  probably  purely  nominal ; France  has  had  experience  of  great  vassals  who  held  their  own 
against  the  king”  (Amiaud,  Sirpurla,  pp.  12,  13).  Egypt  also  is  an  illustration  in  the  history  of 
its  XIIIth  dynasty — about  the  time  of  Gudea— of  the  position  of  these  “ vicegerents  ” in  Chaldsea. 
We  have  seen  what  an  important  part  the  princes  of  the  nome  of  the  Gazelle  played  under  the  first 
kings  of  the  XIIth  dynasty,  and  the  prince  of  Hermopolis,  Thothotpu,  erected  statues  of  himself,  in 
comparison  with  which  the  highest  of  those  of  Gudea  are  of  small  altitude  (cf.  p.  341  of  the  present 
work). 

* The  order  of  succession  of  “kings”  and  “ \ icegerents ” is  not  quite  certain.  Heuzey  ( Etudes 
d’ Archeologie  Orientale,  vol.  i.  pp.  35-48) made  out  that  the  “kings”  preceded  the  “vicegerents,”  and 
his  opinion  has  been  generally  accepted  by  Assyriologists,  Amiaud  ( Sirpurla , p.  8,  et  seq.),  Hornmel 
( Geschichte  Bdbyloniens  und  Assyriens,  pp.  282  and  295,  et  seq.),  Winckler  (Ges.  Babyl.  und  Assyriens, 
pp.  40-44). 

5 The  name  of  this  individual  has  been  also  read  Entemena  (Jensen,  Nachtrag  zu  den  Inscliriften , 
in  the  Kcilschriftliclie  Bibliothelc,  vol.  in1.,  p.  72,  note  2).  Fragments  of  vases  which  lie  had  offered 
to  the  god  Bel  of  that  city  have  been  discovered  at  Nipur  (Hilprecht,  Babyl.  Exped.  of  Univ.  of  Penn., 
vol.  i.  p.  19). 

6 Their  inscriptions  have  been  translated  by  Amiaud  ( The  Insc.  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the 
Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  pp.  42-77,  aud  vol.  ii.  pp.  72-108 ; and  in  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en 
Chaldee,  p.  1,  et  seq.),  and  by  Jensen  ( Inscliriften , in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliothek,  vol.  iii.  part  1, 
pp.  16,  17),  following  Amiaud. 

2 R 


610 


ANCIENT  CHALDEE  A. 


-s  iTU*  i'': -•'  ‘ 

m 


profound  peace,  without  other  care  thau  that  of  fulfilling  their  duties  to  heaven 
and  its  ministers.  Their  actual  condition,  if  we  could  examine  it,  would 
doubtless  appear  less  agreeable  and  especially  less  equable;  revolutions  in  the 
palace  would  not  be  wanting,  nor  struggles  with  the  other  peoples  of  Chaldsea, 
with  Susiana  and  even  more  distant  nations.  Gudea,  son  of  Urbau,  who,  if  not 

the  most  powerful  of  these  princes,  is  at  least  the 
sovereign  of  whom  we  possess  the  greatest  number 
of  monuments,  captured  the  town  of  Anshan  in 
Elam,  and  this  is  probably  not  the  only  cam- 
paign in  which  he  took  part,1 2  for  he  speaks 
of  his  success  in  au  incidental  manner,  and 
as  if  he  were  in  a hurry  to  pass  to  more 
I interesting  subjects.  That  which  seemed 
to  him  important  in  his  reign,  and  which 
especially  called  forth  the  recognition  of 
posterity,  was  the  number  of  his  pious 
foundations,  distinguished  as  they  were  by 
beauty  and  magnificence.  The  gods  them- 
selves had  inspired  him  in  his  devout  under- 
takings, and  had  even  revealed  to  him  the 
plans  which  he  wras  to  carry  out.  An  old 
man  of  venerable  aspect  appeared  to  him  in  a 
vision,  and  commanded  him  to  build  a temple  : as 
did  not  know  with  whom  he  had  to  do,  Nina  his 
mother  informed  him  that  it  was  his  brother,  the  god 
Ningirsu.  This  having  been  made  clear,  a young 
woman  furnished  with  style  and  writing  tablet  was  presented  to  him — Nisaba, 
the  sister  of  Nina;  she  made  a drawing  in  his  presence,  and  put  before  him  the 
complete  model  of  a building.3  He  set  to  work  on  it  con  amove,  and  sent  for 
materials  to  the  most  distant  countries — to  Magan,  Amanus,  the  Lebanon,  and 
into  the  mountains  which  separate  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Tigris  from  that 
of  the  Euphrates.  The  sanctuaries  which  he  decorated,  and  of  which  he  felt  so 
proud,  are  to-day  mere  heaps  of  bricks,  now  returned  to  their  original  clay  ; but 
many  of  the  objects  which  he  placed  in  them,  and  especially  the  statues,  have 


THE  SACRIFICE.2 


1 Winckler  ( Untersuchungen , pp.  41-11,  and  Gescliichte,  pp.  4L-11),  Jensen  ( Keilschri/tliche 
B ibliothelc,  vol.  iii.  part  1,  pp.  7,  8).  Upon  the  close  relation!  of  the  “ vicegerents”  of  Lagask  to  the 
ancient  King  Urnina,  cf.  Heuzey,  Les  GifiiAxlogies  de  Sirpurla,  in  the  Rivui  d Ansy.iologie,  vol.  ii. 
p.  82,  et  seq. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucker-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  in  the  Louvre  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Dteouvertes, 
pi.  23). 

3 Zuluern,  Das  Traumgesicht  Gudea  s,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  .Assyriolugie,  vol.  iii.  pp.  232-235. 


THE  BAS-RELIEFS  AND  ST  A TEES  OF  GUDEA. 


611 


traversed  the  centuries  without  serious  damage  before  finding  a resting-place  in 
the  Louvre.  The  sculptors  of  Lagash,  after  the  time  of  Idingiranagin,  had 
been  instructed  in  a good  school,  and  had  learned  their  business.  Their 
bas-reliefs  are  not  so  good  as  those  of  Naramsin  ; the  execution  of  them  is  not 
so  refined,  the  drawing  less  delicate,  and  the  model- 
ling of  the  parts  not  so  well  thought  out.  A 
good  illustration  of  their  work  is  the  frag- 
ment of  a square  stele  which  represents  a 
scene  of  offering  or  sacrifice.1  We  see  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  picture  a female  singer, 
who  is  accompanied  by  a musician,  playing 
on  a lyre  ornamented  with  the  head  of  an  ox, 
and  a bull  in  the  act  of  walking.  In  the 
upper  part  an  individual  advances,  clad  in  a 
fringed  mantle,  and  bearing  in  his  right  hand 
a kind  of  round  paten,  and  in  his  left  a short 
staff.  An  acolyte  follows  him,  his  arms  brought 
up  to  his  breast,  while  another  individual 
marks,  by  clapping  his  hands,  the  rhythm  of 
the  ode  which  a singer  like  the  one  below  is 
reciting.  This  fragment  is  much  abraded, 
and  its  details,  not  being  clearly  exhibited, 
have  rather  to  be  guessed  at ; but  the  defaced 
aspect  which  time  has  produced  is  of  some 
service  to  it,  since  it  conceals  in  some  respect 
the  rudeness  of  its  workmanship.  The  statues, 

on  the  other  hand,  bear  evidence  of  a precision  of  chiselling  and  a skill  beyond 
question.  Not  that  there  are  no  faults  to  be  found  in  the  work.3  They  are 
squat,  thick,  and  heavy  in  form,  and  seem  oppressed  by  the  weight  of  the 
woollen  covering  with  which  the  Chaldeans  enveloped  themselves ; when 
viewed  closely,  they  excite  at  once  the  wonder  and  repulsion  of  an  eye  accus- 
tomed to  the  delicate  grace,  and  at  times  somewhat  slender  form,  which  usually 
characterized  the  good  statues  of  the  ancient  and  middle  empire  of  Egypt. 
But  when  we  have  got  over  the  effect  of  first  impressions,  we  can  but  admire 


SITTING  STATUE  OF  GUDEA.2 


1 Inscription  B,  11.  61-69;  cf.  Aiiiatjd,  The  Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past, 
2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  82;  and  Heuzey-Sarzec,  DCcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  xi. ; and  Jensen,  Inschriften, 
in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliotkeli,  vol.  iii.  part  1,  p.  39. 

2 Drawn  by  Fuucher-Gudin  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Fouilles  en  Chaldde,  pi.  20). 

3 Heuzey-Sarzec,  Dtfcuuvertes,  pis.  9-20.  Perrot-Chipiez,  Uistoire  de  l’ Art,  vol.  ii.  pp.  592-599, 
have  pointed  out  both  their  merits  and  defects  ; cf.  Oppert,  Die  Franzosischen  Ausgrabungen  in 
Clialdxa,  in  the  Verhandlungen  of  the  IV“*  Oriental  Congress,  vol.  ii.  pp.  236-238;  and  F.  Reber, 
Ueber  altchalddische  Kunst,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  25-35. 


<)  1 2 


ANCIENT  CBALD2EA. 


the  audacity  with  which  the  artists  attacked  their  material.  This  is  of  hard 
dolerite,  offering  great  resistance  to  the  tool — harder,  perhaps,  than  the  diorite 
out  of  which  the  Memphite  sculptor  had  to  cut  his  Khephren : they  succeeded 
in  mastering  it,  and  in  handling  it  as  freely  as  if  it  were  a block  of  limestone  or 
marble.  The  surface  of  the  breast  and  back,  the  muscular  development  of  the 
shoulders  and  arms,  the  details  of  the  hands  and  feet,  all  the  nude  portions, 

are  treated  at  once  with  a 
boldness  and  attention  to 
minutiae  rarely  met  with  in 
similar  works.  The  pose  is 
lacking  in  variety  ; the  in- 
dividual, whether  male  or 
female,  is  sometimes  repre- 
sented standing  and  some- 
times sitting  on  a low  seat, 
the  legs  brought  together, 
the  bust  rising  squarely 
from  the  hips,  the  hands 
crossed  upon  the  breast,  in 
a posture  of  submission  or 
respectful  adoration.  The 
mantle  passes  over  the  left 
shoulder,  leaving  the  right 
free,  and  is  fastened  on  the 
right  breast,  the  drapery  dis- 
playing awkward  and  artless 
folds  : the  latter  widens  in 
the  form  of  a funnel  from  top  to  bottom,  being  bell-shaped  around  the  lower 
part  of  the  body,  and  barely  leaves  the  ankles  exposed.  All  the  large  statues 
to  be  seen  at  the  Louvre  have  lost  their  heads;  fortunately  we  possess  a few 
separate  heads.1  Some  are  completely  shaven,  others  wear  a kind  of  turban 
affording  shade  to  the  forehead  and  eyes ; among  them  all  we  see  the  same 
qualities  and  defects  which  we  find  in  the  bodies : a hardness  of  expression, 
heaviness,  absence  of  vivacity,  and  yet  withal  a vigour  of  reproduction  and  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  human  anatomy.  These  are  instances  of  what  could  be 
accomplished  in  a city  of  secondary  rank ; better  things  were  doubtless  pro- 
duced in  the  great  cities,  such  as  Uru  and  Babylon.  Chaldtean  art,  as  we 

1 Besides  the  reproduction  on  p.  613  of  the  present  work,  another  of  almost  the  same  form, 
hut  without  the  turban  head-dress,  may  be  seen  in  Heezey-Sarzec,  DdcouverUs  en  Cluildge, 
pi.  12,  No.  2. 


URU  AND  ITS  FIRST  DYNASTY. 


613 


are  able  to  catch  a glimpse  of  it  in  the  monuments  of  Lagash,  had  neither 
the  litheness,  nor  animation,  nor  elegance  of 
Egyptian,  but  it  was  nevertheless  not  lacking 
force,  breadth,  and  originality.  Urningirsu  s; 

ceeded  his  father  Gud 
to  be  followed  rapidly 
several  successive 
gerents,  ending,  it 
appear,  in 

These  were  all  the  humble 
vassals  of  the  King  of  Uru, 

Dungi,  son  of  Urbau;1 2 3  a 
fact  which  tends  to  make 
us  regard  Urbau  as  having 
been  the  suzerain  upon 
whom  Gudea  himself  was 
dependent.4 5  It  is  with 
Urbau  and  Dungi,  in  fact,  that  the  city  of  Uru  comes 
into  history — nqt  that  we  are  to  assume  that  it  had  not, 
prior  to  these  kings,  one  or  more  dynasties  of  rulers ; 
they  are  merely  the  first  with  whom  we  are  acquainted. 

Uru,  the  only  city  among  those  of  Lower  Ch  aid  sea  hTATlE  ul  GUIIEA- 

which  stands  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  was  a small  but  strong  place, 
and  favourably  situated  for  becoming  one  of  the  commercial  and  industrial 
centres  in  these  distant  ages.6  The  Wady  Rummein,  not  far  distant,  brought  to 

1 The  order  in  which  these  princes  succeeded  each  other  is  uncertain.  Their  inscriptions  have 
been  translated  by  Amiaud,  The  Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  106-108),  and  by  Jensen,  Die  Inscliriften , in  the  Keilschriftliche  Fibliothele,  vol.  iii.  part  1,  pp. 
06-71,72-77. 

2 An  individual  named  Urningirsu  dedicated  to  the  goddess  Ninlil,  for  the  life  of  King  Dungi. 
a small  votive  wig  in  stone,  now  in  the  Berlin  Museum.  Winckler  recognizes  in  him  the  Urnin- 
girsu, son  of  Gudea,  who  succeeded  him  ( Untersuchungen , pp.  42,  157,  No.  7,  and  Geschiclite, 
p.  43;  cf.  Delitzsch-Murdter,  Geschiclite,  2nd  edit.,  p.  79).  Galalama  also  dedicated  a statue,  now 
broken  (Hedzey-Sarzec,  D&ouvertes,  pi.  21,  No.  4),  to  Bau,  the  mother  of  Lagasli,  for  the  life 
of  King  Dungi  (Amiaud,  The  Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii. 
p.  108  ; Jensen,  Die  Inscliriften  der  Konige,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bihliothek,  vol.  iii.  part  1,  pp.  70,  71). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  D&ouverles,  pi.  12,  No.  1);  cf.  the  small  head 
forming  t'.e  tail-piece  of  the  table  of  contents  of  this  chapter,  p.  536  of  the  present  work  ^Heczey- 
Sarzeo,  Ddcouvertes,  pi;  6,  No.  3). 

' Winckler,  Untersuchungen,  p.  42,  and  Gesehichte,  pp.  40,  42,  43;  Delitzsch-Murdter,  Geschiclite, 
2nd  edit.,  p.  79,  tacitly  admit  the  fact  in  making  Urningirsu  the  vassal  of  Dungi. 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Heuzey-Sarzec,  DCconvertes,  pi.  13. 

6 The  ruins  of  Uru,  at  Mugheir,  have  been  explored  and  described  by  Taylor  ( Notes  on  the  Ruins 
of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  of  Royal  Asiat.  Soc.,  1855,  vol.  xv.  p.  260,  et  seq.)  and  by  Loftus  ( Travels  and 
Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  pp.  127-135).  Hommel  has  carefully  collected  the  majority  of 
the  Ghaldsean  documents  bearing  on  the  ancient  town  and  its  building-',  and  the  time  and  character 


head  of  one  of  the  statues 

FROM  TELLOH.3 


ANCIENT  CHAIN M A. 


014 

it  the  riches  of  Central  and  Southern  Arabia,  gold,  precious  stones,  gums,  and 
odoriferous  resins  for  the  exigencies  of  worship.  Another  route,  marked  out  by 
wells,  traversed  the  desert  to  the  land  of  the  semi-fabulous  Mashu,  and  from 
thence  perhaps  penetrated  as  far  as  Southern  Syria  and  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula — 
Magan  and  Milukhkha  on  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea  this  was  not  the  easiest, 

but  it  was  the  most  direct 
route  for  those  going  to  Africa, 
and  products  of  Egypt  were 
no  doubt  carried  along  it  in 
order  to  reach  in  the  shortest 
time  the  markets  of  Uru. 
The  Euphrates  now  runs 
nearly  five  miles  to  the  north 
of  the  town,  but  in  ancient 
times  it  was  not  so  distant, 
but  passed  almost  by  its  gates. 
The  cedars,  cypresses,  and 
pines  of  Amanus  and  the 
Lebanon,  the  limestones, 
marbles,  and  hard  stones  of 
Upper  Syria,  were  brought 
down  to  it  by  boat ; and 
probably  also  metals — iron, 
copper,  and  lead2 — from  the  regions  bordering  the  Black  Sea.  The  Shatt-el- 
Hai,  moreover,  poured  its  waters  into  the  Euphrates  almost  opposite  the  city, 
and  opened  up  to  it  commercial  relations  with  the  Upper  and  Middle  Tigris.3 
And  this  was  not  ail ; whilst  some  of  its  boatmen  used  its  canals  and  rivers  as 
highways,  another  section  made  their  way  to  the  waters  of  the  Persian  Gulf  and 


of  their  construction  ( Die  Semitischen  Vollcer,  pp.  204-211 ; Gescliichte,  pp.  212-218).  The  informa- 
tion here  given  as  to  the  commerce  of  Uru  is  taken  from  the  inscriptions  of  Gudea;  the  sphere  of 
activity  of  the  vassal  state  must  correspond  with  sufficient  exactitude  with  that  of  the  suzerain 
kingdom.  The  passages  may  he  found  collected  together  by  Amiaud  ( Sirpurla , pp.  13-15),  Hommel 
( Geschichte , pp.  325-329),  Terrien  de  Lacouperie  (An  Unknown  King  of  Lagash,  in  the  Babylonian 
and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  iv.  pp.  193-208). 

1 On  these  two  routes,  cf.  Delattre,  L’Asie  Occidentale  dans  les  Inscriptions  Assyriennes,  pp.  133, 134. 

2 It  follows  from  the  inscriptions  of  Gudea  that  the  cedars  and  other  building  timber  required 
for  the  temples  came  from  the  Amanus  ( Statue  B,  col.  v.  1.  28,  et  seq. ; Amiaud,  The  Inscriptions  of 
Telloli,  in  the  Records  of  the  Fast,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  79),  and  the  length  of  the  beams  proves  that 
they  must  have  come  by  water,  in  the  form  of  raffs.  The  mountains  of  Phoenicia,  the  Lebanon  and 
Anti-Lebanon,  furnished  the  various  kinds  of  stone  employed  for  the  facing  of  the  walls,  or  for  the 
framework  of  the  doors  (id.,  col.  vi.  11.  5-20;  cf.  Heuzey-Sarzkc,  D&ouvertes , pp.  ix.-xi.). 

3 If  the  mountains  of  Tilla  (Amiaud,  Inscriptions  of  Telloli,  in  the  Records  of  the  Fast,  2nd  series, 
vol.  ii.  p.  80,  note  1)  may  be  placed  near  the  town  of  Tela,  or  the  mountains  which  separate  the 
Upper  Tigris  from  the  Middle  Euphrates,  it  was  by  means  of  the  Shatt-el-Hai  that  the  timber  of 
this  region  mentioned  on  Statue  B of  Gudea,  col.  v.  1.  53,  et  seq.,  must  have  been  brought  down. 


MARITIME  COMMERCE  OF  URU. 


615 


traded  with  the  ports  on  its  coast.  Eridu,  the  only  city  which  could  have 
barred  their  access  to  the  sea,  was  a town  given  up  to  religion,  and  existed 
only  for  its  temples  and  its  gods.1  It  was  not  long  before  it  fell  under 
the  influence  of  its  powerful  neighbour,  becoming  the  first  port  of  call  for 
vessels  proceeding  up  the  Euphrates.  In  the  time  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans 


AN  ARAB  CROSSING  THE  TIGRIS  IN  A “kTJFA.”2 

the  Chaldaeans  were  accustomed  to  navigate  the  Tigris  either  in  round 
flat-bottomed  boats,  of  little  draught — “ kufas,”  in  fact — or  on  rafts  placed 
upon  inflated  skins,  exactly  similar  in  appearance  and  construction  to  the 
“ keleks  ” of  our  own  day.3  These  keleks  were  as  much  at  home  on  the  sea  as 
upon  the  river,  and  they  may  still  be  found  in  the  Persian  Gulf  engaged  in  the 
coasting  trade.  Doubtless  many  of  these  were  included  among  the  vessels  of  Uni 
mentioned  in  the  texts,4  but  there  were  also  among  the  latter  those  long  large 

1 See  the  plan  of  Eridu  on  p.  614  of  the  present  work.  Sayce  ( Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians, 
pp.  134,  135)  thinks  that  Eridu  must  have  been  a frequented  port  in  early  Chaldsoan  times.  If  this 
were  the  ease,  it  must  have  ceased  to  be  so  in  the  period  under  discussion,  as  it  occupies  an  insig- 
nificant place  in  the  inscriptions  of  Gudea  (Terrien  de  Lacooperie,  An  Unknown  King  of  Lagasli, 
in  the  Babylonian  and  Oriental  Record,  vol.  iii.  p.  205). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Chesney,  Euphrates  Expedition,  vol.  i.  p.  640. 

3 The  description  of  boats  used  on  the  Tigris  has  been  very  faithfully  given  by  Herodotus  (i.  194). 
“Kufa,”  or  basket,  is  the  term  used  to  designate  them  (Chesney,  Euphrates  Expedition,  vol.  ii. 
p.  640);  cf.  p.  542  of  the  present  work.  The  “keleks”  were  employed  in  piratical  expeditions 
(Pliny,  Hist.  Nat , vi.  34)  or  for  trading  purposes  (Periplus  maris  Erythrxi,  § 27,  in  Muller-Didot, 
Geog.  Grxci  Minores,  vol.  i.  pp.  278,  279)  by  the  Arabs  of  the  coast;  they  still  serve  the  same 
purposes  among  the  people  dwelling  on  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf  (Sprenger,  Die  Alte  Geograiihie 
Arabiens,  p.  123). 

* For  instance,  the  list  published  in  the  W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  46,  No.  1,  col.  i.  1.  3,  which  has 
been  translated  by  Lenormant  ( Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  190-194). 


ANCIENT  CUALT)JEA. 


616 

rowing  boats  with  curved  stem  and  stern,  Egyptian  in  their  appearance,  which 
are  to  be  found  roughly  incised  on  some  ancient  cylinders.1  These  primitive 
fleets  were  not  disposed  to  risk  the  navigation  of  the  open  sea.  They  preferred 
to  proceed  slowly  along  the  shore,  hugging  it  in  all  cases,  except  when  it  was 
necessary  to  reach  some  group  of  neighbouring  islands  ; many  days  of  navigation 
were  thus  required  to  make  a passage  which  one  of  our  smallest  sail-boats  would 
effect  in  a few  hours,  and  at  the  end  of  their  longest  voyages  they  were  not  very 
distant  from  their  point  of  departure.  It  would  be  a great  mistake  to  suppose 
them  able  to  have  sailed  round  Arabia  and  to  have  fetched  blocks  of  stone  by 
sea  from  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula;  such  an  expedition,  which  would  have  been 
dangerous  even  for  Greek  or  Roman  galleys,  would  have  been  simply  impossible 
for  them.2  If  they  ever  crossed  the  Strait  of  Ormuzd,  it  was  an  exceptional 
thing,  their  ordinary  voyages  being  confined  within  the  limits  of  the  gulf. 
The  merchants  of  Uru  were  accustomed  to  visit  regularly  the  island  of  Dilmun, 
the  land  of  Magan,  the  countries  of  Milukhkha  and  Gubin  ; from  these  places 
they  brought  cargoes  of  diorite  for  their  sculptors,  building-timber  for  their 
architects,  perfumes  and  metals  transported  from  Yemen  by  land,  and  possibly 
pearls  from  the  Bahrein  Islands.  They  encountered  serious  rivalry  from  the 
sailors  of  Dilmun  and  Magan,  whose  maritime  tribes  were  then  as  now  accus- 
tomed to  scour  the  seas.3  The  risk  was  great  for  those  who  set  out  on  such 
expeditions,  perhaps  never  to  return,  but  the  profit  was  considerable.  Uru, 
enriched  by  its  commerce,  was  soon  in  a position  to  subjugate  the  petty 
neighbouring  States — Uruk,  Larsam,  Lagash,  and  Nipur.  Its  territory  formed  a 
fairly  extended  sovereignty,  whose  lords  entitled  themselves  kings  of  Shumir 
and  Akkad,  and  ruled  over  all  Southern  Chaldaea  for  many  centuries.4 

1 Menant,  Recherches  sur  la  Glyptique  orieutale,  vol.  i.  pp.  90,  100,  pi.  ii.  4. 

2 This  is,  however,  the  opinion  of  many  Assyriologists — Oppert  ( Die  Franzdsischen  Ausgrabungen 
in  Chaldxa , in  the  Abhandlungen  des  V'r'1  Orientalisten-Congresses,  Semit.  Sect.,  p.  238),  Winckler 
( Geschichte , pp.  43,  44,  327,  328),  supported  by  Brindley  and  Boscawen  ( Journ . of  Trans.  Victoria 
Inst.,  vol.  xxvi.  pp.  283,  et  seq.).  Others,  following  Perrot  ( Compiles  rendus  de  V Academic  des  Inscrip- 
tions, 1882,  and  Histoire  de  V Art,  vol.  ii.  p.  588,  note  2),  have  disputed  this  opinion — for  instance, 
Hommel  {Die  Semitischen  Volker,  pp.  217,  218,  459,  460,  and  Geschichte,  pp.  234,  235). 

3 The  vessels  of  Dilmun,  Magan,  and  Milukhkha  are  mentioned  alongside  those  of  Uru  (Rawlin- 
son,  W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  46,  col.  i.  11.  5-7 ; Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  p.  190). 

1 The  signification  of  the  expression  “ Shumir  and  Akkad”  has  not  yet  been  clearly  established. 
These  two  words,  which  enter  into  the  titles  of  so  many  Chaldaean  and  Assyrian  princes,  have  been 
the  subject  of  hypotheses  too  numerous  to  summarize.  Poguon  was  the  first  .to  show  that  they 
denoted  two  districts  of  the  territory  subject  to  the  kiugs  of  Babylon — Akkad,  on  the  confines  of 
Assyria,  and  Shumir,  whose  site  is  unknown  (L’ Inscription  de  Bavian,  pp.  125-134),  and  since  then 
Assyriologists  are  agreed  that  Akkad  signifies  especially  Upper  and  Shumir  Lower  Chaldaea. 
Winckler  tried  recently  to  prove  that  before  they  were  extended  to  cover  all  Chaldaea,  Shumir  and 
Akkad,  or,  in  non-Semitic  speech,  Kiengi-Urdu,  had  had  a more  restricted  application  to  a kingdom 
of  Southern  Chaldaea,  of  which  Uru  was  the  capital  ( Sumer  und  Ahlcad,  iu  the  Mitteilungen  des 
Ahademisch-Orientalischen  Vereins,  vol.  i.  pp.  6-14;  U ntersuchungen , p.  65,  et  seq.;  Geschichte,  pp.  19, 
20,  23-25,  etc.).  Lehmann  has  called  this  opinion  in  question  ( Schamaschschumuhin , Konig  von 
Jiabylonien,  p.  68,  et  seq.),  and  the  matter  remains  doubtful. 


URBAU  AND  DUNG I. 


617 


Urbau,  the  earliest  of  these  kings,  reigned  sometime  about  2900  b.c.1 2  He 
was  an  energetic  builder,  and  material  traces  of  his  activity  are  to  be  found 
everywhere  throughout  the  country.  The  temple  of  the  Sun  at  Larsam,  the 
temple  of  Nina,  in  Uruk,  and  the  temples  of  Inlilla  and  Ninlilla  in  Nipur, 


AN  ASSYRIAN  KELEK  LADEN  WITH  BUILDING -STONE. 2 


were  indebted  to  him  for  their  origin  or  restoration  ; he  decorated  or  repaired 
all  structures  which  were  not  of  his  own  erection  : in  Uru  itself  the  sanctuary 
of  the  moon-god  owes  its  foundation  to  him,  and  the  fortifications  of  the  city 
were  his  work.3  l)ungi,  his  son,4  was  an  indefatigable  bricklayer,  like  his 

1 The  history  of  the  name  of  this  prince  would  furnish  in  itself  matter  for  an  interesting  memoir. 
II.  Eawlinson  read  it  “ Urukh  ” (On  the  Early  Hist,  of  Babylonia,  in  G.  Kawlinson’s  Herodotus,  vol.  i. 
pp.  353,  351),  and  Hincks  “ Huriyak  ” (Journ.  of  Sac.  Lit.  and  Biblical  Record,  1862),  influenced  by 
the  King  Arioch  of  Genesis  xiv.  1 ; Oppert  (Exped.  en  Mdsopot.,  vol.  i.  p.  2G0,  note  2,  and  Hist,  des 
Empires  de  Chaldee  et  d’Aisyrie,  p.  16,  et  seq.)  prefers  to  cite  the  “Pater  Orchamus”  of  Ovid 
(Mdtamorph.,  bk.  iv.  212),  and  proposed  confidently  the  reading  Urkliam,  Orkham,  which  prevailed 
for  some  time.  Then  followed  Urbagas,  Urbagus,  Likbagas,  Eabagas,  Urbabi,  Likbabi,  Tasbabi 
(Lenormant,  Tre  monumenti  Caldei  ed  Assiri  delle  collezioni  romane,  pp.  11-13),  Amilapsi  (Schrader- 
Haupt,  Die  Keilinschr.  und  das  Alte  Testament,  2nd  edit.,  p.  94,  note  129),  Urea  or  Aradea  (Ed. 
Meyer,  Geschichte  des  Alterthums,  vol.  i.  p.  164,  note  1,  following  Delitzsch),  Urbau,  Urbavi  (Hojimel, 
Die  Semitischen  Volker,  vol.  i.  p.  380;  Geschichte,  p.  331,  et  seq.),  Urgur  (Deliizsch-Murdter, 
Geschichte,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  77,  78).  The  reading  Urbau  is  not  certain,  but  this,  as  well  as  Urgur,  has 
for  the  time  found  most  favour  with  Assyriologists. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a bas-relief  from  Kuy  unjik  (Layard,  The  Monuments  of  Nineveh, 
2nd  series,  pi.  13;  cf.  Place,  Ninive  et  VAssyrie,  pi.  43,  No.  1). 

3 Larsam,  inscription  on  a brick  found  in  a tomb  (Eawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  5,  No.  i.  7); 
Uruk,  inscription  on  a brick  from  Warka  (IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  1,  No.  i.  6);  for  Nipur  we  have 
inscriptions  on  a black  stone  and  on  a brick  found  at  Niffer  (IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  1,  No.  i.  8,  9); 
Uru,  inscriptions  on  bricks  and  cones  from  Mugheir  (IF  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  1,  No.  i.  1-5),  and  in 
a passage  on  the  cylinder  of  Nabonidos  (IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  68,  No.  1,  col.  i.  11.  5-27).  These  docu- 
ments have  been  collected  and  translated  by  Oppert  ( Histoire  des  Empires  de  Ch abide  et  d’Assyrie, 
pp.  16-20),  by  Smith  (Early  Hist,  of  Babylonia,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arcli.  Soc.,  vol.  i. 
pp.  34,  35),  by  Me'nant  (Babylone  et  la  Ghaldde,  pp.  73-75),  by  Winckler  (Inschriften  von  Konigen , 
in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliothele,  vol.  iii.  part  1,  pp.  76-81). 

4 The  name,  at  first  read  Ilgi,  Elgi,  is  now  generally  pronounced  Dungi;  the  reading  Sulgi 
(Schrader,  Keilschriften  und  Geschichtsforschung,  p.  84)  has  not  held  its  ground.  Both  the  sound 
and  the  meaning  are  uncertain;  Winckler  (Inschriften,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliollitlt,  vol.  iii. 
part  1,  p.  80,  note  3)  thinks  that  it  answers  to  something  like  Bau-ukin  in  Semitic  speech, 


ANCIENT  C HALVA: A. 


618 

father:  lie  completed  the  sanctuary  of  the  moon-god,  and  constructed  buildings 
in  Uruk,  Lagash,  and  Kutha.1  There  is  no  indication  in  the  inscriptions  of  his 
having  been  engaged  in  any  civil  struggle  or  in  war  with  a foreign  nation  ; we 
should  make  a serious  mistake,  however,  if  we  concluded  from  this  silence  that 
peace  was  not  disturbed  in  his  time.  The  tie  which  bound  together  the  petty 
states  of  which  Uru  was  composed  was  of  the  slightest.  The  sovereign  could 
barely  claim  as  his  own  more  than  the  capital  and  the  district  surrounding  it; 
the  other  cities  recognized  his  authority,  paid  him  tribute,  did  homage  to  him 
in  religious  matters,  and  doubtless  rendered  him  military  service  also,  but  each 
one  of  them  nevertheless  maintained  its  particular  constitution  and  obeyed  its 
hereditary  lords.  These  lords,  it  is  true,  lost  their  title  of  king,  which  now 
belonged  exclusively  to  their  suzerain,  and  each  one  had  to  be  content  in  his 
district  with  the  simple  designation  of  “ vicegerent;  ” but  having  once  fulfilled 
their  feudal  obligations,  they  had  absolute  power  over  their  ancient  domains,  and 
were  able  to  transmit  to  their  progeny  the  inheritance  they  had  received  from 
their  fathers.  Gudea  probably,  and  most  certainly  his  successors,  ruled  in  this 
way  over  Lagash,  as  a fief  depending  on  the  crown  of  Uru.2  After  the  manner 
of  the  Egyptian  barons,  the  vassals  of  the  kings  of  Chaldaea  submitted  to  the 
control  of  their  suzerain  without  resenting  his  authority  as  long  as  they  felt 
the  curbing  influence  of  a strong  hand  : but  on  the  least  sign  of  feebleness  in 
their  master  they  reasserted  themselves,  and  endeavoured  to  recover  their 
independence.  A reign  of  any  length  was  sure  to  be  disturbed  by  rebellions 
sometimes  difficult  to  repress : if  we  are  ignorant  of  any  such,  it  is  owing  to 
the  fact  that  inscriptions  hitherto  discovered  are  found  upon  objects  upon  which 
an  account  of  a battle  would  hardly  find  a fitting  place,  such  as  bricks  from  a 


1 The  completion  of  the  temple  of  Uru,  indicated  by  the  passage  already  cited  frcni  the  cylinder 
of  Nabonidos  (Raw'linson,  TF  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  68,  No.  i.  col.  i.  11.  5-27),  is  confirmed  by  the  dis- 
covery at  Muglieir  of  ruins  containing  the  name  of  Dungi  (IF.  A.  7n.sc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  2,  No.  ii.  1,  2); 
constructions  in  the  temple  of  Uruk  (TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  2,  No.  3);  construction  of  the  temple  of 
Ninmar  at  Girsu,  on  a black  stone  found  at  Tell-id  (TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  2,  Nos.  2,  4);  constructions 
in  the  temple  of  Nergal  at  Kutha,  from  a copy  made  from  the  original  document  in  the  time  of  the 
second  13aby Ionian  Empire  (Pinches,  Guide  to  the  Nimrud  Central  Salon,  p.  69;  Winckler,  Sumer 
und  Alihad,  in  the  Mitt,  des  Ah.  Oriental! sclien  Vereins,  vol.  i.  pp.  11,  16,  No.  1;  Amiaud,  L' Inscrip- 
tion assyrienne  de  Doungi,  in  the  Zeitsclirift  fur  Assyriolcgie,  vol.  iii.  pp.  94,  95).  These  documents 
have  been  collected  and  translated  by  Smith  ( Early  Hist,  of  Babylonia,  iu  the  Transactions  of  Bibl. 
Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  i.  pp.  36,  37),  and  by  Winckler  ( Inschriften , in  the  Eeilschriftliche  Bibliotheh,  vol.  iii. 
pi.  |l,  pp.  80-83).  Hommel  ( Gescliichte , p.  337)  believes  that  the  authority  of  Dungi  extended  to 
Nineveh  ; Amiaud  has  shown  (L'Inscript.  de  Dounghi,  in  the  Zeitsclirift  fur  Assyr.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  91,  95) 
that  the  document  upon  which  Hommel  relies  applies  to  a quarter  of  Lagash  called  Nina,  and  not  to 
Nineveh  or  Assyria. 

2 Cf.  p.  613  of  the  present  work.  Alongside  the  princes  of  Lagash  we  can  cite  Khashkhamir, 
prince  of  the  town  of  Ishkunsin  under  Urbau  (Rawlinson,  TF  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  1,  No.  10),  Killula- 
Guzalal,  son  of  Urbabi,  prince  of  Kutha  (TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  35,  No.  2;  cf.  Asiiaid, L’h  sc.  H.  de 
Gudea,  in  the  Zeitsclirift  fur  Assyriolcgie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  291-293),  and  Urananbad,  son  of  Lugalsharkhi, 
prince  of  Nipur  (Menant,  Cat.  Coll,  de  Clercq,  vol.  i.  pi.  x.  No.  86;  cf.  A shat  d,  L’Irsc.  B.  de  Gudea, 
pp.  295,  296),  under  Dungi ; cf.  the  cylinder  of  the  latter,  p.  623  of  the  present  work. 


TEE  KINGS  OF  LAN  SAM,  NISHIM,  AND  UR  UK. 


619 


temple,  votive  cones  or  cylinders  of  terra-cotta,  amulets  or  private  seals.  We 
are  still  in  ignorance  as  to  Dungi’s  successors,  and  the  number  of  years 
during  which  this  first  dynasty  was  able  to  prolong  its  existence.  We  can  but 
guess  that  its  empire  broke  up  by  disintegration  after  a period  of  no  long 
duration.  Its  cities  for  the  most  part  became  emancipated,  and  their  rulers 
proclaimed  themselves  kings  once  more.1  We  see  that  the  kingdom  of 
Amnanu,  for  instance,  was  established  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  with 
Uruk  as  its  capital,  and  that  three  successive  sovereigns  at  least — of  whom 
Singashid 2 seems  to  have  been  the  most  active— were  able  to  hold  their  own 
there.  Uru  had  still,  however,  sufficient  prestige  and  wealth  to  make  it  the 
actual  metropolis  of  the  entire  country.  No  one  could  become  the  legitimate 
lord  of  Shumir  and  Accad 3 before  he  had  been  solemnly  enthroned  in  the 
temple  at  Uru.  For  many  centuries  every  ambitious  kinglet  in  turn  contended 
for  its  possession  and  made  it  his  residence.  The  first  of  these,  about  2500  b.c., 
were  the  lords  of  Nishin,  Libitanunit,  Gamiladar,  and  Ismidagan  : 4 after- 
wards, about  2400  B.c.,  Gungunum  of  Nipur  made  himself  master  of  it.5  The 
descendants  of  Gungunum  were  dispossessed  in  their  turn  by  a family  belonging 
to  Larsam,  whose  two  chief  representatives,  as  far  as  we  know,  were  Nurramman 
and  his  son  Sinidinnam  (about  2300  b.c.).  Naturally  enough,  Sinidinnam  was 
a builder  or  repairer  of  temples,  but  he  added  to  such  work  the  clearing  of  the 
Shatt-el-Hai  and  the  excavation  of  a new  canal  giving  a more  direct  communi- 
cation between  the  Shatt  and  the  Tigris,  and  in  thus  controlling  the  water 
system  of  the  country  became  worthy  of  being  considered  one  of  the  benefactors 
of  Chaldsea.6 

We  have  here  the  mere  dust  of  history,  rather  than  history  itself:  here  an 
isolated  individual  makes  his  appearance  in  the  record  of  his  name,  to  vanish 
when  we  attempt  to  lay  hold  of  him  ; there,  the  stem  of  a dynasty  which  breaks 
abruptly  off,  pompous  preambles,  devout  formulas,  dedications  of  objects  or 

1 The  order  and  duration  of  these  local  dynasties  are  not  accurately  determined : the  arrange- 
ment I have  adopted  differs  in  some  respects  from  those  of  Tiele  ( Assyr . Babyl.  Geschichte,  p.  116, 
et  seq.),  Delitzsch-Murdter  (Geschichte,  2nd  edit.,  p.  79,  et  seq.),  Winckler  ( Geschichte  Babyl.  unci 
Assyr.,  p.  44,  et  seq.),  Hommel  ( Geschichte , p.  338,  et  seq.).  The  preponderating  influence  of  Uru 
is  the  sole  certain  fact  brought  to  light  by  research  up  to  the  present. 

2 The  inscriptions  of  Singashid,  Singa.mil,  and  Bilbauakhi — the  only  kings  of  Amnanu  known 
to  us — have  been  collected  and  translated  in  their  latest  form  by  Winckler  ( Inschriften , in  the  Keil- 
schriftliclie  Bibliothek,  vol.  iii.  pi.  1,  pp.  82-85). 

3 Tliis  fact,  which  was  first  brought  to  light  by  Winckler  ( Untersuchungen  zur  altorientalischen 
Geschichte,  p.  45,  et  seq.),  stands  out  in  the  whole  history  of  Southern  Chaldsea  at  this  period. 

4 See  in  Winckler  ( Inschriften , in  the  Keilschriftliclie  Bibliothek,  vol.  iii.  part  1,  pp.  84-87)  the 
chief  inscriptions  of  these  kings  of  Nishin  or  Islnn. 

5 Gungunum  and  his  successors  form  the  so-called  IInd  dynasty  of  Uru.  Winckler  (Inschriften, 
in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliothek,  vol.  iv.  pi.  1,  pp.  86-93)  has  lately  collected  and  translated 
their  inscriptions. 

6 F.  Delitzsch,  Bin  Thonkegel  Sinidinnams,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Aseyriologie,  vol.  i.  pp.  301-311, 
and  in  the  note  Larsa-Ellasar  inserted  in  Delitzsch,  Commentar  uber  die  Genesis,  1887,  p.  542. 


ANCIENT  CEALDJEA. 


620 

buildings,  here  and  there  the  account  of  some  battle,  or  the  indication  of  some 
foreign  country  with  which  relations  of  friendship  or  commerce  were  maintained, 
— these  are  the  scanty  materials  out  of  which  to  construct  a connected  narrative. 
Egypt  has  not  much  more  to  offer  us  in  regard  to  many  of  her  Pharaohs,  but  we 
have  in  her  case  at  least  the  ascertained  framework  of  her  dynasties,  in  which 
each  fact  and  each  new  name  falls  eventually,  and  after  some  uncertainty,  into 
its  proper  place.  The  main  outlines  of  the  picture  are  drawn  with  sufficient 
exactitude  to  require  no  readjustment,  the  groups  are  for  the  most  part  in  their 
fitting  positions,  the  blank  spaces  or  positions  not  properly  occupied  are 
gradually  restricted,  and  filled  in  from  day  to  day  ; the  expected  moment  is 
in  sight  when,  the  arrangement  of  the  whole  being  accomplished,  it  will  be 
necessary  only  to  fill  in  the  details.  In  the  case  of  Chaldaea  the  framework 
itself  is  wanting,  and  expedients  must  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  classify  the 
elements  entering  into  its  composition.  Naramsin  is  in  his  proper  place,  or 
nearly  so  ; but  as  for  Gudea,  what  interval  separates  him  from  Naramsin,  and  at 
what  distance  from  Gudea  are  we  to  place  the  kings  of  Uru  ? The  beginnings 
of  Chaldsea  have  merely  a provisional  history  : the  facts  in  it  are  certain,  but 
the  connection  of  the  facts  with  one  another  is  too  often  a matter  of  doubt. 
The  arrangement  which  is  put  forward  at  present  can  be  regarded  only  as 
probable,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  propose  a better  until  the  excavations 
have  furnished  us  with  fresh  material ; it  must  be  accepted  merely  as  an  attempt, 
without  pledging  to  it  our  confidence  on  the  one  hand,  or  regarding  it  with 
scepticism  on  the  other. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  HODS 
OF  CHALDiEA. 


THE  CONSTRUCTION  AND  REVENUES  OF  THE  TEAIPLES— THE  POPULAR  GODS  AND  THE 
THEOLOGICAL  TRIADS — THE  DEAD  AND  HADES. 

Chaldcean  cities:  the  resemblance  of  their  ruins  to  natural  mounds  caused  by  their  exclusive 
use  of  brick  as  a building  material — Their  city  walls:  the  temples  and  local  gods ; reconstruction 
of  their  history  by  means  of  the  stamped  bricks  of  which  they  were  built — The  two  types  of 
ziggurdt : the  arrangement  of  the  temple  of  Nannar  at  Urn. 

The  tribes  of  the  Chaldoean  gods — Genii-  hostile  to  men,  their  monstrous  shapes;  the  south- 
west wind ; friendly  genii — The  Seven,  and  their  attacks  on  the  moon-god ; Gib il,  the  fire-god, 
overcomes  them  and  their  snares  — The  Sumerian  gods;  Ningirsu:  the  difficulty  of  defining 
them  and  of  understanding  the  nature  of  them  ; they  become  merged  in  the  Semitic  deities. 

Characteristics  and  dispositions  of  the  Chaldoean  gods:  the  goddesses,  like  women  of  the 
harem,  are  practically  nonentities;  Mylitta  and  her  meretricious  rites — The  divine  aristocracy 
and  its  principal  representatives:  their  relations  to  the  earth,  oracles,  speaking  statues,  house- 
hold. gods — The  gods  of  each  city  do  not  exclude  those  of  neighbouring  cities:  their  alliances  and 
their  borrowings  from  one  another — The  sky-gods  and  the  earth-gods,  the  sidereal  gods:  the 
moon  and  the  sun. 

The  feudal  gods:  several  among  them  unite  to  govern  the  world ; the  two  triads  of  Eridu— 
The  supreme  triad  : Ann  the  heaven  ; Bel  the  earth  and  his  fusion  with  the  Babylonian  Mtrodach ; 
Ea,  the  god  of  the  waters — The  second  triad:  Sin  the  moon  and  Shcimash  the  sun;  substitu- 
tion of  Rumman  for  Ishtar  in  this  triad;  the  winds  and  the  legend  of  Adapa,  the  attributes 


( G22  ) 

of  Ramman — The  addition  of  goddesses  to  these  two  tricots;  the  insignificant  position  U'hich 
they  occupy. 

The  assembly  of  the  gods  governs  the  world:  the  bird  Zu  steeds  the  tablets  of  destiny — 
Destinies  are  written  in  the  heavens  and  determined  by  the  movements  of  the  stars;  comets  and 
their  presiding  deities,  Nebo  and  Islitar — The  numerical  value  of  the  gods — The  arrangement 
of  the  temples,  the  load  priesthood,  festivals,  revenues  of  the  gods  and  gifts  made  to  them — 
Sacrifices,  the  expiation  of  crimes — Death  and  the  future  of  the  soul — Tombs  and  the  crema- 
tion of  the  dead;  the  royal  sepulchres  and  funerary  rites — Hades  and  its  sovereigns : Nergal, 
Allat , the  descent  of  Ishtar  into  the  infernal  regions,  and  the  possibility  of  a resurrection — The 
invocation  of  the  dead — The  ascension  of  Etaua. 


LIBATION  UPON  THE  ALTAR  AND  SACRIFICE  IN  THE  PRESENCE  OF  THE  GOD.1 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CHALD/EA, 


The  construction  and  revenues  of  the  temples — Popular  gods  and  theological  triads — The  dead 

and  Hades. 


IJHE  cities  of  the  Euphrates  attract  no  attention,  like  those  of  the 
Nile,  by  the  magnificence  of  their  ruins,  which  are  witnesses, 
even  after  centuries  of  neglect,  to  the  activity  of  a powerful 
and  industrious  people : on  the  contrary,  they  are  merely 
heaps  of  rubbish  in  which  no  architectural  outline  can  be 
distinguished — mounds  of  stiff  and  greyish  clay,  cracked  by 
the  sun,  washed  into  deep  crevasses  by  the  rain,  and  bearing 
no  apparent  traces  of  the  handiwork  of  man.  In  the 
estimation  of  the  Ckaldaean  architects,  stone  was  a 
material  of  secondary  consideration : as  it  was  necessary 
to  bring  it  from  a great  distance  and  at  considerable 
expense,  they  used  it  very  sparingly,  and  then  merely  for 
lintels,  uprights,  thresholds,  for  hinges  on  which  to  hang 
their  doors,  for  dressings  in  some  of  their  State  apartments,  in  cornices  or 
sculptured  friezes  on  the  external  walls  of  their  buildings;  and  even  then  its 


employment  suggested  rather  that  of  a band  of  embroidery  carefully  dis- 
posed on  some  garment  to  relieve  the  plainness  of  the  material.  Crude  brick, 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  seal  of  two  “vicegerents”  of  Nipur  (cf.  Menant,- 
Catalogue  de  la  Collection  de  M.  de  C^ercq,  vol.  i.  pi.  x.,  No.  86;  cf.  p.  618,  note  2,  of  the  present 
Volume).  The  intaglio,  which  is  of  sapphirine  chalcedony,  measures  12  inch  in  height.  The  initial 
vignette,  which  is  also  by  Faucher-Gudin,  represents  the  figure  of  a priest  or  scribe  as  restored 
by  M.  Hcuzey  for  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1889  (cf.  Heuzev,  Les  Origines  orientates  de  Vart,  vol.  i. 
frontispiece  and  pi.  xi.). 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CIlALDsEA. 


(524 


burnt  brick,  enamelled  brick,  but  always  and  everywhere  brick  was  the 
principal  element  in  their  construction.1  The  soil  of  the  marshes  or  of  the 
plains,  separated  from  the  pebbles  and  foreign  substances  which  it  contained, 
mixed  with  grass  or  chopped  straw,  moistened  with  water,  and  assiduously 

trodden  underfoot,  furnished 
the  ancient  builders  with 
materials  of  incredible  tena- 
city. This  was  moulded 
into  thin  square  bricks,  eight 
inches  to  a foot  across,  and 
three  to  four  inches  thick, 
but  rarely  larger : they  were 
stamped  on  the  flat  side,  by 
means  of  an  incised  wooden 
block,  with  the  name  of  the 
reigning  sovereign,  and  were 
then  dried  in  the  sun.2  A 
layer  of  fine  mortar  or  of 
bitumen  was  sometimes 
spread  between  the  courses, 
or  handfuls  of  reeds  would 
be  strewn  at  intervals  be- 
tween the  brickwork  to  increase  the  cohesion  : more  frequently  the  crude 
bricks  were  piled  one  upon  another,  and  their  natural  softness  and  moisture 
brought  about  their  rapid  agglutination.3  As  the  building  proceeded,  the 
weight  of  the  courses  served  to  increase  still  further  the  adherence  of  the  layers : 


1 For  the  different  sorts  of  building  materials  in  use  among  the  Chaldseans  from  earliest 
antiquity,  see  Perrot-Ciuplez,  Histoire  de  VArt  dans  V Antiquit e,  vol.  ii.  pp.  113-125. 

2 The  making  of  bricks  for  the  Assyrian  monuments  of  the  time  of  the  Sargonids  has  been 
minutely  described  by  Place,  Ninive  et  VAssyrie,  vol.  i.  pp.  211-214.  The  methods  of  procedure  were 
exactly  the  same  as  those  used  under  the  earliest  king  known,  as  has  been  proved  by  the  examina- 
tion of  the  bricks  taken  from  the  monuments  of  Uru  and  Lagash. 

2 This  method  of  building  was  noticed  by  classical  writers  (Herodotus,  i.  179).  The  word 
“ Bowarieh,”  borne  by  several  ancient  mounds  in  Chaidsea,  signifies,  properly  speaking,  a mat  of 
reeds  (Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  1G8);  it  is  applied  only  to  such 
buildings  as  are  apparently  constructed  with  alternate  layers  of  brick  and  dried  reeds.  The  propor- 
tion of  these  layers  differs  in  certaiu  localities:  in  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  temple  of  Belos  at 
Babylon,  now  called  the  “ Mujelibeh,”  the  lines  of  straw  and  reeds  run  uninterruptedly  between 
each  course  of  bricks  (Ker  Porter,  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  341) ; in  the  ruins  of  Akkerkuf,  they  only 
occur  at  wider  intervals — according  to  Niebuhr  and  Ives,  every  seventh  or  eighth  course;  according 
to  Raymond,  every  seventh  course,  or  sometimes  every  fifth  or  sixth  course,  but  in  these  cases  the 
layer  of  reeds  becomes  3£  to  3f  inches  wide  (Rich,  Voyage  aux  ruints  de  Bahylone,  Raymond’s 
translation,  p.  9G,  etseq. ; Ker  Porter,  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  278).  H.  Rawlinson  thinks,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  all  the  monuments  in  which  we  find  layers  of  straw  and  reeds  between  the  brick 
courses  belong  to  the  Parthian  period  (in  G.  Rawlinson’s  Herodotus,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  253, 
uote  4). 


THE  CITIES  AND  THEIR  WALLS. 


625 


the  walls  soon  became  consolidated  into  a compact  mass,  in  which  the  horizontal 
strata  were  distinguishable  only  by  the  varied  tints  of  the  clay  used  to  make 
the  different  relays  of  bricks.1 2  Monuments  constructed  of  such  a plastic 
material  required  constant  attention  and  frequent  repairs,  to  keep  them  in  good 
condition : after  a few  years  of  neglect  they  became  quite  disfigured,  the  houses 
suffered  a partial  dissolution 
in  every  storm,  the  streets 
were  covered  with  a coating 
of  fine  mud,  and  the  general 
outline  of  the  buildings  and 
habitations  grew  blurred  and 
defaced.  Whilst  in  Egypt 
the  main  features  of  the 
towns  are  still  traceable  above 
ground,  and  are  so  well  pre- 
served in  places  that,  while 
excavating  them,  we  are  car- 
ried away  from  the  present 
into  the  world  of  the  past, 
the  Chaldsean  cities,  on  the 
contrary,  are  so  overthrown 
and  seem  to  have  returned  so 
thoroughly  to  the  dust  from  which  their  founders  raised  them,  that  the  most 
patient  research  and  the  most  enlightened  imagination  can  only  imperfectly 
reconstitute  their  arrangement. 

The  towns  were  not  included  within  those  square  or  rectangular  enclosures 
with  which  the  engineers  of  the  Pharaohs  fortified  their  strongholds.  The 
ground-plan  of  Uru  was  an  oval,3  that  of  Larsam  formed  almost  a circle 
upon  the  soil,4  while  Uruk  and  Eridu  resembled  in  shape  a sort  of  irregular 
trapezium.5  The  curtain  of  the  citadel  looked  down  on  the  plain  from 
a great  height,  so  that  the  defenders  were  almost  out  of  reach  of  the 
arrows  or  slings  of  the  besiegers  : the  remains  of  the  ramparts  at  Uruk  at 
the  present  day  are  still  forty  to  fifty  feet  high,  and  twenty  or  more  feet  in 

1 Place,  Ninive  et  VAssyrie,  vol.  i.  pp.  26,  27. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucker-Grudin,  from  a brick  preserved  in  the  Louvre.  The  bricks  bearing  his- 
torical inscriptions,  which  are  sometimes  met  with,  appear  to  have  been  mostly  ex-voto  offerings 
placed  somewhere  prominently,  and  not  building  materials  hidden  in  the  masonry. 

3 See  the  plan  of  the  ruins  of  Uru  at  Mugheir,  p.  612  of  this  History. 

4 This  appears  to  have  been  the  case  from  the  description  given  by  Loftus  of  these  ruins  ( Travels 
and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  244,  et  seq.);  as  far  as  I am  aware,  no  plan  exists  of 
this  town. 

5 See  the  plan  of  the  ruins  of  Eridu  at  Abu  Shahrein,  p.  614  of  this  History. 

2 s 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  TT1E  GODS  OF  CHALD2EA. 


626 

thickness  at  the  top.  Narrow  turrets  projected  at  intervals  of  every  fifty  feet 
along  the  face  of  the  wall:  the  excavations  have  not  been  sufficiently  pursued 
to  permit  of  our  seeing  what  system  of  defence  was  applied  to  the  entrances.1 
The  area  described  by  these  cities  was  often  very  large,  but  the  population  in 
them  was  distributed  very  unequally  ; the  temples  in  the  different  quarters 
formed  centres  around  which  clustered  the  dwellings  of  the  inhabitants,  some- 
times densely  packed,  and  at  others  thinly  scattered.  The  largest  and  richest 
of  these  temples  was  usually  reserved  for  the  principal  deity,  whose  edifices 
were  being  continually  decorated  by  the  ruling  princes,  and  the  extent  of 
whose  ruins  still  attracts  the  traveller.  The  walls,  constructed  and  repaired 
with  bricks  stamped  with  the  names  of  lords  of  the  locality,  contain  in  them- 
selves alone  an  almost  complete  history.  Did  Urbau,  we  may  ask,  found  the 
ziggurat  of  Nannar  in  Uru  ? We  meet  with  his  bricks  at  the  base  of  the 
most  ancient  portions  of  the  building,2  and  we  moreover  learn,  from  cylinders 
unearthed  not  far  from  it,  that  “ for  Nannar,  the  powerful  bull  of  Anu,  the  son 
of  Bel,  his  King,  Urbau,  the  brave  hero,  King  of  Uru,  had  built  E-Timila,  his 
favourite  temple.”3  The  bricks  of  his  son  Dungi  are  found  mixed  with  his 
own,4  while  here  and  there  other  bricks  belonging  to  subsequent  kings,  with 
cylinders,  cones,  and  minor  objects,  strewn  between  the  courses,  mark  restora- 
tions at  various  later  periods.5  What  is  true  of  one  Ckaldtean  city  is  equally 
true  of  all  of  them,  and  the  dynasties  of  Uruk  and  of  Lagash,  like  those  of  Uru, 
can  be  reconstructed  from  the  revelations  of  their  brickwork.6  The  lords  of 
heaven  promised  to  the  lords  of  the  earth,  as  a reward  of  their  piety,  both 
glory  and  wealth  in  this  life,  and  an  eternal  fame  after  death : they  have, 
indeed,  kept  their  word.  The  majority  of  the  earliest  Chaldaean  heroes  would 
be  unknown  to  us,  were  it  not  for  the  witness  of  the  ruined  sanctuaries  which 
they  built,  and  that  which  they  did  in  the  service  of  their  heavenly  patrons 

' Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  166. 

2 Brick  brought  from  Mugheir,  now  in  the  British  Museum  ; published  in  Rawlinson,  Cuneiform 
Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  vol.  i.  pi.  1,  No.  i. ; cf.  Oppert,  Expedition  en  Mesopotamie,  vol.  i.  pp. 
260,  261. 

3 Terra-cotta  cylinder  from  a mound  situated  south  of  the  ruins  of  the  great  temple;  published 
in  Kawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  i.  pi.  1,  No.  i.  4.  E-timila  seems  to  signify  “ the  house  of  the 
lofty  foundations;”  under  Dungi,  the  temple  took  the  name  of  E-Kharsag,  “ the  house  of  the 
mountain  (of  the  gods)”  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  i.  pi.  2,  No.  ii.  2),  and  later,  that 
of  E-shir-gal,  “house  of  the  great  radiance”  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IE.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  35, 
No.  6, 1.  9). 

4 Brick  from  Mugheir,  now  in  the  British  Museum ; published  in  Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As., 
vol.  i.  pi.  2,  No.  ii.  1 ; cf.  Oitert,  Expedition  en  Mesopotamie,  vol.  i.  pp.  260,  261. 

5 Bricks  of  Amarsin  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  i.  pi.  5,  No.  xix.)  and  of  Sinidiunam 
{id.,  pi.  5,  No.  xx.),  cylinder  of  Nurramman  {ib.,  pi.  2,  No.  iv.),  all  found  at  Mugheir. 

6 See  the  documents  in  the  originals  in  Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  i.  pi.  2,  No.  viii.,  and 
iu  Fr.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  324,  325,  published  in  the  German  translation  in 
the  first  part  of  vol.  iii.  of  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliotlielc ; for  the  kings  of  Lagash  by  Jensen, 
Inschriften  der  Konige  und  Stattlialter  von  Lagasch,  p.  10,  et  seq. ; for  the  kings  of  Uruk  by  Winckler, 
Inschriften  von  Kiinigen  von  Sumer  und  Alchad,  pp.  82-85. 


THE  TEMPLES  OF  LOCAL  GOBS  AND  THEIR  HISTORY. 


627 


has  alone  preserved  their  names  from  oblivion.  Their  most  extravagant 
devotion,  however,  cost  them  less  money  and  effort  than  that  of  the  Pharaohs 
their  contemporaries.  While  the  latter  had  to  bring  from  a distance,  even 
from  the  remotest  parts  of  the  desert,  the  different  kinds  of  stone  which  they 
considered  worthy  to  form  part  of  the  decoration  of  the  houses  of  their  gods, 
the  Chaldaean  kings  gathered  up  outside  their  very  doors  the  principal  material 
for  their  buildings : should  they  require  any  other  accessories,  they  could 
obtain,  at  the  worst,  hard  stone  for  their  statues  and  thresholds  in  Magan  and 
Milukhkha,  and  beams  of  cedar  and  cypress  in  the  forests  of  the  Amanus  and 
the  Upper  Tigris.1  Under  these  conditions  a temple  was  soon  erected,  and 
its  construction  did  not  demand  centuries  of  continuous  labour,  like  the 
great  limestone  and  granite  sanctuaries  of  Egypt : the  same  ruler  who  laid 
the  first  brick,  almost  always  placed  the  final  one,  and  succeeding  genera- 
tions had  only  to  keep  the  building  in  ordinary  repair,  without  altering  its 
original  plan.  The  work  of  construction  was  in  almost  every  case  carried  out 
all  at  one  time,  designed  and  finished  from  the  drawings  of  one  architect,  and 
bears  traces  but  rarely  of  those  deviations  from  the  earlier  plans  which 
sometimes  make  the  comprehension  of  the  Theban  temples  so  difficult  a 
matter:  if  the  state  of  decay  of  certain  parts,  or  more  often  inadequate 
excavation,  frequently  prevent  us  from  appreciating  their  details,  we  can  at 
least  reinstate  their  general  outline  with  tolerable  accuracy. 

While  the  Egyptian  temple  was  spread  superficially  over  a large  area,  the 
Chaldaean  temple  strove  to  attain  as  high  an  elevation  as  possible.2  The 
“ ziggurats,”  whose  angular  profile  is  a special  characteristic  of  the  landscapes  of 
the  Euphrates,  were  composed  of  several  immense  cubes,  piled  up  on  one  another 
and  diminishing  in  size  up  to  the  small  shrine  by  which  they  were  crowned  and 
wherein  the  god  himself  was  supposed  to  dwell.  There  are  two  principal  types  of 
these  ziggurats.  In  the  first,  for  which  the  builders  of  Lower  Chaldaea  showed 
a marked  preference,  the  vertical  axis,  common  to  all  the  superimposed 
stories,  did  not  pass  through  the  centre  of  the  rectangle  which  served  as  the 

1 Cf.  pp.  610,  614  of  this  History.  Gudea  had  cedar  ( irinna ) brought  from  the  Amauus  ( Inscrip- 
tion de  la  Statue  B,  col.  v.  11.  28-32,  in  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Becouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  17;  Ajiiaud,  The 
Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  79,  also  in  the  Becouvertes  en 
Chaldee,  p.  ix. ; and  Jensen,  Inschriften  der  Konige  und  Statthalter  von  Lagascli,  pp.  32-35),  and 
diorite  from  the  country  of  Magan  ( Inscription  de  la  Statue  B du  Louvre,  col.  v.  1.  13,  v.  1.  1 ; cf. 
Amiaud,  The  Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  vol.  i.  p.  91,  also  Decouvertes  en  Chalde'e,  p.  xix. ; and  Jensen, 
Inschriften  der  Konige  und  Statthalter  von  Lagasch,  pp.  52-55). 

2 The  comparison  between  the  Egyptian  and  Chaldaean  temples  has  been  drawn  by  the  master- 
hand  of  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  l’ Art  dans  V Antiguile,  vol.  ii.  pp.  412-414;  the  objections  which 
have  been  raised  against  their  views  by  Hommel,  Geschichte  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  p.  18,  note, 
are  connected  witli  a peculiar  conception  held  by  the  author  with  regard  to  Oriental  history,  and 
appear  to  me  to  be  impossible  of  acceptation  until  we  know  more.  Studies,  recently  undertaken 
with  a view  to  discover  if  M.  Hommel’s  ideas  correspond  with  the  facts,  have  fully  convinced  me 
that  the  Chuldrean  “ziggurat”  differed  entirely  from  the  pyramid,  such  as  it  existed  in  Egypt. 


G28 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  OODS  OF  GHALDJEA. 


base  of  the  whole  building;  it  was  carried  back  and  placed  near  to  one  of  the 
narrow  ends  of  the  base,  so  that  the  bade  elevation  of  the  temple  rose  abruptly 
in  steep  narrow  ledges  above  the  plain,  while  the  terraces  of  the  front  broadened 
out  into  wide  platforms.1  The  stories  are  composed  of  solid  blocks  of  crude  brick ; 
up  to  the  present,  at  least,  no  traces  of  internal  chambers  have  been  found.2  The 
chapel  on  the  summit  could  not  contain  more  than  one  apartment ; an  altar  stood 
before  the  door,  and  access  to  it  was  obtained  by  a strait  external  staircase,  inter- 
rupted at  each  terrace  by  a more  or  less  spacious  landing.3  The  second  type  of 
temple  frequently  found  in  Northern  Chaldsea  was  represented  by  a building  on 
a square  base  with  seven  stories,  all  of  equal  height,  connected  by  one  or  two 
lateral  staircases,  having  on  the  summit,  the  pavilion  of  the  god;4  this  is  the 
“ terraced  tower  ” which  excited  the  admiration  of  the  Greeks  at  Babylon,  and 
of  which  the  temple  of  Bel  was  the  most  remarkable  example.5  The  ruins  of 
it  still  exist,  but  it  has  been  so  frequently  and  so  completely  restored  in  the 
course  of  ages,  that  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  much  now  remains  of  the 
original  construction.  We  know  of  several  examples,  however,  of  the  other 
type  of  ziggurat — one  at  Uru,6  another  at  Eridu,7  a third  at  Uruk,8  without 
mentioning  those  which  have  not  as  yet  been  methodically  explored.  None  of 
them  rises  directly  from  the  surface  of  the  ground,  but  they  are  all  built  on 

1 It  is  the  Chaldxan  temple  on  a rectangular  plan  which  has  been  described  in  detail  and  restored 
by  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt  dans  V Antiquite',  vol.  ii.  pp.  385-389  and  pi.  ii. 

2 Perrot-Chipiez  ( Histoire  de  VArt,  vol.  ii.  p.  388  and  note  3)  admit  that  between  the  first  and 
second  story  there  was  a sort  of  plinth  seven  feet  in  height  which  corresponded  to  the  foundation 
platform  below  the  first  story.  It  appears  to  me,  as  it  did  to  Loftus  ( Travels  and  Researches  in 
Chaldsea  and  Susiana,  p.  129),  that  the  slope  which  now  separates  the  two  vertical  masses  of  brick- 
work “ is  accidental,  and  owes  its  existence  to  the  destruction  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  second  story.” 
Taylor  mentions  only  two  stories,  and  evidently  considers  the  slope  in  question  to  be  a bank  of  rubbish 
( Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society , vol.  xv.  pp.  261,  262). 

3 Perrot-Chipiez  place  the  staircase  leading  from  the  ground-level  to  the  terrace  inside  tiro 
building — “an  arrangement  which  would  have  the  advantage  of  not  interfering  with  the  outline  of 
this  immense  platform,  and  would  not  detract  from  the  strength  and  solidity  of  its  appearance” 
( Histoire  de  VArt,  etc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  386,  387);  Eeber  (Ueber  altchalddische  Kunst,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fiir 
Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  p.  175,  P)  proposes  a different  combination.  At  Uru,  the  whole  staircase  projects 
in  front  of  the  platform  and  “leads  up  to  the  edge  of  the  basement  of  the  second  story”  (Taylor, 
Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  p.  261),  then 
continues  as  an  inclined  plane  from  the  edge  of  the  first  story  to  the  terrace  of  the  second  (id., 
p.  262),  forming  one  single  staircase,  perhaps  of  the  same  width  as  this  second  story,  leading  from  the 
base  to  the  summit  of  the  building  (Loftos,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  129). 

4 This  is  the  Chaldsean  temple  with  a single  staircase  and  on  a square  ground  plan,  such  as  it  has 
been  defined  and  restored  by  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt,  etc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  389-395,  and  pi.  iii. 

5 Herodotcs,  i.  179-183;  Diodorus,  ii.  9;  Strabo,  xvi.  1,  5,  pp.  737-739;  Arrian,  Anabasis, 
vii.  17. 

6 The  ruins  of  the  “ ziggurat”  of  Uru  have  been  described  by  Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches, 
etc.,  pp.  127-134;  and  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Asiatic  Soc., 
vol.  xv.  pp.  260-270. 

7 We  possess  at  present  no  other  description  of  the  ruins  of  Eridu  than  that  by  Taylor,  Notes  on 
Abu-Shahrein  and  Tel-el-Lalim,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Asiatic  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  pp.  402-412. 

8 Loftus  explored  the  ruins  of  Warka  on  two  different  occasions.  The  “ziggurat”  of  the  temple 
of  the  goddess  Nana  belonging  to  that  city  is  now  represented  by  the  ruins  which  the  natives  of  the 
country  call  Bowarieh  (Travels  and  Researches,  etc.,  pp.  167-170);  cf.  p.  624  of  this  History. 


THE  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  NANNAR  AT  UHU.  629 

a raised  platform,  which,  consequently  places  the  foundations  of  the  temple 
nearly  on  a level  with  the  roofs  of  the  surrounding  houses.  The  raised  plat’ 
form  of  the  temple  of  Nannar  at  Uru  still  measures  20  feet  in  height,  and  its 
four  angles  are  orientated  exactly  to  the  four  cardinal  points.  Its  facade  was 
approached  by  an  inclined  plane,  or  by  a flight  of  low  steps,  and  the  summit, 
which  was  surrounded  by  a low  balustrade,  was  paved  with  enormous  burnt 
bricks.  On  this  terrace,  processions  at  solemn  festivals  would  have  ample 
space  to  perform  their  evolutions.  The  lower  story  of  the  temple  occupies  a 


THE  TEMPLE  OF  NANNAR  AT  URU,  APPROXIMATELY  RESTORED.1 

parallelogram  of  198  feet  in  length  by  173  feet  in  width,  and  rises  about  27 
feet  in  height.2  The  central  mass  of  crude  brick  has  preserved  its  casing  of  red 
tiles,  cemented  with  bitumen,  almost  intact  up  to  the  top ; it  is  strengthened 
by  buttresses — nine  on  the  longer  and  six  on  the  shorter  sides — projecting 
about  a foot,  which  relieve  its  rather  bare  surface.3  The  second  story  rises 
to  the  height  of  only  20  feet  above  the  first,  and  when  intact  could  not 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin.  The  restoration  differs  from  that  proposed  by  Perrot-Chipiez, 
Histoire  de  VArt  dans  V Antiquity,  vol.  ii.  p.  386,  and  pi.  ii. ; and  Fr.  Beber,  TJeber  allchalddischer 
Kunst,  in  the  Zeitsclirift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  p.  175,  l4.  I have  made  it  by  working  out  the 
description  taken  down  on  the  spot  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journal  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  pp.  260-270;  and  by  Loftcs,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Glialdxa  and 
Susiana,  pp.  127-134. 

2 The  dimensions  are  taken  from  Loftus  (Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldsea  and  Susiana,  p.  129). 

3 Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  p.  261. 


HIE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CUALDJEA. 


630 

litive  been  more  than  26  to  30  feet  high.1  Many  bricks  bearing  the  stamp 
of  Dungi  are  found  among  the  materials  used  in  the  latest  restoration,  which 
took  place  about  the  YI11'  century  before  our  era  ; they  have  a smooth  surface, 
are  broken  here  and  there  by  air-holes,  and  their  very  simplicity  seems  to  bear 
witness  to  the  fact  that  Nabonidos  confined  himself  to  the  task  of  merely  restor- 
ing things  to  the  state  in  which  the  earlier  kings  of  Uru  had  left  them.2  Till 
within  the  last  century,  traces  of  a third  story  to  this  temple  might  have  been 

distinguished  ; unlike 
the  lower  ones,  it  was 
not  of  solid  brickwork, 
but  contained  at  least 
one  chamber : this  was 
the  Holy  of  Holies,  the 
sanctuary  of  Nannar.3 
The  external  walls  were 
covered  with  pale  blue 

THE  TEMPLE  OF  URU  IN  ITS  PRESENT  STATE,  ACCORDING  TO  TAYLOR.4  n i , -i  i • 

enamelled  tiles,  having 

a polished  surface.  The  interior  was  panelled  with  cedar  or  cypress — rare 
woods  procured  as  articles  of  commerce  from  the  peoples  of  the  North  and 
West ; this  woodwork  was  inlaid  in  parts  with  thin  leaves  of  gold,  alternating 
with  panels  of  mosaics  composed  of  small  pieces  of  white  marble,  alabaster,  onyx, 
and  agate,  cut  and  polished.5  Here  stood  the  statue  of  Nannar,  one  of  those 
stiff  and  conventionalized  figures  in  the  traditional  pose  handed  down  from  gene- 
ration to  generation,  and  which  lingered  even  in  the  Chaldaean  statues  of  Greek 
times.  The  spirit  of  the  god  dwelt  within  it  in  the  same  way  as  the  double 
resided  in  the  Egyptian  idols,  and  from  thence  he  watched  over  the  restless 
movements  of  the  people  below,  the  noise  of  whose  turmoil  scarcely  reached 
him  at  that  elevation. 

The  gods  of  the  Euphrates,  like  those  of  the  Nile,  constituted  a countless 
multitude  of  visible  and  invisible  beings,  distributed  into  tribes  and  empires 
throughout  all  the  regions  of  the  universe.6  A particular  function  or  occupation 

1 At  the  present  time  14  feet  high,  plus  5 feet  of  rubbish,  119  feet  long,  75  feet  wide  (Loftds, 
Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susianci,  p.  129). 

2 The  cylinders  of  Nabonidos  describing  the  restoration  of  the  temple  were  found  at  the  four 
angles  of  the  second  story  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Buins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Jourii.  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv. 
pp.  2G3,  264  ; these  are  the  cylinders  published  in  Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  i.  pi.  68,  No.  i.  69. 

3 Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Buins  of  Muqeyer , in  the  Journ.  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  pp.  264,  265. 

4 Facsimile  by  Faucher-Gudiu  of  the  drawing  published  in  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Buins  of  Muqeyer, 
in  the  Journ.  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  p.  262. 

5 Taylor  found  fragments  of  this  kind  of  decoration  at  Eridu  (Notes  on  Abu-Shahrein  and  Tel-el- 
Lahm,  in  the  Journ.  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  p.  407)  : it  probably  exists  at  Uru. 

G The  particular  nature  of  the  Chaldseau  genii  or  demons  was  pointed  out  for  the  first  time  by 
Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  ChaldJens  et  les  Origines  Accadiennes,  the  translations  in  which 
have  been  modified,  particularly  by  Jen-en,  De  Incantamentorum  sumerico-assyriorum  seriei  qux 


HOSTILE  GENII  AND  THEIR  MONSTROUS  SHAPES. 


G 31 


formed,  so  to  speak,  the  principality  of  each  one,  in  which  he  worked  with  an 
indefatigable  zeal,  under  the  orders  of  his  respective  prince  or  king; 1 but,  whereas 
in  Egypt  they  were  on  the  whole  friendly  to  man,  or  at  the  most  indifferent 
in  regard  to  him,  in  Chaldaea  they  for  the  most  part  pursued  him  with  an  im- 
placable hatred,  and  only  seemed  to  exist  in  order  to  destroy  him.  These  monsters 
of  alarming  aspect,  armed  with  knives  and  lances,  whom  the  theologians  of 
Heliopolis  and  Thebes  confined  within  the  caverns  of  Hades  in  the  depths 


FURTHER  VIEW  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  URU  IN  ITS  PRESENT  STATE,  ACCORDING  TO  LOFTUS.2 


of  eternal  darkness,  were  believed  by  the  Chaldaeans  to  be  let  loose  in  broad 
daylight  over  the  earth, — such  were  the  “ gallu  ” and  the  “ maskim,”  the 
“ alu  ” and  the  “ utukku,”  besides  a score  of  other  demoniacal  tribes  bear- 
ing curious  and  mysterious  names.3  Some  floated  in  the  air  and  presided 
over  the  unhealthy  winds.  The  South-West  wind,  the  most  cruel  of  them  all, 
stalked  over  the  solitudes  of  Arabia,  whence  he  suddenly  issued  during  the 
most  oppressive  months  of  the  year  : he  collected  round  him  as  he  passed  the 
malarial  vapours  given  off  by  the  marshes  under  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  he 
spread  them  over  the  country,  striking  down  in  his  violence  not  only  man  and 
beast,  but  destroying  harvests,  pasturage,  and  even  trees.4  The  genii  of  fevers 
and  madness  crept  in  silently  everywhere,  insidious  and  traitorous  as  they  were.5 

dicitur  schurbu  Tabida  VI.,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Keilforscliung,  vol.  i.  pp.  279-322,  vol.  ii.  pp.  15-61, 
but  its  mythological  conclusions  have  remained  unaltered  on  many  points. 

1 In  Rawi.inson  (K,  4870,  recto,  1.  28,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  5)  mention  is  made  of  a king 
( lugnl ) of  tbe  Lamassi  and  of  other  kinds  of  genii,  and  particularly  of  Anu,  king  of  the  Seven  sons 
of  tbe  Earth. 

2 Drawn  by  Boudier,  from  Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  128. 

3 The  enumeration  of  these  names  is  found  in  Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chald&ens, 
pp.  23-36,  where  the  author  endeavours  to  define  the  character  and  function  of  each  of  these  classes 
of  demons;  cf.  the  passages  which  refer  to  these  creatures  collected  by  Fr.  Delitsch,  Assyrisches 
Worterbuch,  pp.  417,  418,  see  alu,  and  pp.  394-399,  sub  voce  ehimmu. 

4 Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  GhaldCens  et  les  Origines  Accadiennes,  p.  36. 

5 The  most  alarming  of  nil  of  them  is  the  demon  “Headache,”  against  whom  a considerable 
number  of  charms  and  incantations  is  given  in  Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pis.  3,  4,  of 
which  a fragment  was  translated  for  the  first  time  by  Fox  Talbot,  On  the  Religious  Belief  of  the 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CHALDJEA. 


032 


The  plague  alternately  slumbered  or  made  furious  onslaughts  among  crowded 
populations.1  Imps  haunted  the  houses,  goblins  wandered  about  the  water’s 
edge,  ghouls  lay  in  wait  for  travellers  in  unfrequented  places,2  and  the  dead 
quitting  their  tombs  in  the  night  stole  stealthily  among  the  living  to 
satiate  themselves  with  their  blood.3  The  material  shapes  attributed 
to  these  murderous  beings  were  supposed  to  convey  to  the  eye  their 
perverse  and  ferocious  characters.  They  were  represented  as  com- 
posite creatures  in  whom  the  body  of  a man  would  be  joined 
grotesquely  to  the  limbs  of  animals  in  the  most  unexpected  com- 
binations. They  worked  in  as  best  they  could,  birds’  claws,  fishes’ 
scales,  a bull’s  tail,  several  pairs  of  wings,  the  head  of  a lion,  vulture, 
hyaena,  or  wolf ; when  they  left  the  creature  a human  head,  they  made 
it  as  hideous  and  distorted  as  possible.  The  South-West  wind  was 
distinguished  from  all  the  rest  by  the  multiplicity  of  the  incon- 
gruous elements  of  which  his  person  was  composed.  His  dog-like 
body  was  supported  upon  two  legs  terminating  in  eagle’s  claws ; in 
addition  to  his  arms,  which  were  furnished  with  sharp  talons,  he  had 
four  outspread  wings,  two  of  which  fell  behind  him,  while  the 
other  two  rose  up  and  surrounded  his  head ; he  had  a scorpion’s 
tail  , a human  face  with  large  goggle-eyes,  bushy  eyebrows, 
fleshless  cheeks,  and  retreating  lips,  showing  a formidable  row 
of  threatening  teeth,  while  from  his  flattened  skull  protruded 
the  horns  of  a goat:  the  entire  combination  was  so  hideous, 
that  it  even  alarmed  the  god  and  put  him  to  flight,  when  he  was  unexpectedly 


Assyrians , in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  04.  Complete  translations  have  heeu 
given  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  253-2G3,  vol.  iii.  pp.  98-101,  and  again  by 
Halevy,  Documents  religieux  de  V Assyrie  et  de  la  Chaldee,  pp.  13-20,  54-93;  Jensen,  Be  Incanta- 
mentorum,  in  the  Zcitschrift  fur  Keilforschung , vol.  i.  p.  301 ; Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient 
Babylonians,  pp.  458-463.  Cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chaldeens,  pp.  19,  20,  38,  39. 

1 Incantation  against  the  plague  demon  in  Fr  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
239-251,  vol.  iii.  pp.  94-97 ; cf.  La  Magie  chez  les  Chaldeens,  pp.  47,  48. 

3 This  is  the  “Lilat,”the  demon  of  tho  night,  who  sucks  the  blood  of  her  victims,  and  who  is  often 
mentioned  in  magical  incantations  (Bawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  17,  col.  ii.  1.  63;  vol.  iv. 
pi.  29,  No.  1,  verso,  11.  29,  30,  etc.).  On  the  connection  between  this  demon  and  the  Lilith  of 
Hebrew  tradition,  cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chaldeens,  p.  36,  and  Sayce,  The  Religion 
of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  147,  148;  Sayce  appears  to  confound  the  ghouls,  which  never  have 
existed  as  men  or  women,  with  the  vampires,  who  are  the  dead  of  both  sexes  who  have  quitted  the 
tomb. 

3 Vampires  are  frequently  mentioned  in  the  magical  formulas,  Bay linson,  Cun.  Ins.  TF.  As.,  vol.  ii. 
pi.  17,  col.  ii.  11.  6-15,  62,  vol.  iv.  pi.  1,  col.  i.  11.  49,  50;  vol.  iv.  pi.  29,  No.  1,  verso,  11.  27,  28,  etc.: 
cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chaldeens,  p.  35;  La  Divination  et  la  Science  des  presages  chez 
les  Chaldeens,  pp.  156,  157.  In  her  Descent  into  the  Infernal  Regions  (cf.  p.  694  of  this  History), 
Islitar  threatens  to  “laise  the  dead  that  they  may  eat  the  living”  (1.  19). 

4 Drawn  by  Fauclier- Gudin,  from  a small  terra-cotta  figure  of  the  Assyrian  period,  and  now  in 
the  Louvre  (Longperier,  Notice  des  antiquitds  assyriennes,  3rd  edit.,  p.  57,  No.  268).  It  was  one  of 
the  figures  buried  under  the  threshold  of  one  of  the  gates  of  the  town  at  Khorsabad,  to  keep  off 
baleful  influences. 


TEE  COMBATS  OF  TEE  GOOD  AND  EVIL  GENII. 


633 


confronted  with  his  own  portrait.1  There  was  no  lack  of  good  genii  to  combat 
this  deformed  and  vicious  band.2  They  too  were  represented  as  monsters,  but 
monsters  of  a fine  and  noble  bearing, — griffins,  winged  lions,  lion-headed  men, 
and  more  especially  those  splendid  human-headed  bulls,  those 
“lamassi”  crowned  with  mitres,  whose  gigantic  statues 
kept  watch  before  the  palace  and  temple  gates.3  Be- 
tween these  two  races  hostility  was  constantly  displayed  : 
restrained  at  one  point,  it  broke  out  afresh  at  another, 
and  the  evil  genii,  invariably  beaten,  as  invariably 
refused  to  accept  their  defeat.  Man,  less  securely  armed 
against  them  than  were  the  gods,  was  ever  meeting  with 
them.  “ Up  there,  they  are  howling,  here  they  lie  in  wait, 

— they  are  great  worms  let  loose  by  heaven — powerful  ones 
whose  clamour  rises  above  the  city — who  pour  water  in 
torrents  from  heaven,  sons  who  have  come  out  of  the 
bosom  of  the  earth. — They  twine  around  the  high  rafters, 
the  great  rafters,  like  a crown  ; — they  take  their  way 
from  house  to  house, — for  the  door  cannot  stop  them, 
nor  bar  the  way,  nor  repulse  them, — for  they  creep  like  a serpent 
under  the  door — they  insinuate  themselves  like  the  air  between 
the  folding  doors, — they  separate  the  bride  from  the  em- 
braces of  the  bridegroom, — they  snatch  the  child  from 
between  the  knees  of  the  man, — they  entice  the  unwary 
from  out  of  his  fruitful  house, — they  are  the  threatening  THE  S0UTH-WEST  WIND- 
voice  which  pursues  him  from  behind.” 5 Their  malice  extended  even  to 
animals:  “ They  force  the  raven  to  fly  away  on  the  wing, — and  they  make  the 

1 Fit.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chalddens,  pp.  48,  49,  139;  Scheil,  Notes  d'  Epigraphie  et 
d’ Archdologie  assyriennes,  § iii.,  in  the  Becueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  33-36,  in  which  we  find 
indicated  the  principal  figures  known  at  present  which  are  supposed  to  represent  the  south-west 
wind. 

- The  same  texts  confront  the  “ utukku,”  the  “ekimmu,”  the  “ gallu,”  and  the  baleful  “ alu,” 
with  the  good  “utukku,”  the  good  “ekimmu,”  the  good  “gallu,”  and  the  good  “alu”  (Sayce,  The 
Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  466,  11.  44-46 ; cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  le  Chald&ens, 
pp.  23,  138,  139). 

3 On  the  protective  character  of  the  winged  aud  human-headed  bulls,  see  Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai 
de  Commentaire  s ur  les  fragments  cosmogoniques  de  Bdrose,  pp.  79-81,  aud  La  Magie  chez  les  Clialde'ens , 
pp.  23,  49,  50.  It  is  described  fairly  at  length  in  the  prayer  published  by  Kawlinson,  Cum.  Ins.  W. 
As.,  vol.  iv.  pis.  58,  59,  and  translated  by  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians , p.  506, 
11.  31-35. 

* Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  fr.  m the  bronze  original  now  in  the  Louvre.  The  latter  museum 
and  the  British  Museum  possess  several  other  figures  of  the  same  demon. 

5 Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  i.  col.  i.  11.  14-43;  cf.  Talbot,  On  the  lleligious  Belief 
of  the  Assyrians,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Biblical  Archxotogical  Society,  vol.  ii.  pp.  73-75;  Fr. 
Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Clialde'ens,  pp.  28,  29,  and  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  79,  80 ; 
Oppert,  Fragments  Mythologiques,  in  Ledrain,  Histoire  d’ Israel,  vol.  ii.  p.  469;  Sayce,  The  Religion 
of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  451. 


634  THE  TEMPLES  AND  'HIE  GODS  OF  CIJA  L DAE  A . 

swallow  to  escape  from  its  nest ; — they  cause  the  bull  to  flee,  they  cause  the 
lamb  to  flee — they,  the  bad  demons  who  lay  snares.”  1 

The  most  audacious  among  them  did  not  fear  at  times  to  attack  the  gods 
of  light ; on  one  occasion,  in  the  infancy  of  the  world,  they  had  sought 
to  dispossess  them  and  reign  in  their  stead.  Without  any  warning  they 
had  climbed  the  heavens,  and  fallen  upon  Sin,  the  moon-god ; they  had 
repulsed  Shamash,  the  Sun,  and  llamman,  both  of  whom  had  come  to  the 
rescue;  they  had  driven  Ishtar  and  Anu  from  their  thrones:  the  whole  firma- 
ment would  have  become  a prey  to  them, 
had  not  Bel  and  Nusku,  Ea  and  Mer- 
odach,  intervened  at  the  eleventh  hour, 
and  succeeded  in  hurling  them  down  to 
the  earth,  after  a terrible  battle.2  They 
never  completely  recovered  from  this 
reverse,  and  the  gods  raised  up  as 
rivals  to  them  a class  of  friendly  genii 
— the  “ Igigi,”  who  were  governed  by 
five  heavenly  Anunuas.4  The  earthly 
Anunnas,  the  Anunnaki,  had  as  their  chiefs  seven  sons  of  Bel,  with  bodies 
of  lions,  tigers,  and  serpents : “ the  sixth  was  a tempestuous  wind  which 
obeyed  neither  god  nor  king, — the  seventh,  a whirlwind,  a desolating  storm 
which  destroys  everything.” 5 — “ Seven,  seven, — in  the  depth  of  the  abyss  of 
waters  they  are  seven, — and  destroyers  of  heaven  they  are  seven. — They  have 
grown  up  in  the  depths  of  the  abyss,  in  the  palace ; — males  they  are  not, 
females  they  are  not,— they  are  storms  which  pass  quickly.  — They  take  no 
wife,  they  give  birth  to  no  child, — they  know  neither  compassion  nor  kindness, 
— they  listen  to  no  prayer  nor  supplication. — As  wild  horses  they  are  born  in 


SIN  DELIVERED  BY  MI5RODACH  FROM  THE 
ASS  A LET  OF  THE  SEVEN  EVIL  SPIRITS.3 


1 Kawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  27,  No.  v.  11.  1G-23;  cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie, 
p.  29,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  222,  223,  vol.  iii.  pp.  77,  78;  Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Volker, 
vol.  i.  p.  401. 

2 This  episode  in  the  history  of  the  struggles  of  the  gods  with  the  evil  genii  is  related  in  a 
magical  incantation,  partly  mutilated  (Kawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  5).  It  was  noticed 
by  G.  Smith  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  458,  459  (cf.  Assyrian  Dis- 
coveries, pp.  398-403,  and  Chaldsean  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  107-112),  and  was  translated  by  Fr. 
Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chalddens,  p.  171  (cf.  La  Gazette  Archeologique,  1878,  pp.  23-35,  and 
Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  121-134);  Gppert,  Fragments  mylhologiques,  in  Ledrain,  Histoire 
d’ Israel,  vol.  ii.  pp.  476-479;  Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Volker,  pp.  307-312;  Halevy,  Documents 
religieux  de  V Assyrie  et  de  la  Babylonie,  pp.  20-30,  100-126;  Sayce,  The  Beligion  of  the  Ancient 
Babxjlonians,  pp.  463-466. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  Assyrian  intaglio  published  by  Lajard,  Introduction  a V His- 
toire du  Culte  public  et  des  Mysteres  de  Mithra,  pi  xxv.,  No.  1.  (cf.  Gazette  Archeologique,  1878,  p.  20). 

* For  the  “Igigi”  and  the  “Anunna,”  cf.  Jensen,  Deber  einige  sumero-akkadischen  Namen,  in 
the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  p.  7,  et  seq.;  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians, 
pp.  182,  183. 

5 Kawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  5,  col  i.  11.  12-26. 


THE  SEVEN,  THEIR  ATTACKS  ON  THE  MOON:  QIBIL,  THE  FIRE.  635 


the  mountains, — they  are  the  enemies  of  Ea, — they  are  the  agents  of  the  gods ; 
— they  are  evil,  they  are  evil, — and  they  are  seven,  they  are  seven,  they  are 
twice  seven.”  1 Man,  if  reduced  to  his  own  resources,  could  have  no  chance  of 
success  in  struggling  against  beings  who  had  almost  reduced  the  gods  to 
submission.  He  invoked  in  his  defence  the  help  of  the  whole  universe,  the 
spirits  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  spirit  of  Bel  and  of  Belit,  that  of  Ninib  and  of 
Nebo,  those  of  Sin,  of  Ishtar,  and  of  Ramraan  ;2  but  Gibir  or  Gibil,3 4  the  Lord 


STRUGGLE  BETWEEN  A GOOD  AND  AN  EVIL  GENIES.4 


of  Fire,  was  the  most  powerful  auxiliary  in  this  incessant  warfare.  The 
offspring  of  night  and  of  dark  waters,  the  Annunaki  had  no  greater  enemy 
than  fire;  whether  kindled  on  the  household  hearth  or  upon  the  altars,  its 
appearance  put  them  to  flight  and  dispelled  their  power.  “ Gibil,  renowned  hero 
in  the  land, — valiant,  son  of  the  Abyss,  exalted  in  the  land, — Gibil,  thy  clear 
flame,  breaking  forth, — when  it  lightens  up  the  darkness, — assigns  to  all  that 
bears  a name  its  own  destiny. — The  copper  and  tin,  it  is  thou  who  dost  mix 
them, — gold  and  silver,  it  is  thou  who  meltest  them, — thou  art  the  companion 
of  the  goddess  Ninkasi — thou  art  he  who  exposes  his  breast  to  the  nightly 


1 Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  2,  col.  v.  11.  30-59;  cf.  Talbot,  On  the  Religious  Belief 
of  the  Assyrians,  iu  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  73-75;  Fr.  Lenormant,  La 
Magie  chez  les  Chalddens,  p.  18,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  81-S3;  J.  Oppert,  Fragments  mytho- 
logiques,  in  Ledrain,  Histoire  d' Israel,  vol.  ii.  p.  474;  Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Vollter,  p.  366; 
Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  457,  458. 

2 So  in  the  bilingual  incantations,  Sumerian  and  Semitic,  published  by  Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins. 
W.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  i.  col.  iii.  11.  63-68,  col.  iv.  11.  1-3. 

3 The  characteristics  of  the  fire-god  and  the  part  he  plays  in  the  struggle  against  the  Anunnaki 
were  defined  for  the  first  time  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie,  etc.,  pp.  169-174. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher- Gudin,  from  Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  1st  series,  pi.  45,  No.  1. 


7I1E  TEMPLES  AND  TIJE  OODS  OF  CBALDJEA. 


036 

enemy ! — Cause  then  the  limbs  of  man,  son  of  his  god,  to  shine, — make  him  to 
be  bright  like  the  sky, — may  he  shine  like  the  earth, — may  he  be  bright  like 
the  interior  of  the  heavens, — may  the  evil  word  be  kept  far  from  him,”1  and 
with  it  the  malignant  spirits.  The  very  insistance  with  which  help  is  claimed 
against  the  Anunnaki  shows  how  much  their  power  was  dreaded.  The 
Chaldaean  felt  them  everywhere  about  him,  and  could  not  move  without 
incurring  the  danger  of  coming  into  contact  with  them.  He  did  not  fear  them 
so  much  during  the  day,  as  the  presence  of  the  luminary  deities  in  the 
heavens  reassured  him  ; but  the  night  belonged  to  them,  and  he  was  open  to 
their  attacks.  If  he  lingered  in  the  country  at  dusk,  they  were  there,  under 
the  hedges,  behind  walls  and  trunks  of  trees,  ready  to  rush  out  upon  him  at 
every  turn.  If  he  ventured  after  sundown  into  the  streets  of  his  village  or 
town,  he  again  met  with  them  quarrelling  with  dogs  over  the  offal  on  a rubbish 
heap,  crouched  in  the  shelter  of  a doorway,  lying  hidden  in  corners  where  the 
shadows  were  darkest.  Even  when  barricaded  within  his  house,  under  the 
immediate  protection  of  his  domestic  idols,  these  genii  still  threatened  him 
and  left  him  not  a moment’s  repose.2  The  number  of  them  was  so  great  that 
he  was  unable  to  protect  himself  adequately  from  all  of  them  : when  he  had 
disarmed  the  greater  portion  of  them,  there  were  always  several  remaining 
against  whom  he  had  forgotten  to  take  necessary  precautions.  What  must 
have  been  the  total  of  the  subordinate  genii,  when,  towards  the  IX11'  century 
before  our  era,  the  official  census  of  the  invisible  beings  stated  the  number  of 
the  great  gods  in  heaven  and  earth  to  be  sixty-five  thousand  !3 

We  are  often  much  puzzled  to  say  what  these  various  divinities,  whose 
names  we  decipher  on  the  monuments,  could  possibly  have  represented.  The 
sovereigns  of  Lagash  addressed  their  prayers  to  Ningirsu,  the  valiant  champion 
of  Inlil ; to  Ninursag,  the  lady  of  the  terrestrial  mountain  ; to  Ninsia,  the  lord 
of  fate;  to  the  King  Ninagal ; to  Inzu,  of  whose  real  name  no  one  has  an 
idea ; to  Inanna,  the  queen  of  battles ; to  Pasag,  to  Galalim,  to  Dunshagana, 

1 Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  TF.  ds.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  14,  No.  2,  verso,  11.  6-28;  cf.  Fn.  Lenormant,  La  Magie 
chez  les  Chalddens,  pp.  160,  170,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  93-99,  vol.  ill.  pp.  33-35;  Hommei  , 
Die  Semitischen  Volher,  pp.  277,  278 ; Haltt,  Die  Sumcrisch-Ahhadische  Sprache , in  the  Verhand- 
lungen  des  5lc"  Liternaiionalen  Orienlalisten- Congresses,  Semitic  Section,  pp.  269-271 ; Satce,  The 
Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  487,  488. 

2 Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Clialddens,  p.  37,  et  seq.  The  presence  of  the  evil  spirits 
everywhere  is  shown,  among  other  magical  formulas,  by  the  iucantatiou  in  Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins. 
IF.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  18,  where  we  find  enumerated  at  length  the  places  from  which  they  are  to  be  kept 
out.  The  magician  closes  the  house  to  them,  the  hedge  which  suirounds  the  house,  the  yoke  laid 
upon  the  oxen,  the  tomb,  the  prison,  the  well,  the  furnace,  the  shade,  the  vase  for  libation,  the 
ravines,  the  valleys,  the  mountains,  the  door  (cf.  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians, 
pp.  446-448). 

3 Assurnaz:rpal,  King  of  Assyria,  speaks  in  one  of  his  inscriptions  of  these  sixty-five  thousand 
great  gods  of  heaven  and  earth  (Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  216). 


TEE  SUMERIAN  GOBS:  NINGIRSU. 


637 


to  Ninmar,  to  Ningisbzida.1  Gudea  raised  temples  to  them  in  all  the  cities 
over  which  his  authority  extended,  and  he  devoted  to  these  pious  foundations 
a yearly  income  out  of  his  domain  land  or  from  the  spoils  of  his  wars.  “ Gudea, 
the  ‘ vicegerent  ’ of  Lagash,  after  having  built  the  temple 
Ininnu  for  Ningirsu,  constructed  a treasury  ; a house 
decorated  with  sculptures,  such  as  no  ‘ vicegerent  ’ had 
ever  before  constructed  for  Ningirsu ; he  constructed 
it  for  him,  he  wrote  his  name  in  it,  he  made  in  it  all 
that  was  needful,  and  he  executed  faithfully  all  the 
words  from  the  mouth  of  Ningirsu.”  2 The  dedica- 
tion of  these  edifices  was  accompanied  with  solemn 
festivals,  in  which  the  whole  population  took  an 
active  part.  “ During  seven  years  no  grain  was 
ground,  and  the  maidservant  was  the  equal  of  her 
mistress,  the  slave  walked  beside  his  master,  and 
in  my  town  the  weak  rested  by  the  side  of  the 
strong.”  Henceforward  Gudea  watched  scrupu- 
lously lest  anything  impure  should  enter  and  mar 
the  sanctity  of  the  place.  Those  we  have  enume- 
rated were  the  ancient  Sumerian  divinities,  but  the 
characteristics  of  most  of  them  would  have  been  lost 
to  us,  had  we  not  learned,  by  means  of  other  docu- 
ments, to  what  gods  the  Semites  assimilated  them, 
gods  who  are  better  known  and  who  are  represented  under  a less  barbarous 
aspect.  Ningirsu,  the  lord  of  the  division  of  Lagash  which  was  called 
Girsu,  was  identified  with  Ninib ; Inlil  is  Bel,  Ninursag  is  Beltis,  Inzu  is 
Sin,  Inanna  is  Ishtar,  and  so  on  with  the  rest.4  The  cultus  of  each,  too,  was 
not  a local  cultus,  confined  to  some  obscure  corner  of  the  country  ; they  all 


THE  GOD  NINGIRSU, 
PATRON  OF  LAGASH.3 


1 The  enumeration  of  these  divinities  is  found,  for  example,  in  the  inscription  on  the  statue  B of 
Gudea  in  the  Louvre  (Heczey-Sakzec , Dtfcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pis.  1G-19;  cf.  Amiaud,  Inscriptions 
of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  85,  86,  and  De'couvertes  en  Cliald^e,  pp. 
vii.-xv. ; Jensen,  Inschriften  der  Konige  und  Stattlialter  von  Lagascli,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Biblio- 
ihek,  vol.  iii.  1st  part,  pp.  46,  47).  The  transcriptions  vary  with  different  authors : where  Jensen 
gives  Ninursag,  Amiaud  reads  NiDgharsag;  the  Dunshagana  of  these  two  authors  becomes  Shulsha- 
gaua  for  Legac,  Deux  Inscriptions  de  Gudea,  pateshi  de  Lagashu  (in  the  Zeitsclirift  fur  Assyriologie, 
vol.  viii.  pp.  10,  11),  and  elsewhere  the  goddess  Gatumdug  becomes  without  reason  G asig(?)-dug. 

2 Heuzey-Sarzec,  Dtfcouvertes  en  Chaldtfe,  pi.  vi.  1.  70,  col.  viii.  1.  9 ; cf.  Amiaud,  The  Inscriptions 
of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  82,  83,  and  in  the  De'couvertes  en  Chaldee, 
pp.  xi.,  xii. ; Jensen,  Insc.  der  Konige  und  Statth.  von  Lagascli,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  BibliotheJc, 
vol.  iii.  1st  part,  pp.  38,  39. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Dtfcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  22,  No.  5.  The 
attribution  of  this  figure  to  Ningirsu  is  very  probable,  but  not  wholly  certain. 

4 Cf.  on  this  subject  the  memoir  of  Amiaud,  Sirpourla,  d’apres  les  Inscriptions  de  la  Collection  de 
Sarzec,  p.  15,  et  seq , where  possible  identifications  of  the  names  of  Sumerian  gods  worshipped  at 
Telloh,  with  those  of  Semitic  gods,  are  given,  but  with  a prudent  reserve. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GOBS  OF  OH  ALB  PEA. 


638 

were  rulers  over  the  whole  of  Chahltca,  in  the  north  as  in  the  south,  at  Uruk, 
at  Urn,  at  Larsam,  at  Nipur,  even  in  Babylon  itself.  Inlil  was  the  ruler  of  the 
earth  and  of  Hades,1  Babbar  was  the  sun,  Inzu  the  moon,  Inanna-Anunit  the 
morning  and  evening  star  and  the  goddess  of  love,2  at  a time  when  two  distinct 
religions  and  two  rival  groups  of  gods  existed  side  by  side  on  the  banks  of  the 
Euphrates.  The  Sumerian  language  is  for  us,  at  the  present  day,  but  a 
collection  of  strange  names,  of  whose  meaning  and  pronunciation  we  are  often 
ignorant.  We  may  well  ask  what  beings  and  beliefs  were  originally  hidden 
under  these  barbaric  combinations  of  syllables  which  are  constantly  recurring 
in  the  inscriptions  of  the  oldest  dynasties,  such  as  Pasag,  Dunshagann,  Dumuzi- 
Zuaba,  and  a score  of  others.  The  priests  of  subsequent  times  claimed  to 
define  exactly  the  attributes  of  each  of  them,  and  probably  their  statements 
are,  in  the  main,  correct.  But  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  gauge  the  motives 
which  determined  the  assimilation  of  some  of  these  divinities,  the  fashion  in 
which  it  was  carried  out,  the  mutual  concessions  which  Semite  and  Sumerian 
must  have  made  before  they  could  arrive  at  an  understanding,  and  before  the 
primitive  characteristics  of  each  deity  were  softened  down  or  entirely  effaced  in 
the  process.  Many  of  these  divine  personages,  such  as  Ea,3  Herodach,4 5  Ishtar,8 
are  so  completely  transformed,  that  we  may  well  ask  to  which  of  the  two  peoples 
they  owed  their  origin.  The  Semites  finally  gained  the  ascendency  over  their 
rivals,  and  the  Sumerian  gods  from  thenceforward  preserved  an  independent 
existence  only  in  connection  with  magic,  divination,  and  the  science  of  fore- 
telling events,  and  also  in  the  formulas  of  exorcists  and  physicians,  to  which 
the  harshness  of  their  names  lent  a greater  weight.  Elsewhere  it  was  Bel 
and  Sin,  Shamash  and  Eamman,  who  were  universally  worshipped,  but  a Bel, 
a Sin,  a Shamash,  who  still  betrayed  traces  of  their  former  connection  with  the 
Sumerian  Inlil  aud  Inzu,  with  Babbar  and  Mermer.6 *  In  whatever  language, 

1 Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chaldtens,  pp.  152-154  (where  the  name  is  read  Mul-ge 
instead  of  Mullil,  a variant  of  Inlil);  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  146-149. 

2 For  Anunit-Inanna,  the  Morning  Star,  and  for  the  divinities  confounded  with  her,  see  the 
researches  of  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  182-184. 

3 Ea,  the  god  of  the  abyss  and  of  the  primaeval  waters,  is,  according  to  Fr.  Lenormant,  Sumerian 
or  Accadian  (La  Magie  chez  les  Chalddens,  p.  148);  Hommel  (Die  Semitischen  Volker,  p.  373)  and 
Sayce  (The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  104,  105,  132-134)  both  share  this  view. 

4 Sayce  (The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  106)  does  not  venture  to  pronounce  whether 
the  name  of  Marduk-Merodach  is  Semitic  or  Sumerian ; Hommel  (Die  Semitischen  T Hiker,  pp.  376, 
377,  and  Geschichte  Bdbyloniens  und  Assyriens,  pp.  255,  256,  266)  believes  it  to  be  Sumerian,  as  also 
do  Jenseu  (Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  242,  243)  and  Lenormant  (La  Magie  chez  le  Chald€ens, 

p.  121). 

5 Ishtar  is  Sumerian  or  Accadian,  according  to  Fr.  Delitzsch  in  his  early  works  (Die  Chaldxische 

Genesis,  p 273),  and  Hommel  (Die  Semitischen  Volker,  p.  385,  and  Geschichte  Bahyloniens  und  Assyriens, 

pp.  257,  266)  and  Sayce  (The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  252-261). 

o On  the  identity  of  the  Sumerian  god  whose  name  is  read  indifferently  Mermer,  Meru,  with  the 
Semitic  Eamman,  cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  Les  Noms  de  Vairain  et  du  cuivre  dans  les  deux  langues  des 
inscriptions  cunCiformes  de  la  Chaldee  et  de  VAssyrie,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol. 


THE  GODDESSES:  MYL1TTA  AND  HER  MERETRICIOUS  RITES.  639 


however,  they  were  addressed,  by  whatever  name  they  were  called  upon,  they 
did  not  fail  to  hear  and  grant  a favourable  reply  to  the  appeals  of  the  faithful. 

Whether  Sumerian  or  Semitic,  the  gods,  like  those  of  Egypt,  were  not 
abstract  personages,  guiding  in  a metaphysical  fashion  the  forces  of  nature.1 
Each  of  them  contained  in  himself  one  of  the  principal  elements  of  which  our 
universe  is  composed, — earth,  water,  sky,  sun,  moon,  and  the  stars  which  moved 
around  the  terrestrial  mountain.  The  succession  of  natural  phenomena  with 
them  was  not  the  result  of  unalterable  laws ; it  was  due  entirely  to  a series  of 
voluntary  acts,  accomplished  by  beings  of  different  grades  of  intelligence  and 
power.  Every  part  of  the  great  whole  is  represented  by  a god,  a god  who  is  a 
man,  a Chaldman,  who,  although  of  a finer  and  more  lasting  nature  than  other 
Chaldaeans,  possesses  nevertheless  the  same  instincts  and  is  swayed  by  the 
same  passions.  He  is,  as  a rule,  wanting  in  that  somewhat  lithe  grace  of  form, 
and  in  that  rather  easy-going  good-nature,  which  were  the  primary  characteristics 
of  the  Egyptian  gods : the  Chaldsean  divinity  has  the  broad  shoulders,  the 
thick-set  figure  and  projecting  muscles  of  the  people  over  whom  he  rules ; he 
has  their  hasty  and  violent  temperament,  their  coarse  sensuality,  their  cruel 
and  warlike  propensities,  their  boldness  in  conceiving  undertakings,  and  their 
obstinate  tenacity  in  carrying  them  out.  Their  goddesses  are  modelled  on  the 
type  of  the  Chaldman  women,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  on  that  of  their  queens. 
The  majority  of  them  do  not  quit  the  harem,  and  have  no  other  ambition  than 
to  become  speedily  the  mother  of  a numerous  offspring.  Those  who  openly 
reject  the  rigid  constraints  of  such  a life,  and  who  seek  to  share  the  rank 
of  the  gods,  seem  to  lose  all  self-restraint  when  they  put  off  the  veil : like 
Ishtar,  they  exchange  a life  of  severe  chastity  for  the  lowest  debauchery,  and 
they  subject  their  followers  to  the  same  irregular  life  which  they  themselves 
have  led.  “Every  woman  born  in  the  country  must  enter  once  during  her 
lifetime  the  enclosure  of  the  temple  of  Aphrodite,  must  there  sit  down  and 

vii.  p.  300,  No.  1 ; Pognon,  L' Inscription  de  Mdrou-ndrar  ler,  roi  d’Assyrie,  pp.  22,  23 ; Sayce,  The 
Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  202. 

1 The  general  outline  of  the  Chaldseo- Assyrian  religions  was  completely  reconstituted  by  the 
earlier  Assyriologists  : it  was  fully  traced  out  in  the  two  memoirs  of  Hincks,  On  the  Assyrian 
Mythology  (in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Irish  Academy,  November,  1854,  vol.  xxii.  pp.  405-122),  and  by  H. 
Rawlinson,  On  the  Religion  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians  (in  the  Herodotus  of  G.  Rawlinson, 
2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  480-527).  It  was  considerably  added  to  by  the  researches  of  Fr.  Lenormant,  in 
his  Essai  sur  les  fragments  cosmogoniques  de  Uprose,  and  above  all  by  his  two  works  on  La  Magie  chez 
les  Chalde’ens  et  Les  Sources  Accadiennes,  and  on  La  Divination  et  la  science  des  presages.  Since  then, 
many  errors  have  been  corrected  and  many  new  facts  pointed  out  by  contemporary  Assyriologists, 
although  no  one  has  as  yet  ventured  to  give  a complete  exposition  of  all  that  is  known  up  to 
the  present  time  about  Chaldsean  and  Assyrian  mythology  : we  have  to  fall  back  upon  the  abstracts 
published  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  Hisloire  Ancienne  des  peuples  de  V Orient,  6th  edit.,  vol.  vi. ; by  Mukdter- 
Delitzsch,  Geschichte  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  2nd  edit.,pp.  23-53;  by  Ed.  Meyer,  Geschichte  des 
Alterlhums,  vol.  i.  pp  174-183,  while  waiting  till  the  great  work  of  Tiele,  Histoire  de  la  Religion 
dans  V antiquild jusqu  a Alexandre  le  Grand,  appears  in  a language  more  accessible  to  the  majority  of 
savants  than  Dutch  is  at  present. 


(‘>40 


TIIE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  OODS  OF  CHALD2EA. 


unite  herself  to  a stranger.  Many  who  are  wealthy  are  too  proud  to  mix  with 
the  rest,  and  repair  thither  in  closed  chariots,  followed  by  a considerable  train 
of  slaves.  The  greater  number  seat  themselves  on  the  sacred  pavement,  with 
a cord  twisted  about  their  heads, — and  there  is  always  a great  crowd  there, 
coming  and  going  ; the  women  being  divided  by  ropes  into  long  lanes,  along 
which  strangers  pass  to  make  their  choice.  A woman  who  has  once  taken  her 
place  here  cannot  return  home  until  a stranger  has  thrown  into  her  lap  a silver 
coin,  and  has  led  her  away  with  him  beyond  the  limits  of  the  sacred  enclosure. 
As  he  throws  the  money  he  pronounces  these  words : ‘ May  the  goddess 
Mylitta  make  thee  happy  ! ’ — Now,  among  the  Assyrians,  Aphrodite  is  called 
Mylitta.  The  silver  coin  may  be  of  any  value,  but  none  may  refuse  it,  that  is 
forbidden  by  the  law,  for,  once  thrown,  it  is  sacred.  The  woman  follows  the  first 
man  who  throws  her  the  money,  and  repels  no  one.  When  once  she  has 
accompanied  him,  and  has  thus  satisfied  the  goddess,  she  returns  to  her  home, 
and  from  thenceforth,  however  large  the  sum  offered  to  her,  she  will  yield  to 
no  one.  The  women  who  are  tall  or  beautiful  soon  return  to  their  homes,  but 
those  who  are  ugly  remain  a long  time  before  they  are  able  to  comply  with 
the  law  ; some  of  them  are  obliged  to  wait  three  or  four  years  within  the 
enclosure.”  1 This  custom  still  existed  in  the  V'11  century  before  our  era,  and 
the  Greeks  who  visited  Babylon  about  that  time  found  it  still  in  full  force. 

The  gods,  who  had  begun  by  being  the  actual  material  of  the  element 
which  was  their  attribute,  became  successively  the  spirit  of  it,  then  its  ruler.2 
They  continued  at  first  to  reside  in  it,  but  in  the  course  of  time  they  were 
separated  from  it,  and  each  was  allowed  to  enter  the  domain  of  another,  dwell 
in  it,  and  even  command  it,  as  they  could  have  done  in  their  own,  till  finally  the 
greater  number  of  them  were  identified  with  the  firmament.  Bel,  the  lord  of  the 
earth,  and  Ea,  the  ruler  of  the  waters,  passed  into  the  heavens,  which  did  not 
belong  to  them,  and  took  their  places  beside  Anu : the  pathways  were  pointed 
out  which  they  had  made  for  themselves  across  the  celestial  vault,  in  order 
to  inspect  their  kingdoms  from  the  exalted  heights  to  which  they  had  been 
raised ; that  of  Bel  was  in  the  Tropic  of  Cancer,  that  of  Ea  in  the  Tropic  of 

1 IIerodotcs,  i.  199;  cf.  Strabo,  xvi.  p.  1058,  who  probably  has  merely  quoted  this  passage  from 
Herodotus,  or  some  writer  who  copied  from  Herodotus.  We  meet  with  a direct  allusion  to  this  same 
custom  in  the  Bible,  in  the  Bool:  of  Barucli : “The  women  also,  with  cords  about  them,  sitting  in  the 
ways,  burn  bran  for  perfume  ; but  if  any  of  them,  drawn  by  some  that  passeth  by,  lie  with  him,  she 
reproacheth  her  fellow,  that  she  was  not  thought  as  worthy  as  herself,  nor  her  cord  broken  ” (ch. 
vi.  43) 

2 Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magle  chez  les  Chakl&ns,  p.  144,  et  seq.,  where  the  author  shows  how  Ana- 
Anu,  after  having  at  first  been  the  Heaven  itself,  the  starry  vault  stretched  above  the  earth,  became 
successively  the  Spirit  of  Heaven  ( Zi-ana ),  and  finally  the  supreme  ruler  of  the  world  : according  to 
Lenormant,  it  was  the  Semites  in  particular  who  transformed  the  primitive  spirit  into  an  actual 
god-king. 


THE  ORACLES  AND  SPEAKING  STATUES. 


641 


Capricorn.1  They  gathered  around  them  all  the  divinities  who  could  easily  be 
abstracted  from  the  function  or  object  to  which  they  were  united,  and  they 
thus  constituted  a kind  of  divine  aristocracy,  comprising  all  the  most  powerful 
beings  who  guided  the  fortunes  of  the  world.  The  number  of  them  was  con- 
siderable, for  they  reckoned  seven  supreme  and  magnificent  gods,  fifty  great 
gods  of  heaven  and  earth,  three  hundred  celestial  spirits,  and  six  hundred 
terrestrial  spirits.2  Each  of  them  deputed  representatives  here  below,  who 
received  the  homage  of  mankind  for  him,  and  signified  to  them  his  will.  The 
god  revealed  himself  in  dreams  to  his  seers  and  imparted  to  them  the  course 
of  coming  events,3  or,  in  some  cases,  inspired  them  suddenly  and  spoke 
by  their  mouth:  their  utterances,  taken  down  and  commented  on  by  their 
assistants,  were  regarded  as  infallible  oracles.  But  the  number  of  mortal  men 
possessing  adequate  powers,  and  gifted  with  sufficiently  acute  senses  to  bear 
without  danger  the  near  presence  of  a god,  was  necessarily  limited  ; communi- 
cations were,  therefore,  more  often  established  by  means  of  various  objects,  whose 
grosser  substance  lessened  for  human  intelligence  and  flesh  and  blood  the 
dangers  of  direct  contact  with  an  immortal.  The  statues  hidden  in  the  recesses 
of  the  temples  or  erected  on  the  summits  of  the  “ziggurats”  became  imbued, 
by  virtue  of  their  consecration,  with  the  actual  body  of  the  god  whom  they 
represented,  and  whose  name  was  written  either  on  the  base  or  garment  of  the 
statue.4  The  sovereign  who  dedicated  them,  summoned  them  to  speak  in  the 
days  to  come,  and  from  thenceforth  they  spoke  : when  they  were  interrogated 
according  to  the  rite  instituted  specially  for  each  one,  that  part  of  the  celestial 
soul,  which  by  means  of  the  prayers  had  been  attracted  to  and  held  captive  by 
the  statue,  could  not  refuse  to  reply.5  Were  there  for  this  purpose  special 

1 The  removal  of  Bel  and  Ea  to  heaven  and  the  placing  of  them  beside  Anu,  already  noticed  by 
Schrader  ( Studien  und  Kritiken,  1874,  p.  341),  and  the  identification  of  the  “Ways  of  Bel  and  Ea” 
with  the  Tropics,  have  been  made  the  subjects  of  study,  and  the  problems  arising  out  of  them  have 
been  solved  by  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  19-37. 

2 This  number  is  that  furnished  by  the  tablet  iu  the  British  Museum  quoted  by  G-.  Smith,  in 
his  article  in  the  North  British  Review,  January,  1870,  p.  309. 

3 A prophetic  dream  is  mentioned  upon  one  of  the  statues  of  Telloh  (Zimmern,  Das  Traumgesicht 
Gudea’s,  in  the  Zeitsclirift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  pp.  232-235 ; cf.  p.  610  of  this  History).  In  the 
records  of  Assurbanipal  we  find  mention  of  several  “ seers  ” — shabru — one  of  whom  predicts  the  general 
triumph  of  the  king  over  his  enemies  ( Cylinder  of  Rassam,  col.  iii.  11.  118-127),  and  of  whom  another 
announces  in  the  name  of  Ishtar  the  victory  over  the  Elamites  and  encourages  the  Assyrian  army  to 
cross  a torrent  swollen  by  rains  (id.,  col.  v.  11.  97-103),  while  a third  see3  in  a dream  the  defeat 
and  death  of  the  King  of  Elam  ( Cylinder  B,  col.  v.  11.  49-76,  in  G.  Smith,  History  of  Assurbanipal, 
pp.  123-126).  These  “seers”  are  mentioned  in  the  texts  of  Gudea  with  the  prophetesses  “ who  tell 
the  message”  of  the  gods  ( Statue  B du  Louvre,  in  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Fouilles  en  Chaldee,  pi.  16,  col.  iv. 
11.  1-3 ; cf.  Amiaijd,  The  Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  78. 

4 In  a formula  drawn  up  against  evil  spirits,  for  the  purpose  of  making  talismanic  figures  for  the 
protection  of  houses,  it  is  said  of  Merodacli  that  he  “ inhabits  the  image  ” — ashibu  salam — which  has 
been  made  of  him  by  the  magician  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  21,  No.  1,  11.  40,  41  ; 
cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  272,  273;  vol.  iii.  pp.  104-106). 

5 This  is  what  Gudea  says,  when,  describing  his  own  statue  which  he  had  placed  in  the  temple 
of  Telloh,  he  adds  that  “he  gave  the  order  to  the  statue:  ‘To  the  statue  of  my  king,  speak’!” 

2 T 


(542 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  OODS  OF  CIlALDsEA. 


images,  as  in  Egypt,  which  were  cleverly  contrived  60  as  to  emit  sounds  by 
the  pulling  of  a string  by  the  hidden  prophet?  Voices  resounded  at  night  in 
the  darkness  of  the  sanctuaries,  and  particularly  when  a king  came  there  to 
prostrate  himself  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  future  : his  rank  alone,  which 
raised  him  halfway  to  heaven,  prepared  him  to  receive  the  word  from  on  high 
by  the  mouth  of  the  image.1  More  frequently  a priest,  accustomed  from  child- 
hood to  the  office,  possessed 


the  privilege  of  asking  the 
desired  questions  and  of 
interpreting  to  the  faithful 
the  various  signs  by  means 
of  which  the  divine  will  was 
made  known.  The  spirit  of 
the  god  inspired,  moreover, 
whatever  seemed  good  to 
him,  and  frequently  entered 
into  objects  where  we  should  least  have  expected  to  find  it.  It  animated  stones, 
particularly  such  as  fell  from  heaven  ;3  also  trees,  as,  for  example,  the  tree  of 
Eridu  which  pronounced  oracles;4  and,  besides  the  battle-mace,  with  a granite 
head  fixed  on  a wooden  handle,5  the  axe  of  Ramman,6  lances  made  on  the 
model  of  Gilgames’  fairy  javelin,  which  came  and  went  at  its  master’s  orders, 
without  needing  to  be  touched.7  Such  objects,  when  it  was  once  ascertained 


THE  ADORATION  OF  THE  MACE  AND  THE  WHir.2 


(Amiaud,  in  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  xii.  11.  21-25).  The  statue  of  the  king,  inspired 
by  that  of  the  god,  would  thenceforth  speak  when  interrogated  according  to  the  formularies  Cf.  what 
is  said  of  the  divine  or  royal  statues  dedicated  in  the  temples  of  Egypt,  pp.  119,  120  of  this  volume. 

1 For  instance,  the  Assyrian  King  Assurbanipal  hears  at  night,  in  the  sanctuary  of  Islitar  of 
Arbela,  the  voice  of  the  goddess  herself  promising  him  help  against  Tiumman,  the  King  of  Elam 
( Cylinder  B,  col.  v.  11.  26-49,  in  G.  Smith,  History  of  A ssurhanipal,  pp.  120-123). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  Chaldrean  intaglio  reproduced  in  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Dtcou- 
vertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  30Ws,  No.  13’’. 

3 Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  410;  on  the  possible  presence  of  a sacred 
tree  in  one  of  the  sanctuaries  of  Uru,  or  of  a meteoric  stone  consecrated  to  the  moon-god,  Siu,  cf. 
Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Viilker  und  Sprachen,  pp.  206,  207. 

4 The  tree  of  Eridu  is  described  in  Tablet  K,  iii.  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  15) 
of  the  British  Museum ; cf.  Sayce,  Relig.  of  Anc.  Babylonians , pp.  238-242,  471,  11.  26-35,  where  it  is 
identified  with  the  Cosmic  tree.  I agree  with  Jensen, Die  Kosmologie,  etc.,  p.  249,  n.  1,  that  this  tree  gave 
its  oracles  through  the  medium  of  a priest  attached  to  its  guardian -hip.  The  subject  of  the  sacred  trees 
in  Egypt,  and  of  the  worship  rendered  to  them,  has  been  treated  of  on  pp.  121,  122  of  (his  volume. 

5 The  battle-mace  placed  upright  upon  the  altar,  and  receiving  the  homage  of  a man  standing 
in  front  of  it,  is  not  infrequently  seen  on  Assyrian  cylinders ; cf.  on  the  subject  of  this  worship, 
Heuzey,  Los  Origines  orientates  de  VArt,  vol.  i.  pp.  193-198.  It  is  possible  that  the  enormous  stone- 
head  of  the  mace  of  the  vicegerent  Ningirsumudu  (Heuzey,  Reconstruction  partielle  de  la  stele  du 
roi  Eannadu,  iu  the  Comptes  rendus  de  V Academic  des  Inscriptions,  1892,  vol.  xx.  p.  270,  aud  La 
Lance  colossale  d’ Izdoubar,  ibid.,  1893,  vol.  xxi.  p.  310)  may  be  one  of  these  divine  maces  worshipped 
in  the  temples.  The  whip,  placed  in  the  illustration  by  the  side  of  the  two  maces,  shared  in  the 
honours  which  they  received. 

0 The  battle-axe  set  up  on  an  altar  to  receive  the  offering  of  a priest  or  devotee  had  attention 
first  called  to  it  by  A.  de  Longperier,  CEuvres,  vol.  i.  pp.  170,  171,  218-221. 

7 Qne  of  these  bronze  or  copper  lances,  decorated  with  small  bas-reliefs,  was  found  by  M.  de 


FETISHES  AND  HOUSEHOLD  OODS. 


G43 


that  they  were  imbued  with  the  divine  spirit,  were  placed  upon  the  altar  and 
worshipped  with  as  much  veneration  as  were  the  statues  themselves.  Animals 
never  became  objects  of  habitual  worship  as  in  Egypt : some  of  them,  however, 
such  as  the  bull  and  lion,  were  closely  allied  to  the  gods,  and  birds 
unconsciously  betrayed  by  their  flight  or  cries  the  secrets  of 
futurity.1  In  addition  to  all  these,  each  family  possessed  its  house- 
hold gods,  to  whom  its  members  recited  prayers  and  poured  liba- 
tions night  and  morning,  and  whose  statues  set  up  over  the 
domestic  hearth  defended  it  from  the  snares  of  the  evil  ones.2 
The  State  religion,  which  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  same 
city,  from  the  king  down  to  the  lowest  slave,  were  solemnly 
bound  to  observe,  really  represented  to  the  Chaldseans  but  a 
tithe  of  their  religious  life:  it  included  some  dozen  gods,  no 
doubt  the  most  important,  but  it  more  or  less  left  out  of 
account  all  the  others,  whose  anger,  if  aroused  by  neglect, 
might  become  dangerous.  The  private  devotion  of  individuals 
supplemented  the  State  religion  by  furnishing  worshippers  for 
most  of  the  neglected  divinities,  and  thus  compensated  for 
what  was  lacking  in  the  official  public  worship  of  the 
community. 

If  the  idea  of  uniting  all  these  divine  beings  into  a single 
supreme  one,  who  would  combine  within  himself  all  their 
elements  and  the  whole  of  their  powers,  ever  for  a moment 
crossed  the  mind  of  some  Chaldaean  theologian,  it  never 
spread  to  the  people  as  a whole.  Among  all  the  thou- 
sands of  tablets  or  inscribed  stones  on  which  we  find  recorded  prayers 
and  magical  formulas,  we  have  as  yet  discovered  no  document  treating  of  the 
existence  of  a supreme  god,  or  even  containing  the  faintest  allusion  to  a divine 


A PROTECTING  AMULET. 


Sarzec  in  the  ruins  of  a kind  of  villa  belonging  to  the  princes  of  Lagash ; it  is  now  in  the  Louvre ; 
cf.  IIeuzey,  La  Lance  colossale  d'Jzdoubar  et  les  nouvelles  fouilles  de  M.  de  Sarzec,  in  the  Comptes 
rendus  de  V Acade'mie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  1892,  vol.  xxi.  p.  305,  et  seep 

1 Animal  forms  are  almost  always  restricted  either  to  the  genii,  the  constellations,  or  the  secondary 
forms  of  the  greater  divinities  : Ea,  however,  is  represented  by  a man  with  a fish’s  tail,  or  as  a man 
clothed  with  a fish-skin,  which  would  appear  to  indicate  that  at  the  outset  he  was  considered  to  be 
an  actual  fish.  For  the  prophetic  faculties  attributed  to  birds  by  the  priests,  cf.  Fr.  Lenormant, 
La  Divination  chez  les  Chald&em,  p.  52,  et  seq. 

2 The  images  of  these  gods  acted  as  amulets,  and  the  fact  of  their  presence  alone  repelled  the 
evil  spirits.  At  Khorsabad  they  were  found  buried  under  the  threshold  of  the  city  gates  (Place, 
Ninive  et  VAssyrie,  vol.  i.  p.  198,  et  seq.).  A bilingual  tablet  in  the  British  Museum  has  preserved 
for  us  the  formula  of  consecration  which  was  supposed  to  invest  these  protecting  statuettes  with 
divine  powers  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Eludes  accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  267-277,  and  vol.  iii.  pp. 
101-106). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  terra-cotta  figurine  of  Assyrian  date  now  in  the  Louvre 
(cf.  A.  de  Longperier,  Notice  des  Antiquites  assijriennes,  3rd  edit.,  p.  57,  No.  262). 


f>44 


TIIE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  OOPS  OF  CHAU) TEA. 


unity.1  \Ye  meet  indeed  with  many  passages  in  which  this  or  that  divinity 
boasts  of  his  power,  eloquently  depreciating  that  of  his  rivals,  and  ending  his 
discourse  with  the  injunction  to  worship  him  alone  : “ Man  who  shall  come  after, 
trust  in  Nebo,  trust  in  no  other  god  ! ” 2 The  very  expressions  which  are  used, 
commanding  future  races  to  abandon  the  rest  of  the  immortals  in  favour  of  Nebo, 
prove  that  even  those  who  prided  themselves  on  being  worshippers  of  one  god 
realized  how  far  they  were  from  believing  in  the  unity  of  God.  They  strenuously 
asserted  that  the  idol  of  their  choice  was  far  superior  to  many  others,  hut 
it  never  occurred  to  them  to  proclaim  that  he  had  absorbed  them  all  into 
himself,  and  that  be  remained  alone  in  his  glory,  contemplating  the  world, 
his  creature.  Side  by  side  with  those  who  expressed  this  belief  in  Nebo,  an 
inhabitant  of  Babylon  would  say  as  much  and  more  of  Merodacb,  the  patron 
of  his  birthplace,  without,  however,  ceasing  to  believe  in  the  actual  inde- 
pendence and  royalty  of  Nebo.  “When  thy  power  manifests  itself,  who  can 
withdraw  himself  from  it? — Thy  word  is  a powerful  net  which  thou  spreadest 
in  heaven  and  over  the  earth  : — it  falls  upon  the  sea,  and  the  sea  retires,— it 
falls  upon  the  plain,  and  the  fields  make  great  mourning, — it  falls  upon  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Euphrates,  and  the  word  of  Merodacb  stirs  up  the  flood 
in  them. — 0 Lord,  thou  art  sovereign,  who  can  resist  thee? — Merodacb,  among 
the  gods  who  hear  a name,  thou  art  sovereign.”  3 Merodacb  is  for  his  wor- 
shippers the  king  of  the  gods,  he  is  not  the  sole  god.  Each  of  the  chief  divini- 
ties received  in  a similar  manner  the  assurance  of  his  omnipotence,  but,  for  all 
that,  his  most  zealous  followers  never  regarded  them  as  the  only  God,  beside 
whom  there  was  none  other,  and  whose  existence  and  rule  precluded  those  of 
any  other.  The  simultaneous  elevation  of  certain  divinities  to  the  supreme 
tank  had  a reactionary  influence  on  the  ideas  held  with  regard  to  the 
nature  of  each.  Anu,  Bel,  and  Ea,  not  to  mention  others,  had  enjoyed 
at  the  outset  but  a limited  and  incomplete  personality,  confined  to  a single 
concept,  and  were  regarded  as  possessing  only  such  attributes  as  were  indis- 
pensable to  the  exercise  of  their  power  within  a prescribed  sphere,  whether 
in  heaven,  or  on  the  earth,  or  in  the  waters;  as  each  in  his  turn  gained  the 
ascendancy  over  his  rivals,  he  became  invested  with  the  qualities  which  were 

1 The  supreme  god,  whose  existence  the  earlier  Assyriologists  thought  they  had  discovered 
(H.  Rawlinson,  On  the  Beligion  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  in  the  Herodotus  of  G.  Rawlinson, 
2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  482,  cf.  G.  Rawlinson,  The  Five  Great  Monarchies,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  114,  115; 
Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Commentaire  sur  les  fragments  cosmogoniqu.es  de  Befrose,  pp.  G3,  64,  Les 
Dieux  de  Babylone  et  de  VAssyrie,  pp.  4,  5),  was  as  much  a being  of  their  own  invention  as  the 
supreme  god  imagined  by  Egyptologists  to  occupy  the  highest  position  in  the  Egyptian  Pantheon. 

2 Inscription  on  the  statue  of  the  god  Nebo,  of  the  time  of  Rammanuirari  III.,  King  of  Assyria, 
now  preserved  in  the  British  Museum  (Rawlinson,  Gun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  i.  pi.  35,  No.  ii.  1.  12). 

3 Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  26,  No.  iv.  11.  1-22;  cf.  the  translations  of  this  text 
given  in  French  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  cliez  les  Chaldeens,  p.  175,  and  Etudes  accadiennes, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  119-123,  vol.  iii.  pp.  41-43 ; in  German  by  Delitzsch-Murdter,  Geschichte  Babyloniens  und 
Assyriens,  2nd  edit.,  p.  37 ; and  in  English  by  Sayce,  The  Beligion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  497- 


THE  ALLIANCES  OF  THE  GODS. 


645 


exercised  by  the  others  in  their  own  domain.  His  personality  became  enlarged, 
and  instead  of  remaining  merely  a god  of  heaven  or  earth  or  of  the  waters, 
he  became  god  of  all  three  simultaneously.  Anu  reigned  in  the  province 
of  Bel  or  of  Ea  as  he  ruled  in  his  own ; Bel  joined  to  his  own  authority  that 
of  Anu  and  Ea;  Ea  treated  Anu  and  Bel  with  the  same  absence  of  ceremony 
which  they  had  shown  to  him,  and  added  their  supremacy  to  his  own.  The 
personality  of  each  god  was  thenceforward  composed  of  many  divers  elements  : 
each  preserved  a nucleus  of  his  original  being,  but  superadded  to  this  were 
the  peculiar  characteristics  of  all  the  gods  above  whom  he  had  been  success- 
sively  raised.  Anu  took  to  himself  somewhat  of  the  temperaments  of  Bel 
and  of  Ea,  and  the  latter  in  exchange  borrowed  from  him  many  personal 
traits.  The  same  work  of  levelling  which  altered  the  characteristics  of 
the  Egyptian  divinities,  and  transformed  them  little  by  little  into  local 
variants  of  Osiris  and  the  Sun,  went  on  as  vigorously  among  the  Chaldaean 
gods : those  who  were  incarnations  of  the  earth,  the  waters,  the  stars,  or  the 
heavens,  became  thenceforth  so  nearly  allied  to  each  other  that  we  are  tempted 
to  consider  them  as  being  doubles  of  a single  god,  worshipped  under  different 
names  in  different  localities.  Their  primitive  forms  can  only  be  clearly  distin- 
guished when  they  are  stripped  of  the  uniform  in  which  they  are  all  clothed. 

The  sky-gods  and  the  earth-gods  had  been  more  numerous  at  the  outset 
than  they  were  subsequently.  We  recognize  as  such  Anu,  the  immovable  firma- 
ment, and  the  ancient  Bel,  the  lord  of  men  and  of  the  soil  on  which  they  live, 
and  into  whose  bosom  they  return  after  death ; but  there  were  others,  who  in 
historic  times  had  partially  or  entirely  lost  their  primitive  character,— such  as 
Nergal,1  Ninib,2  Dumuzi ; 3 or,  among  the  goddesses,  Damkina,4  Eskarra,5  and 
even  Ishtar  herself,6  who,  at  the  beginning  of  their  existence,  had  represented 

1 ThU  conclusion,  arrived  at  from  the  variety  of  functions  attributed  to  Nergal,  is  completely 
rejected  by  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  etc.,  pp.  481-484;  according  to  him  Nergal  was  from  the  begin- 
ning, what  he  undoubtedly  was  at  a later  period,  the  blazing  and  overpowering  summer  or  midday  sun. 

2 Ninib  and  his  double  Ningirsu  are  gods  of  cultivation  and  fertility,  emanating  from  the  gods 
of  the  earth,  like  their  mother  Esharra,  the  fruitful  soil  which  produces  harvest  and  fattens  the 
cattle  (Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  61,  199)  ; cf.  p.  576,  note  3,  of  this  volume). 

3 Dumuzi,  Duuzi,  the  Tammuz  of  the  Western  Semites,  was  both  god  of  the  earth  of  the  living, 
and  of  the  world  of  the  dead,  but  by  preference  the  god  who  caused  vegetation  to  grow,  anl  who  clothed 
the  earth  with  verdure  in  the  spring  (Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  197,  225,  227,  480). 

4 Damkina,  Davkiua,  the  Aavnh  of  Greek  transcriptions,  is  one  of  the  few  goddesses  who  was 
recognized  almost  unanimously  by  all  Assyriologists  who  have  interested  themselves  in  the  study 
of  religion,  as  representing  the  Earth  (Lenokmant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chalddens,  pp.  148, 183 ; Hommel, 
Die  Semitischen  Vollcer,  pp.  375,  376 ; Sayoe,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians , pp.  139,  264, 
265);  her  name  of  Dam-ki  is  so  compounded  that  it  signifies  literally  “ the  mistress  of  the  earth.” 

5 For  the  attribute  of  divinity  of  the  soil,  which  the  goddess  Esharra  undoubtedly  possessed, 
cf.  what  is  said  by  Jensen,  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  195-201. 

0 This  very  ingenious  theory  of  Tiele’s  is  based  upon  the  legend  of  the  descent  of  Ishtar  into 
the  infernal  regions  (Tiele,  La  Deesse  Ishtar  surtout  dans  le  mytlie  babylonie  n,  in  the  Acts  of  the 
VIth  International  Congress  of  Orientalists,  vol.  ii.  pp.  493,  506).  It  has  been  adopted  by  Sayoe,  The 
Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  251,  anl  it  has  every  appearance  of  probability;  the  sidereal 
character  of  Ishtar  would  arise  from  her  union  with  Anunit. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CHALDJEA. 


(54  G 

only  the  earth,  or  one  of  its  most  striking  aspects.  For  instance,  Nergal  and 
Ninib  were  the  patrons  of  agriculture  and  protectors  of  the  soil,  Dumuzi  was 
the  ground  in  spring  whose  garment  withered  at  the  first  approach  of 
summer,  Damkina  was  the  leafy  mould  in  union  with  fertilizing  moisture, 
Esharra  was  the  field  whence  sprang  the  crops,  Ishtar  was  the  clod  which 
again  grew  green  after  the  lieat  of  the  dog  days  and  the  winter  frosts.  All 
these  beings  had  been  forced  to  submit  in  a greater  or  less  degree  to  the 
fate  which  among  most  primitive  races  awaits  those  older  earth-gods,  whose 
manifestations  are  usually  too  vague  and  shadowy  to  admit  of  their  being 
grasped  or  represented  by  any  precise  imagery  without  limiting  and  curtailing 
their  spheres.  New  deities  bad  arisen  of  a more  definite  and  tangible  kind, 
and  hence  more  easily  understood,  and  having  a real  or  supposed  province 
which  could  be  more  easily  realized,  such  as  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  fixed 
or  wandering  stars.  The  moon  is  the  measure  of  time,  it  determines  the 
months,  leads  the  course  of  the  years,  and  the  entire  life  of  mankind  and  of  great 
cities  depends  upon  the  regularity  of  its  movements : the  Chaldmans,  there- 
fore, made  it,  or  rather  the  spirit  which  animated  it,  the  father  and  king  of 
the  gods ; but  its  suzerainty  was  everywhere  a conventional  rather  than  an 
actual  superiority,  and  the  sun,  which  in  theory  was  its  vassal,  attracted  more 
worshippers  than  the  pale  and  frigid  luminary.  Some  adored  the  sun  under 
its  ordinary  title  of  Shamash,  corresponding  to  the  Egyptian  Ra ; others 
designated  it  as  Merodach,  Ninib,  Nergal,  Dumuzi,  not  to  mention  other 
less  usual  appellations.  Nergal  in  the  beginning  had  nothing  in  common 
with  Ninib,  and  Merodach  differed  alike  from  Shamash,  Ninib,  Nergal,  and 
Dumuzi ; but  the  same  movement  which  instigated  the  fusion  of  so  many 
Egyptian  divinities  of  diverse  nature,  led  the  gods  of  the  Chaldseaus  to  divest 
themselves  little  by  little  of  their  individuality  and  to  lose  themselves  in  the 
sun.  Each  one  at  first  became  a complete  sun,  and  united  in  himself  all  the 
innate  virtues  of  the  sun — its  brilliancy  and  its  dominion  over  the  world,  its 
gentle  and  beneficent  heat,  its  fertilizing  warmth,  its  goodness  and  justice, 
its  emblematic  character  of  truth  and  peace ; besides  the  incontestable  vices 
which  darken  certain  phases  of  its  being — the  fierceness  of  its  rays  at  midday 
and  in  summer,  the  inexorable  strength  of  its  will,  its  combative  temperament, 
its  irresistible  harshness  and  cruelty.  By  degrees  they  lost  this  uniform 
character,  and  distributed  the  various  attributes  among  themselves.  If  Shamash 
continued  to  be  the  sun  in  general,1  Ninib  restricted  himself,  after  the  example 
of  the  Egyptian  Harmakhis,  to  being  merely  the  rising  and  setting  sun,2  the 

1 Shamash  is,  like  Rtl  in  Egyptian  (cf.  p.  88,  note  1,  of  this  volume),  the  actual  word  which 
signifies  “ sun  ” in  the  ordinary  language : it  is  transcribed  Saws  (Hesychius,  sub  voce ) by  the  Greeks. 

2 Lenormant  attributed  to  him  the  character  of  “ the  nocturnal  sun  in  the  darkness,  in  the  lower 
hemisphere”  ( Essai  de  Commentaire  sur  les  Fragments  Cosmogoniques  de  BCrose,  p.  113).  Delitzsch 


THE  MOON  AND  THE  SUN. 


647 


sun  on  the  two  horizons.  Nergal  became  the  feverish  and  destructive  summer 
sun.1  Merodach  was  transformed  into  the  youthful  sun  of  spring  and  early 
morning ; 2 Dumuzi,  like  Merodach,  became  the  sun  before  the  summer.3  Their 
moral  qualities  naturally  were  affected  by  the  process  of  restriction  which  had 
been  applied  to  their  physical  being,  and  the  external  aspect  now  assigned  to 
each  in  accordance  with  their  several  functions  differed  considerably  from  that 
formerly  attributed  to  the  unique  type  from  which  they  had  sprung.  Ninib 
was  represented  as  valiant,  bold,  and  combative ; he  was  a soldier  who  dreamed 
but  of  battle  and  great  feats  of  arms.4  Nergal  united  a crafty  fierceness  to 
his  bravery : not  content  with  being  lord  of  battles,  he  became  the  pestilence 
which  breaks  out  unexpectedly  in  a country,  the  death  which  comes  like  a 
thief,  and  carries  off  his  prey  before  there  is  time  to  take  up  arms  against 
him.5  Merodach  united  wisdom  with  courage  and  strength  : he  attacked  the 
wicked,  protected  the  good,  and  used  his  power  in  the  cause  of  order  and 
justice.6  A very  ancient  legend,  which  was  subsequently  fully  developed  among 
the  Canaanites,  related  the  story  of  the  unhappy  passion  of  Ishtar  for  Dumuzi. 
The  goddess  broke  out  yearly  into  a fresh  frenzy,  but  the  tragic  death  of 

prefers  to  identify  liim  with  the  sun  in  the  south,  the  midday  sun,  who  burns  up  and  destroys  every- 
thing (Delitzsch-Murdter,  Geschichte  Bahyl.  und  Assyriens,  2nd  edit.,  p.  33).  Amiaud,  partially 
returning  to  Lenormaut’s  opinion,  thought  that  Ninib  was  the  sun  hidden  behind  and  struggling  with 
clouds,  an  obscured  suu,  but  obscured  during  the  daytime  (Amiaud.  Sirpourla  cl'apres  les  inscriptions 
de  la  collection  de  Sarzec,  pp.  18,  19).  Finally,  Jensen  concludes  the  long  dissertation  he  has  devoted 
to  the  subject  of  this  god  ( Die  Kosniologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  457-175)  by  declaring  that  “ the 
morning  sun  on  the  horizon,  being  similar  in  appearance  to  the  setting  sun  on  the  horizon,  was 
identified  with  it ; ” in  other  words,  that  Ninib  is  the  rising  and  setting  sun,  analogous  to  the  Egyptian 
Harmakhis,  “ Harmukhuiti,”  the  Horus  of  the  two  horizons  of  the  sky  (cf.  p.  138  of  this  volume). 

1 The  solar  character  of  Nergal,  at  least  in  later  times,  is  admitted,  but  with  restrictions,  by  all 
Assyriologists.  The  evident  connection  between  him  and  Ninib,  of  which  we  have  proofs  (Lenormant, 
Essai  de  Commenlaire,  etc.,  p.  123,  et  seq.),  was  the  ground  of  Delitzscli’s  theory  that  he  was  likewise 
the  burning  and  destructive  sun  (Delitzsch-Murdter,  Gesch.  Bnbyloniens,  etc.,  2nd  edit.,  p.  34),  and 
also  of  Jensen’s  analogous  concept  of  a midday  and  summer  son  (Jensen,  Kosmologie,  etc.,  pp.  484, 485). 

2 Fr.  Leuormant  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  distinguish  in  Meiodach,  besides  the  god  of  the 
planet  Jupiter,  a solar  personage  ( Les  Premieres  Civilisations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  170,  171,  and  La  Magie 
chez  les  Chaldtens,  pp.  120,  121,  177).  This  notion,  which  has  been  generally  admitted  by  most 
Assyriologists  (see  what  is  said  by  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  B ibylonians,  pp.  98-101),  has 
been  defined  with  greater  exactitude  by  Jensen  {Die  Kosmologie  der  Bab.,  pp.  87,  88,  249,  250),  who 
is  inclined  to  see  in  Merodach  both  the  morning  sun  and  the  spring  sun  ; and  this  is  the  opinion  held 
at  present  (Delitzsch-Murdter,  Geschichte  Bab.  und  Assyriens,  2nd  edit.,  p.  31). 

3 Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  212,  232,  et  seq. 

4 This  idea,  with  others,  results  from  the  examination  of  the  hymns  to  Ninib  published  in 
Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  i.  pi.  17, 11.  1-9,  pi.  29,  11.  1-25  ; and  in  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie 
der  Bab.,  pp.  470-473:  the  three  have  been  tr  inflated  by  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  etc.,  pp.  464-473  ; 
the  first  by  Lhotzky,  Die  Annalen  Assurnazirpals,  pp.  2,  3;  the  second  by  Pere  Schell,  Inscription 
en  caracteres  archaiques  de  Samsi-Ramman  IV.,  roi  d’Assyrie,  pp.  2-5. 

5 The  part  played  by  Nergal,  “the  great  Nera,”  as  the  god  of  the  plague,  has  been  made  the 
subject  of  a special  study  by  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  310-313;  cf. 
M.  J.astrow,  A Fragment  of  the  Babylonian  Dibbarra  Epic,  pp.  21,  36,  et  seq. 

6 Upon  the  character  of  Merodach,  cf.  the  prayer  of  Nebuchadrezzar,  in  R awlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF  As., 
vol.  i.  pi.  53,  col.  i.  11.  41-60,  and  particularly  the  hymn  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  29, 
No.  1),  translated  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  Les  Premieres  Civilisations,  vol.  ii.  p.  178,  et  seq.,  La  Magie 
chez  les  Chaldeens,  pp.  175,  176,  Etudes  accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  116-121;  by  Fr.  Delitzsch,  Die 
Chaldaische  Genesis,  p.  302,  et  seq. ; and  by  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  501,  502. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  QODS  OF  CUALDAEA. 


f>48 


the  hero  finally  moderated  the  ardour  of  her  devotion.  She  wept  distractedly 
for  him,  went  to  beg  the  lords  of  the  infernal  regions  for  his  return,  and 
brought  him  back  triumphantly  to  the  earth:  every  year  there  was  a repe- 
tition of  the  same  passionate  infatuation,  suddenly  interrupted  by  the  same 
mourning.  The  earth  was  united  to  the  young  sun  with  every  recurring 
spring,  and  under  the  influence  of  his  caresses  became  covered  with  verdure; 
then  followed  autumn  and  winter,  and  the  sun,  grown  old,  sank  into  the  tomb, 
from  whence  his  mistress  had  to  call  him  up,  in  order  to  plunge  afresh  with 
him  by  a common  impulse  into  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  another  year.1 

The  differences  between  the  gods  were  all  the  more  accentuated,  for  the 
reason  that  many  who  had  a common  origin  were  often  separated  from  one 
another  by,  relatively  speaking,  considerable  distances.  Having  divided  the 
earth’s  surface  between  them,  they  formed,  as  in  Egypt,  a complete  feudal 
system,  whose  chiefs  severally  took  up  their  residence  in  a particular  city, 
xlnu  was  worshipped  in  Uruk,  Enlil-Bel  reigned  in  Nipur,  Eridu  belonged  to 
Ea,  the  lord  of  the  waters.  The  moon*god,  Sin,  alone  governed  two  large  fiefs, 
Uru  in  the  extreme  south,  and  Harran  towards  the  extreme  north-west ; Shamash 
had  Larsam  and  one  of  the  Sipparas  for  his  dominion,  and  the  other  sun-gods 
were  not  less  well  provided  for,  Nergal  possessing  Kutha,  Zamama  having  Kish, 
Niuib  side  by  side  with  Bel  reigning  in  Nipur  while  Merodach  ruled  at  Babylon.2 
Each  was  absolute  master  in  his  own  territory,  and  it  is  quite  exceptional  to 
find  two  of  them  co-reguaut  in  one  locality,  as  were  Ninib  and  Bel  at  Nipur,  or 
Ea  and  Ishtar  in  Uruk  ; not  that  they  raised  any  opposition  on  principle  to  the 
presence  of  a stranger  divinity  in  their  dominions,  but  they  welcomed  them  only 
under  the  titles  of  allies  or  subjects.3  Each,  moreover,  had  fair  play,  and  Nebo 
or  Shamash,  after  having  filled  the  role  of  sovereign  at  Borsippa  or  at  Larsam, 
did  not  consider  it  derogatory  to  his  dignity  to  accept  a lower  rank  in 
Babylon  or  at  Uru.  Hence  all  the  feudal  gods  played  a double  part,  and  had, 
as  it  were,  a double  civil  portion — that  of  suzerain  in  one  or  two  localities,  and 

1 For  the  questions  which  arise  from  the  exact  philological  relationship  between  Dumuzi  and 
Tammuz,  cf.  Jensen,  Ueber  einige  sitimro-alckadische  und  bubylonisch-assyrische  Gotternamen,  in  the 
Ziitsclirift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  pp.  17-21.  For  the  myth  of  Tammuz-Adonis  and  of  Ishtar- 
Aphrodite,  two  special  memoirs  may  be  consulted;  one  by  Fr.  Lenormant  (II  Mito  di  Adone-Tammuz 
nei  documenti  cuneiformi,  in  the  Atti  del  IV.  Congresso  Inter nazionale  degli  Orientalisti,  pp.  113-173), 
and  the  other  by  Tiele  (La  Ddesse  Ishtar  surtout  dans  le  mythe  babylonien,  in  the  Actes  du  VIC  Congree 
international  des  Orientalistes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  193-506),  whose  respective  conclusions  do  not  agree  in 
detail.  The  account  of  the  descent  of  Ishtar  into  the  infernal  regions  will  be  found  on  pp.  693-696 
of  this  volume. 

2 Without  haviug  recourse  to  the  original  texts,  the  reader  may  find  the  localities  belonging  to 
each  of  the  great  divinities  mentioned  in  Delitzsch,  1 Vo  lag  das  Paradies  ? Nipur,  p.  221;  Eridu, 
p.  228;  Uru,  p.  227;  Lars  im,  p.  223;  Sippara,  p.  210;  Kutha,  218;  Kish,  p.  219.  The  attribution  of 
Harran  to  Sin,  which  is  wanting  in  Delitszch,  ii  found  in  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient 
Babylonians,  pp.  163,  161. 

3 There  will  be  found  in  Rawlinson,  Gun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  66,  verso,  col.  7,  a list  of  the 
divinities,  whose  images,  placed  in  the  principal  temples  of  Assyria,  constituted  the  complete  court* 
and  so  to  speak  tlio  domestic  entourage  of  the  chief  god  (Sayce,  op.  cit.,  pp.  218-220). 


THE  DIVINE  HIERARCHY:  THE  TWO  TRIADS  OF  UR  UK. 


649 


that  of  vassals  everywhere  else — and  this  dual  condition  was  the  surest  guarantee 
not  only  of  their  prosperity,  but  of  their  existence.  Sin  would  have  run  great 
risk  of  fading  away  into  oblivion  if  his  resources  had  been  confined  to  the 
subventions  from  his  domain  temples  of  Harran  and  Uru.  Their  impoverish- 
ment would  in  such  case  have  brought  about  his  complete  failure  : after  having 
enjoyed  an  existence  amid  riches  and  splendour  in  the  beginning  of  history,  he 
would  have  ended  his  life  in  a condition  of  misery  and  obscurity.  But  the 
sanctuaries  erected  to  him  in  the  majority  of  the  other  cities,  the  honours  which 
these  bestowed  upon  him,  and  the  offerings  which  they  made  to  him,  compensated 
him  for  the  poverty  and  neglect  which  he  experienced  in  his  own  domains  ; and 
he  was  thus  able  to  maintain  his  divine  dignity  on  a suitable  footing.  All  the 
gods  were,  therefore,  worshipped  by  the  Chaldmans,  and  the  only  difference 
among  them  in  this  respect  arose  from  the  fact  that  some  exalted  one  special 
deity  above  the  others.  The  gods  of  the  richest  and  most  ancient  principalities 
naturally  enjoyed  the  greatest  popularity.  The  greatness  of  Uru  had  been 
the  source  of  Sin’s  prestige,  and  Merodach  owed  his  prosperity  to  the  supremacy 
which  Babylon  had  acquired  over  the  districts  of  the  north.  Merodach  was 
regarded  as  the  son  of  Ea,  as  the  star  which  had  risen  from  the  abyss  to 
illuminate  the  world,  and  to  confer  upon  mankind  the  decrees  of  eternal  wisdom. 
He  was  proclaimed  as  lord — “bilu”— par  excellence,  in  comparison  with  whom  all 
other  lords  sank  into  insignificance,  and  this  title  soon  procured  for  him  a second, 
which  was  no  less  widely  recognized  than  the  first : he  was  spoken  of  every- 
where as  the  Bel  of  Babylon,  Bel-Merodach — before  whom  Bel  of  Nipur  was 
gradually  thrown  into  the  shade.1  The  relations  between  these  feudal  deities 
were  not  always  pacific  : jealousies  arose  among  them  like  those  which  disturbed 
the  cities  over  which  they  ruled ; they  conspired  against  each  other,  and  on 
occasions  broke  out  into  open  warfare.  Instead  of  forming  a coalition  against 
the  evil  genii  who  threatened  their  rule,  and  as  a consequence  tended  to  bring 
everything  into  jeopardy,  they  sometimes  made  alliances  with  these  malign 
powers  and  mutually  betrayed  each  other.  Their  history,  if  we  could  recover  it 
in  its  entirety,  would  be  marked  by  as  violent  deeds  as  those  which  distinguished 
the  princes  and  kings  who  worshipped  them.  Attempts  were  made,  however, 
and  that  too  from  an  early  date,  to  establish  among  them  a hierarchy  like  that 
which  existed  among  the  great  ones  of  the  earth.  The  faithful,  who,  instead  of 
praying  to  each  one  separately,  preferred  to  address  them  all,  invoked  them 
always  in  the  same  order;  they  began  with  Anu,  the  heaven,  and  followed  with 

1 The  confounding  of  Merodach  and  Bel  was  noted  by  the  first  Assyriologists : they  distinguished 
between  Bel  of  Nipur,  Bel-Nimrod  (H.  Rawlinson,  On  the  Religion  of  the  Babylonians , pp.  488-492  ; 
G.  Raw lin son,  The  Five  Great  Monarchies , 2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  117-119),  and  Bel  of  Babylon,  or 
Bel-Merodach  (H.  Rawlinson,  op.  cit.,  pp.  515-517 ; G.  Rawlinson,  op.  cit.,  pp.  134,  135).  The 
manner  in  which  these  gods  became  assimilated  has  been  studied  by  Fb.  Lenobmant,  Les  Premieres 
Civilisations,  vol.  ii.  p.  170,  et  seq. ; and  by  Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians , p.  85,  et  seq. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CBALDJEA . 


650 

Bel,  Ea,  Sin,  Shamash,  and  Baraman.1  They  divided  these  six  into  two  groups 
of  three,  one  trio  consisting  of  Ami,  Bel,  and  Ea,  the  other  of  Sin,  Shamash,  and 
Banunan.  All  these  deities  were  associated  with  Southern  Clialdaea,  and  the 
system  which  grouped  them  must  have  taken  its  rise  in  this  region,  probably 
at  Uruk,  whose  patron  Auu  occupied  the  first  rank  among  them.2  The 
theologians  who  classified  them  in  this  manner  seem  never  to  have  dreamt  of 
explaining,  like  the  authors  of  the  Heliopolitan  Ennead,  the  successive  steps  in 
their  creation  : these  triads  were  not,  moreover,  copies  of  the  human  family, 
consisting  of  a father  and  mother  whose  marriage  brings  into  the  world  a new 
being.  Others  had  already  given  an  account  of  the  origin  of  things,  and  of 
Merodach’s  struggles  with  chaos ; 3 these  theologians  accepted  the  universe  as  it 
was,  already  made,  and  contented  themselves  with  summing  up  its  elements  by 
enumerating  the  gods  which  actuated  them.4  They  assigned  the  first  place 
to  those  elements  which  make  the  most  forcible  impression  upon  man — 
beginning  with  Anu,  for  the  heaven  was  the  god  of  their  city  ; following  with 
Bel  of  Nipur,  the  earth  which  from  all  antiquity  has  been  associated  with  the 
heaven  ; and  concluding  with  Ea  of  Eridu,  the  terrestrial  waters  and  primordial 
Ocean  whence  Anu  and  Bel,  together  with  all  living  creatures,  had  sprung — Ea 
being  a god  whom,  had  they  not  been  guided  by  local  vanity,  they  would  have 
made  sovereign  lord  of  all.  Auu  owed  his  supremacy  to  an  historical  accident 
rather  than  a religious  conception  : he  held  his  high  position,  not  by  his  own 
merits,  but  because  the  prevailing  theology  of  an  early  period  had  been  the 
w'ork  of  his  priesthood.5 

The  characters  of  the  three  personages  who  formed  the  supreme  triad  can  be 
readily  deduced  from  the  nature  of  the  elements  which  they  represent.  Anu 
is  the  heaven  itself — “ ana  ” — the  immense  vault  which  spreads  itself  above 
our  heads,  clear  during  the  day  when  glorified  by  the  sun,  obscure  and  strewn 
with  innumerable  star  clusters  during  the  night.6  Afterwards  it  becomes  the 

1 This  is  the  constant  order  in  the  inscriptions,  for  instance,  of  Nabonidos,  and  in  those  of  Shalmaneser 
II.,  and  a summary  of  the  legend  of  Gilgames  shows  that  it  obtained  in  ancient  times  (A  Jeke.mias, 
Izclubar-Nimrod,  pp.  0, 10),  with  the  customai  y interchanging  of  Ramman  and  Islitar  in  the  sixth  place. 

2 II.  Eawlinson  was  inclined  to  place  the  source  of  Chaldaean  theology  in  Eridu;  but  Sayce 
rightly  remarks  ( The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p 192)  that  the  choice  of  Anu  as  head  of 
the  sequence  suggests  Uruk  rather  than  Eridu. 

3 Cf.  pp  537-545  of  the  present  work  for  the  Babylonian  cosmogony,  of  w’hich  Merodach  is  the  hero. 

4 I know  of  Sayce  only  ( The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  110,  111,  192,  193)  who  has 
endeavoured  to  explain  the  historical  formation  of  the  triads.  They  are  considered  by  him  as  of 
Accadian  origin,  and  probably  began  in  an  astronomical  triad,  compose  1 of  the  moon-god,  the  suu- 
god,  and  the  evening  star  (op.  cit.,  p.  110),  Sin,  Shamash,  and  Islitar;  along  side  this  elementary 
trinity,  “ the  only  authentic  one  to  be  found  in  the  religious  faith  of  primitive  Clialdaea,”  the  Semites 
may  have  placed  the  cosmogonical  trinity  of  Anu,  Bel,  and  Ea,  formed  by  the  reunion  of  the  gods  of 
Uruk,  Nipur,  and  Eridu  (op.  cit.,  pp.  192,  193). 

5 Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  192-194. 

6 Anu  was  at  first  considered  as  a god  of  the  lower  world,  and  identified  with  Dis  or  Pluto 
(II.  Rawi  inson,  On  the  Religion  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  pp.  485-487 ; cf.  Hincks,  On  the 


THE  SUPREME  TRIAD:  ANU  THE  HEAVEN. 


651 


spirit  which  animates  the  firmament,1  or  the  god  which  rules  it:2  he  resides 

in  the  north  towards  the  pole,  and  the  ordinary  route  chosen  by  him  when 

inspecting  his  domain  is  that  marked  out  by  our  ecliptic.3  He  occupies  the 

high  regions  of  the  universe,  sheltered  from  winds  and  tempests,  in  an 

atmosphere  always  serene,  and  a light  always  brilliant.  The  terrestrial  gods 

and  those  of  middle-space  take  refuge  in  this  “ heaven  of  Anu,” 4 when  they 

are  threatened  by  any  great  danger,  but  they  dare  not  penetrate  its  depths,  and 

stop,  shortly  after  passing  its  boundary,  on  the  ledge  which  supports  the  vault, 

where  they  loll  and  howl  like  dogs.5  It  is  but  rarely  that  it  may  be  entered, 

and  then  only  by  the  highly  privileged — kings  whose  destiny  marked  them  out 

for  admittance,  and  heroes  who  have  fallen  valiantly  on  the  field  of  battle.  In 

his  remote  position  on  unapproachable  summits  Anu  seems  to  participate  in 

the  calm  and  immobility  of  his  dwelling.  If  he  is  quick  in  forming  an  opinion 

and  coming  to  a conclusion,  he  himself  never  puts  into  execution  the  plans 

which  he  has  matured  or  the  judgments  which  he  has  pronounced  : he  relieves 

himself  of  the  trouble  of  acting,  by  assigning  the  duty  to  Bel-Merodach,  Ea,  or 

Ramman,6  and  he  often  employs  inferior  genii  to  execute  his  will.  “They  are 

seven,  the  messengers  of  Anu  their  king  ; it  is  they  who  from  town  to  town  raise 

the  stormy  wind;  they  are  the  south  wind  which  drives  mightily  in  the  heavens  ; 

they  are  the  destroying  clouds  which  overturn  the  heavens;  they  are  the  rapid 

tempests  which  bring  darkness  in  the  midst  of  clear  day,  they  roam  here  and 

there  with  the  wicked  wind  and  the  ill-omened  hurricane.”  7 Anu  sends  forth 

Assyrian  Mythology,  pp.  406,  407 ; G.  Rawlinson,  The  Five  Great  Monarchies,  2nd  edit.  vol.  i.  pp. 
112,  115-117).  His  role  was  determined  for  the  first  time  by  Lenormant  (La  Magie  chez  les  Chaldeens, 
pp.  106,  121,  142,  144,  145),  wlio,  after  at  first  regarding  him  as  the  primordial  chaos  ( Essai  sur 
les  frag.  Cosmog,  de  Serose,  pp.  64-66),  “first  material  emanation  from  the  divine  existence,”  recog- 
nized that  Anu  was  identical  with  Anna,  ana,  the  heaven,  and  combined  the  idea  of  firmament  with 
that  of  the  Time-god,  upovos,  and  the  world,  k6<t/j.os,  to  bring  it  into  conformity  with  the  conceptions 
contained  in  a passage  of  Damascius  (De  Principiis,  § 125,  ed.  Ruelle,  pp.  321,  322).  The  identity 
of  Anu  with  the  heaven,  and  consequently  his  character  of  Heaven-god,  are  now  generally  recognized 
(Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Vdlker  und  Sprachen,  pp.  370-373;  Sayce,  Relig.  Anc.  Babylonians,  pp. 
186-105;  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Bubylonier,  pp.  4,  11,  12,  274;  Murdter-Delitzsch,  Geschichte 
Babyl.  und  Assyriens,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  25,  26;  Tiei.e,  Assyr.-Babyl.  Geschichte,  pp.  517,  521). 

‘ It  is  the  Zi-ana,  therefore,  the  “spirit  of  the  heaven”  of  magical  conjurations,  which  they 
compare  with  and  oppose  to  the  “ spirit  of  the  earth  ” (Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chaldeens,  pp. 
139,  140,  144 ; Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Vdlker,  pp.  363,  370 ; Sayce,  Relig.  Anc.  Babyl.,  pp.  186,  187). 

2 He  bears,  indeed,  the  title  Anu,  the  great  one  of  the  heaven,  the  great  god  (W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  v. 
pi  45,  No.  2,  1.  22),  who  rules  over  the  vault  of  the  firmament. 

3 Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  p.  16,  et  seq. 

4 As  to  the  meaning  of  this  expression,  see  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  11,  12,  where  it  is  shown 
that  it  does  not  designate  one  only  of  the  many  heavens  among  which  the  gods  were  considered  as 
distributed  (Jeremias,  Die  Babyl.-Assyr.  Vorstell.  vom  Leben  nacli  dem  Tode,  pp.  59,  60). 

5 Of.  the  description  of  the  gods  in  the  legend  of  the  Deluge,  p.  569  of  the  present  volume. 

0 In  the  account  of  the  war  raised  by  Tiamat  against  the  gods  of  light,  he  successively  sends  Ea 
and  Bal-Merodach  against  the  powers  of  Chaos  (cf.  539  of  the  present  work).  In  the  legend  of  the 
god  Zu,  it  is  to  Ramman  that  Anu  confides  the  task  of  recovering  the  tablets  of  destiny  (J.  Harper, 
Die  Babyl.  Legenden  von  Etana,  etc.,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  As*yriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  409-112);  cf. 
pp  666,  667  of  the  present  work. 

7 IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  5,  col.  i.  11.  27-39;  cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  Le  Dieu  Lune,  in  the  Gazette 


G52 


TIIE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  Oil  ALDA'.  A. 


all  the  gods  as  lie  pleases,  recalls  them  again,  and  then,  to  make  them  his 
pliant  instruments,  enfeebles  their  personality,  reducing  it  to  nothing  by  absorb- 
ing it  into  his  own.  He  blends  himself  with  them,  and  their  designations 
seem  to  be  nothing  more  than  doublets  of  his  own  : he  is  Anu  the  Lakhmu  who 
appeared  on  the  first  days  of  creation  ; Anu  Urash  or  Ninib  is  the  sun-warrior 
of  Nipur ; and  Anu  is  also  the  eagle  Alala  whom  Islitar  enfeebled  by  her 
caresses.1  Anu  regarded  in  this  light  ceases  to  be  the  god  par  excellence:  he 
becomes  the  only  chief  god,  and  the  idea  of  authority  is  so  closely  attached  to 
his  name  that  the  latter  alone  is  sufficient  in  common  speech  to  render  the  idea 
of  God.2  Bel  would  have  been  entirely  thrown  into  the  shade  by  him,  as  the 
earth-gods  generally  are  by  the  sky-gods,  if  it  had  not  been  that  he  was 
confounded  with  his  namesake  Bel-Merodach  of  Babylon  : to  this  alliance  he 
owed  to  the  end  the  safety  of  his  life,  in  presence  of  Anu.3  Ea  was  the 
most  active  and  energetic  member  of  the  triad.4  As  he  represented  the  bottom- 
less abyss,  the  dark  waters  which  had  filled  the  universe  until  the  day  of  the 
creation,  there  had  been  attributed  to  him  a complete  knowledge  of  the  past, 
present,  and  future,  whose  germs  had  lain  within  him,  as  in  a womb.  The 
attribute  of  supreme  wisdom  was  revered  in  Ea,  the  lord  of  spells  and  charms, 
to  which  gods  and  men  were  alike  subject : no  strength  could  prevail  against 

Archdologique,  1878,  p.  24,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  122,  123;  Hommel,  Die  Semitisclien 
V other,  p.  307 ; Sayce,  Religion  of  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  463.  Delitzsch,  Die  Chalddische  Genesis, 
p.  308,  thinks  that  the  seven  bad  genii  are  associated  with  the  seven  disastrous  days  of  the  Chaldseo* 
Assyrian  year. 

1 A tablet  from  the  library  of  Assurbauipal  (W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  69,  No.  1,  verso)  gives  a list 
of  twenty-one  gods  and  goddesses  identical  with  Anu,  and  with  his  feminine  form  Anat,  in  the  role 
of  father  and  mother  of  all  things  (Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp  272-275) ; other  texts  show  that  these 
identifications  were  accepted  by  theologians,  at  least  for  some  of  these  divinities,  e.g.  Urash-Ninib 
(Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  136-139)  and  Lakhmu  (Sayce,  Relig.  of  Anc.  Babyl.,  pp.  191,  192). 

2 This  fact,  noticed  by  the  earliest  Assyriologists,  had  suggested  the  idea  that  An,  Anu,  Ana,  was 
the  name  of  deity  in  the  abstract,  applied  by  abuse  of  language  to  a particular  god  (Rawlinson,  On 
the  Relig.  of  Babyl.  and  Assyrians,  p.  486 ; cf.  G.  Eaw'linson,  Five  Great  Monarchies,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i. 
p.  115).  Assyriologists  have  now  reversed  the  notion,  following  Lenormant,  La  Magie,  etc.,  pp. 
144,  145. 

3 Sayce,  Religion  of  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  103,  104. 

4 The  name  of  this  god  was  read  “Nisrok”  by  Oppert  ( Expe'd . en  Ndsopotamie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  339, 
340),  “Nouah”  by  Hincks  and  Lenormant  ( Premieres  Civilisations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  130-132).  The  true 
reading  is  la,  Ea,  usually  translated  “ house  ” (Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  ChaldCens,  pp.  145, 
146),  “ water-house  ” (Hommel,  Geschiclite,  p.  254) ; this  is  a popular  interpretation  which  appears 
to  have  occurred  to  the  Chaldseans  from  the  values  of  the  signs  entering  into  the  name  of  the 
god  (Jensen,  Kosmologie,  p.  246,  note).  From  the  outset  H.  Eawlinson  (Relig.  of  the  Babyl.  and 
Assyrians,  pp.  492-495)  recognized  in  Ea,  which  he  read  Hea,  Hoa,  the  divinity  presiding  over  the 
abyss  of  waters;  he  compared  him  wilh  the  serpent  of  Holy  Scripture,  in  its  relation  to  the  Tree  of 
Knowledge  and  the  Tree  of  Life,  and  deduced  therefrom  his  character  of  lord  of  wisdom.  His 
position  as  lord  of  the  primordial  waters,  from  which  all  things  proceeded,  clearly  defined  by  Lenor- 
mant (La  Magie  chez  les  Chald€ens,  pp.  145-147),  is  now  fully  recognized  (Hommel,  Die  Semitisclien 
Vcillcer,  pp.  373-375;  Delitzsch-Murdter,  Geschiclite,  2nd  edit.,  p.  27;  Sayce,  Relig.  of  the  Ancient 
Babylonians,  pp.  131-145;  Tiele,  Babyl.-Assyr.  Geschiclite,  pp.  518-520).  His  name  was  transcribed 
’Abs  by  Damascius  (De  Principiis,  § 125,  ed.  Euelle,  p.  322),  a form  which  is  not  easily  explained 
(Jensen,  Kosmologie,  p.  271);  the  most  probable  hypothesis  is  that  of  Hommel  (Geschichte,  p.  254), 
who  considers  ’Abs  as  a shortened  form  of  ’labs  — la,  Ea. 


BEL  THE  EARTH-GOD,  AND  EA  THE  WATER- GOD. 


653 


his  strength,  no  voice  against  his  voice ; when  once  he  opened  his  mouth  to 
give  a decision,  his  will  became  law,  and  no  one  might  gainsay  it.  If  a peril 
should  arise  against  which  the  other  gods  found  themselves  impotent,  they 
resorted  to  him  immediately  for  help,  which  was  never  refused.1  He  had  saved 
Shamashnapishtim  from  the  Deluge ; 2 every  day  he  freed  his  votaries  from 
sickness  and  the  thousand  demons  which  were  the  causes  of  it.3  He  was  a potter, 
and  had  modelled  men  out  of  the  clay  of  the  plains.4  From  him  smiths  and 
workers  in  gold  obtained  the  art  of  rendering  malleable  and  of  fashioning  the 
metals.  Weavers  and  stone-cutters,  gardeners,  husbandmen,  and  sailors  hailed 
him  as  their  teacher  and  patron.  From  his  incomparable  knowledge  the 
scribes  derived  theirs,  and  physicians  and  wizards  invoked  spirits  in  his 
name  alone  by  the  virtue  of  prayers  which  he  bad  condescended  to  teach 
them.5 

Subordinate  to  these  limitless  and  vague  beings,  the  theologians  placed 
their  second  triad,  made  up  of  gods  of  restricted  power  and  invariable  form. 
They  recognized  in  the  unswerving  regularity  with  which  the  moon  waxed  and 
waned,  or  with  which  the  sun  rose  and  set  every  day,  a proof  of  their  subjection 
to  the  control  of  a superior  will,  and  they  signalized  this  dependence  by 
making  them  sons  of  one  or  other  of  the  three  great  gods.  Sin  was  the  off- 
spring of  Bel,6  Shamash  of  Sin,7  Eamman  of  Anu.8  Sin  was  indebted  for  this 
primacy  among  the  subordinate  divinities  to  the  preponderating  influence 


1 For  instance,  in  the  story  of  the  revolt  of  the  Anunnaki  (see  p.  634  of  the  present  work),  Bel, 
on  learning  the  progress  of  the  enemy,  sends  his  messenger  Nu6ku  to  implore  the  aid  of  Ea  (IF.  A. 
Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  5,  col.  ii.  1.  36,  et  seq.);  Ea  sends  off  immediately  his  son  Merodach,  whose  arrival 
brought  victory  to  the  gods  of  light  (cf.  Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  454-465 ; 
Halevy,  Documents  de  VAssyrie  tt  de  la  Babylonie,  pp.  101,  102). 

2 See  pp.  566,  567  of  the  present  work  for  the  account  of  a dream  by  which  Ea  warns  Shamash- 
napishtim of  the  danger  threatening  him  and  humanity. 

3 He  procures  for  men,  by  the  intermediation  of  his  son  Merodach,  the  cure  of  headaches  and 
fevers  from  which  they  suffer  (Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  460,  461, 
470,  472). 

4 Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  293-295 ; cf.  p.  695  of  the  present  volume  for 
fin  account  of  the  creation  of  man,  or  rather  of  a divine  messenger  in  the  form  of  man, 
by  Ea. 

5 The  variety  of  Ea’s  functions  is  proved  by  his  titles  in  a tablet  in  the  British  Museum 
(IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  55,  1.  17,  et  seq,  and  for  a second  tablet,  pi.  58,  No.  v.).  This  tablet, 
however,  is  not  complete,  and  the  monuments  reveal  several  more  titles  than  are  to  be  found 
in  it. 

0 His  filiation  is  indicated  clearly  in  the  m<  st  ancient  monuments  from  Uru  ; for  instance,  on 
a terra-cotta  cone  from  the  temple  of  Mugheir  he  is  called  “ Nannar,  the  mighty  bull  of  Anu,  the 
son  of  Inlil-Bel  ” (TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  1,  No.  iv.  11.  1-4;  cf.  No.  v.). 

7 Shamash  was  called  “the  scion  of  Nannar”  in  an  inscription  of  the  King  of  Ur,  Gungunum 
(see  p.  619  of  the  present  work),  which  came  from  the  temple  of  Mugheir  ( IF.  A . Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  2, 
No.  vi.  1, 11.  1-3). 

8 Tiglath-pileser  I.  calls  Ramman  “the  valiant  son  of  Anu.”  Anu  and  Ramman  held  in 
common  a very  ancient  temple  in  the  town  of  Assur,  where  they  were  worshipped  together.  It  was 
restored  by  Tiglath-pileser  I.  (Prism,  col.  vii.  11.  60-113);  there  was  also  a chapel  there  dedicated 
to  Ramman  alone  (ibid.,  col.  viii.  11.  1-16). 


654 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CEALDJEA. 


which  Uru  exercised  over  Southern  Chaldaea.1  Mar,  where  Ramman  was  the 
chief  deity,  never  emerged  from  its  obscurity,  and  Larsam  acquired  supremacy 
only  many  centuries  after  its  neighbour,  and  did  not  succeed  in  maintaining 
it  for  any  length  of  time.2  The  god  of  the  suzerain  city  necessarily  took 
precedence  of  those  of  the  vassal  towns,  and  when  once  his  superiority  was 
admitted  by  the  people,  he  was  able  to  maintain  his  place  in  spite  of  all  political 
revolutions.  Sin 3 was  called  in  Urn,  “ Uruki,”  4 or  “ Nannar  the  glorious,” 5 and 
his  priests  sometimes  succeeded  in  identifying  him  with  Anu.  “ Lord,  prince 
of  the  gods,  who  alone  in  heaven  and  earth  is  exalted, — father  Nannar,  lord  of 
the  hosts  of  heaven,  prince  of  the  gods, — father  Nannar,  lord,  great  Anu,  prince 
of  the  gods, — father  Nannar,  lord,  moon-god,  prince  of  the  gods, — father  Nannar, 
lord  of  Uru,  prince  of  the  gods.  . . . — Lord,  thy  deity  fills  the  far-off 
heavens,  like  the  vast  sea,  with  reverential  fear  ! Master  of  the  earth,  thou  who 
fixest  there  the  boundaries  [of  the  towns]  and  assignest  to  them  their  names, — 
father,  begetter  of  gods  and  men  who  establishes!  for  them  dwellings  and 
institutes!  for  them  that  which  is  good,  who  proclaimest  royalty  and  bestowest 
the  exalted  sceptre  on  those  whose  destiny  was  determined  from  distant  times, 
— chief,  mighty,  whose  heart  is  great,  god  whom  no  one  can  name,  whose  limbs 
are  steadfast,  whose  knees  never  bend,  who  preparest  the  paths  of  thy  brothers 
the  gods.  . . . — In  heaven,  who  is  supreme  ? As  for  thee,  it  is  thou  alone  who 
art  supreme ! — As  for  thee,  thy  decree  is  made  known  in  heaven,  and  the  Igigi 
bow  their  faces ! — As  for  thee,  thy  decree  is  made  known  upon  earth,  and  the 
spirits  of  the  abyss  kiss  the  dust! — As  for  thee,  thy  decree  blows  above  like 
the  wind,  and  stall  and  pasture  become  fertile  ! — As  for  thee,  thv  decree 
is  accomplished  upon  earth  below,  and  the  grass  and  green  things  grow! — As 

1 Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  164-167. 

2 Upon  the  supremacy  of  Larsam,  see  p.  619  of  this  work. 

3 The  name  of  Sin  has  been  read  in  Sumero-Accadian  Enzuna,  Zu-in-na,  Zuin  (Lenormant, 
La  Magie  chez  les  Chalde'ens,  pp.  16,  127;  Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Volker,  pp.  493,  494),  which 
would  be  the  origin  of  the  current  form  Sin.  Jensen  disputes  this  etymology  ( Die  Kosmologie  der 
Babylonier,  pp.  101, 102),  and  Winckler  ( Sumer  und  Akkad,  in  the  Mitt,  des  Ahademisch-Orientalischen 
Vereins  zu  Berlin,  1887,  i.  p.  10),  also  Tiele  ( Babylonisch-Assyrische  Gescli , p.  523),  consider  the 
ideogram  employed  in  writing  the  name  of  the  god  to  be  of  Semitic  origin. 

4 At  first  read  Hurki  (Rawlinson,  Relig.  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  p.  504).  The  name  of  the 
god  is  attached  to  that  of  the  towD,  and  may  signify  “protector”  (ibid.,  note  8),  or  “the  god  of  the 
place  of  protection  ; ” we  cannot  say  which  meaning  is  the  right  one  (Hommel,  Die  Semitischen 
Vblker,  pp.  205,  206). 

5 The  name  Nannaru  has  been  rendered  in  Greek  tidvapos,  and  has  given  rise  to  a legend  which 
we  know  in  its  Persian  form.  Nicholas  of  Damascus  (Frag.  Hist.  Grxcorum,  ed.  Meller-Didot, 
vol.  iii.  pp.  359-363)  borrowed  it  from  Ctesias.  This  story,  of  which  the  mythological  import  was 
recognized  by  Ch.  Lenormant  (Chaboeillet,  Cat.  Gen.  des  Camdes  et  Pierres  gravies  de  la  Biblio- 
theque  Imp.,  p.  Ill),  was  referred  to  Nannaru-Sin  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Comment,  sur  Btfrose, 
pp.  96,97,  and  his  opinion  has  now  been  adopted  by  Assyriologists  , cf.  Sayce,  Relig.  Anc.  Babylonian *, 
pp.  157-159.  A kindred  form  of  the  name  is  Nannak,  Nanak,  which  has  also  passed  into  Greek, 
Narva/cds,  and  around  which  many  legends  grew,  and  were  spread  abroad  in  Asia  Minor  in  the 
Gneco-Roman  period, 


THE  SECOND  TRIAD , SIN  THE  MOON. 


655 


for  thee,  thy  decree  is  seen  in  the  cattle-folds  and  in  the  lairs  of  the  wild 
beasts,  and  it  multiplies  living  things  ! — As  for  thee,  thy  decree  has  called 
into  being  equity  and  justice,  and  the  peoples  have  promulgated  thy  law! — 
As  for  thee,  thy  decree,  neither  in  the  far-off  heaven,  nor  in  the  hidden 
depths  of  the  earth,  can  any  one  recognize  it ! — As  for  thee,  thy  decree, 
who  can  learn  it,  who  can  try  conclusions  with  it? — 0 Lord,  mighty  in 
heaven,  sovereign  upon  earth,  among  the  gods  thy  brothers,  thou  hast  no 
rival.”1  Outside  Uru  and  Harran,  Sin  did  not  obtain  this  rank  of  creator  and 


THE  GOD  SIN  RECEIVES  THE  HOMAGE  OF  TWO  WORSHIPPERS.2 


ruler  of  things;  he  was  simply  the  moon-god,  and  was  represented  in  human 
form,  usually  accompanied  by  a thin  crescent,3  upon  which  he  sometimes 
stands  upright,  sometimes  appears  with  the  bust  only  rising  out  of  it,  in  royal 
costume  and  pose.4  His  mitre  is  so  closely  associated  with  him  that  it  takes 
his  place  on  the  astrological  tablets  ; the  name  he  bears — “ agu  ” — often  indicates 
the  moon  regarded  simply  as  a celestial  body  and  without  connotation  of 
deity.5  Babbar-Shamasb,  “ the  light  of  the  gods,  his  fathers,”  “the  illustrious 

1 W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  9,  11.  1-10,  28-39,  53-G2,  ami  verso,  1-12;  cf.  Lenormant,  Les  Premieres 
Civilisations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  158-104,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  131-148,  vol.  iii.  pp.  45-53,  and  the 
Dieu  Lune  ddivrtf  de  Vattaque  des  mauvais  Esprits,  in  the  Gazette  Archtologique,  1878,  pp.  32,  35; 
Delitzsch,  Die  Chaldiiische  Genesis,  pp.  281-283  ; Oppert,  Frag,  cosmogoniques,  in  Ledrain,  Histoire 
du  peuple  d’ Israel,  vol.  ii.  pp.  482-484;  Hommel,  Geschichte.  pp  378,  379;  Sayce,  Religion  of  the 
Ancient  Babijlonians,  pp.  100-102. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a heliogravure  by  Menant,  La  Glyptique  Orientate,  vol.  i. 
pi.  iv.,  No.  2. 

3 The  individuals  which  appear  on  the  cylinders,  accompanied  by  a crescent,  represent  the  god  Sin. 

4 Lajard,  Monuments  relatifs  au  culte  de  Mithra,  pi.  xliv.,  No.  1,  liv.  B,  No.  10;  cf.  p.  021  of  (he 
present  work. 

5 The  mitre  ornamented  with  horns,  “agu,”  represents  especially  the  full  moon.  It  was  said  in 
this  case  that  “Sin  had  put  on  his  mitre”  (IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  58,  No.  3,  1.  1 ; cf.  Sayce,  Astron. 
and  Astrology  of  the  Babylonians,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc , vol.  iii.  pp.  225,  220), 
where  the  expression  includes  the  halos  which  form  around  the  moon,  whilst  at  the  first  quarter  the 
horns  alone  appear  (cf.  p.  545  of  the  present  volume,  at  the  end  of  the  account  of  the  creation).  It 


050 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  ORAL  DAE  A. 


scion  of  Sin,”1  passed  the  night  in  the  depths  of  the  north,  behind  the  polished 
metal  walls  which  shut  in  the  part  of  the  firmament  visible  to  human  eyes.2 
As  soon  as  the  dawn  had  opened  the  gates  for  him,  he  rose  in  the  east  all 
aflame,  his  club  in  his  hand,  and  he  set  forth  on  his  headlong  course  over  the 
chain  of  mountains  which  surrounds  the  world ; 3 six  hours  later  he  had  attained 
the  limit  of  his  journey  towards  the  south,  he  then  continued  his  journey  to  the 


SHAMASH  SETS  OGT,(lN  THE  MORNING,  FROMJTHE  INTERIOR  OF  THE  HEAVEN  BY  THE  EASTERN  GATE.4 


west,  gradually  lessening  his  heat,  and  at  length  re-entered  his  accustomed 
resting-place  by  the  western  gate,  there  to  remain  until  the  succeeding  morning. 
He  accomplished  his  journey  round  the  earth  in  a chariot  conducted  by  two 
charioteers,  and  drawn  by  two  vigorous  onagers,  “ whose  legs  never  grew  weary;”5 
the  flaming  disk  which  was  seen  from  earth  was  one  of  the  wheels  of  his 
chariot.6  As  soon  as  he  appeared  he  was  hailed  with  the  chanting  of  hymns  : 
“ 0 Sun,  thou  appearest  on  the  foundation  of  the  heavens, — thou  drawest 
back  the  bolts  which  bar  the  scintillating  heavens,  thou  openest  the  gate  of 

means  Sin  on  tlie  top  of  stelse  ( Stele  de  Salmanasar  II.,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc., 
vol.  vi.  pi.  viii.),  or  on  the  boundary  marks  which  indicate  the  limits  of  a district  ( Caillou  Michaux, 
in  the  Bibliotheque  Nat.;  cf.  the  vignette,  p.  762  of  the  present  work). 

1 Babbar  is  the  Sumerian  name,  Shamash  the  Semitic,  which,  pronounced  Shawash,  according  to  a 
known  law  of  Babylonian  phonetics,  has  been  transcribed  by  the  Greeks  as  'Saws.  The  name  Shamash 
was  at  first  read  San  or  Sansi  (Rawlinson,  On  the  Religion  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  p.  500). 

2 Cf.  the  description  of  the  heavens  and  the  indications  of  the  two  doors  given  on  pp.  543-545  of 
the  present  work.  The  texts  bearing  on  the  course  of  the  sun  are  to  be  found  in  Jensen,  Die 
Kosmologie,  pp.  9,  10. 

3 His  course  along  the  embankment  which  runs  round  the  celestial  vault  was  the  origiu  of  the 
title,  Line  of  Union  between  Heaven  and  Earth  (cf.  p.  666  of  the  present  work) : he  moved,  in  fact, 
where  the  heavens  and  the  earth  come  into  contact,  and  appeared  to  weld  them  into  one  by  the 
circle  of  fire  which  he  described.  Another  expression  of  this  idea  occurs  in  the  preamble  of  Nergal 
and  Ninib,  who  were  called  “the  separators;”  the  course  of  the  sun  might,  in  fact,  be  regarded  as 
separating,  as  well  as  uniting,  the  two  parts  of  the  universe. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a Chaldsean  intaglio  of  green  jasper  in  the  Louvre  (Menant, 
La  Glyptique  orientate,  vol.  i.  p.  123,  No.  71.  The  original  measures  about  lpa  inch,  in  height. 

5 Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  98-111. 

6 The  disk  has  sometimes  four,  sometimes  eight  rays  inscribed  on  it,  indicating  wheels  with  four 


SEAMASE-BABBAB,  TEE  SUN. 


657 


the  heavens ! 0 Sun,  thou  raisest  thy  head  above  the  earth, — Sun,  thou 

extendest  over  the  earth  the  brilliant  vault  of  the  heavens.”  1 The  powers  of 
darkness  fly  at  his  approach  or  take  refuge  in  their  mysterious  caverns,  for 
“ he  destroys  the  wicked,  he  scatters  them,  the  omens  and  gloomy  portents, 
dreams,  and  wicked  ghouls — he  converts  evil  to  good,  and  he  drives  to  their 


!>  »T£T^  r-_ 

»JT'T  *>T 


VI' 


SHAMASH  IN  HIS  SHRINE,  HIS  EMBLEM  BEFORE  HIM  ON  THE  ALTAR.2 


destruction  the  countries  and  men — who  devote  themselves  to  black  magic.”3 
In  addition  to  natural  light,  he  sheds  upon  the  earth  truth  and  justice 
abundantly;  he  is  the  “high  judge”1  before  whom  everything  makes 

or  eight  spokes  respectively.  Rawlinson  supposed  “ that  these  two  figures  indicate  a distinction 
between  the  male  and  female  power  of  the  deity,  the  disk  with  four  rays  symbolizing  Shamas,  the 
orb  with  eight  rays  beiDg  the  emblem  of  Ai,  Gula,  or  Anunit”  (On  the  Religion  of  the  Babylonians 
and  Assyrians,  in  G.  Rawlinson,  Herodotus,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  504). 

1 TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  20,  No.  2, 11.  1-10 ; cf.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chalddens,  pp.  165, 
166 ; Jensen,  Hymnen,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  p.  192,  et  seq. ; Sayce,  Religion  of 
the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  491. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a photograph  by  Rassam,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Bibl.  Arch. 
Soc.,  vol.  viii. , plate  between  pp.  164  and  165.  The  busts  of  the  two  deities  on  the  front  of  the  roof 
of  the  shrine  are  the  two  charioteers  of  the  sun  (Pinches,  Antiquities  found  by  M.  H.  Rassam  at 
Abu-Habbah,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  viii.  pp.  164,  165 ; Hommel,  Geschichte 
Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  p.  229,  note  4);  they  uphold  and  guide  the  rayed  disk  upon  the  altar. 
Cf.  in  the  Assyrian  period  the  winged  disk  led  with  cords  by  two  genii. 

3 TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  17,  verso,  11.  43-46;  cf.  Lenormant,  La  Hagie  chez  les  ChaldCens, 
pp.  164,  165;  Oppert,  Fragments  cosmogoniques,  in  Ledrain,  Histoire  du  peuple  d' Israel,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  481,  482;  Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  173. 

4 TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  54,  col.  iv.  1.  29 ; and  in  the  various  hymns  to  the  sun ; TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv. 
pi.  28,  No.  1;  vol.  v.  pi.  50,  col.  1,11.  10-15;  cf.  Brunnow,  Assyrian  Hymns,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur 
Assyriologie,  vol.  iv.  pp.  7- 13,  15-24 ; Fr.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  p.  139, 11.  37,  38  ; 
and  Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  499,  500,  516. 

2 u 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CIJALDJEA. 


058 

obeisance,  h is  law  never  wavers,  his  decrees  are  never  set  at  naught.  “0 
Sun,  when  thou  goest  to  rest  in  the  middle  of  the  heavens — may  the  bars 
of  the  bright  heaven  salute  thee  in  peace,  and  may  the  gate  of  heaven  bless 
thee! — May  Misharu,  thy  well-beloved  servant,  guide  aright  thy  progress,  so 
that  on  Ebarra,  the  seat  of  thy  rule,  thy  greatness  may  rise,  and  that  A,  thy 
cherished  spouse,  may  receive  thee  joyfully  ! May  thy  glad  heart  find  in  her 
thy  rest! — May  the  food  of  thy  divinity  be  brought1  to  thee  by  her, — warrior, 
hero,  sun,  and  may  she  increase  thy  vigour; — lord  of  Ebarra,  when  thou 
approachest,  mayest  thou  direct  thy  course  aright ! — 0 Sun,  urge  rightly  thy 
way  along  the  fixed  road  determined  for  thee, — 0 Sun,  thou  who  art  the  judge 
of  the  land,  and  the  arbiter  of  its  laws  ! ” 2 

It  would  appear  that  the  triad  had  begun  by  having  in  the  third  place 
a goddess,  Ishtar  of  Dilbat.3  Ishtar  is  the  evening  star  which  precedes  the 
appearance  of  the  moon,  and  the  morning  star  which  heralds  the  approach  of 
the  sun:  the  brilliance  of  its  light  justifies  the  choice  which  made  it  an 
associate  of  the  greater  heavenly  bodies.  “ In  the  days  of  the  past  . . . Ea 
charged  Sin,  Shamash,  and  Ishtar  with  the  ruling  of  the  firmament  of  heaven  ; 
he  distributed  among  them,  with  Anu,  the  command  of  the  army  of  heaven, 
and  among  these  three  gods,  his  children,  he  apportioned  the  day  and  the 
night,  and  compelled  them  to  work  ceaselessly.”  4 Ishtar  was  separated  from 
her  two  companions,  when  the  group  of  the  planets  was  definitely  organized 
and  claimed  the  adoration  of  the  devout ; the  theologians  then  put  in  her  place 
an  individual  of  a less  original  aspect,  Ramman.5  Ramman  embraced  within 
him  the  elements  of  many  very  ancient  genii,  all  of  whom  had  been  set  over 
the  atmosphere,  and  the  phenomena  which  are  daily  displayed  in  it — wind, 
rain,  and  thunder.  These  genii  occupied  an  important  place  in  the  popular 


1 This  is  a direct  allusion  to  the  sacrifice  or  libation  -which  the  sun  received  every  evening  in  the 
temple  of  Sippar,  Ebarra  or  Ebabbara,  on  his  going  to  rest. 

2 Pinches,  Antiqu  ties  found  by  M.  Ilassam,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  viii. 
pp.  1G7,  168;  F.  Bertin,  L' Incorporation  verbale  en  Accadien,  in  the  Revue  d' Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  pp. 
157— 1G 1 ; Hommel,  Geschichte,  pp.  228,  229;  Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  177, 
note  1,  513. 

3 Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  110, 193 ; A.  Jeremias,  Izdubar-Nimrod,  pp.  9, 10. 
In  the  inscription  on  the  stele  of  Shalmaneser  II.,  the  second  triad  is  composed  of  Sin,  Shamash,  and 
Ishtar  (Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  7,  col.  i.  11.  2,  3). 

4 Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  5,  col.  i.  11.  52-79 ; cf.  for  the  interpretation  of  the  legend, 
Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  257,  258. 

5 The  name  of  the  god  of  the  atmosphere  is  a subject  which  has  stirred  up  the  greatest  amount 
of  dissension  amoug  Assyriologists ; it  has  been  read  Iv  or  Iva,  afterwards  Bin  by  Hincks  ( Assyrian 
Mythology,  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy , vol.  xxiii.  pp.  412,  413),  Vul  or  Pul  by  Rawlinson 
( Relig . Babyl.  and  Assyrians,  pp.  497,  498),  Ao,  Uou,  by  Oppert  ( Rapport  au  Ministre  de  I Instruction 
publique,  p.  45,  et  seq.).  The  reading  Rammanu,  Ramman,  deduced  from  Ramamu,  to  bellow,  to 
thunder,  is  now  accepted,  although  Oppert  recently  proposed  to  adopt  generally  Hadad  ( Adad-Nirar , 
in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  I’Acad.  des  Belles-Lettres,  1893,  vol.  xxi.  pp.  177-179),  which  is  proved  in 
particular  instances.  (Cf.  Zech.  xii.  11. — Ed.) 


RAM  MAN  SUBSTITUTED  FOR  ISHTAR  IN  THE  TRIAD. 


659 


religion  which  had  been  cleverly  formulated  by  the  theologians  of  Uruk,  and 
there  have  come  down  to  us  many  legends  in  which  their  incarnations  play 
a part.  They  are  usually  represented  as  enormous  birds  flocking  on  their 
swift  wings  from  below  the  horizon,  and  breathing  flame  or  torrents  of  water 
upon  the  countries  over  which  they  hovered.  The  most  terrible  of  them  was 
Zu,  who  presided  over 
tempests  : he  gathered 
the  clouds  together,  caus- 
ing them  to  burst  in  tor- 
rents of  rain  or  hail  ; he 
let  loose  the  winds  and 
lightnings,  and  nothing 
remained  standing  where 
he  had  passed.1 2  He  had  a 
numerous  family:  among 
them  cross-breeds  of  ex- 
traordinary species  which 
would  puzzle  a modern 

naturalist,  but  were  matters  of  course  to  the  ancient  priests.  His  mother 
Siris,  lady  of  the  rain  and  clouds,  was  a bird  like  himself;3  but  Zu 
had  as  son  a vigorous  bull,  which,  pasturing  in  the  meadows,  scattered 
abundance  and  fertility  around  him.  The  caprices  of  these  strange  beings, 
their  malice,  and  their  crafty  attacks,  often  brought  upon  them  vexatious 
misfortunes.4  Shutu,  the  south  wind,  one  day  beheld  Adapa,  one  of  the 
numerous  offspring  of  Ea,  fishing  in  order  to  provide  food  for  his  family. 
In  spite  of  his  exalted  origin,  Adapa  was  no  god  ; he  did  not  possess  the 
gift  of  immortality,  and  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  appear  in  the  presence 


ISHTAR  HOLDING  HER  STAR  BEFORE  SIN." 


1 With  regard  to  the  bird  Zu,  see  G.  Smith,  Clialdxan  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  112-122;  E.  J. 
Harper,  Die  Babijlonischen  Legendtn  von  Etana,  Zu,  Adapa  und  Dibhara,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Assyri - 
ologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  413-418.  His  disputes  with  the  sun  will  be  dealt  with  on  pp.  C66,  667  of  the 
present  work. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  intaglio  at  Rome;  see  Fr.  Lenormant,  Tre  Monumenti 
Galdei  ed  Assiri  delle  collezioni  romane,  pi.  vi.,  No.  3. 

3 E.  J.  Harper  (op.  cit.,  pp.  415-417  ; Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babglonier,  pp.  91,93)  identifies 
Zu  with  the  constellation  of  Pegasus,  and  the  bull,  his  son,  with  our  constellation  of  the 
Bull. 

4 The  legend  of  Adapa  has  been  partly  preserved  for  us  on  one  of  the  Tel-el-Amarna  tablets 
(Winckler,  Tlionttafelfund  von  El-Amarna,  vol.  iii.,  pi.  clxvi.  a,  b).  It  was  successively  pointed  out 
by  Erman,  Lehmann  ( Ztitschrijt  fiir  Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  p.  380),  Sayce  (Address  to  the  Assyrian 
Section  of  the  Ninth  International  Congress  of  Orientalists,  pp.  24-29),  and  Scheil  ( LCgende  chalddenne 
trouve'e  a Tell-el-Amarna,  in  the  Revue  des  Religions,  vol.  i.  pp.  162-165).  A translation  and  com- 
mentary has  been  published  by  Zimmern,  An  Old  Babylonian  Legend  from  Egypt,  in  the  Sunday 
School  Times  (June  18,  1892),  p.  386,  et  seq. ; afterwards  by  Harper,  Die  Babylonischen  Legenden 
von  Etana,  Zu,  Adapa  und  Dibbara,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  418-425,  whose 
interpretation  I have  chiefly  followed. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CI1ALDTEA. 


GGO 

of  Anu  in  heaven.  lie  enjoyed,  nevertheless,  certain  privileges,  thanks 
to  his  familiar  intercourse  with  liis  father  Ea,  and  owing  to  his  birth  he 
was  strong  enough  to  repel  the  assaults  of  more  than  one  deity.  When, 
therefore,  Shutu,  falling  upon  him  unexpectedly,  had  overthrown  him, 
his  anger  knew  no  bounds:  “‘Shutu,  thou  hast  overwhelmed  me  with  thy 
hatred,  great  as  it  is, — I will  break  thy  wings ! ’ Having  thus  spoken  with 
his  mouth  unto  Shutu,  Adapa  broke  his  wings.  For  seven  days, — Shutu 
breathed  no  longer  upon  the  earth.”  Anu,  being  disturbed  at  this  quiet, 
which  seemed  to  him  not  very  consonant  with  the  meddling  temperament 
of  the  wind,  made  inquiries  as  to  its  cause  through  his  messenger  Ilabrat. 
“His  messenger  Ilabrat  answered  him:  ‘My  master, — Adapa,  the  son  of  Ea, 
has  broken  Shutu’s  wings.’ — Anu,  when  he  heard  these  words,  cried  out : 
‘ Help ! ’ ” and  he  sent  to  Ea  Barku,  the  genius  of  the  lightning,  with 
an  order  to  bring  the  guilty  one  before  him.  Adapa  was  not  quite  at  his 
ease,  although  he  had  right  on  his  side ; but  Ea,  the  cleverest  of  the 
immortals,  prescribed  a line  of  conduct  for  him.  He  was  to  put  on  at  once 
a garment  of  mourning,  and  to  show  himself  along  with  the  messenger  at 
the  gates  of  heaven.  Having  arrived  there,  he  would  not  fail  to  meet  the 
two  divinities  who  guarded  them, — Dumuzi  and  Gishzida : “ ‘ In  whose 
honour  this  garb,  in  whose  honour,  Adapa,  this  garment  of  mourning  ? ’ 
‘ On  our  earth  two  gods  have  disappeared — it  is  on  this  account  I am  as  I 
am.’ 1 Dumuzi  aud  Gishzida  will  look  at  each  other,1  they  will  begin  to 
lament,  they  will  say  a friendly  word — to  the  god  Anu  for  thee,  they  will 
render  clear  the  countenance  of  Ann, — in  thy  favour.  When  thou  shalt 
appear  before  the  face  of  Anu,  the  food  of  death,  it  shall  be  offered  to 
thee,  do  not  eat  it.  The  drink  of  death,  it  shall  be  offered  to  thee,  drink 
it  not.  A garment,  it  shall  be  offered  to  thee,  put  it  on.  Oil,  it  shall 
be  offered  to  thee,  anoint  thyself  with  it.  The  command  I have  given  thee 
observe  it  well.’  ” Everything  takes  place  as  Ea  had  foreseen.  Dumuzi  and 
Gishzida  welcome  the  poor  wretch,  speak  in  his  favour,  and  present  him  : “ as 
he  approached,  Anu  perceived  him,  and  said  to  him  : ‘ Come,  Adapa,  why 
didst  thou  break  the  wings  of  Shutu  ? ’ Adapa  answered  Anu : ‘ My  lord, — for 
the  household  of  my  lord  Ea,  in  the  middle  of  the  sea, — I was  fishiug,  and  the 
sea  was  all  smooth. — Shutu  breathed,  he,  he  overthrew  me,  and  I plunged  into 
the  abode  of  fish.  Hence  the  auger  of  my  heart, — that  he  might  not  begin 

1 Dumuzi  and  Gishzida  arc  the  two  gods  whom  Adapa  indicates  without  naming  them;  insinu- 
ating that  he  has  put  on  mourning  on  their  account,  Adapa  is  secure  of  gaining  their  sympathy,  and 
of  obtaining  their  intervention  with  the  god  Anu  in  his  favour.  As  to  Dumuzi,  see  pp.  045-648  of 
the  present  work;  the  part  played  by  Gishzida,  as  well  as  the  event  noted  in  the  text  regarding 
him,  is  unknown. 


THE  WINDS  AND  THE  LEGEND  OF  ADAPA. 


661 


again  his  acts  of  ill  will, — I broke  his  wings.’”  Whilst  he  pleaded  his  cause 
the  furious  heart  of  Anu  became  calm.  The  presence  of  a mortal  in  the  halls 
of  heaven  was  a kind  of  sacrilege,  to  be  severely  punished  unless  the  god 
should  determine  its  expiation  by  giving  the  philtre  of  immortality  to  the 
intruder.  Anu  decided  on  the  latter  course,  and  addressed  Adapa:  “‘Why, 
theD,  did  Ea  allow  an  unclean  mortal  to  see — the  interior  of  heaven  and  earth  ? ’ 
He  handed  him  a cup,  he  himself  reassured  him. — ‘ We,  what  shall  we  give  him  ? 
The  food  of  life — take  some  to  him  that  he  may  eat.’  The  food  of  life,  some 
was  taken  to  him,  but  he  did  not  eat  of 
it.  The  water  of  life,  some  was  taken  to 
him,  but  he  drank  not  of  it.  A garment, 
it  was  taken  to  him,  and  he  put  it  on. 

Oil,  some  was  taken  to  him,  and  he 
anointed  himself  with  it.”  Anu  looked 
upon  him ; he  lamented  over  him : 

“ £ Well,  Adapa,  why  hast  thou  not  eaten 
— why  hast  thou  not  drunk  ? Thou  shalt 
not  now  have  eternal  life.’  ‘ Ea,  my  lord, 
has  commanded  me  : thou  shalt  not  eat,  thou  shalt  not  drink.’”  Adapa  thus  lost, 
by  remembering  too  well  the  commands  of  his  father,  the  opportunity  which  was 
offered  to  him  of  rising  to  the  rank  of  the  immortals  ; Anu  sent  him  back  to  his 
home  just  as  he  had  come,  and  Shutu  had  to  put  up  with  his  broken  wings. 

Kamman  absorbed  one  after  the  other  all  these  genii  of  tempest  and 
contention,  and  out  of  their  combined  characters  his  own  personality  of  a 
hundred  diverse  aspects  was  built  up.  He  was  endowed  with  the  capricious 
and  changing  disposition  of  the  element  incarnate  in  him,  and  passed  from 
tears  to  laughter,  from  anger  to  calm,  with  a promptitude  which  made  him  one 
of  the  most  disconcerting  deities.  The  tempest  was  his  favourite  role.  Some- 
times he  would  burst  suddenly  on  the  heavens  at  the  head  of  a troop  of  savage 
subordinates,  whose  chiefs  were  known  as  Matu,  the  squall,  and  Barku,  the 
lightning  ; sometimes  these  were  only  the  various  manifestations  of  his  own 
nature,  and  it  was  he  himself  who  was  called  Matu  and  Barku.1 2  He  collected 
the  clouds,  sent  forth  the  thunderbolt,  shook  the  mountains,  and  “ before  his 
rage  and  violence,  his  bellowings,  his  thunder,  the  gods  of  heaven  arose  to  the 


1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a Chaldaean  cylinder  in  the  Museum  of  New  York  (Cesnola, 
Cyprus,  pi.  xxxi.,  No.  5).  Lenormant,  in  a long  article,  which  he  published  under  the  pseudonym 
of  Mansell,  fancied  he  recognized  here  the  encounter  between  Sabitum  and  Gilgames  ( Un  Episode  de 
Vtpopde  chald&nne,  in  the  Gazette  archdologique,  1879,  pp.  114-119)  on  the  shores  of  the  Ocean  ; 
cf.  pp.  584,  585  of  the  present  volume. 

2 On  the  origin  of  Ramman,  and  the  diverse  Sumerian  and  Semitic  deities  which  he  absorbed,  see 
Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  202-212. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  OODS  OF  CHALDJEA. 


662 


Armament- — the  gods  of  the  earth  sank  into  the  earth  ” in  their  terror.1  The 
monuments  represent  him  as  armed  for  battle  with  club,  axe,  or  the  two-bladed 
flaming  sword  which  was  usually  employed  to  signify  the  thunderbolt.2  As  he 
destroyed  everything  in  his  blind  rage,  the  kings  of  Chaldcea  were  accustomed 
to  invoke  him  against  their  enemies,  and  to  implore 
him  to  “ hurl  the  hurricane  upon  the  rebel  peoples 
and  the  insubordinate  nations.”3  When  his  wrath  was 
appeased,  and  he  had  returned  to  more  gentle  ways,  his 
kindness  knew  no  limits.  From  having  been  the  water- 
spout which  overthrew  the  forests,  he  became  the  gentle 
breeze  which  caresses  and  refreshes  them : with  his 
warm  showers  he  fertilizes  the  fields ; he  lightens  the 
air  and  tempers  the  summer  heat.  He  causes  the  rivers 
to  swell  and  overflow  their  banks ; he  pours  out  the 
waters  over  the  fields,  he  makes  channels  for  them,  he 
directs  them  to  every  place  where  the  need  of  water 
is  felt.  But  his  fiery  temperament  is  stirred  up  by 
the  slightest  provocation,  and  then  “his  flaming  sword 
scatters  pestilence  over  the  land:  he  destroys  the  har- 
vest, brings  the  ingathering  to  nothing,  tears  up  trees 
and  beats  down  and  roots  up  the  corn.” 4 5 In  a word, 
the  second  triad  formed  a more  homogeneous  whole 
when  Ishtar  still  belonged  to  it,  and  it  is  entirely 
owing  to  the  presence  of  this  goddess  in  it  that  we  are 
able  to  understand  its  plan  and  purpose  ; it  was  essentially  astrological,  and  it 
was  intended  that  none  should  be  enrolled  in  it  but  the  manifest  leaders  of 
the  constellations.  Eamman,  on  the  contrary,  had  nothing  to  commend  him 
for  a position  alongside  the  moon  and  sun  ; he  was  not  a celestial  bodv,  he 
had  no  definitely  shaped  form,  but  resembled  an  aggregation  of  go  Is  rather  than 
a single  deity.  By  the  addition  of  Rainman  to  the  triad,  the  void  occasioned 


EAMMAN 

ARMED  WITH  AN  AXE.1 


1 Rawlinson,  W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  28,  No.  2,  11.  12-15 ; cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  Les  Premieres 
Civilisations,  vol.  ii.  p.  192,  and  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  500. 

■ Tiglath-pileser  I.,  conqueror  of  the  Kurnnni,  made  one  of  these  swords,  which  he  calls  “ a copper 
lightning  flash,”  and  he  dedicated  it,  as  a trophy  of  his  victory,  in  a chapel  built  on  the  ruins  of  one 
of  the  vanquished  cities  ( Prism  of  Tiglath-pileser  I.,  col.  vi.  11.  15-21). 

3 Cf.  the  curse  pronounced  by  Tiglath-pileser  I.  at  the  end  of  his  Prism  (col.  viii.  11.  83-88),  in 
the  name  of  Eamman,  worshipped  in  the  royal  city  of  Ashshur. 

4 The  character  of  Rainman  was  fully  defined  in  the  works  of  the  early  Assyriologists  (H.  Rawlin- 
son, On  the  Religion  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  pp.  497-500;  Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  com- 
mentaire  sur  Berose,  pp.  93-95). 

5 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and 
Susiana,  p.  258.  The  original,  a small  stele  of  terra-cotta,  is  in  the  British  Museum.  The  date  of 
this  representation  is  uncertain.  Ramman  stands  upon  the  mountain  which  supports  the  heaven. 


THE  GODDESSES  ATTACHED  TO  THE  TWO  TRIADS. 


66  3 


by  the  removal  of  Ishtar  was  filled  up  iu  a blundering  way.  We  must,  how- 
ever, admit  that  the  theologians  must  have  found  it  difficult  to  find  any  one 
better  fitted  for  the  purpose : when  Venus  was  once  set  along  with  the  rest  of 
the  planets,  there  was  nothing  left  in  the  heavens  which  was  sufficiently  brilliant 
to  replace  her  worthily.  The 
priests  were  compelled  to 
take  the  most  powerful  deity 
they  knew  after  the  other 
five — the  lord  of  the  atmo- 
sphere and  the  thunder.1 

The  gods  of  the  triads 
were  married,  but  their  god- 
desses had  not  for  the  most 
part  the  liberty  or  the 
important  functions  of  the 
Egyptian  goddesses.2  They 
were  content,  in  their  mo- 
desty, to  be  eclipsed  behind 
the  personages  of  their  hus- 
bands,and  tospendtheirlives 
in  the  shade,  as  the  women 
of  Asiatic  countries  still  do. 

It  would  appear,  moreover, 

, , ill  RAMMAN,  THE  GOD  OF  TEMI’ESTS  AND  THUNDER.3 

that  there  was  no  trouble 

taken  about  them  until  it  was  too  late — when  it  was  desired,  for  instance,  to 
explain  the  affiliation  of  the  immortals.  Anu  and  Bel  were  bachelors  to  start 
with.  When  it  was  determined  to  assign  to  them  female  companions,  recourse 


1 Their  embarrassment  is  shown  in  the  way  in  which  they  have  classed  this  god.  In  the  original 
triad,  Ishtar,  being  the  smallest  of  the  three  heavenly  bodies,  naturally  took  the  third  place.  Itamman, 
on  the  contrary,  had  natural  affinities  with  the  elemental  group,  and  belonged  to  Anu,  Bel,  Ea,  rather 
than  to  Sin  and  Shamash.  So  we  find  him  sometimes  in  the  third  place,  sometimes  in  the  first  of  the 
second  triad,  and  this  post  of  eminence  is  so  natural  to  him,  that  Assyriologists  have  preserved  it 
from  the  beginning,  and  describe  the  triad  as  composed,  not  of  Sin,  Shamash,  and  Ramman,  but  of 
Ramman,  Sin,  and  Shamash  (Rawlinson,  On  the  Religion  of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  pp.  482, 
497),  or  even  of  Sin,  Ramman,  and  Shamash  (IIincks,  On  the  Assyrian  Mythology,  in  the  Memoirs  of 
the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xxiii.  pp.  410-413). 

2 The  passive  and  almost  impersonal  character  of  the  majority  of  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian 
goddesses  is  well  known  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  comment,  sur  BCrose,  p.  69).  The  majority  must 
have  been  independent  at  the  outset,  in  the  Sumerian  period,  and  were  married  later  on,  under  the 
influence  of  Semitic  ideas  (Sayce,  Relig.  of  Anc.  Babylonians,  pp.  110-112,  176,  179,  345,  346). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucber-Gudin,  from  Layard’s  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  1st  series,  pi.  65.  Properly 
speaking,  this  is  a Susian  deity  brought  by  the  soldiers  of  Assurbanipal  into  Assyria,  but  it  carries 
the  usual  insignia  of  Ramman,  and  in  the  absence  of  other  information  may  help  to  show  us  how  this 
god  was  represented  in  the  first  millennium  before  our  era : he  has  neither  the  conical  head-dress  nor 
the  long  robe  of  the  Ramman  on  p.  662  of  the  present  work. 


064 


THE  TEMPLE  8 AND  THE  GODS  OF  CHALDEE  A. 


was  had  to  the  procedure  adopted  by  the  Egyptians  in  a similar  case  : there 
was  added  to  their  names  the  distinctive  suffix  of  the  feminine  gender,  and  in 
this  manner  two  grammatical  goddesses  were  formed,  Anat  and  Belit,  whose 
dispositions  give  some  indications  of  this  accidental  birth.1  There  was  always 
a vague  uncertainty  about  the  parts  they  had  to  play,  and  their  existence 
itself  was  hardly  more  than  a seeming  one.  Anat  sometimes  represented  a 
feminine  heaven,  and  differed  from  Anu  only  in  her  sex.2  At  times  she  was 
regarded  as  the  antithesis  of  Anu,  i.e.  as  the  earth  in  contradistinction  to  the 
heaven.3  Belit,  as  far  as  we  can  distinguish  her  from  other  persons  to  whom 
the  title  “lady”  was  attributed,  shared  with  Bel  the  rule  over  the  earth  and 
the  regions  of  darkness  where  the  dead  were  confined.4  The  wife  of  Ea  was 
distinguished  by  a name  which  was  not  derived  from  that  of  her  husband,  but 
she  was  not  animated  by  a more  intense  vitality  than  Anat  or  Belit : she  was 
called  Damkina,  the  lady  of  the  soil,  and  she  personified  in  an  almost  passive 
manner  the  earth  united  to  the  water  which  fertilized  it.5  The  goddesses  of  the 
second  triad  were  perhaps  rather  less  artificial  in  their  functions.  Ningal, 
doubtless,  who  ruled  along  with  Sin  at  Uru,  was  little  more  than  an  incarnate 
epithet.  Her  name  means  “ the  great  lady,”  “ the  queen,” 6 and  her  person  is 
the  double  of  that  of  her  husband  ; as  he  is  the  man-moon,  she  is  the  woman- 
moon,  his  beloved,7  and  the  mother  of  his  children  Shamash  and  Ishtar.8  But 
A or  Sirrida  enjoyed  an  indisputable  authority  alongside  Shamash  : she  never 
lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  she  had  been  a sun  like  Shamash,  a disk-god  before 
she  was  transformed  into  a goddess.9  Shamash,  moreover,  was  surrounded  by 
an  actual  harem,  of  which  Sirrida  was  the  acknowledged  queen,  as  he  himself 


1 On  the  “ grammatical”  goddesses  of  Egypt,  see  pp.  105,  106  of  the  present  work. 

2 G.  Rawlinson,  Five  Great  Monarchies , 2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  117;  Delitzsch-Murdter,  Geschichte 
2nd  edit.,  p.  26. 

3 Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Vblher,  p.  373;  Tiele,  Babyl.-Assyr.  Geschichte,  p.  521;  Sayce,  Relig. 
Anc.  Babylonians,  p.  194.  On  the  diffusion  of  the  worship  of  Anat  among  the  neighbouring  nations 
especially  in  Syria,  see  the  observations  of  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Comm,  sur  BCrose,  pp.  150-152;  of 
Sayce,  op.  cit.,  pp.  187-189;  and  of  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  192-194,  272-274. 

4 On  the  Belit-Beltis  of  Nipur,  the  Ninlilla  of  Ihe  old  tests,  see  Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  cliez 
les  Chaldfen*,  pp.  105,  106,  152;  and  Sayce,  op.  cit.,  pp.  149,  150,  177;  cf.  p.  691  of  the  present  work. 
I shall  have  occasion  to  speak  later  on  of  the  role  played  by  another  Beltis  (of  Babylon),  different 
from  her  of  Nipur. 

5 Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie,  etc.,  pp.  148,  153;  Sayce  (op.  cit.,  pp.  139,  264,  265).  Damkina, 
Davkina,  was  transcribed  A avKt)  by  the  Greeks  (Damascius,  De  Principiis,  § 1 25,  ed.  Ruelle,  p.  322). 

6 Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  p.  14,  n.  3. 

7 Cylinder  of  Nabonidos  found  at  Abu-Habba,  published  in  Rawlinson,  TF.  A.  Lnsc.,  vol.  v.  pi.  64, 
col.  ii.  11.  38,  39. 

8 Cf.  Rawlinson,  Five  Great  Monarchies,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  125,  126. 

D On  the  goddess  A,  Aa,  Ai,  called  also  Sirrida,  Sirdu,  and  on  its  masculine  form,  see  Sayce, 
Itelig.  of  the  Anc.  Babylonians,  pp.  177-179.  Piuches  ( The  Divine  Name  A,  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  1885,  pp.  27,  28)  is  inclined  to  attach  the  male  form  of  this  deity  to  the  Iao, 
Iahveh  of  the  Hebrews,  but  this  view  has  not  found  favour  among  Assyriologists.  The  reading 
proposed  by  Oppert,  “Malik,”  he  would  refer  to  the  masculine  doublet  of  the  divinity  (La  Chronologie 
biblique,  etc.,  p.  15,  note). 


THE  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  GODS  GOVEBNS  THE  WOULD. 


665 


was  its  king,1  and  among  its  members  Gula,  the  great,2  and  Anunit,  the 
daughter  of  Sin,  the  morning  star,3  found  a place.  Shala,  the  compassionate, 
was  also  included  among  them  ; she  was  subsequently  bestowed  upon  Ramman.4 
They  were  all  goddesses  of  ancient  lineage,  and  each  had  been  previously 
worshipped  on  her  own  account  when  the  Sumerian  people  held  sway  in 
Chaldsea:  as  soon  as  the  Semites  gained  the  upper  hand,  the  powers  of  these 
female  deities  became  enfeebled,  and  they  were  distributed  among  the  gods. 
There  was  but  one  of  them,  Nana,  the  doublet  of  Ishtar,  who  had  succeeded 
in  preserving  her  liberty:  when  her  companions  had  been  reduced  to  compara- 
tive insignificance,  she  was  still  acknowledged  as  queen  and  mistress  in  her 
city  of  Eridu.  The  others,  notwithstanding  the  enervating  influence  to  which 
they  were  usually  subject  in  the  harem,  experienced  at  times  inclinations  to 
break  into  rebellion,  and  more  than  one  of  them,  shaking  off  the  yoke  of  her  lord, 
had  proclaimed  her  independence  : Anunit,  for  instance,  tearing  herself  away 
from  the  arms  of  Shamasb,  had  vindicated,  as  his  sister  and  his  equal,  her  claim 
to  the  half  of  his  dominion.  Sippara  was  a double  city,  or  rather  there  were  two 
neighbouring  Sipparas,  one  distinguished  as  the  city  of  the  Sun,  “ Sippara  sha 
Shamash,”  while  the  other  gave  lustre  to  Anunit  in  assuming  the  designation 
of  “ Sippara  sha  Anunitum.”  Rightly  interpreted,  these  family  arrangements 
of  the  gods  had  but  one  reason  for  their  existence — the  necessity  of  explaining 
without  coarseness  those  parental  connections  which  the  theological  classification 
found  it  needful  to  establish  between  the  deities  constituting  the  two  triads.  In 
Chaldma  as  in  Egypt  there  was  no  inclination  to  represent  the  divine  families  as 
propagatingtheir  species  otherwise  than  by  the  procedure  observed  in  human  fami- 
lies : the  union  of  the  goddesses  with  the  gods  thus  legitimated  their  offspring. 

The  triads  were,  therefore,  nothing  more  than  theological  fictions.  Each  of 
them  was  really  composed  of  six  members,  and  it  was  thus  really  a council  of 
twelve  divinities  which  the  priests  of  Uruk  had  instituted  to  attend  to  the 
affairs  of  the  universe ; with  this  qualification,  that  the  feminine  half  of  the 
assembly  rarely  asserted  itself,  and  contributed  but  an  insignificant  part  to 

1 Malik,  whence  the  name  Malkatu,  by  which  a bilingual  text  renders  the  ideogram  of  the  goddess 
A (Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Comment,  sur  Berose,  pp.  97,  98).  The  complete  form  is  “ Malkatu  sha 
shami,”  the  queen  of  heaven,  and  in  this  capacity  the  goddess  is  usually  identified  with  Ishtar 
(Schrader,  Die  Gottin  Ishtar,  in  the  Zeitsclirift  fur  Assyr.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  353-364,  and  vol.  iv.  pp.  74-76). 

2 On  Gula,  see  Rawlinson,  Relig.  of  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  pp.  503,  504 ; Fr.  Lenormant, 
op.  cit.,  pp.  98,  99,  103. 

3 Anunit  was  at  first  considered  to  be  the  female  sun  (Rawlinson,  Relig  of  Baby l . and  Assyrians, 
pp.  502,  503;  G.  Rawlinson,  Five  Great  Monarchies,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  128,  129)  or  the  moon 
(Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chaldeens,  pp.  107,  121).  She  is  usually  identified  with  Ishtar, 
who  borrows  from  her  the  quality  of  morning  star;  cf.  p.  670  of  the  present  volume. 

4 Shala  is  the  wife  of  Merodach  and  Dumuzi  as  well  as  of  Ramman  (Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient 
Babylonians,  pp.  209-211);  her  name,  added  to  the  epithet  ummu,  mother,  is  the  origin  of  the 
name  2aAa;u/3ai,  2a applied  by  Hesychius  and  by  the  Etymologicon  Magnum  to  the  Babylonian 
Aphrodite  (Rawlinson,  On  the  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  499,  n.  8;  Fr.  Lenormant, 
Essai  de  Commentaire  sur  les  fragments  cosmogoniques  de  Berose,  p.  95). 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  C IIALD SEA. 


666 

the  common  work.  When  once  the  great  divisions  had  been  arranged,  and  the 
principal  functionaries  designated,  it  was  still  necessary  to  work  out  the 
details,  and  to  select  agents  to  preserve  an  order  among  them.  Nothing 
happens  by  chance  in  this  world,  and  the  most  insignificant  events  are 
determined  by  previsional  arrangements,  and  decisions  arrived  at  a long  time 
previously.  The  gods  assembled  every  morning  in  a hall  situated  near  the 
gates  of  the  sun  in  the  east,  and  there  deliberated  on  the  events  of  the  day.1 
The  sagacious  Ea  submitted  to  them  the  fates  which  were  about  to  be  fulfilled, 
and  caused  a record  of  them  to  be  made  in  the  chamber  of  destiny  on  tablets 
which  Shamash  or  Merodach  carried  with  him  to  scatter  everywhere  on  his  way; 
but  he  who  should  be  lucky  enough  to  snatch  these  tablets  from  him  would 
make  himself  master  of  the  world  for  that  day.  This  misfortune  had  arisen 
only  once,  at  the  beginning  of  the  ages.2  Zu,  the  storm-bird,  who  lives  with 
his  wife  and  children  on  Mount  Sabu  under  the  protection  of  Bel,3  and  who 
from  this  elevation  pounces  down  upon  the  country  to  ravage  it,  once  took  it 
into  his  head  to  make  himself  equal  to  the  supreme  gods.  He  forced  his  way 
at  an  early  hour  into  the  chamber  of  destiny  before  the  sun  had  risen:  he 
perceived  within  it  the  royal  insignia  of  Bel,  “ the  mitre  of  his  power,  the 
garment  of  his  divinity, — the  fatal  tablets  of  his  divinity,  Zu  perceived  them. 
He  perceived  the  father  of  the  gods,  the  god  who  is  the  tie  between  heaven 
and  earth,4 — and  the  desire  of  ruling  took  possession  of  his  heart ; — yea,  Zu 
perceived  the  father  of  the  gods,  the  god  who  is  the  tie  between  heaven  and 
earth,— and  the  desire  of  ruling  took  possession  of  his  heart, — ‘ I will  take  the 
fatal  tablets  of  the  gods,  I myself, — and  the  oracles  of  all  the  gods,  it  is  I who 
will  give  them  forth; — I will  install  myself  on  the  throne,  I will  send  forth 
decrees, — I will  manage  the  whole  of  the  Igigi.’ 5 — And  his  heart  plotted 
warfare; — lying  in  wait  on  the  threshold  of  the  hall,  he  watched  for  the  dawn. 
— When  Bel  had  poured  out  the  shining  waters, — had  installed  himself  on  the 
throne,  and  donned  the  crown,  Zu  took  away  the  fatal  tablets  from  his  hand, — 
he  seized  power,  and  the  authority  to  give  forth  decrees, — the  god  Zu,  he  flew 
away  and  concealed  himself  in  his  mountain.”  6 Bel  immediately  cried  out, 

1 On  the  hall  of  destiny,  and  what  takes  place  wilhin  it,  see  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  234-243. 

2 The  legend  of  the  bird  Zu  was  discovered,  and  the  fragments  of  it  translated  for  the  first  time, 
by  G.  Smith,  The  Chaldxan  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  113-122;  cf.  Sayce,  Babylonian  Literature,  p.  40. 
All  that  is  at  present  known  has  been  published  by  J.  E.  Harper,  Die  Babylonischen  Legtnden  von 
Etana,  etc.,  in  the  Beitrage  zur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  408-418. 

3 The  importance  of  Mount  Sabu  in  mythology  was  pointed  out  by  Fr.  Delitzsch,  Tib  lag  das 
Parodies ? pp.  105,  10G;  he  thought  that  its  site  was  near  the  towns  of  Kish  and  Kharshagkalamma 
{ibid.,  p.  219),  which  appears  to  me  improbable.  I should  be  inclined  to  look  for  it  rather  at  the 
extremities  of  the  world,  somewhere  in  the  south,  without  fixing  it  more  definitely. 

* On  the  meaning  of  this  epithet  as  applied  to  solar  deities,  see  p.  656,  note  3,  of  the  present  work. 

5 The  Igigi  are  the  spirits  of  the  heavens,  in  opposition  to  the  Anunnaki;  see  p.  G54  of  the 
present  work. 

3 J.  E.  Harper,  Die  Babylonischen  Legenden  von  Etana , etc.,  p.  409,  11.  5-22. 


THE  BIRD  ZU  STEALS  THE  TABLETS  OF  DESTINY. 


667 


be  was  inflamed  with  anger,  and  ravaged  the  world  with  the  fire  of  his  wrath. 
“ Anu  opened  his  mouth,  he  spake, — he  said  to  the  gods  his  offspring  : — * Who 
will  conquer  the  god  Zu  ? — He  will  make  his  name  great  in  every  land.’ — 
Ramman,  the  supreme,  the  son  of  Anu,  was  called,  and  Anu  himself  gave  to 
him  his  orders; — yea,  Ramman,  the  supreme,  the  son  of  Anu,  was  called,  and 
Anu  himself  gave  to  him  his  orders. — ‘ Go,  my  son  Ramman,  the  valiant,  since 
nothing  resists  thy  attack  ; — conquer  Zu  by  thine  arm,  and  thy  name  shall  be 
great  among  the  great  gods, — among  the  gods,  thy  brothers,  thou  shalt  have 
no  equal:  sanctuaries  shall  be  built  to  thee,  and  if  thou  buildest  for  thyself 
thy  cities  in  the  “ four 
houses  of  the  world,” — thy 
cities  shall  extend  over  all 
the  terrestrial  mountain  ! 1 
Be  valiant,  then,  in  the  sight 
of  the  gods,  and  may  thy 
name  be  strong.’  Ramman 
answers,  he  addresses  this 
speech  to  Anu  his  father: 

— ‘ Father,  who  will  go  to 
the  inaccessible  mountains? 

Who  is  the  equal  of  Zu 
among  the  gods,  thy  offspring  ? He  has  carried  off  in  his  hand  the  fatal 
tablets, — he  has  seized  power  and  authority  to  give  forth  decrees, — Zu  there- 
upon flew  away  and  hid  himself  in  his  mountain. — Now,  the  word  of  his 
mouth  is  like  that  of  the  god  who  unites  heaven  and  earth  ; — my  power  is 
no  more  than  clay, — and  all  the  gods  must  bow  before  him.’  ” 3 Anu  sent  for 
the  god  Bara,  the  son  of  Ishtar,  to  help  him,  and  exhorted  him  in  the  same 
language  he  had  addressed  to  Ramman : Bara  refused  to  attempt  the  enter- 
prise. Shamash,  called  in  his  turn,  at  length  consented  to  set  out  for  Mount 
Sabu : he  triumphed  over  the  storm-bird,  tore  the  fatal  tablets  from  him,  and 
brought  him  before  Ea  as  a prisoner.4  The  sun  of  the  complete  day,  the  sun  in 
the  full  possession  of  his  strength,  could  alone  win  hack  the  attributes  of  power 

1 Literally,  “Construct  thy  cities  in  the  four  regions  of  the  world  (cf.  pp.  543,  544  of  the  present 
work),  and  thy  cities  will  extend  to  the  mountain  of  the  earth.”  Anu  would  appear  to  have  promised 
to  Ramman  a monopoly;  if  he  wished  to  build  cities  which  would  recognize  him  as  their  patron, 
these  cities  will  cover  the  entire  earth. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Lajard,  Introduction  a Vhistoire  du  Culte  public  et  des  mysteres 
de  Mithra  en  Orient  et  en  Occident,  pi.  lxi.,  No.  7 ; cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  Sur  la  signification  des  sujets 
de  qnelques  cylindres  Babyloniens  et  Assyriens,  in  the  Gazette  ArchCologique,  1878,  p.  254. 

3 .T,  E Harper,  Die  Babylonischen  Legenden,  etc , pp.  409,  410,  11.  20-52.  The  last  lines  are 
mutilated,  and  the  meaniug  is  therefore  uncertain. 

4 Cf.  Men  ant,  Recberches  sur  la  Glyptique  orientate,  vol.  i.  pp.  107-110,  for  the  meaning  of  the 
scenes  engraved  on  the  cylinders,  which  exhibit  the  bird  Zu  led  as  a prisoner  before  Ea. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CHALDJEA. 


668 

which  the  morning  sun  had  allowed  himself  to  be  despoiled  of.  From  that 
time  forth  the  privilege  of  delivering  immortal  decrees  to  mortals  was  never 
taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  gods  of  light. 

Destinies  once  fixed  on  the  earth  became  a law — “ mamit  ” — a good  or  bad 
fate,1  from  which  no  one  could  escape,  but  of  which  any  one  might  learn  the 
disposition  beforehand  if  he  were  capable  of  interpreting  the  formulas  of  it 
inscribed  on  the  book  of  the  sky.  The  stars,  even  those  which  were  most 
distant  from  the  earth,  were  not  unconcerned  in  the  events  which,  took  place 
upon  it.  They  were  so  many  living  beings  endowed  with  various  characteristics, 
and  their  rays  as  they  passed  across  the  celestial  spaces  exercised  from  above 
an  active  control  on  everything  they  touched.  Their  influences  became 
modified,  increased  or  weakened  according  to  the  intensity  with  which  they 
shed  them,  according  to  the  respective  places  they  occupied  in  the  firmament, 
and  according  to  the  hour  of  the  night  and  the  month  of  the  year  in  which 
they  rose  or  set.  Each  division  of  time,  each  portion  of  space,  each  category 
of  existences — and  in  each  category  each  individual — was  placed  under  their 
rule  and  was  subject  to  their  implacable  tyranny.  The  infant  was  born  their 
slave,  and  continued  in  this  condition  of  slavery  until  his  life’s  end : the  star 
which  was  in  the  ascendant  at  the  instant  of  his  birth  became  his  star,  and 
ruled  his  destiny.2  The  Cbaldseaus,  like  the  Egyptians,  fancied  they  discerned 
in  the  points  of  light  which  illuminate  the  nightly  sky,  the  outline  of  a great 
number  of  various  figures — men,  animals,  monsters,  real  and  imaginary  objects, 
a lance,  a bow,  a fish,  a scorpion,  ears  of  wheat,  a bull,  and  a lion.3  The 
majority  of  these  were  spread  out  above  their  heads  on  the  surface  of  the 
celestial  vault ; but  twelve  of  these  figures,  distinguishable  by  their  brilliancy, 
were  arranged  along  the  celestial  horizon  in  the  pathway  of  the  sun,  and 
watched  over  his  daily  course  along  the  walls  of  the  world.  These  divided 
this  part  of  the  sky  into  as  many  domains  or  “ houses,”  in  which  they  exercised 
absolute  authority,  and  across  which  the  god  could  not  go  without  having 
previously  obtained  their  consent,  or  having  brought  them  into  subjection 
beforehand.  This  arrangement  is  a reminiscence  of  the  wars  by  which  Bel- 

1 On  “ mamit,”  destiny,  and  ihe  goddess  personifying  it  in  the  Chaldsean  Pantheon,  see  Sayce, 
The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  305-309. 

2 The  questions  relating  to  the  influence  of  the  stars  upon  human  destiny,  in  Chaldsean  beliefs, 
were  fully  examined  for  the  first  time  by  Fk.  Lenormant,  La  Divination  et  la  Science  des  jjrdsages 
cliez  les  Chalddens,  pp.  5-14,  37-47. 

3 The  identification  of  the  Chaldseau  constellations  with  those  of  Gra?co-Eoman  or  modern  times 
has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  made  out ; the  stars  seem  to  have  been  grouped  by  them,  as  by  the 
Egyptians,  in  a manner  different  from  that  which  obtains  to-day.  Several  of  the  results  obtained  by 
Oppert  ( Tablettes  Assyriennes,  in  the  Journal  Asiatique,  1871,  vol.  xviii.  pp.  443-453)  and  by  Sayce 
( Astronomy  and  Astrology  of  the  Babylonians,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii. 
pp.  145-339)  have  been  called  in  question  by  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  42-57, 
whose  conclusions,  however,  have  not  been  accepted  by  other  Assyriologists. 


THE  PLANETS  AND  THE  GODS  PRESIDING  IN  TEEM. 


669 


Merodach,  the  divine  bull,  the  god  of  Babylon,  had  succeeded  in  bringing  order 
out  of  chaos:  he  had  not  only  killed  Tiatnat,  but  he  had  overthrown  and 
subjugated  the  monsters  which  led  the  armies  of  darkness.  He  meets  afresh, 
every  year  and  every  day,  on  the  confines  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  scorpion- 
men  of  his  ancient  enemy,  the  fish  with  heads  of  men  or  goats,  and  many  more. 
The  twelve  constellations  were  combined  into  a zodiac,  whose  twelve  signs, 
transmitted  to  the  Greeks  and  modified  by  them,  may  still  be  read  on  our 
astronomical  charts.1  The  constellations,  immovable,  or  actuated  by  a slow 
motion,  in  longitude  only,  contain  the  problems  of  the  future,  but  they  are 
not  sufficient  of  themselves  alone  to  furnish  man  with  the  solution  of  these 
problems.  The  heavenly  bodies  capable  of  explaining  them,  the  real  inter- 
preters of  destiny,2  were  at  first  the  two  divinities  who  rule  the  empires  of 
night  and  day — the  moon  and  the  sun  ; afterwards  there  took  part  in  this  work 
of  explanation  the  five  planets  which  we  call  Jupiter,  Venus,  Saturn,3  Mars, 
and  Mercury,  or  rather  the  five  gods  who  actuate  them,  and  who  have  con- 
trolled their  course  from  the  moment  of  creation — Merodach,  Ishtar,  Ninib, 
Nergal,  and  NeboJ  The  planets  seemed  to  traverse  the  heavens  in  every 
direction,  to  cross  their  own  and  each  other’s  paths,  and  to  approach  the  fixed 
stars  or  recede  from  them ; and  the  species  of  rhythmical  dance  in  which  they 
are  carried  unceasingly  across  the  celestial  spaces  revealed  to  men,  if  they 
examined  it  attentively,  the  irresistible  march  of  their  own  destinies,  as  surely 
as  if  they  had  made  themselves  master  of  the  fatal  tablets  of  Shamash,  and 
could  spell  them  out  line  by  line. 

The  Chald seans  were  disposed  to  regard  the  planets  as  perverse  sheep  who 


1 The  Chaldsean  origin  of  the  zodiac  had  been  made  as  little  as  possible  of  by  Letronne  ( Sur 
Vorigine  du  Zodiaque  grec,  in  the  (Euvres  Choisies,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  458,  et  seep),  afterwards,  by 
Ideler  ( Ueher  der  Ursprung  des  Thierkreises,  in  the  M& moires  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Berlin, 
1838,  pp.  1-24) ; their  opinions  ruled  for  a long  time.  The  question  was  reopened  by  Lenormant 
( Essai  de  Commentaire  de  Be  rose,  pp.  229-233;  Les  Premieres  Civilisations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  G7-73;  Origines 
de  I’Histoire,  vol.  i.  pp.  234-238,  note),  who  has  discovered  the  greater  part  of  our  zodiacal  signs  in 
Chaldaea.  His  demonstration-  was  completed  by  Jensen  (Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  67-95,  310-320,  and 
Ursprung  des  Thierlcreises,  in  the  Deutsche  Revue,  June,  1890),  and  the  ideograms  for  the  signs  were 
discovered  by  Epping  (Astronomisches  aus  Babylon,  p.  170,  et  seq.). 

2 Diodorus  Sic.,  ii.  30:  oils  eneivoi  noivy  ydv  ippyvtis  bvop.d£ov<riv.  According  to  Jensen,  Die 
Kosmologie,  pp.  99, 100,  the  expression  is  of  great  antiquity  ; one  of  the  Sumerian  names  of  the  planets 
is  “ kinmi,”  which  is  considered  as  signifying  the  “ messenger,”  the  “ interpreter”  of  the  gods. 

3 On  the  orthography  of  the  name  Kaimanu,  and  its  application  to  Saturn,  see  Jensen,  Die 
Kosmologie,  pp.  111-116;  on  the  identity  of  Kaimanu  and  the  Hebrew  Chiun,  see  Oppert,  Tablettes 
Assyriennes,  in  the  Journal  Asiatique,  6th  series,  vol.  xviii.,  1871,  p.  445. 

1 The  names  of  the  planets,  like  those  of  the  stars,  have  furnished  matter  for  numerous  discussions. 
They  have  been  investigated  by  several  students — by  Pr.  Lenormant  (Essai  de  Commentaire  de 
Be'rose,  p.  105,  and  pp.  370-376  in  notes),  Oppert  (Les  Origines  de  I’Histoire),  Sayce  (Astronomy  and 
Astrology  of  the  Babylonians,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  167-172),  Jensen 
(Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  95-133).  The  most  probable  identifications  are  those  of  Epping  (Astronomisches 
aus  Babylon,  p.  7,  et  seq.)  and  Oppert  (Un  Annuaire  astronomique  Babylonien,  extracted  from  the 
Journal  Asiatique,  1891,  and  reproduced  with  modifications  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie , vol.  vi. 
pp.  110-112),  with  whom  Jensen  reluctantly  agrees  (ibid.,  vol.  v.  pp.  125-129;. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  Oil  ALP  TEA. 


670 


had  escaped  from  the  fold  of  the  stars  to  wander  wilfully  in  search  of  pasture.1 
At  first  they  were  considered  to  be  so  many  sovereign  deities,  without  other 
function  than  that  of  running  through  the  heavens  and  furnishing  there 
predictions  of  the  future;  afterwards  two  of  them  descended  to  the  earth,  and 
received  upon  it  the  homage  of  men  2 — Islitar  from  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  of  Dilbat,  and  Nebo  from  those  of  Borsippa.  Nebo3  assumed  the  role 
of  a soothsayer  and  a prophet.  He  knew  and  foresaw  everything,  and  was 

ready  to  give  his  advice 
upon  any  subject : he  was 
the  inventor  of  the  method 
of  making  clay  tablets,  and 
of  writing  upon  them.  Ish- 
tar  was  a combination  of 
contradictory  characteris- 
tics.4 In  Southern  Chal- 
dsea  she  was  worshipped 
under  the  name  of  Nana, 
the  supreme  mistress.5  The 
identity  of  this  lady  of  the  gods,  “ Belit-ilanit,”  the  Evening  Star,  with  Anunit, 
the  Morning  Star,  was  at  first  ignored,  and  hence  two  distinct  goddesses  were 
formed  from  the  twofold  manifestation  of  a single  deity : having  at  length  dis- 
covered their  error,  the  Chaldseans  merged  these  two  beings  in  one,  and  their 
names  became  merely  two  different  designations  for  the  same  star  under  a 
twofold  aspect.  The  double  character,  however,  which  had  been  attributed 
to  them  continued  to  be  attached  to  the  single  personality.  The  Evening  Star 
had  symbolized  the  goddess  of  love,  who  attracted  the  sexes  towards  one 
another,  and  bound  them  together  by  the  chain  of  desire  ; the  Morning  Star,  on 


ISHTAR  AS  A WARRIOR-GODDESS.1 


1 Their  generic  name,  read  as  “lubat,”  in  Sumero-Accadian,  “bibbu”  in  Semitic  speech 
(Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Commentaire  de  Bdrose,  pp.  370,  371),  denoted  a quadruped,  the  species  of 
which  Lenormant  was  not  able  to  define ; Jensen  (Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  95-99)  identified  it  with  the 
sheep  and  the  ram.  At  the  end  of  the  account  of  the  creation,  Merodach-Jupiter  is  compared  with 
a shepherd  who  feeds  the  flock  of  the  gods  on  the  pastures  of  heaven  (cf.  p.  545  of  the  present  work). 

2 The  site  of  Dilbat  is  unknown  : it  has  been  sought  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kishu  and  Babylon 
(Delitzsch,  Wo  lag  das  Paradies  ? p.  219)  ; it  is  probable  that  it  was  in  the  suburbs  of  Sippara.  The 
name  given  to  the  goddess  was  transcribed  AeAe^ar  (Hesychius,  sub  voce),  and  signifies  the  herald, 
the  messenger  of  the  day. 

3 The  role  of  Nebo  was  determined  by  the  early  Assyriologists  (Rawlinson,  On  the  Religion  of  the 
Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  pp.  523-52G ; Oppert,  Expedition  en  Me'sopoiamie,  vol.  ii.  p.  257 ; Lenormant, 
Essai  de  Commentaire  de  Be'rose,  pp.  114-116).  He  owed  his  functions  partly  to  his  alliance  with 
other  gods  (Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  pp.  118,  119). 

* See  the  chapter  devoted  by  Sayce  to  the  consideration  of  Islitar  in  his  Religion  of  the  Ancient 
Babylonians  (IV.  Tammuz  and  Islitar,  p.  221,  et  seq.),  and  the  observations  made  by  Jeremias  on  the 
subject  in  the  sequel  of  his  Izdubar-Nimrod  (Islitar-Astarte  im  Izdubar-Epos),  pp.  5G-6G. 

5 With  regard  to  Nana,  consult,  with  reserve,  Fk.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Commentaire  de  Be'rose, 
pp.  100-103,  378,  379,  where  the  identity  of  Ishtar  and  Nana  is  still  uniecognized. 

u Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a heliogravure  in  Menant’s  Recherclies  sur  la  Glyptique 
orientate,  vol.  i.  pi.  iv.,  No.  6. 


NEBO  AND  1SHTAB. 


671 


the  other  hand,  wns  regarded  as  tlie  cold-blooded  and  cruel  warrior  who  despised 
the  pleasures  of  love  and  rejoiced  in  warfare  : Ishtar  thus  combined  in  her  person 
chastity  and  lasciviousness,  kindness  and  ferocity,  and  a peaceful  and  warlike 
disposition,  but  this  incongruity  in  her  characteristics  did  not  seem 
to  disconcert  the  devotion  of  her  worshippers.  The  three  other 
planets  would  have  had  a wretched  part  to  play  in  comparison 
with  Nebo  and  Ishtar,  if  they  had  not  been  placed  under  new 
patronage.  The  secondary  solar  gods,  Merodach,  Ninib,  and 
Nergal,  led,  if  we  examine  their  role  carefully,  but  an  incom- 
plete existence : they  were  merely  portions  of  the  sun,  while 
Shamash  represented  the  entire  orb.  What  became  of  them 
apart  from  the  moment  in  the  day  and  year  in  which  they 
were  actively  engaged  in  their  career  ? Where  did  they  spend 
their  nights,  the  hours  during  which  Shamash  had  retired  into 
the  firmament,  and  lay  hidden  behind  the  mountains  of  the 
north  ? As  in  Egypt  the  Horuses  identified  at  first  with  the 
sun  became  at  length  the  rulers  of  the  planets,  so  in  Chaldtea 
the  three  suns  of  Ninib,  Merodach,  and  Nergal  became  respec- 
tively assimilated  to  Saturn,  Jupiter,  and  Mars;1  and  this 
identification  was  all  the  more  easy  in  the  case  of  Saturn,  as 
he  had  been  considered  from  the  beginning  as  a bull  belong- 
ing to  Shamash.2  Henceforward,  therefore,  there  wa 
a group  of  five  powerful  gods — distributed  amon 
the  stars  of  heaven,  and  having  abodes  also  in  the  cities  of  the 
earth — whose  function  it  was  to  announce  the  destinies  of  the  universe.  Some, 
deceived  by  the  size  and  brilliancy  of  Jupiter,  gave  the  chief  command  to 
Merodach,  and  this  opinion  naturally  found  a welcome  reception  at  Babylon,  of 
which  he  was  the  feudal  deity.4  Others,  taking  into  account  only  the  prepon- 
derating influence  exercised  by  the  planets  over  the  fortunes  of  men,  accorded 
the  primacy  to  Ninib,  placing  Merodach  next,  followed  respectively  by  Ishtar, 
Nergal,  and  Nebo.5  The  five  planets,  like  the  six  triads,  were  not  long  before 
they  took  to  themselves  consorts,  if  indeed  they  had  not  already  been  married 

1 Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  139-141 ; Ishtar,  Nebo,  Sin,  and  Shamash  being 
heavenly  bodies,  to  begin  with,  and  the  other  great  gods,  Anu,  Bel,  Ea,  and  Ramman  having  their 
stars  in  the  heavens,  the  Chaldseans  were  led  by  analogy  to  ascribe  to  the  gods  which  represented  the 
phases  of  the  sun,  Merodach,  Ninib, and  Nergal,  three  stars  befitting  their  importance,  i.e.  three  planets. 

2 “ Alap  sliamshi”  in  the  astronomical  tablets.  Diodorus  Siculus  (ii.  30)  shows  that  the  Saturn 
of  the  Greeks  was  a sun  in  the  eyes  of  the  Babylonians : 181  a.  8e  t'ov  vtt'o  tu>v  'eaa.?? vu>v  Kpivov 

ovop.aCdp.evov  i-n  Kpaveararov  S'e  Kal  n\u<TTa  Kal  peyiara  ■npoappalvovTO.  KaAov<nv"HAtov. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  Assyrian  statue  in  alabaster  in  the  British  Museum. 

* This  is  the  order  followed  in  the  lists  transcribed  by  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  100, 101,  and  con- 
firmed by  certain  texts,  with  some  variation  in  the  positions  assigned  to  some  of  the  planets  alter  J upiter. 

5 This  classification  follows  from  the  numerical  powers  assigned  to  the  gods  of  the  planets  in  tablet 
K 170  in  the  British  Museum,  which  come  in  for  treatment  at  pp.  673,  674  of  the  present  work. 


G72 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  OODS  OF  CI1ALDJEA. 


before  they  were  brought  together  in  a collective  whole.  Ninib  chose  for  wife, 
iu  the  first  place,  Bau,  the  daughter  of  Arm,  the  mistress  of  Uru,  highly  venerated 
from  the  most  remote  times ; 1 afterwards  Gula,  the  queen  of  physicians,  whose 
wisdom  alleviated  the  ills  of  humanity,  and  who  was  one  of  the  goddesses  some- 
times placed  in  the  harem  of  Shamash  himself.2  Merodach  associated  with  him 
Zirbanit,  the  fruitful,  who  secures  from  generation  to  generation  the  permanence 
and  increase  of  living  beings.3  Nergal  distributed  his  favours  sometimes  to 
Laz,4  and  sometimes  to  Esharra,  who  was,  like  himself,  warlike  and  always  vic- 
torious in  battle.5  Nebo  provided  himself  with  a mate  in  Tashmit,6  the  great 
hearer,  or  even  in  Ishtar  herself.7  But  Ishtar  could  not  be  content  with  a 
single  husband  : after  she  had  lost  Dumuzi-Tammuz,  the  spouse  of  her  youth, 
she  gave  herself  freely  to  the  impulses  of  her  passions,  distributing  her  favours 
to  men  as  well  as  gods,  and  was  sometimes  subject  to  be  repelled  with  contempt 
by  the  heroes  upon  whom  she  was  inclined  to  bestow  her  love.8  The  five  planets 
came  thus  to  be  actually  ten,  and  advantage  was  taken  of  these  alliances  to  weave 
fresh  schemes  of  affiliation : Nebo  was  proclaimed  to  be  the  son  of  Merodach  and 
Zirbanit,9  Merodach  the  son  of  Ea,10  and  Ninib  the  offspring  of  Bel  and  Esharra.11 

There  were  two  councils,  one  consisting  of  twelve  members,  the  other  of 

1 Bau,  read  also  “ Gur,”  who  occupies  an  important  place  iu  the  Telloh  inscriptions  (Amiaud, 
Sirpourlci,  pp.  17,  18),  was  at  the  beginning  the  mother  of  Ea,  and  a personification  of  the  dark  waters 
and  chaos  (Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Volker,  pp.  379-382)  : it  was  not  until  late  that  it  was  determined 
to  marry  her  to  Ninib. 

2 Gula,  “ the  great,”  must  have  been  at  the  outset  but  a mere  epithet  applied  to  Bau,  before  she 
became  an  independent  incarnate  goddess  (Hommel,  op.  cit.,  p.  381,  note) ; her  role  and  that  of  Bau 
run  on  parallel  lines  in  the  Babylonian  texts  (cf.  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  215,  246).  Tiele 
{Babylonisch-Assyrische  Ges  chi  elite,  pp.  529,  530)  recognizes  in  her  the  internal  fire,  the  vital  as  well 
as  the  hurtful  heat,  the  fever  which  kills. 

3 The  name  of  Zirbanit,  Zarpanit,  one  of  the  Chaldsean  deities  whose  importance  was  acknowledged 
by  Assyriologists  at  an  early  date  (Oppert,  Expedition  en  Me'sopotamie,  vol.  ii.  p.  297 ; Rawlinson, 
On  the  Religion  of  the  Babylonians,  etc.,  pp.  517,  518),  signifies  “ she  who  produces  seed,”  “ who 
produces  posterity.”  She  appears  to  have  been  attached  to  a very  ancient  deity,  Gasmu,  “ the  wise,” 
who  was  either  the  wife  or  daughter  of  Ea,  and  who  seems  to  have  been  considered  at  the  beginning 
as  lady  and  voice  of  the  Ocean  (Sayce,  Relig.  of  Anc.  Babylonians,  pp.  110-112). 

4 We  know  of  Laz  nothing  more  than  the  name:  Hommel  (Geschiclite,  p.  225)  suggests  with 
hesitation  that  this  goddess  was  of  Cossacan  origin. 

5 Esharra  is  in  one  aspect  the  earth  (cf.  pp.  645, 646  of  the  present  volume),  in  another  the  goddess 
of  war. 

6 Tashmit,  whose  name  was  at  first  read  Urmit  or  Varamit  (Rawlinson,  Relig.  of  Babylonians  and 
Assyrians,  p.  525),  is  the  goddess  of  letters,  and  always  associated  with  Nebo  in  the  formula  at  the  end  of 
each  of  the  documents  preserved  in  the  library  of  Assurbanipal  at  Nineveh.  She  opened  the  eyes  and 
ears  of  those  who  received  instruction  from  her  husband,  or  who  read  his  books  (Sayce,  op.  cit.,  p.  120). 

7 It  was  especially  under  the  name  of  Nana  that  Ishtar  was  associated  with  Nebo  iu  the  temple 
of  Borsippa  (Txele,  Bemerkungen  ueber  E-sagila,  etc.,  in  the  Zeit.  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  185-187). 

8 Cf.  pp.  579-581  of  the  present  work,  the  adventure  of  Ishtar  with  Gilgames,  in  which  the  latter 
reproaches  her  for  her  long  list  of  lovers. 

9 Sayce,  op.  cit.,  p.  112,  et  seq.,  explains  very  ingeniously  the  intimate  relations  between  Merodach 
and  Nebo,  by  the  gradual  absorption  of  Borsippa,  of  which  city  Nebo  was  the  feudal  deity,  by  Babylon. 

10  On  the  origin  of  this  affiliation,  see  Sayce,  op.  cit.,  pp.  104,  105,  who  attributes  it  to  very 
ancient  relations  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  cities,  possibly  to  a foundation  made  at  Babylon 
by  colonists  from  Eridu,  the  city  of  Ea,  in  Southern  Chaldsea. 

“ Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  196,  197,  199. 


THE  NUMERICAL  RANK  OF  THE  GODS. 


673 


ten;  the  former  was  composed  of  the  most  popular  gods  of  Southern  Chaldsea, 
representing  the  essential  elements  of  the  world,  while  the  latter  consisted  of 
the  great  deities  of  Northern  Chaldrea,  whose  function  it  was  to  regulate  or 
make  known  the  destinies  of  men.  The  authors  of  this  system,  who  belonged 
to  Southern  Chaldsea,  naturally  gave  the  first  position  to  tbeir  patron  gods,  and 
placed  the  twelve  above  the  ten.  It  is  well  known  that  Orientals  display  a 
great  respect  for  numbers,  and  attribute  to  them  an  almost  irresistible  power ; 
we  can  thus  understand  how  it  was  that  the  Chaldaeans  applied  them  to  designate 
their  divine  masters,  and  we  may  calculate  from  these  numbers  the  estimation 
in  which  each  of  these  masters  was  held.1  The  goddesses  had  no  value 
assigned  to  them  in  this  celestial  arithmetic,  Ishtar  excepted,  who  was  not  a 
mere  duplication,  more  or  less  ingenious,  of  a previously  existing  deity,  but 
possessed  from  the  beginning  an  independent  life,  and  could  thus  claim  to  be 
called  goddess  in  her  own  right.  The  members  of  the  two  triads  were  arranged 
on  a descending  scale,  Anu  taking  the  highest  place : the  scale  was  considered 
to  consist  of  a soss  of  sixty  units  in  length,  and  each  of  the  deities  who 
followed  Anu  was  placed  ten  of  these  units  below  his  predecessor,  Bel 
at  50  units,  Ea  at  40,  Sin  at  30,  Shamash  at  20,  Ramman  at  10  or  6.2 
The  gods  of  the  planets  were  not  arranged  in  a regular  series  like  those 
of  the  triads,  but  the  numbers  attached  to  them  expressed  their  propor- 
tionate influence  on  terrestrial  affairs : to  Ninib  was  assigned  the  same 
number  as  had  been  given  to  Bel,  50,  to  Merodach  perhaps  25,  to  Ishtar  15,  to 
Nergal  12,  and  to  Nebo  10.  The  various  spirits  were  also  fractionally  esti- 
mated, but  this  as  a class,  and  not  as  individuals:3  the  priests  would  not  have 
known  how  to  have  solved  the  problem  if  they  had  been  obliged  to  ascribe 
values  to  the  infinity  of  existences.4  As  the  Heliopolitaus  were  obliged  to 
eliminate  from  the  Ennead  many  feudal  divinities,  so  the  Chaldaeans  had 
left  out  of  account  many  of  their  sovereign  deities,  especially  goddesses,  Bau 
of  Uru,  Nana  of  Uruk,  and  Allat ; or  if  they  did  introduce  them  into  their 
calculations,  it  was  by  a subterfuge,  by  identifying  them  with  other  goddesses, 
to  whom  places  had  been  already  assigned  ; Bau  being  thus  coupled  with  Gula, 

1 The  discovery  of  this  fact  is  to  be  ascribed  to  Hincks  (On  the  Assyrian  Mythology , in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xxiii.  p.  405,  et  seq.),  from  the  tablet  K 170  in  the  British 
Museum  (Fr.  Lekormant,  Choix  de  Textes  Cunefiformes,  No.  28,  pp.  93,94;  Fit.  Delitzscii,  Assyrische 
Lesestiicke,  1st  edit.,  p.  39,  B,  No.  1). 

2 The  number  given  by  tablet  K 170  is  6,  and  properly  belongs  to  Ramman ; the  number  10  is 
really  to  be  ascribed  to  the  god  of  fire,  Nusku,  who  is  sometimes  confounded  with  Ramman. 

3 Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie,  etc.,  pp.  24,  25. 

4 As  far  as  we  can  at  present  determine,  the  most  ancient  series  established  was  that  of  the 
planetary  gods,  whose  values,  following  each  other  irregularly,  are  not  calculated  on  a scheme  of 
mathematical  progression,  but  according  to  the  empirical  importance,  which  a study  of  predictions 
had  ascribed  to  each  planet.  The  regular  series,  that  of  the  great  gods,  bears  in  its  regularity  the 
stamp  of  its  later  introduction  ; it  was  instituted  after  the  example  of  the  former,  but  with  corrections 
of  what  seemed  capricious,  and  fixing  the  interval  between  the  gods  always  at  the  same  figuro. 

2 x 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  OODS  OF  CllALDJEA. 


G74 

Nana  with  Ishtar,  and  Allat  with  Ninlil-Beltis.  If  figures  had  been  assigned 
to  the  latter  proportionate  to  the  importance  of  the  parts  they  played,  and  the 
number  of  their  votaries,  how  comes  it  that  they  were  excluded  from  the  cycle 
of  the  great  gods  ? They  were  actually  placed  alongside  rather  than  below 
the  two  councils,  and  without  insistence  upon  the  rank  which  they  enjoyed  in 
the  hierarchy.  But  the  confusion  which  soon  arose  among  divinities  of 
identical  or  analogous  nature  opened  the  way  for  inserting  all  the  neglected 
personalities  in  the  framework  already  prepared  for  them.  A sky-god,  like 
Dagan,  would  mingle  naturally  with  Anu,  and  enjoy  like  honours  with  him.1 
The  gods  of  all  ranks  associated  with  the  sun  or  fire,  Nusku,2  Gibil,3  and 
Dumuzi,  who  had  not  been  at  first  received  among  the  privileged  group, 
obtained  a place  there  by  virtue  of  their  assimilation  to  Shamash,  and  his 
secondary  forms,  Bel-Merodach,  Ninib,  and  Nergal.  Ishtar  absorbed  all  her 
companions,  and  her  name  put  in  the  plural,  Ishtarati,  “the  Ishtars,”  embraced 
all  goddesses  in  general,  just  as  the  name  Ilani  took  in  all  the  gods.4  Thanks 
to  this  compromise,  the  system  flourished,  and  was  widely  accepted  : local 
vanity  was  always  able  to  find  a means  for  placing  in  a prominent  place  within 
it  the  feudal  deity,  and  for  reconciling  his  pretensions  to  the  highest  rank  with 
the  order  of  precedence  laid  down  by  the  theologians  of  Uruk.  The  local  god 
was  always  the  king  of  the  gods,  the  father  of  the  gods,  he  who  was  worshipped 
above  the  others  in  everyday  life,  and  whose  public  cult  constituted  the  religion 
of  the  State  or  city. 

The  temples  were  miniature  reproductions  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
universe.5  The  “ ziggurat”  represented  in  its  form  the  mountain  of  the  world, 

1 The  god  whose  name  is  written  with  two  ideograms  which  can  be  read  “ Dagan,”  though  the 
pronunciation  of  the  word  is  not  quite  certain,  was  identified  by  early  Assyriologists  with  the  Dagon  of 
the  Philistines  (Hincks,  On  Assyr.  Mythology , in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xxiii. 
pp.  409,  410;  Oppert,  ExpAl.  en  MAsopot.,  vol.  ii.  p.  264;  Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Commentaire,  pp. 
66-68),  and  pointed  out  as  the  Bel-Dagan  in  opposition  to  the  Bel-Merodach.  This  opinion  prevailed 
for  a long  time  (Menant,  Le  Mythe  de  Dagon,  in  the  Revue  de  VHist.  des  Relig.,  vol.  xi.  pp.  295-301, 
and  Recherches  sur  la  Glyptique,  vol.  ii.  pp.  49-54),  and  made  Dagan  the  fish-god,  the  god  of  fecundity. 
Jensen  ( Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  449-456)  has  shown  that  he  is  a sky-god  in  origin,  a secondary  form  of 
Anu,  and  consequently  of  the  astrological  Bel,  considered  as  possessing  a constellation  in  the  sky. 

2 Nusku  has  been  identified  with  Gibil,  the  fire-god,  by  certain  texts  which  put  both  of  them  in  con- 
nection with  Nebo.  Nusku,  according  to  Sayce  (Relig.  of  Anc.  Babylonians,  pp.  118, 119),  was  originally 
the  god  of  the  dawn,  who  became  later  the  midday  sun,  the  sun  of  the  zenith  (Delitzsch-Murdter, 
Geschiclite,  2nd  edit.,  p.  33).  In  magical  conjurations  he  plays  the  subordinate  part  of  “messenger 
of  the  gods,”  and  is  there  associated  usually  with  Bel  (TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  5,  col.  ii.  11.  32-51). 

3 Gibil,  Gihir,  is  the  fire-god  and  flame-god  (Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chalde'cns,  p.  169, 
et  seq.,  in  which  the  name  is  given  as  bil-gi;  Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  V other,  pp.  390-393),  absorbed 
later  by  the  sun  (Satce,  Relig.  of  Anc.  Babylonians,  pp.  179-182). 

4 For  example,  in  the  “ Fasti  ” of  Sargon  (1. 176)  the  scribe  writes  ilani  u ishtarati  asliibbuti  Ashshar, 
“ the  gods  and  the  Ishtars  who  inhabit  Assyria.” 

5 This  idea,  analogous  to  that  which  had  determined  the  distribution  of  the  Egyptian  temples, 
arose  from  the  form  of  the  mountain  which  the  Chaldseans  gave  to  their  temples  (Fr.  Lenormant, 
Essai  de  Commentaire,  etc.,  p.  358,  et  seq. ; Les  Origines  de  VHistoire,  vol.  ii.  p.  123,  et  seq.),  and 
from  the  name  “Ekur,”  a common  designation  of  temples  and  the  earth  (Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie, 


TIIE  ARRANGEMENT  OF  TEE  TEMPLES:  TEE  LOCAL  PRIESTEOOD.  675 


and  the  halls  ranged  at  its  feet  resembled  approximately  the  accessory  parts  of 
the  world:  the  temple  of  Merodacb  at  Babylon  comprised  them  all  up  to  the 
chambers  of  fate,  where  the  sun  received  every  morning  the  tablets  of  destiny.1 
The  name  often  indicated  the  nature  of  the  patron  deity  or  one  of  his  attributes  : 
the  temple  of  Shamash  at  Larsam,  for  instance,  was  called  E-Babbara,  “the 
house  of  the  snn,”  and  that  of  Nebo  at  Borsippa,  E-Zida,  “the  eternal  house.’’ 
No  matter  where  the  sanctuary  of  a specific  god  might  be  placed,  it  always  bore 
the  same  name : Shamash,  for  example,  dwelt  at  Sippara  as  at  Larsam  in  an 
E-Babbara.  In  Chaldaea  as  in  Egypt  the  kiDg  or  chief  of  the  State  was  the 
priest^ar  excellence,  and  the  title  of  “ vicegerent,”  so  frequent  in  the  early  period, 
shows  that  the  chief  was  regarded  as  representing  the  divinity  among  his  own 
people;2  but  a priestly  body,  partly  hereditary,  partly  selected,  fulfilled  for 
him  his  daily  sacerdotal  functions,  and  secured  the  regularity  of  the  services. 
A chief  priest — “ ishshakku  ” — was  at  their  head,  and  his  principal  duty  was 
the  pouring  out  of  the  libation.  Each  temple  had  its  “ishshakku,”  but  he  who 
presided  over  the  worship  of  the  feudal  deity  took  precedence  of  all  the  others 
in  the  city,  as  in  the  case  of  the  chief  priests  of  Bel-Merodach  at  Babylon,  of 
Sin  at  Urn,  and  of  Shamash  at  Larsam  or  Sippara.3  He  presided  over  various 
categories  of  priests  and  priestesses  whose  titles  and  positions  in  the  hierarchy 
are  not  well  known.  The  “ sangutu  ” appear  to  have  occupied  after  him  the  most 
important  place,  as  chamberlains  attached  to  the  house  of  the  god,  and  as  his 
liegemen.  To  some  of  these  were  entrusted  the  management  of  the  harem  of 
the  god,  while  others  were  overseers  of  the  remaining  departments  of  his  palace.4 
The  “kipu”  and  the  “shatammu”  were  especially  charged  with  the  manage- 
ment of  his  financial  interests,  while  the  “ pashishu  ” anointed  with  holy  and 
perfumed  oil  his  statues  of  stone,  metal,  or  wood,  the  votive  stelae  set  up  in  the 
chapels,  and  the  objects  used  in  worship  and  sacrifice,  such  as  the  great  basins, 
the  “seas”  of  copper  which  contained  the  water  employed  in  the  ritual  ablutions,5 

pp.  185-195)  : tho  form  of  a mountain  which  the  “ziggurat”  assumed  reminded  the  Clialdseans  of  the 
terrestrial  mountain,  with  its  zones  or  superimposed  stories  (cf.  p.  543  of  the  pre  sent  work). 

1 This  hall  was  described  by  Nebuchadrezzar  II.  (IF.  A.  Insc , vol.  i.  pi.  54,  col.  ii.  11.  54-65)  and 
by  Neriglissor  (ihicl.,  vol.  i.  pi.  67, 11.  33-37),  in  passages  of  which  the  real  meaning  was  discovered 
by  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  85,  86,  237,  238. 

2 See  p.  604  of  the  present  work  for  what  has  been  said  about  “ vicegerent.” 

3 The  titles  “ishshnku,”  “nishakku,”  which  answer  to  the  teims  “patisi”  and  “nues”  of  the 
non-Semitic  languages  of  Chaldaea,  appear  to  come  from  the  root  “ nashaku,”  to  pour  out  a libation 
(Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  60,  n.  1). 

4 The  “sangu”  is  he  who  is  “bound”  to  the  god  (Sayce,  op.  cit.,  p.  61);  kings  were  accustomed 
to  assume  the  title,  e.g.  Ashshurishishi  (IF.  A.  Disc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  3,  No.  6, 11.  1,  8,  9)  and  Kurigalzu 
(ibid.,  vol.  i.  pi.  4,  No.  xiv.  11.  1,  2,  3).  Tiele  (Babyl.- Assyrische  Geschiclite,  pp.  546,  547)  thinks  that 
the  “sangu”  belonged  to  the  same  class  as  the  “ishshakku.” 

s Heczey-Saezec,  D&ouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  2,  No.  3;  cf.  Y.  Le  Gac,  Ur-Bau,  patesi  de  Lagashu, 
in  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Assyriologie,  \ol.  vii.  p.  150.  Compare  the  “ brasen  sea”  of  the  temple  of 
.Jerusalem  (2  Kings  xxv.  13;  Jer.  Iii.  17);  the  Babylonian  term  is  “apsu,”  which  is  also  used  to 
render  the  abyss  of  the  primordial  waters.  One  text  (IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  23,  No.  1),  which 


f>7f, 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  OODS  OF  CBALDJEA. 


and  the  victims  led  to  the  altar.1  After  these  came  a host  of  officials,  butchers 
and  their  assistants,  soothsayers,  augurs,  prophets, — in  fact,  all  the  attendants 
that  the  complicated  rites,  as  numerous  in  Chaldsea  as  in  Egypt,2  required, 
not  to  speak  of  the  hands  of  women  and  men  who  honoured  the  god  in 
meretricious  rites.3  Occupation  for  this  motley  crowd  was  never  lacking. 
Every  day  and  almost  every  hour  a fresh  ceremony  required  the  services 
of  one  or  other  members  of  the  staff,  from  the  monarch  himself,  or  his  deputy 
in  the  temple,  down  to  the  lowest  sacristan.  The  12th  of  the  month  Elul 
was  set  apart  at  Babylon  for  the  worship  of  Bel  and  Beltis : the  sovereign 
made  a donation  to  them  according  as  he  was  disposed,  and  then  celebrated 
before  them  the  customary  sacrifices,  and  if  he  raised  his  hand  to  plead  for  any 
favour,  he  obtained  it  without  fail.  The  13th  was  dedicated  to  the  moon,  the 
supreme  god  ; the  14th  to  Beltis  and  Nergal ; the  15th  to  Shamash  ; the  16th 
was  a fast  in  honour  of  Merodach  and  Zirbanit ; the  17th  was  the  annual 
festival  of  Nebo  and  Tashmit ; the  18th  was  devoted  to  the  laudation  of  Sin 
and  Shamash ; while  the  19th  was  a “ white  day  ” for  the  great  goddess  Gula.4 
The  whole  year  was  taken  up  in  a way  similar  to  this  casual  specimen  from  the 
calendar.  The  kings,  in  founding  a temple,  not  only  bestowed  upon  it  the 
objects  and  furniture  required  for  present  exigencies,  such  as  lambs  and  oxen, 
birds,  fish,  bread,  liquors,  incense,  and  odoriferous  essences;  they  assigned  to  it 
an  annual  income  from  the  treasury,  slaves,  and  cultivated  lands ; and  their 
royal  successors  were  accustomed  to  renew  these  gifts  or  increase  them  on 
every  opportunity.5  Every  victorious  campaign  brought  him  his  share  in 
the  spoils  and  captives  ; every  fortunate  or  unfortunate  event  which  occurred 
in  connection  with  the  State  or  royal  family  meant  an  increase  in  the  gifts  to 
the  god,  as  an  act  of  thanksgiving  on  the  one  hand  for  the  divine  favour,  or  as 

Lenormant  had  interpreted  as  describing  a descent  of  Ishtar  to  the  lower  regions  (La  Magie  chez  les 
Chalddens,  pp.  157-160),  deals  in  fact  with  the  setting  up  of  a “brasen  sea”  upheld  by  bronze  oxen 
(Sayce,  Relig.  of  Anc.  Babylonians,  p.  63,  n.  3). 

1 Sayce,  op.  cit.,  pp.  61-63. 

2 For  the  service  of  the  Egyptian  temples,  see  p.  125  of  the  present  work. 

3 On  the  priestesses  of  Ishstar  at  Uruk,  and  on  the  names  given  to  them,  cf.  Jeremias,  Izdubar- 
Nimrod,  pp.  59,  60.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  through  the  seductions  of  one  of  these  that 
Gilgames  got  a hold  over  Eabani  (see  pp.  577-579  of  the  present  volume).  Besides  these  priestesses 
of  Ishtar  we  know  of  those  of  Anu  and  their  male  companions  (Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  17, 
col.  i.  11.  11,  12). 

* The  tablet  from  which  this  information  is  taken  contains  daily  prescriptions  for  a supplementary 
month  of  the  Chaldsean  year — the  2nd  Elul — which  were  part  of  a complete  calendar  (IF.  A.  Insc., 
vol.  iv.  pis.  32,  33 ; cf.  Sayce,  Relig.  of  Anc.  Babylonians,  pp.  69-77). 

5 The  most  ancient  instances  of  these  donations  are  furnished  by  inscriptions  of  the  sovereigns 
of  Lagash.  Urnina  (Heczey-Sauzec,  Ddcouvertes  en  ChaldtTe,  pi.  21,  col.  iii.  11.  7-10;  cf.  Amiaud, 
The  Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  65,  and  De'couvertes  en 
Chaldee,  p.  xxix.),  Gudea  {Insc.  de  la  Statue  E ; cf.  Amiaud,  The  Insc.  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the 
Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  91-96,  and  Ddcouvertes  en  Chaldde,  pp.  xxi.-xxii.,  and  Inscription  de  la 
Statue  G,  col.  iii.— vi.,  in  Heuzey-Sarzeo,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldde,  pi.  13,  3;  cf.  Amiaud,  Insc.  of  Telloh, 
pp.  101,  102,  and  Zeitschrift  fiir  Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  pp.  30,  31). 


DONATIONS  TO  THE  TEMPLES. 


677 


an  offering  on  the  other  to  appease  the  wrath  of  the  god.  Gold,  silver,  copper, 
lapis-lazuli,  gems  and  precious  woods,  accumulated  in  the  sacred  treasury  ; fields 
were  added  to  fields,  flocks  to  flocks,  slaves  to  slaves ; and  the  result  of  such 
increase  would  in  a few  generations  have  made  the  possessions  of  the  god  equal 
to  those  of  the  reigning  sovereign,  if  the  attacks  of  neighbouring  peoples  had 
not  from  time  to  time  issued  in  the  loss  of  a part  of  it,  or  if  the  king  himself 
had  not,  under  financial  pressure,  replenished  his  treasury  at  the  expense 
of  the  priests.  To  prevent  such  usurpations  as  far  as  possible,  maledictions 
were  hurled  at  every  one  who  should  dare  to  lay  a sacrilegious  hand  on  the 
least  object  belonging  to  the  divine  domain  ; it  was  predicted  of  such  “ that 
he  would  be  killed  like  an  ox  in  the  midst  of  his  prosperity,  and  slaughtered 
like  a wild  urus  in  the  fulness  of  his  strength  ! . . . May  his  name  be  effaced 
from  his  stelae  in  the  temple  of  his  god!  May  his  god  see  pitilessly  the 
disaster  of  his  country,  may  the  god  ravage  his  land  with  the  waters  of 
heaven,  ravage  it  with  the  waters  of  the  earth.  May  he  be  pursued  as  a 
nameless  wretch,  and  his  seed  fall  under  servitude ! May  this  man,  like 
every  one  who  acts  adversely  to  his  master,  find  nowhere  a refuge,  afar  off, 
under  the  vault  of  the  skies  or  in  any  abode  of  man  whatsoever.”  1 These 
threats,  terrible  as  they  were,  did  not  succeed  in  deterring  the  daring,  and 
the  mighty  men  of  the  time  were  willing  to  brave  them,  when  their 
interests  prompted  them.  Gulkishar,  Lord  of  the  “ land  of  the  sea,”  had 
vowed  a wheat-field  to  Nina,  his  lady,  near  the  town  of  Deri,  on  the  Tigris. 
Seven  hundred  years  later,  in  the  reign  of  Belnadinabal,  Ekarrakais, 
governor  of  Bitsinmagir,  took  possession  of  it,  and  added  it  to  the  provincial 
possessions,  contrary  to  all  equity.  The  priest  of  the  goddess  appealed  to  the 
king,  and  prostrating  himself  before  the  throne  with  many  prayers  and  mystic 
formulas,  begged  for  the  restitution  of  the  alienated  land.  Belnadinabal 
acceded  to  the  request,  and  renewed  the  imprecations  which  had  been  inserted 
on  the  original  deed  of  gift:  “If  ever,  in  the  course  of  days,  the  man  of 
law,  or  the  governor  of  a suzerain  who  will  superintend  the  town  of  Bitsin- 
magir, fears  the  vengeance  of  the  god  Zikum  or  the  goddess  Niria,  may 
then  Zikum  and  Nina,  the  mistress  of  the  goddesses,  come  to  him  with  the 
benediction  of  the  prince  of  the  gods ; may  they  grant  to  him  the  destiny  of  a 
happy  life,  and  may  they  accord  to  him  days  of  old  age,  and  years  of  upright- 
ness ! But  as  for  thee,  who  hast  a mind  to  change  this,  step  not  across  its  limits, 

1 Inscription  of  the  Statue  B de  Gudea,  in  the  Louvre,  in  Heuzey-Sakzec,  Dtfcouvertes  en  Chaldde, 
pis.  16,  17,  19,  col.  ix.  11.  6-9,  15-26;  see  Amiaud’s  translation,  The  Inscription  of  Telloh,  in  the 
Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  86,  87,  and  his  Decouvertes  en  Chalde'e,  p.  xv. ; Jensen, 
Inschriften  der  Konige  und  Statthaller  von  Lagasch,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliothek,  vol.  iii.  pi.  1, 
pp.  46^9. 


678 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  C11ALDJEA. 


do  not  covet  the  land  : hate  evil  and  love  justice.”  1 If  all  sovereigns  were  not 
so  accommodating  in  their  benevolence  as  Belnadinabal,  the  piety  of  private 
individuals,  stimulated  by  fear,  would  be  enough  to  repair  the  loss,  and  frequent 
legacies  would  soon  make  up  for  the  detriment  caused  to  the  temple  possessions 
by  the  enemy’s  sword  or  the  rapacity  of  an  unscrupulous  lord.  The  residue, 
after  the  vicissitudes  of  revolutions,  was  increased  and  diminished  from  time 
to  time,  to  form  at  length  in  the  city  an  indestructible  fief  whose  administration 
was  a function  of  the  chief  priest  for  life,  and  whose  revenue  furnished  means 
in  abundance  for  the  personal  exigencies  of  the  gods  as  well  as  the  support 
of  his  ministers. 

This  was  nothing  more  than  justice  would  prescribe.  A loyal  and  universal 
faith  would  not  only  acknowledge  the  whole  world  to  be  the  creation  of  the 
gods,  but  also  their  inalienable  domain.  It  belonged  to  them  at  the  beginning ; 
every  one  in  the  State  of  which  the  god  was  the  sovereign  lord,  all  those, 
whether  nobles  or  serfs,  vicegerents  or  kings,  who  claimed  to  have  any  pos- 
session in  it,  were  but  ephemeral  lease-holders  of  portions  of  which  they  fancied 
themselves  the  owners.  Donations  to  the  temples  were,  therefore,  nothing 
more  than  voluntary  restitutions,  which  the  gods  consented  to  accept  graciously, 
deigning  to  be  well  pleased  with  the  givers,  when,  after  all,  they  might 
have  considered  the  gifts  as  merely  displays  of  strict  honesty,  which  merited 
neither  recognition  nor  thauks.  They  allowed,  however,  the  best  part  of  their 
patrimony  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  strangers,  and  they  contented  themselves 
with  what  the  pretended  generosity  of  the  faithful  might  see  fit  to  assign  to 
them.  Of  their  lands,  some  were  directly  cultivated  by  the  priests  themselves ; 
others  were  leased  to  lay  people  of  every  rank,  who  took  off  the  shoulders  of 
the  priesthood  all  the  burden  of  managing  them,  while  rendering  at  the 
same  time  the  profit  that  accrued  from  them ; others  were  let  at  a fixed  rent 
according  to  contract.  The  tribute  of  dates,  corn,  and  fruit,  which  was 
rendered  to  the  temples  to  celebrate  certain  commemorative  ceremonies  in  the 
honour  of  this  or  that  deity,  were  fixed  charges  upon  certain  lauds,  which  at 
length  usually  fell  entirely  into  the  hands  of  the  priesthood  as  mortmain  pos- 
sessions. These  were  the  sources  of  the  fixed  revenues  of  the  gods,  by  means 
of  which  they  and  their  people  were  able  to  live,  if  not  luxuriously,  at  least  in 
a manner  befitting  their  dignity.  The  offerings  and  sacrifices  were  a kind  of 
windfall,  of  which  the  quantity  varied  strangely  with  the  seasons ; at  certain 
times  few  were  received,  while  at  other  times  there  was  a superabundance.  The 

1 Hiumecut,  Bahyl.  Exped.  of  Univ.  of  Fennsylvdnia,  vol.  i.  pla.  30,  31  ; Oppekt,  Ls  Champ  sacr d 
dr  la  de'rsse  Nina,  iu  the  Comptes  rendus  de  V Acadtfmie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  1893,  vol. 
xxi.  pp.  320-344 ; anil  La  Fondation  consacie'r  a la  ddesse  Nina,  in  the  Zdtsclirift  fur  Assyriologie, 
vol.  viii.  pp.  3G0-374. 


THE  REVENUES  OF  THE  TEMPLES. 


G79 


greatest  portion  of  them  was  consumed  on  the  spot  by  the  officials  of  the 
sanctuary ; the  part  which  could  be  preserved  without  injury  was  added  to  the 
produce  of  the  domain,  and  constituted  a kind  of  reserve  for  a rainy  day,  or  was 
used  to  produce  more  of  its  kind.  The  priests  made  great  profit  out  of  com 
and  metals,  and  the  skill  with  which  they  conducted  commercial  operations 
in  silver  was  so  notorious  that  no  private  person  hesitated  to  entrust  them 
with  the  management  of  his  capital : they  were  the  intermediaries  between 
lenders  and  borrowers,  and  the  commissions  which  they  obtained  in  these 
transactions  was  not  the  smallest  or  the  least  certain  of  their  profits.  They 
maintained  troops  of  slaves,  labourers,  gardeners,  workmen,  and  even  women- 
singers  and  sacred  courtesans  of  which  mention  has  been  made  above,1  all  of 
whom  either  worked  directly  for  them  in  their  several  trades,  or  were  let  out 
to  those  who  needed  their  services.  The  god  wras  not  only  the  greatest 
cultivator  in  the  Slate  after  the  king,  sometimes  even  excelling  him  in 
this  respect,  but  he  was  also  the  most  active  manufacturer,  and  many  of  the 
utensils  in  daily  use,  as  well  as  articles  of  luxury,  proceeded  from  his 
workshops.  His  possessions  secured  for  him  a paramount  authority  in  the 
city,  and  also  an  influence  in  the  councils  of  the  king : the  priests  who 
represented  him  on  earth  thus  became  mixed  up  in  State  affairs,  and  exer- 
cised authority  on  his  behalf  in  the  same  measure  as  the  officers  of  the 
crown.2 

He  had,  indeed,  as  much  need  of  riches  and  renown  as  the  least  of  his 
clients.  As  he  was  subject  to  all  human  failings,  and  experienced  all  the 
appetites  of  mankind,  he  had  to  be  nourished,  clothed,  and  amused,  and  this 
could  be  done  only  at  great  expense.  The  stone  or  wooden  statues  erected  to 
him  in  the  sanctuaries  furnished  him  with  bodies,  which  he  animated  with  his 
breath,  and  accredited  to  his  clients  as  the  receivers  of  all  things  needful  to  him 
in  his  mysterious  kingdom.3  The  images  of  the  gods  were  clothed  in  veitmeuts, 
they  were  anointed  with  odoriferous  oils,  covered  with  jewels,  served  with  food 
and  drink ; and  during  these  operations  the  divinities  themselves,  above  in  the 
heaven,  or  down  in  the  abyss,  or  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  were  arrayed  in 
garments,  their  bodies  were  perfumed  with  unguents,  and  their  appetites  fully 

1 See,  for  the  different  classes  of  the  servants  of  the  gods,  p.  577,  note  4,  of  the  present 
work. 

7 See,  for  everything  bearing  on  the  domain  of  the  temples,  and  the  sacerdotal  administration  of 
it,  the  carefully  studied  article  by  Peiser,  Babylonische  Vertrdge  des  Berliner  Museums,  pp.  xvii.-xxix. ; 
on  the  financial  functions  of  priests  and  priestesses,  see  Meissner,  Beitriige  zum  Altbabylonischen 
Privatrecht,  p.  8. 

3 Lenormant,  La  Magie  cluz  les  Chaldee  ns,  pp.  16,47;  J.  C.  Ball,  Glimpses  of  Babylonian 
Religion,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  1801-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  153-162.  The  theoiy  of 
Cbaidffian  animated  and  prophetic  statues,  as  wc  might  expect,  is  identical  with  the  Egyptian,  which 
I have  briefly  described  on  pp.  119,  120  of  the  present  work. 


680 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  TIIE  GODS  OF  CIJALDJEA. 


satisfied:  all  that  was  farther  required  for  this  purpose  was  the  offering  of 
sacrifices  together  with  prayers  and  prescribed  rites.  The  priest  began  by 
solemnly  inviting  the  gods  to  the  feast:  as  soon  as  they  sniffed  from  afar  the 
smell  of  the  good  cheer  that  awaited  them,  they  ran  “like  a swarm  of  flies  ” 
and  prepared  themselves  to  partake  of  it.1  The  supplications  having  been 

heard,  water  was  brought 
to  the  gods  for  the  neces- 
sary ablutions  before  a 
repast.2 3  “ Wash  thy  hands, 
cleanse  thy  hands, — may 
the  gods  thy  brothers  wash 
their  hands! — From  a clean 
dish  eat  a pure  repast, — 
from  a clean  cup  drink 
pure  water.”  The  statue, 

terial  out  of  which  it  was 
carved,  was  at  a loss  how  to  profit  by  the  exquisite  things  which  had  been 
lavished  upon  it : the  difficulty  was  removed  by  the  opening  of  its  mouth  at 
the  moment  of  consecration,  thus  enabling  it  to  partake  of  the  good  fare 
to  its  satisfaction.4  The  banquet  lasted  a long  time,  and  consisted  of  every 
delicacy  which  the  culinary  skill  of  the  time  could  prepare : the  courses  con- 
sisted of  dates,  wheaten  flour,  honey,  butter,  various  kinds  of  wines,  and  fruits, 
together  with  roast  and  boiled  meats.  In  the  most  ancient  times  it  would 
appear  that  even  human  sacrifices  were  offered,  but  this  custom  was  obsolete 
except  on  rare  occasions,  and  lambs,  oxen,  sometimes  swine’s  flesh,  formed  the 


from  the  rigidity  of  the  ma- 


1 This  is  the  simile  used  by  the  author  of  the  poem  of  Gilgames  to  express  the  eagerue3S  of  the 
gods  at  the  moment  of  Shamashnapishtim’s  sacrifice  (see  p.  570  of  the  present  work). 

2 Rawlinson,  W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  13,  No.  2,  11.  1-5 ; translated  by  Lenqrmant,  La  Magie  chez 
les  Chalddens,  p.  47 ; Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Volker,  p.  .414;  Sayce,  Relig.  of  Anc.  Babylonians, 
p.  487 ; J.  0.  Ball,  Glimpses  of  Babylonian  Religion,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc., 
1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  155,  156. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucker-Gudin,  from  a Chaldsean  intaglio  in  the  Berlin  Museum,  reproduced  in 
heliogravure  by  Menant,  Recherches  sur  la  Glyptique  orientate,  vol.  i.  pi.  iv.,  No.  1. 

4 This  operation,  which  was  also  resorted  to  in  Egypt  in  the  case  of  the  statues  of  the  gods  and 
deceased  persons,  is  clearly  indicated  in  a text  of  the  second  Chaldsean  empire  published  in  W.  A.  Insc., 
vol.  iv.  pi.  25.  The  priest  who  consecrates  an  image  makes  clear  in  the  first  place  (col.  iii.  11.  15,  16) 
that  “ its  mouth  not  being  open  it  can  partake  of  no  refreshment : it  neither  eats  food  nor  drinks 
water.”  Thereupon  he  performs  certain  rites,  which  he  declares  were  celebrated,  if  not  at  that 
moment,  at  least  for  the  first  time  by  Ea  himself : “ Ea  has  brought  thee  to  thy  glorious  place, — to 
thy  glorious  place  he  has  brought  thee,— -brought  thee  with  his  splendid  hand, — brought  also  butter 
and  honey;. — he  has  poured  consecrated  water  into  thy  mouth, — and  by  magic  has  opened  thy  mouth” 
(col.  iv.  11.  49,  50).  Hencefonvard  the  statue  can  eat  and  driuk  like  an  ordinary  living  being  the 
meat  and  beverages  offered  to  it  during  the  sacrifice  (J.  C.  Ball,  Glimpses,  etc.,  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  160,  161). 


SACRIFICES  IN  HONOUR  OF  THE  GODS. 


681 


usual  elements  of  the  sacrifice.1  The  gods  seized  as  it  arose  from  the  altar 
the  unctuous  smoke,  and  fed  on  it  with  delight.  When  they  had  finished 
their  repast,  the  supplication 
of  a favour  was  adroitly 
added,  to  which  they  gave 
a favourable  hearing.2  Ser- 
vices were  frequent  in  the 
temples:  there  was  one  in 
the  morning  and  another  in 
the  evening  on  ordinary 
days,  in  addition  to  those 
which  private  individuals  might  require  at  any  hour  of  the  day.  The 
festivals  assigned  to  the  local  god  and  his  colleagues,  together  with  the  acts 


the  sacrifice:  a goat  presented  to  ishtau.3 


THE  GOD  SIIAM ASH  SEIZES  WITH  UIS  LEFT  HAND  THE  SMOKE  OF  THE  SACRIFICE.4 


of  praise  in  which  the  whole  nation  joined,  such  as  that  of  the  New  Year, 
required  an  abundance  of  extravagant  sacrifices,  in  which  the  blood  of  the 

1 The  evidence  for  the  existence  of  human  sacrifices  was  first  pointed  out,  as  far  as  I am  aware, 
by  Fr.  Lenormant,  Le s Premieres  Civilisations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  196-198  (cf.  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii. 
pp.  112,  113),  afterwards  by  Sayce,  On  Human  Sacrifices  among  the  Babylonians,  in  the  Transactions 
of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iv.  pp.  25-31 ; there  are  perhaps  representations  of  these  in  Menant, 
Recherches  sur  la  Olyptique,  vol.  i.  p.  152,  fig.  95  (cf.  Catalogue  de  la  Collection  de  Clercq,  vol.  i., 
Introduction,  p.  18,  pi.  vii.,  Nos.  20,  30  bis,  pi.  xviii.,  No.  167,  pi.  six.,  Nos.  176-182).  The  existence 
of  such  sacrifices  has  been  insisted  on  by  Sayce,  Relig.  of  Anc.  Babylonians,  pp.  78, 83,  84 ; by  Tiele, 
Babylonisch-Assyrische  Geschichte,  p.  548 ; and  by  J.  C.  Ball,  Glimpses,  etc.,  iu  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  1891-92,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  149-153. 

s Cf.  the  invocation,  for  instance,  published  by  Rawlinson,  W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  17,  and  translated 
by  Lenormant,  La  Magie,  p.  46,  and  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  143,  144 : “ 0 Sun,  at  the 
raising  of  my  hands,  come  to  the  supplication, — eat  his  offering,  consume  his  victim,  strengthen  his 
hand, — and.  may  he  be  delivered  by  thy  order  from  his  affliction,  may  his  evil  be  done  away"  (11.  53-59). 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  Assyrian  intaglio  illustrated  in  A.  Rich,  Narrative  of  a 
Journey  to  the  Site  of  Babylon  in  1811,  pi.  x.,  No.  10  (cf.  Menant,  Recherches  sur  la  Glyptique,  vol.  i. 
pp.  163,  164).  The  sacrifice  of  the  goat,  or  rather  its  presentation  to  the  god,  is  not  infrequently 
represented  on  the  Assyrian  bas-reliefs ; for  examples,  see  Botta,  Le  Monument  de  Ninive,  vol.  i.  p.  43. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a Cbaldsean  intaglio  pointed  out  by  Heozey-Sarzec,  Dtcouvertes 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GUDS  OF  CHALDEE  A. 


082 

victims  flowed  like  water.  Days  of  sorrow  and  mourning  alternated  with  these 
days  of  joy,  during  which  the  people  and  the  magnates  gave  themselves  up  to 
severe  lasting  and  acts  of  penitence.1  The  Chaldaeans  had  a lively  sense  of 
human  frailty,  and  of  the  risks  entailed  upon  the  sinner  by  disobedience  to 
the  gods.  The  dread  of  sinning  haunted  them  during  their  whole  life;  they 
continually  subjected  the  motives  of  their  actions  to  a strict  scrutiny,  and  once 
self-examination  had  revealed  to  them  the  shadow  of  an  evil  intent,  they  were 
accustomed  to  implore  pardon  for  it  in  a humble  manner.  “Lord,  my  sins  are 
many,  great  are  my  misdeeds ! — 0 my  god,  my  sins  are  many,  great  my 
misdeeds ! — 0 my  goddess,  my  sins  are  many,  great  my  misdeeds ! — I have 
committed  faults  and  I knew  them  not;  I have  committed  sin  and  I knew  it 
not ; I have  fed  upon  misdeeds  and  I knew  them  not ; I have  walked  in  omissions 
and  I knew  them  not. — The  lord,  in  the  anger  of  his  heart,  he  has  stricken  me, 
— the  god,  in  the  wrath  of  his  heart,  has  abandoned  me, — Ishtar  is  enraged 
against  me,  and  has  treated  me  harshly ! — I make  an  effort,  and  no  one  offers 
me  a hand, — I weep,  and  no  one  comes  to  me, — I cry  aloud,  and  no  one  hears 
me: — I sink  under  affliction,  I am  overwhelmed,  I can  no  longer  raise  up  my 
head,— I turn  to  my  merciful  god  to  call  upon  him,  and  I groan!  . . . Lord, 
reject  not  thy  servant, — and  if  he  is  hurled  into  the  roaring  waters,  stretch 
to  him  thy  hand; — the  sins  I have  committed,  have  mercy  upon  them, — the 
misdeeds  I have  committed,  scatter  them  to  the  winds— and  my  numerous 
faults,  tear  them  to  pieces  like  a garment.”  2 Sin  in  the  eyes  of  the  Chal- 
drean  was  not,  as  with  us,  an  infirmity  of  the  soul ; it  assaulted  the  body 
like  an  actual  virus,  and  the  fear  of  physical  suffering  or  death  engen- 
dered by  it,  inspired  these  complaints  with  a note  of  sincerity  which  cannot 
be  mistaken.3 

Every  individual  is  placed,  from  the  moment  of  his  birth,  under  the 


cn  Chaldee,  pi.  30  bis,  17  b ; of.  Heuzey,  Les  Origines  orientales  de  Vart,  vol.  i.  pp.  192,  193;  the 
original  is  in  the  Louvre.  The  scene  depicted,  behind  Shamash  deals  with  a legend  still  unknown. 
A goddess,  pursued  by  a genius  with  a double  face,  has  taken  refuge  under  a tree,  which  bows  down 
to  protect  her;  while  the  monster  endeavours  to  break  down  the  obstacle  branch  by  branch,  a god 
rises  from  the  stem  and  hands  to  the  goddess  a stoue-litaded  mace  to  protect  her  against  her 
enemy. 

1 On  sin,  and  the  feelings  it  inspired  in  the  Chaldseans,  see  Zdimern,  Babylonische  Busspsal- 
men ; also  Delitzsch-Murdter,  Geschichte  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  3?,  39;  Fr. 
Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  146-163;  Hommel,  Die  Semitisclien  Yblker,  pp. 
315-322. 

2 W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  10,  col.  i.  11.  36-61,  col.  ii.  11.  1-6,  35-44.  A verse  of  it  has  been 
translated  by  Fox  Talbot,  Oh  the  Beligious  Belief  of  the  Assyrians,  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Biblical  Archaeological  Society,  vol.  ii.  pp.  71,  72;  Sayce  has  translated  the  whole  into  English 
( Records  of  the  Past,  1st  series,  vol.  vii.  p.  151,  et  seq.),  Fr.  Lenormant  into  French  ( Eludes 
Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  148-152) ; Delitzsch-Murdter  into  German,  Geschichte  Babyloniens  und 
Assyriens,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  38,  39 ; Hommel,  in  Die  Semitisclien  Yolher,  p.  317 ; and  lastly  Zimmebn, 
in  Die  Babylonischen  Busspsalmen,  p.  61,  et  seq. 

3 Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chalde'cns,  pp.  166,  167. 


DEA Til  AND  THE  FATE  OF  THE  SOUL. 


683 


protection  of  a god  and  goddess,  of  whom  he  is  the  servant,  or  rather  the  son, 
and  whom  he  never  addresses  otherwise  than  as  his  god  and  his  goddess. 
These  deities  accompany  him  night  and  day,  not  so  much  to  protect  him  from 
visible  dangers,  as  to  guard  him  from  the  invisible  beings  which  ceaselessly 
hover  round  him,  and  attack  him  on  every  side.1  If  he  is  devout,  piously 
disposed  towards  his  divine  patrons  and  the  deities  of  his  country,  if  he  observes 
the  prescribed  rites,  recites  the  prayers,  performs  the  sacrifices — in  a word,  if  he 
acts  rightly — their  aid  is  never  lacking ; they  bestow  upon  him  a numerous 
posterity,  a happy  old  age,  prolonged  to  the  term  fixed  by  fate,  when  he 
must  resign  himself  to  close  his  eyes  for  ever  to  the  light  of  day.  If,  on  the 
contrary,  he  is  wicked,  violent,  one  whose  word  cannot  be  trusted,  “ his  god  cuts 
him  down  like  a reed,”  extirpates  his  race,  shortens  his  days,  delivers  him  over 
to  demons  who  possess  themselves  of  his  body  and  afflict  it  with  sicknesses 
before  finally  despatching  him.  Penitence  is  of  avail  against  the  evil  of  sin, 
and  serves  to  re-establish  a right  course  of  life,  but  its  efficacy  is  not  permanent, 
and  the  moment  at  last  arrives  in  which  death,  getting  the  upper  hand,  carries 
its  victim  away.2  The  Chahkeans  had  not  such  clear  ideas  as  to  what  awaited 
them  in  the  other  world  as  the  Egyptians  possessed  : whilst  the  tomb,  the 
mummy,  the  perpetuity  of  the  funereal  revenues,  and  the  safety  of  the  double, 
were  the  engrossing  subjects  in  Egypt,  the  Chaldaean  texts  are  almost  entirely 
silent  as  to  the  condition  of  the  soul,  and  the  living  seem  to  have  had  no 
further  concern  about  the  dead  than  to  get  rid  of  them  as  quickly  and  as 
completely  as  possible.  They  did  not  believe  that  everything  was  over  at  the 
last  breath,  but  they  did  not  on  that  account  think  that  the  fate  of  that 
which  survived  was  indissolubly  associated  with  the  perishable  part,  and  that 
the  disembodied  soul  was  either  annihilated  or  survived,  according  as  the  flesh 
in  which  it  was  sustained  was  annihilated  or  survived  in  the  tomb.  The  soul 
was  doubtless  not  utterly  unconcerned  about  the  fate  of  the  larva  it  had 
quitted  : its  pains  were  intensified  on  being  despoiled  of  its  earthly  case  if  the 
latter  were  mutilated,  or  left  without  sepulture,  a prey  to  the  fowls  of  the  air.3 
This  feeling,  however,  was  not  sufficiently  developed  to  create  a desire  for 
escape  from  corruption  entirely,  and  to  cause  a resort  to  the  mummifying 
process  of  the  Egyptians.  The  Chaldaeans  did  not  subject  the  body,  therefore, 


1 Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  Chaldeens,  pp.  181-183,  whose  ideas  on  this  subject  have 
been  adopted  by  all  Assyriologists  interested  in  the  matter. 

2 A.  Jeremias,  Die  Babylonisch-Assyrischen  Vorstellungen  vom  Leben  nach  dem  Tode,  pp.  46-49, 
where  arc  to  be  found  gathered  for  the  first  time  in  a sufficiently  complete  manner  all  that  the  texts 
reveal  on  death  and  posthumous  humanity. 

3 IIalevy,  La  Croyance  a Vimmortalitd  de  Vame  cliez  les  Chaldeens , in  the  Melanges  de  Critique 
et  d'Hisloire,  p.  368 ; A.  Jeremias,  Die  Babylonisch-Assyrischen  Darslellungen  vom  Leben  nach  dem 
Tode,  pp.  54-57. 


G 84 


TT1E  TEMPLES  AND  TEE  GODS  OF  CIJALD2EA. 


CHALDiEAN  COFFIN  IN  TIIE  FORM  OF  A JAR.' 


to  those  injections,  to  those  frequent  baths  in  preserving  fluids,  to  that 
laborious  swaddling  which  rendered  it  indestructible;  whilst  the  family  wept 
and  lamented,  and  the  old  women  exercised  their  sad  functions  as  weepers, 
washed  the  dead  body,  perfumed  it, 
clad  it  in  its  best  apparel,  painted 
its  cheeks,  blachened  its  eyelids, 
placed  a collar  on  its  neck,  rings  on 
its  fingers,  arranged  its  arms  upon 
its  breast,  and  stretched  it  on  a bed, 

setting  up  at  its  head  a little  altar  for  the  customary  offerings  of  water, 
incense,  and  cakes.  Evil  spirits  prowled  incessantly  around  the  dead  bodies 

of  the  Chaldaeans,  either 
to  feed  upon  them,  or  to 
use  them  in  their  sorcery : 
should  they  succeed  in  slip- 
ping into  a corpse,  from 
that  moment  it  could  be 
metamorphosed  into  a vam- 
pire, and  return  to  the 
world  to  suck  the  blood  of 
the  living.  The  Chaldaeans 
were,  therefore,  accustomed 
to  invite  by  prayers  bene- 
ficent genii  and  gods  to 
watch  over  the  dead.  Two 
of  these  would  take  their 
invisible  places  at  the  head 
and  foot  of  the  bed,  and 
wave  their  hands  in  the  act 
of  blessing : these  were  the  vassals  of  Ea,  and,  like  their  master,  were  usually 
clad  in  fish-skins.  Others  placed  themselves  in  the  sepulchral  chamber,  and 
stood  ready  to  strike  any  one  who  dared  to  enter  : these  had  human  figures, 
or  lions’  heads  joined  to  the  bodies  of  men.  Others,  moreover,  hovered 
over  the  house  in  order  to  drive  off  the  spectres  who  might  endeavour  to 
enter  through  the  roof.  During  the  last  hours  in  which  the  dead  body 


A VAULTED  TOMB  IN  URU.2 


1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Bums  of  Ahu-Shahrein,  in  ti  e 
Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  p.  414. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  p.  273. 


FUNERALS — TOMBS. 


685 


remained  among  its  kindred,  it  reposed  under  the  protection  of  a legion  of 
gods.1 2 

We  must  not  expect  to  find  on  the  plains  of  the  Euphrates  the  rock-cut 

tombs,  the  mastabas  or  pyra- 
mids, of  Egypt.  No  moun- 
tain chain  ran  on  either  side 
of  the  river,  formed  of  rock 
soft  enough  to  be  cut  and  hol- 
lowed easily  into  chambers  or 
sepulchral  halls,  and  at  the 
same  time  sufficiently  hard 
to  prevent  the  tunnels  once 
cut  from  falling  in.  The 
alluvial  soil  upon  which  the 
, Chaldsean  cities  were  built, 

CHAI.D.EAX  TOMB  WITH  DOMED  ROOF. 

far  from  preserving  the  dead 
body,  rapidly  decomposed  it  under  the  influence  of  heat  and  moisture  :3  vaults 
constructed  in  it  would  soon  be  invaded  by  water  in  spite  of  masonry ; 
paintings  and  sculpture 
would  soon  be  eaten  away 
by  nitre,  and  the  funereal 
furniture  and  the  coffin 
quickly  destroyed.  The 
dwelling-house  of  the  Chal- 
daean  dead  could  not,  there- 
fore, properly  be  called,  as 
those  of  Egypt,  a “ house 
of  eternity.”  It  was  con- 
structed of  dried  or  burnt 
brick,  and  its  form  varied  chaldjsan  tomb  with  flat  roof.4 

much  from  the  most  ancient 

times.  Sometimes  it  was  a great  vaulted  chamber,  the  courses  forming 


1 This  is  what  we  see  on  the  bronze  bas-relief  discovered  by  Pcretie',  a drawing  of  which  was 
published  by  Clermost-Ganneau,  L'Enfer  Assyrien  (in  the  Revue  Archdologique,  1879,  vol.  xxxviii. 
pi.  25),  afterwards  by  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt  dans  V Antiquity  vol.  ii.  pp.  363,  364;  cf.  pp. 
690,  691  of  the  present  work. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the 
Journal  of  the.  Roijal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  p.  270. 

3 Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt  dam  V Antiquitd,  v<d.  ii.  p.  347,  et  seq. 

* Drawn  by  Faucher  Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  p.  270. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  TI1E  OODS  OF  CI1ALDJEA. 


686 

the  roof  being  arranged  corbel-wise,  and  contained  the  remains  of  one  or 
two  bodies  walled  up  within  it.1  At  other  times  it  consisted  merely  of  an 
earthen  jar,  in  which  the  corpse  had  been  inserted  in  a bent-up  posture,  or 
was  composed  of  two  enormous  cylindrical  jars,  which,  when  united  and 
cemented  with  bitumen,  formed  a kind  of  barrel  around  the  body.2  Other 
tombs  are  represented  by  wretched  structures,  sometimes  oval  and  sometimes 
round  in  shape,  placed  upon  a brick  base  and  covered  by  a Hat  or  domed 
roof.3  The  interior  was  not  of  large  dimensions,  and  to  enter  it  was  necessary 
to  stoop  to  a creeping  posture.  The  occupant  of  the  smallest  chambers  was 
content  to  have  with  him  his  linen,  his  ornaments,  some  bronze  arrowheads, 
and  metal  or  clay  vessels.  Others  contained  furniture  which,  though  not  as 
complete  as  that  found  in  Egyptian  sepulchres,  must  have  ministered  to  all 
the  needs  of  the  spirit.  The  body  was  stretched,  fully  clothed,  upon  a mat 
impregnated  with  bitumen,  the  head  supported  by  a cushion  or  flat  brick,  the 
arms  laid  across  the  breast,  and  the  shroud  adjusted  by  bands  to  the  loins  and 
legs.  Sometimes  the  corpse  was  placed  on  its  left  side,  with  the  legs  slightly 
bent,  and  the  right  hand,  extending  over  the  left  shoulder,  was  inserted  into 
a vase,  as  if  to  convey  the  contents  to  the  mouth.  Clay  jars  and  dishes, 
arranged  around  the  body,  contained  the  food  and  drink  required  for  the  dead 
man’s  daily  fare — his  favourite  wine,  dates,  fish,  fowl,  game,  occasionally  also 
a boar’s  head — and  even  stone  representations  of  provisions,  which,  like  those 
of  Egypt,  were  lasting  substitutes  for  the  reality.  The  dead  man  required 
weapons  also  to  enable  him  to  protect  his  food-store,  and  his  lance,  javelins 
and  baton  of  office  were  placed  alongside  him,  together  with  a cylinder  bearing 
his  name,  which  he  had  employed  as  his  seal  in  his  lifetime.  Beside  the 
body  of  a woman  or  young  girl  was  arranged  an  abundance  of  spare  orna- 
ments, flowers,  scent-bottles,  combs,  cosmetic  pencils,  and  cakes  of  the  black 
paste  with  which  they  were  accustomed  to  coat  the  eyebrows  and  the  edges 
of  the  eyelids.4 

1 Vaulted  chambers  are  confined  chiefly  to  the  ancient  cemeteries  of  Uru  at  Mugheir;  they  are 
something  over  six  to  seven  feet  long,  with  a breadth  of  five  and  a half  feet.  The  walls  are  Dot  quite 
perpendicular,  but  are  somewhat  splayed  up  to  two-thirds  of  their  height,  where  they  begin  to 
narrow  into  the  vaulted  roof  (Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  pp.  272,  273)  ; cf.  Perrot-Chipiez,  IHstoire  de  l' Art  dans  I’Antiquite',  vol.  ii. 
p.  371,  et  seq. 

2 This  kind  of  sepulchre  is  found  both  at  Mugheir  and  Tell-el-Lahm  (Taylor,  Ahu-Sliahrein, 
etc.,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Royal  Asiat.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  413,  414);  cf.  Perrot-Chipiez,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  371,  372.  The  jars  have  a small  opening  at  one  end  to  allow  of  the  escape  of  the  decomposing 
gases. 

3 Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Royal  Asiat.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  p.  2G9. 
This  kind  of  tomb  is  found  at  a considerable  depth ; at  Mugheir  the  majority  of  those  discovered 
were  six  to  eight  feet  below  the  surface  (cf.  Perrot-Chipiez,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  372,  373). 

4 Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Royal  Asiat.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  pp. 
271-274,  414,  415  ; and  Notes  on  Abu-Shahrein,  ibid.,  p.  413. 


TT7E  CREMATION  OF  TEE  BEAT). 


687 


THE  INTERIOR  OF  THE  TOMB  ON  PAGE  685.1 


Cremation  seems  in  many  cases  to  have  been  preferred  to  burial  in  a tomb. 
The  funeral  pile  was  constructed  at  some  distance  from  the  town,  on  a specially 
reserved  area  in  the  middle  of  the  marshes.  The  body,  wrapped  up  in  coarse 
matting,  was  placed  upon  a heap  of  reeds  and  rushes  saturated  with  bitumen  : 
a brick  wall,  coated  with  moist  clay,  was  built  around  this  to  circumscribe  the 
action  of  the  flames,  and,  the  customary  prayers  having  been  recited,  the  pile 
was  set  on  fire,  masses  of  fresh  material,  together  with  the  funerary  furniture 
and  usual  viaticum,  being  added  to  the  pyre.  When  the  work  of  cremation 
was  considered  to  be  complete,  the  fire  was  extinguished,  and  an  examination 
made  of  the  residue.  It  frequently  happened  that  only  the  most  accessible 
and  most  easily  destroyed  parts  of  the  body  had  been  attacked  by  the  flames, 
and  that  there  remained  a black  and  disfigured  mass  which  the  fire  had  not 
consumed.  The  previously  prepared  floor  of  the  pile  was  then  made  to  furnish 
a clay  wrapping  for  the  body,  so  as  to  cover  up  the  sickening  spectacle  from  the 
view  of  the  relatives  and  spectators.  Sometimes,  however,  the  furnace  accom- 
plished its  work  satisfactorily,  and  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  at  the  end 
but  greasy  ashes  and  scraps  of  calcined  bones.  The  remains  were  not 
unusually  left  where  they  were,  and  the  funeral  pile  became  their  tomb. 
They  were,  however,  often  collected  and  disposed  of  Jn  a manner  which  varied 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Taylor  ( Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  tbe 
Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  p.  271).  The  object  placed  under  the  head  of  tbe  skeleton 
is  the  dried  brick  mentioned  in  the  text;  the  vessel  to  which  the  hand  is  stretched  out  was  of  copper ; 
the  other  vessels  were  of  earthenware,  and  contained  water,  or  dates,  of  which  the  stones  were  found. 
The  small  cylinders  on  the  side  were  of  stone ; the  two  large  cylinders,  between  the  copper  vessel 
and  those  of  earthenware,  were  pieces  of  bamboo,  of  whose  use  we  are  ignorant. 


G88 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  QODS  OF  CI1ALDJEA. 


with  their  more  or  less  complete  combustion.  Bodies  insufficiently  burnt 
were  interred  in  graves,  or  in  public  chapels;  while  the  ashes  of  those  fully 
cremated,  together  with  the  scraps  of  bones  and  the  debris  of  the  offerings, 
were  placed  in  long  urns.  The  heat  had  contorted  the  weapons  and  half 
melted  the  vessels  of  copper ; and  the  deceased  was  thus  obliged  to  be  content 
with  the  fragments  only  of  the  things  provided  for  him.  These  were,  however, 
sufficient  for  the  purpose,  and  his  possessions,  once  put  to  the  test  of  the 
flames,  now  accompanied  him  whither  he  went:  water  alone  was  lacking, 
but  provision  was  made  for  this  by  the  construction  on  the  spot  of  cisterns 
to  collect  it.  For  this  purpose  several  cylinders  of  pottery,  some  twenty 
inches  broad,  were  inserted  in  the  ground  one  above  the  other  from  a depth  of 
from  ten  to  twelve  feet,  and  the  last  cylinder,  reaching  the  level  of  the  ground, 
was  provided  with  a narrow  neck,  through  which  the  rain-water  or  infiltrations 
from  the  river  flowed  into  this  novel  cistern.  Many  examples  of  these  are 
found  in  one  and  the  same  chamber,1  thus  giving  the  soul  an  opportunity  of 
finding  water  in  one  or  other  of  them.2  The  tombs  at  Uruk,  arranged  closely 
together  with  coterminous  walls,  and  gradually  covered  by  the  sand  or  by 
the  accumulation  and  debris  of  new  tombs,  came  at  length  to  form  an  actual 
mound.  In  cities  where  space  was  less  valuable,  and  where  they  were  free 
to  extend,  the  tombs  quickly  disappeared  without  leaving  any  vestiges  above 
the  surface,  and  it  would  now  be  necessary  to  turn  up  a great  deal  of  rubbish 
before  discovering  their  remains.  The  Chaldsea  of  to-day  presents  the 
singular  aspect  of  a country  almost  without  cemeteries,  and  one  would  be 
inclined  to  think  that  its  ancient  inhabitants  had  taken  pains  to  hide  them.3 
The  sepulture  of  royal  personages  alone  furnishes  us  with  monuments  of  which 
we  can  determine  the  site.  At  Babylon  these  were  found  in  the  ancient 
palaces  in  which  the  living  were  no  longer  inclined  to  dwell : that  of  Skargina, 
for  instance,  furnished  a burying-place  for  kings  more  than  two  thousand 
years  after  the  death  of  its  founder.  The  chronicles  devoutly  indicate  the 

1 The  German  expedition  of  1886-87  found  four  of  these  reservoirs  in  a single  chamber,  and 
nine  distributed  in  the  chambers  of  a house  entirely  devoted  to  the  burial  of  the  dead  (R.  Koldewey, 
Die  Altbabylonischen  Grdben,  in  the  Zeitsclirift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  p.  415). 

2 The  mode  of  cremation,  and  the  two  cemeteries  in  Southern  Chaldsea,  where  it  was  practised, 
were  discovered  by  the  German  expedition  referred  to  in  the  preceding  note,  and  fully  described  by 
Koldewey,  op.  cit.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  403-430. 

3 Various  explanations  have  been  offered  to  account  for  this  absence  of  tombs.  Without  mentioning 
the  desperate  attempt  to  get  rid  of  the  difficulty  by  the  assumption  that  the  dead  bodies  were  cast 
into  the  river  (Place,  Ninive  et  VAssyrie,  vol.  ii.  p.  184),  Loftus  thinks  that  the  Chaldseans  and 
Assyrians  were  accustomed  to  send  them  to  some  sanctuary  in  Southern  Chaldsea,  especially  to  Uru 
and  Uruk,  whose  vast  cemeteries,  he  contends,  would  have  absorbed  during  the  centuries  the  greater 
part  of  the  Euphratean  population  ( Travels  and  Pies,  ear  dies  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  198,  et 
seq.) ; his  opinion  has  been  adopted  by  some  historians  (Delitzsch-Murdter,  Geschiclite  Babyloniens 
und  Assyriens,  2nd  edit.,  pp.  59,  60 ; E.  Meyer,  Geschiclite  des  Alterthums,  vol.  i.  p.  181 ; and,  as  far 
only  as  the  later  period  is  concerned,  by  Hommel,  Gescliichte  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  p.  210). 


THE  ROYAL  SEPULCHRES  AND  THE  WORSHLP  OF  THE  DEAD.  689 


spot  where  each  monarch,  when  his  earthly  reign  was  over,1  found  a last 
resting-place ; and  where,  as  the  subject  of  a ceremonial  worship  similar  to 
that  of  Egypt,  his  memory  was  preserved  from  the  oblivion  which  had  over- 
taken  most  of  his  illustrious  subjects.2 

The  dead  man,  or  rather  that  part  of  him  which  survived — his  “ ekimmu  ”9 
— dwelt  in  the  tomb,  and  it  was  for  his  comfort  that  there  were  provided,  at 
the  time  of  sepulture  or  cremation,  the  provisions  and  clothing,  the  ornaments 
and  weapons,  of  which  he  was  considered  to  stand  in  need.  Furnished  with 
these  necessities  by  his  children  and  heirs,  he  preserved  for  the  donors  the 
same  affection  which  he  had  felt  for  them  in  his  lifetime,  and  gave  evidence 
of  it  in  every  way  he  could,  watching  over  their  welfare,  and  protecting  them 
from  malign  influences.  If  they  abandoned  or  forgot  him,  he  avenged  himself 
for  their  neglect  by  returning  to  torment  them  in  their  homes,  by  letting 
sickness  attack  them,  and  by  ruining  them  with  his  imprecations  : he  became 
thus  no  less  hurtful  than  the  “ luminous  ghost”  of  the  Egyptians,  and  if  he 
were  accidentally  deprived  of  sepulture,  he  would  not  be  merely  a plague 
to  his  relations,  but  a danger  to  the  entire  city.4  The  dead,  who  were  unable 
to  earn  an  honest  living  for  themselves,  showed  little  pity  to  those  who  were 
in  the  same  position  as  themselves : if  one  were  to  arrive  among  them  without 
prayers,  libations,  or  offerings,  they  declined  to  receive  him,  and  would  not 
give  him  as  much  as  a piece  of  bread  out  of  their  meagre  store.  The  spirit 
of  the  unburied  dead  man,  having  neither  place  of  repose  nor  means  of 
subsistence,  wandered  through  the  town  and  country,  occupied  with  no  other 
thought  than  that  of  attacking  and  robbing  the  living.5  He  it  was  who, 
gliding  iuto  the  house  during  the  night,  revealed  himself  to  its  inhabitants 

1 See  on  this  subject  the  information  contained  in  the  fragment  of  the  royal  list  discovered  and 
published  by  Gr.  Smith,  On  fragments  of  an  Inscription  giving  part  of  the  Chronology  from  which  the 
Canon  of  Berosus  was  copied,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  361-379.  Sayce, 
Dynastic  Tablets  of  the  Babylonians  ( Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  21),  translates  by  “In 
the  palace  of  Sargon  [his  corpse]  was  burned  ...  in  the  palace  of  Kar-Merodach  [he  was  burned],” 
a passage  which  others  refer  to  the  record  of  interments. 

2 Amiaud,  MatCriaux  pour  le  Diet.  Assyrian,  in  the  Journal  Asiatique,  1881,  vol.  xviii.  pp.  236, 
237;  in  the  text  published  by  Pinches,  Texts  in  the  Babylonian  Wedge-Writing,  autographed  from 
the  Original  Documents,  vol.  i.  p.  17,  Assurbanipal  is  represented  as  clad  in  a torn  garment,  pouring 
out  a libation  to  the  Manes  of  the  kings,  his  predecessors,  and  scattering  on  the  occasion  his  favours 
upon  gods  and  men,  and  upon  the  living  and  the  dead. 

3 The  meaning  of  the  word  “ekimmu,”  “ikimmu,”  after  having  been  mistaken  by  the  early 
Assyriologists,  was  rightly  given  by  Amiacd,  MatCriaux  pour  le  Dictionnaire,  in  the  Journal  Asiatique, 
7th  series,  1881,  vol.  xviii.  p.  237.  It  is  equivalent  to  the  “ka”  of  the  Egyptians,  and  represents 
probably  the  same  conception,  although  it  is  never  seen  represented  like  the  “ka”  on  the  monuments 
of  various  ages;  cf.  pp.  108,  109  of  the  present  work. 

4 Among  the  evil  beings  against  whom  defence  is  needed  by  means  of  conjurations,  appears  “the 
man  who  has  not  been  buried  in  the  earth  ” (Sayce,  Relig.  of  Anc.  Babylonians,  p.  441). 

5 He  then  becomes  “ the  ekimmu  who  attacks  and  lays  hold  of  the  living”  (IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv. 
pi.  16,  No.  2,  1.  7,  et  seq. ; IIaupt,  Alclcadische  und  Sumerische  Keilschrifttexte,  p.  82,  11.  7,  8).  He  must 
not  be  confounded  with  “the  utukku  of  the  tomb”  (IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  17,  col.  i.  1.  3);  that  is  to 
say,  with  the  evil  spirit  who  “enters  into  the  cavity  of  the  tomb”  (TF  A.  Insc.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  18,  col.  iii. 
1.  25)  or  “ into  its  vaulted  chambers  ” (ibid.,  1.  40). 

2 Y 


noo 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  OODS  OF  CHALDJEA. 


with  such  a frightful  visage  as  to  drive  them  distracted  with  terror.  Always 
on  the  watch,  no  sooner  does  he  surprise  one  of  his  victims  than  he  falls 

him,  “ his  head  against  his  victim’s  head, 
gainst  his  hand,  his  foot  against  his 
foot.”1  He  who  has  been 
thus  attacked,  whether  man 
or  beast,  would  undoubtedly 
perish  if  magic  were  not  able 
to  furnish  its  all-powerful  de- 
fence against  this  deadly  em- 
brace.2 This  human  survival, 
who  is  so  forcibly  represented 
both  in  his  good  and  evil 
aspects,  was  nevertheless 
nothing  more  than  a sort  of 
vague  and  fluid  existence — a 
double,  in  fact,  analogous  in 
appearance  to  that  of  the 
Egyptians.  With  the  faculty 
of  roaming  at  will  through 
space,  and  of  going  forth  from 
and  returning  to  his  abode,  it 
was  impossible  to  regard  him 
as  condemned  always  to  dwell 
in  the  case  of  terra-cotta  in 
which  his  body  lay  moulder- 
ing : he  was  transferred,  there- 
fore, or  rather  he  transferred 
himself,  into  the  dark  land— the  Aralu — situated  very  far  away — according  to 
some,  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth  ; according  to  others,  in  the  eastern  or 
northern  extremities  of  the  universe.4  A river  which  opens  into  this  region 
and  separates  it  from  the  sunlit  earth,  finds  its  source  in  the  primordial  waters 

1 Rawlinson,  IT.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  17,  col.  iii.  11.  65-69 ; cf.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les 
Chal c! fens,  p.  8,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  182-185,  vol.  iii.  p.  62;  Sayce,  Religion  of  the 
Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  446. 

2 The  majority  of  the  spells  employed  against  sickness  contain  references  to  the  spirits  against 
which  they  contend — “ the  wicked  ekimmu  who  oppresses  men  during  the  night  ” (W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  v. 
pi.  50,  col.  i.  1.  24;  cf.  Sayce,  op.  cit.,  p.  516),  or  simply  “the  wicked  ekimmu,”  the  ghost. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  a bronze  plaque  o’f  which  an  engraving  was  published  by 
Clermont-Ganneau.  The  original,  which  belonged  to  M.  Pe'retie,  is  now  in  the  collection  of  M.  de 
Clercq. 

4 With  regard  to  this  dark  country,  see  Jeremias,  Die  Babyloniscli-Assyrischen  Vorstellungen  vom 
Leben  nach  dem  Tode,  pp.  59-66,  75-80;  and  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  215-234. 


upon 


hand 


his 


THE  GODDESS  ALLAT  PASSES  THROUGH  THE  NETHER  REGIONS 
IN  HER  BARK.3 


HADES  AND  ITS  RULERS:  NERGAL  AND  ALLAT. 


691 


into  whose  bosom  this  world  of  ours  is  plunged.1  This  dark  couutry  is  sur- 
rounded by  seven  high  walls,  and  is  approached  through  seven  gates,  each  of 
which  is  guarded  by  a pitiless  warder.  Two 
deities  rule  within  it — Nergal,  “the  lord  of  the 
great  city,”  and  Beltis-Allat, 

“ the  lady  of  the  great  land,” 
whither  everything  which  has 
breathed  in  this  world  descends 
after  death.  The  nature  of 
Nergal  fitted  him  well  to 
play  the  part  of  a prince  of 
the  departed : for  he  was  the 
destroying  sun  of  summer,  and 
the  genius  of  pestilence  and 
battle.  His  functions,  how- 
ever, in  heaven  and  earth  took 
up  so  much  of  his  time  that 
he  had  little  leisure  to  visit 
his  nether  kingdom,  and  he 
was  consequently  obliged  to 
content  himself  with  the  role 
of  providing  subjects  for  it  by 
despatching  thither  the  thou- 
sands of  recruits  which  he 
gathered  daily  from  the  abodes 
of  men  or  from  the  field  of 
battle.  All  at  was  the  actual  nergal,  the  god  op  hades;  back  view.2 

sovereign  of  the  couutry.  She 

was  represented  with  the  body  of  a woman,  ill-formed  and  shaggy,  the  grinning 
muzzle  of  a lion,  and  the  claws  of  a bird  of  prey.  She  brandished  in  each 
hand  a large  serpent — a real  animated  javelin,  whose  poisouous  bite  inflicted  a 
fatal  wound  upon  the  enemv.  Her  children  were  two  lions,  which  she  is 
represented  as  suckling,  and  she  passed  through  her  empire,  not  seated  in  the 
saddle,  but  standing  upright  or  kneeling  on  the  back  of  a horse,  which  seems 
oppressed  by  her  weight.  Sometimes  she  set  out  on  an  expedition  upon  the 
river  which  communicates  with  the  countries  of  light,  in  order  to  meet  the 
procession  of  newly  arrived  souls  ceaselessly  despatched  to  her  ; she  embarked 


’ These  are  the  “ waters  of  death,”  mentioned  at  the  end  of  the  poem  of  Gilgames  (cf.  p.  585), 
and  represented  on  one  of  the  faces  of  the  bronze  plaque  figured  on  the  preceding  page  (G90). 

2 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin.  This  is  the  back  of  the  bronze  plate  represented  on  the  preceding 
page;  the  animal-1. ead  of  the  god  appears  in  relief  at  the  top  of  the  illustration. 


602 


THE  TEMrLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CHALDJEA. 


in  this  case  upon  an  enchanted  vessel,  which  made  its  way  without  sail  or 
oars,  its  prow  projecting  like  the  beak  of  a bird,  and  its  stern  terminating  in 
the  head  of  an  ox.  She  overcomes  all  resistance,  and  nothing  can  escape  from 
her  : the  gods  themselves  can  pass  into  her  empire  only  on  the  condition  of 
submitting  to  death  like  mortals,  and  of  humbly  avowing  themselves  her  slaves.1 

The  warders  at  the  gates  despoiled  the  new-comers  of  everything  which 
they  lpad  brought  wjth  them,  and  conducted  them  in  a naked  condition  before 
Aflat,  who  pronounced  sentence  upon  them,  and  assigned  to  each  his  place  in 
the  nether  world.  The  good  or  evil  committed  on  earth  by  such  souls  was  of 
little  moment  in  determining  the  sentence  : to  secure  the  favour  of  the  judge, 
it  was  of  far  greater  importance  to  have  exhibited  devotion  to  the  gods  and  to 
Allat  herself,  to  have  lavished  sacrifices  and  offerings  upon  them  and  to  have 
enriched  their  temples.  The  souls  which  could  not  justify  themselves  were 
subjected  to  horrible  punishment : leprosy  consumed  them  to  the  end  of  time, 
and  the  most  painful  maladies  attacked  them,  to  torture  them  ceaselessly 
without  any  hope  of  release.  Those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  be  spared 
from  her  rage,  dragged  out  a miserable  and  joyless  existence.  They  were 
continually  suffering  from  the  pangs  of  thirst  and  hunger,  and  found  nothing  to 
satisfy  their  appetites  but  clay  and  dust.  They  shivered  with  cold,  and  they 
obtained  no  other  garment  to  protect  them  than  mantles  of  feathers — the  great 
silent  wings  of  the  night-birds,  invested  with  which  they  fluttered  about  and 
filled  the  air  with  their  screams.2  This  gloomy  and  cruel  conception  of 
ordinary  life  in  this  strange  kingdom  was  still  worse  than  the  idea  formed  of  the 
existence  in  the  tomb  to  which  it  succeeded.  In  the  cemetery  the  soul  was,  at 
least,  alone  with  the  dead  body  ; in  the  house  of  Allat,  on  the  contrary,  it  was 
lost  as  it  were  among  spirits  as  much  afflicted  as  itself,  and  among  the  genii 
born  of  darkness.  None  of  these  genii  had  a simple  form,  or  approached  the 
human  figure  in  shape  ; each  individual  was  a hideous  medley  of  human  and 
animal  parts,  in  which  the  most  repellent  features  were  artistically  combined. 
Lions’  heads  stood  out  from  the  bodies  of  scorpion-tailed  jackals,  whose  feet  were 
armed  with  eagles’  claws  : and  among  such  monsters  the  genii  of  pestilence, 
fever,  and  the  south-west  wind  took  the  chief  place.  When  once  the  dead  had 
become  naturalized  among  this  terrible  population,  they  could  not  escape  from 
their  condition,  unless  by  the  exceptional  mandate  of  the  gods  above.  They 

1 The  names  of  the  deities  presiding  over  the  nether  world,  their  attributes,  the  classes  of 
secondary  genii  attached  to  them,  and  the  functions  of  each  class,  are  all  dealt  with  in  A.  Jeremias 
excellent  work,  Die  Babylonisch-Assyrisclien  Vorstellungen  vom  Leben  nacli  deni  Tode,  pp.  66-75.  The 
form  and  attributes  of  Allat  are  described  from  her  portrait  on  p.  690  of  the  present  work. 

2 This  is  the  description  of  the  dead  given  in  the  first  lines  of  the  “ Descent  of  Ishtar  to  the 
Infernal  Regions,”  given  on  p.  693  of  the  present  work ; it  is  confirmed  by  the  fragments  of  the  last 
song  of  the  poem  of  Gilgames,  as  given  on  pp.  588,  589  of  this  volume. 


THE  DESCENT  OF  ISHTAR  TO  THE  INFERNAL  REGIONS.  693 


possessed  no  recollection  of  what  they  had  done  upon  earth.  Domestic  affec- 
tion, friendships,  and  the  memory  of  good  offices  rendered  to  one  another, — all 
were  effaced  from  their  minds  : nothing  remained  there  but  an  inexpressible 
regret  at  having  been  exiled  from  the  world  of  light,  and  an  excruciating  desire 
to  reach  it  once  more.  The  threshold  of  Allat’s  palace  stood  upon  a spring 
which  had  the  property  of  restoring  to  life  all  who  bathed  in  it  or  drank  of  its 
waters  : they  gushed  forth  as  soon  as  the  stone  was  raised,  but  the  earth-spirits 
guarded  it  with  a jealous  care,  aud  kept  at  a distance  all  who  attempted  to 
appropriate  a drop  of  it.  They  permitted  access  to  it  only  by  order  of  Ea 
himself,  or  one  of  the  supreme  gods,  and  even  then  with  a rebellious  heart  at 
seeing  their  prey  escape  them.  Ancient  legends  related  how  the  shepherd 
Dumuzi,  son  of  Ea  and  Damkina,  having  excited  the  love  of  Ishtar  while  he  was 
pasturing  his  flocks  under  the  mysterious  tree  of  Eridu,  which  covers  the  earth 
with  its  shade,  was  chosen  by  the  goddess  from  among  all  others  to  be  the  spouse 
of  her  youth,  and  how,  being  mortally  wounded  by  a wild  boar,  he  was  cast  into 
the  kingdom  of  Allat.1  One  means  remained  by  which  he  might  be  restored 
to  the  light  of  day : his  wounds  must  be  washed  in  the  waters  of  the  wonderful 
spring,  and  Ishtar  resolved  to  go  in  quest  of  this  marvellous  liquid.2  The 
undertaking  was  fraught  with  danger,  for  no  one  might  travel  to  the  infernal 
regions  without  having  previously  gone  through  the  extreme  terrors  of  death, 
and  even  the  gods  themselves  could  not  transgress  this  fatal  law.  “ To  the 
land  without  return,  to  the  land  which  thou  knowest — Ishtar,  the  daughter 
of  Sin,  turned  her  thoughts : she,  the  daughter  of  Sin,  turned  her  thoughts — 
to  the  house  of  darkness,  the  abode  of  Irkalla — to  the  house  from  which  he  who 
enters  can  never  emerge — to  the  path  upon  which  he  who  goes  shall  never  come 
back — to  the  house  into  which  he  who  enters  bids  farewell  to  the  light — the 
place  where  dust  is  nourishment  and  clay  is  food  ; the  light  is  not  seen,  darkness 
is  the  dwelling,  where  the  garments  are  the  wings  of  birds — where  dust 
accumulates  on  door  and  bolt.”  Ishtar  arrives  at  the  porch,  she  knocks  at  it, 

1 Sec  pp.  647,  648  of  the  preseut  volume  for  the  legend  of  Dumuzi. 

2 The  text  of  the  “ Descent  of  Ishtar  to  the  Infernal  Regions”  was  discovered  by  Fox  Talbot 
{Trans,  of  Royal  Soc.  of  Literature,  2nd  series,  vol.  viii.  pp.  244-257;  cf.  Journ.  As.  Soc.,  new  series, 
vol.  iv.  pp.  25,  26,  27),  afterwards  published  by  Fu.  Lenormant,  Tablette  cunAiforme  du  Muste 
Britannique  {K  162),  in  the  Melanges  d' Archeologie  Egyptienne  et  Assyrienne,  vol.  i.  pp.  31-35  ; trans- 
lated by  him  in  the  Essai  de  Commentaire,  etc.,  de  Berose,  pp.  457-510  (cf.  Les  Premieres  Civilisations, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  81-93;  Choix  de  Textes  CmnSiformes,  No.  30,  pp.  100-105),  afterwards  by  Fox  Talbot 
himself  ( The  Legend  of  Ishtar  descending  to  Hades,  in  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  ii.  ^ 
pp.  179-212).  Since  then  the  majority  of  Assyriologists  have  bestowed  pains  on  the  interpretation  of 
this  poem  : Schrader  {Die  Hollenfahrt  der  Istar,  Giessen,  1874),  Oppert  {L’ Immortality  de  Vame  chez 

les  Chalddens,  in  the  Annales  de  Philosophic  Chrytienne,  1874,  vol.  viii.  pp.  210-233,  and  Fragments 
Mythologiques,  in  Ledrain,  Histoire  du  peuple  d’ Israel,  vol.  ii.  pp.  464-469),  A.  Jeremias  {Die 
Hollenfahrt  der  Istar,  etc.,  1889,  reproduced  in  the  beginning  of  Babylonisch-Assyrisclien  Vorstellungen 
tom  Leben  nach  dem  Tode,  pp.  4-45).  I have  followed  almost  exclusively  the  translation  of 
A Jeremias. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CHALDEE  A. 


GO  4 

she  addresses  the  guardian  in  an  imperious  voice:  “‘Guardian  of  the  waters, 
open  thy  gate — open  thy  gate  that  I may  enter,  even  I. — If  thou  openest  not 
the  door  that  I may  enter,  even  I, — I will  burst  open  the  door,  I will  break  the 
bars,  I will  break  the  threshold,  I will  burst  in  the  panels,  I will  excite  the  dead 
that  they  may  eat  the  living, — and  the  dead  shall  be  more  numerous  than  the 
living.’ — The  guardian  opened  his  mouth  and  spake,  he  announced  to  the  mighty 
Ishtar  : ‘ Stop,  0 lady,  and  do  not  overturn  the  door  until  I go  and  apprise 
the  Queen  Allat  of  thy  name.’  Allat  hesitates,  and  then  gives  him  permission 
to  receive  the  goddess : ‘ Go,  guardian,  open  the  gate  to  her — but  treat  her 
according  to  the  ancient  laws.’  ” 

Mortals  enter  naked  into  the  world,  and  naked  must  they  leave  it:  and 
since  Ishtar  has  decided  to  accept  their  lot,  she  too  must  be  prepared  to  divest 
herself  of  her  garments.  “ The  guardian  went,  he  opened  his  mouth  : ‘ Enter, 
my  lady,  and  may  Ivutha  rejoice — may  the  palace  and  the  land  without  return 
exult  in  thy  presence ! ’ He  causes  her  to  pass  through  the  first  gate,  divests 
her,  removes  the  great  crown  from  her  head : — ‘ Why,  guardian,  dost  thou 
remove  the  great  crown  from  my  head  ? ’ — ‘ Enter,  my  lady,  such  is  the  law  of 
Allat.’  The  second  gate,  he  causes  her  to  pass  through  it,  he  divests  her — removes 
the  rings  from  her  ears  : — ‘ Why,  guardian,  dost  thou  remove  the  rings  from 
my  ears  ? ’ — ‘ Enter,  my  lady,  such  is  the  law  of  Allat.’  ” And  from  gate  to 
gate  he  removes  some  ornament  from  the  distressed  lady — now  her  necklace 
with  its  attached  amulets,  now  the  tunic  which  covers  her  bosom,  now  her 
enamelled  girdle,  her  bracelets,  and  the  rings  on  her  ankles  : and  at  length,  at 
the  seventh  gate,  takes  from  her  her  last  covering.  When  she  at  length 
arrives  in  the  presence  of  Allat,  she  throws  herself  upon  her  in  order  to  wrest 
from  her  in  a terrible  struggle  the  life  of  Dumuzi ; but  Allat  sends  for  Namtar, 
her  messenger  of  misfortune,  to  punish  the  rebellious  Ishtar.  “ Strike  her  eyes 
with  the  affliction  of  the  eyes — strike  her  loins  with  the  affliction  of  the  loins — 
strike  her  feet  with  the  affliction  of  the  feet — strike  her  heart  with  the  affliction 
of  the  heart — strike  her  head  with  the  affliction  of  the  head — strike  violently 
at  her,  at  her  whole  body  ! ” While  Ishtar  was  suffering  the  torments  of  the 
infernal  regions,  the  world  of  the  living  was  wearing  mourning  on  account  of 
f her  death.  In  the  absence  of  the  goddess  of  love,  the  rites  of  love  could  no 
longer  be  performed.  The  passions  of  animals  and  men  were  suspended.  If 
she  did  not  return  quickly  to  the  daylight,  the  races  of  men  and  animals  would 
become  extinct,  the  earth  would  become  a desert,  and  the  gods  would  have 
neither  votaries  nor  offerings.  “ Papsukal,  the  servant  of  the  great  gods,  tore  his 
face  before  Shamash — clothed  in  mourning,  filled  with  sorrow.  Shamash  went 
— he  wept  in  the  presence  of  Sin,  his  father, — and  his  tears  flowed  in  the 


THE  RESURRECTION  OF  ISETAR. 


695 


presence  of  Ea,  the  king : — ‘ Ishtar  has  gone  down  into  the  earth,  and  she  has 
not  come  up  again ! — And  ever  since  Ishtar  has  descended  into  the  land  without 
return  . . . [the  passions  of  men  and  beasts  have  been  suspended]  . . . the  master 
goes  to  sleep  while  giving  his  command,  the  servant  goes  to  sleep  on  his  duty.’  ” 
The  resurrection  of  the  goddess  is  the  only  remedy  for  such  ills,  but  this  is 
dependent  upon  the  resurrection  of  Dumuzi : Ishtar  will  never  consent  to 
reappear  in  the  world,  if  she  cannot  bring  back  her  husband  with  her.  Ea,  the 
supreme  god,  the  infallible  executor  of  the  divine  will — he  who  alone  can 
modify  the  laws  imposed 
upon  creation — at  length 
decides  to  accord  to  her 
what  she  desires.  “ Ea,  in 
the  wisdom  of  his  heart, 
formed  a male  being, — 
formed  Uddushunamir,  the 
servant  of  the  gods  : — ‘ Go 
then,  Uddushunamir,  turn 
thy  face  towards  the  gate  ishtar  despoiled  of  her  garments  in  hades.1 

of  the  land  without  return  ; 

— the  seven  gates  of  the  land  without  return — may  they  become  open  at  thy 
presence — may  Allat  behold  thee,  and  rejoice  in  thy  presence! — When  her 
heart  shall  be  calm,  and  her  wrath  appeased,  charm  her  in  the  name  of  the  great 
gods — turn  thy  thoughts  to  the  spring.’ — ‘ May  the  spring,  my  lady,  give  me  of 
its  waters  that  I may  drink  of  them.’  ” Allat  broke  out  into  a terrible  rage, 
when  she  saw  herself  obliged  to  yield  to  her  rival ; “ she  beat  her  sides,  she 
gnawed  her  fingers,”  she  broke  out  into  curses  against  the  messenger  of  misfor- 
tune. “ * Thou  hast  expressed  to  me  a wish  which  should  not  be  made ! — Fly, 
Uddushunamir,  or  I will  shut  thee  up  in  the  great  prison — the  mud  of  the  drains 
of  the  city  shall  be  thy  food — the  gutters  of  the  town  shall  be  thy  drink — the 
shadow  of  the  walls  shall  be  thy  abode — the  thresholds  shall  be  thy  habitation 
— confinement  and  isolation  shall  weaken  thy  strength.’  ” 2 She  is  obliged  to 
obey,  notwithstanding ; she  calls  her  messenger  Namtar  and  commands  him  to 


1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a Chaldaean  intaglio  in  the  Hague  Museum  (cf.  Mi'n  a NT, 
Catalogue  den  Cylindres  orientaux,  etc.,  de  la  Haye,  pi.  v.,  No.  26).  On  the  naked  figure  of  Ishtar,  see 
the  memoir  of  Nicolsky,  La  Ddesse  des  Cylindres,  etc.,  in  the  Revue  Archtologique,  1890,  vol.  xxx. 
pp.  36-43. 

2 It  follows  from  this  passage  that  Ishtar  could  be  delivered  only  at  the  cost  of  another  life  : it 
was  for  this  reason,  doubtless,  that  Ea,  instead  of  sending  the  ordinary  messenger  of  the  gods,  created 
a special  messenger.  Allat,  furious  at  the  insignificance  of  the  victim  sent  to  her,  contents  herself 
with  threatening  Uddushanamir  with  an  ignominious  treatment  if  he  does  not  escape  as  quickly  as 
possible. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CIIALDTEA. 


69G 

make  all  the  preparations  for  resuscitating  the  goddess.  It  was  necessary  to 
break  the  threshold  of  the  palace  in  order  to  get  at  the  spring,  and  its  waters 
would  have  their  full  effect  only  in  presence  of  the  Auunnas.  “ Namtar  went, 
he  rent  open  the  eternal  palace, — he  twisted  the  uprights  so  that  the  stones  of 
the  threshold  trembled ; — he  made  the  Anunnaki  come  forth,  and  seated  them 
on  thrones  of  gold, — he  poured  upon  Ishtar  the  waters  of  life,  and  brought  her 
away.”  She  received  again  at  each  gate  the  articles  of  apparel  she  had 
abandoned  in  her  passage  across  the  seven  circles  of  hell : as  soon  as  she  saw 
the  daylight  once  more,  it  was  revealed  to  her  that  the  fate  of  her  husband  was 
henceforward  in  her  own  hands.  Every  year  she  must  bathe  him  in  pure  water, 
and  anoint  him  with  the  most  precious  perfumes,  clothe  him  in  a robe  of 
mourning,  and  play  to  him  sad  airs  upon  a crystal  flute,  whilst  her  priestesses 
intoned  their  doleful  chants,  and  tore  their  breasts  in  sorrow  : his  heart  would 
then  take  fresh  life,  and  his  youth  flourish  once  more,  from  springtime  to 
springtime,  as  long  as  she  should  celebrate  on  his  behalf  the  ceremonies  already 
prescribed  by  the  deities  of  the  infernal  world. 

Dumuzi  was  a god,  the  lover,  moreover,  of  a goddess,  and  the  deity  succeeded 
where  mortals  failed.1  Ea,  Nebo,  Gula,  Ishtar,  and  their  fellows  possessed,  no 
doubt,  the  faculty  of  recalling  the  dead  to  life,  but  they  rarely  made  use  of  it 
on  behalf  of  their  creatures,  and  their  most  pious  votaries  pleaded  in  vain  from 
temple  to  temple  for  the  resurrection  of  their  dead  friends ; they  could  never 
obtain  the  favour  which  had  been  granted  by  Allat  to  Dumuzi.  When  the 
dead  body  was  once  placed  in  the  tomb,  it  rose  up  no  more,  it  could  no  more 
be  reinstated  in  the  place  in  the  household  it  had  lost,  it  never  could  begin 
once  more  a new  earthly  existence.  The  necromancers,  indeed,  might  snatch 
away  death’s  prey  for  a few  moments.  The  earth  gaped  at  the  words  of  their 
invocations,  the  soul  burst  forth  like  a puff  of  wind  and  answered  gloomily  the 
questions  proposed  to  it ; but  when  the  charm  was  once  broken,  it  had  to 
retrace  its  steps  to  the  country  without  return,  to  be  plunged  once  more  in 
darkness.2  This  prospect  of  a dreary  and  joyless  eternity  was  not  so  terrifying 
to  the  Chaldeeans  as  it  was  to  the  Egyptians.  The  few  years  of  their  earthly 


1 Merodacli  is  called  “ the  merciful  one  who  takes  pleasure  in  raising  the  dead  to  life,”  and  “ the 
lord  of  the  pure  libation,”  the  “merciful  one  who  has  power  to  give  life”  (A.  Jeremias,  Die  Babyl.- 
Assyr.  Vorstell.  vom  Leben  nach  dem  Tode,  p.  101 ; Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  296,  297).  In  Jeremias 
(op.  cit.,  pp.  100,  101)  may  be  found  the  list  of  the  gods- who  up  to  the  present  are  known  to  have 
had  the  power  to  resuscitate  the  dead;  it  is  probable  that  this  power  belonged  to  all  the  gods  and 
goddesses  of  the  first  rank. 

2 See  pp.  588,  589  of  the  present  work  for  the  offerings  and  sacrifices  which  Gilgames  had  to 
make  from  temple  to  temple  before  receiving  the  favour  of  a momentary  glimpse  of  the  shade  of 
Eabani ; on  necromancy,  see  Boscawen,  Notes  on  the  Religion  and  Mythology  of  the  Assyrians,  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iv.  pp.  271,  278-286;  Fr.  Lenorhant,  La  Divination  et  la 
Science  des  presages  chez  les  Chaldtens,  pp.  151-167 ; A.  Jeremias,  op.  cit.,  pp.  101-103. 


INVOKING  THE  DEAD. 


697 


existence  were  of  far  more  concern  to  them  than  the  endless  ages  which  were 
to  begin  their  monotonous  course  on  the  morrow  of  their  funeral.  The  sum  of 
good  and  evil  fortune  assigned  to  them  by  destiny  they  preferred  to  spend 
continuously  in  the  light  of  day  on  the  fair  plains  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris : 
if  they  were  to  economize  during  this  period  with  the  view  of  laying  up  a 
posthumous  treasure  of  felicity,  their  store  would  have  no  current  value  beyond 
the  tomb,  and  would  thus  become  so  much  waste.  The  gods,  therefore,  whom 
they  served  faithfully  would 
recoup  them,  here  in  then- 
native  city,  with  present 
prosperity,  with  health, 
riches,  power,  glory,  and  a 
numerous  offspring,  for  the 
offerings  of  their  devotion  ; 
while,  if  they  irritated  the 
deities  by  their  short- 
comings, they  had  nothing 
to  expect  but  overwhelming 
calamities  and  sufferings.  The  gods  would  “ cut  them  down  like  a reed,” 1  2 3 and 
their  “ names  would  be  annihilated,  their  seed  destroyed ; — they  would  end  their 
days  in  affliction  and  hunger,- — their  dead  bodies  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  chance, 
and  would  receive  no  sepulture.”  8 They  were  content  to  resign  themselves, 
therefore,  to  the  dreary  lot  of  eternal  misery  which  awaited  them  after  death, 
provided  they  enjoyed  in  this  world  a long  and  prosperous  existence.4 * *  Some 
of  them  felt  and  rebelled  against  the  injustice  of  the  idea,  which  assigned  one 
and  the  same  fate,  without  discrimination,  to  the  coward  and  the  herojcdlpd  on 
the  battle-Seld,  to  the  tyrant  and  the  mild  ruler  of  his  people,  to  the  wicked  and 
therighteous.  These  therefore  supposed  that  the  gods  would  make  distinctions, 
that  they  would  separate  such  heroes  from  the  common  herd,  welcome  them  in  a 
fertile,  sunlit  island,  separated  from  the  abode  of  men  by  the  waters  of  death— 
the  impassable  river  which  leads  to  the  house  of  Allat.  The  tree  of  life 
flourished  there,  the  spring  of  life  poured  forth  there  its  revivifying  waters ; 


1 Drawn  by  Fuucher-Gudin,  from  a Chaldsean  intaglio  in  Menant’s  Catalogue  de  la  Collection  < le 
M.  de  Clercq,  vol.  i.  pi.  ix.  No.  83 ; cf.  Heczey,  Lea  Origines  orientates  de  V Art,  vol.  i.  p.  93. 

* Rawlinson,  TV.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  3,  col.  i.  1.  3. 

3 Tbis  is  the  end  of  an  inscription  of  Nabubaladin,  King  of  Babylon  in  the  IXth  century  b.c., 
published  by  Rawlinson,  TV.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  v.  pi.  61,  col.  iv.  11.  50-55;  cf.  F.  V.  Scheil,  Inscription  de 
Nabu-abil-iddin,  in  the  Zeilscliri/t  fiir  Assyriologie,  vol.  iv.  p.  334;  J.  Jeremias,  Die  Cultustafel  von 
Stppar,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  p.  277. 

4 On  the  beliefs  of  the  Chaldseans  and  Assyrians  relative  to  temporal  rewards  bestowed  by  the 

gods  upon  the  faithful,  with  no  security  as  to  their  continuance  in  the  other  world,  see  A.  Jeremias, 

Die  Babylonisch-Assyrischen  Vorstellungen  vom  Leben  nach  dem  Tode,  pp.  46-49 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  CUALDJEA. 


G98 

thither  Ea  transferred  Xisuthros  after  the  Deluge;  Gilgames  saw  the  shores 
of  this  island  and  returned  from  it,  strong  and  healthy  as  in  the  days  of  his 
youth.  The  site  of  this  region  of  delights  was  at  first  placed  in  the  centre  of 
the  marshes  of  the  Euphrates,  where  this  river  flows  into  the  sea;  afterwards, 
when  the  country  became  better  known,  it  was  transferred  beyond  the  ocean.1 
In  proportion  as  the  limits  of  the  Chaldsean  horizon  were  thrust  further  and 
further  away  by  mercantile  or  warlike  expeditions,  this  mysterious  island  was 
placed  more  and  more  to  the  east,  afterwards  to  the  north,  and  at  length  at  a 
distance  so  great  that  it  tended  to  vanish  altogether.  As  a final  resource,  the 
gods  of  heaven  themselves  became  the  hosts,  and  welcomed  into  their  own 
kingdom  the  purified  souls  of  the  heroes. 

These  souls  were  not  so  securely  isolated  from  humanity  that  the  inhabitants 
of  the  world  were  not  at  times  tempted  to  rejoin  them  before  their  last  hour 
had  come.  Just  as  Gilgames  had  dared  of  old  the  dangers  of  the  desert  and 
the  ocean  in  order  to  discover  the  island  of  Khasisadra,  so  Etana  darted  through 
the  air  in  order  to  ascend  to  the  sky  of  Ann,  to  become  incorporated  while  still 
living  in  the  choir  of  the  blessed.2  The  legend  gives  an  account  of  his  friendship 
with  the  eagle  of  Shamash,  and  of  the  many  favours  he  had  obtained  from  and 
rendered  to  the  bird.  The  eagle  had  alighted  upon  the  nest  of  a serpent,  and 
had  carried  away  the  serpent’s  young,  and  given  them  as  food  to  her  own  brood. 
The  hissing  serpent  crawled  as  far  as  Shamash,  crying  for  vengeance:  “ The  evil 
he  has  done  me,  Shamash — behold  it ! Come  to  my  help,  Shamash  ! thy  net  is  as 
wide  as  the  earth— thy  snares  reach  to  the  distant  mountain — who  can  escape  thy 
net  ? — The  criminal  Zu,3  Zu  who  was  the  first  to  act  wickedly,  did  he  escape 
it  ? ” Shamash  refused  to  interfere  personally,  but  he  pointed  out  to  the  serpent 
an  artifice  by  which  he  might  satisfy  his  vengeance  as  securely  as  if  Shamash 
himself  had  accomplished  it.  “Set  out  upon  the  way,  ascend  the  mountain, — 
and  conceal  thyself  in  a dead  bull ; — make  an  incision  in  his  inside — tear  open 
his  belly, — take  up  thy  abode — establish  thyself  in  his  belly.  All  the  birds  of  the 
air  will  pounce  upon  it  . . . — and  the  eagle  herself  will  come  with  them,  ignorant 
that  thou  art  within  it ; — she  will  wish  to  possess  herself  of  the  flesh,  she  will 
come  swiftly — she  will  think  of  nothing  but  the  entrails  within.  As  soon  as  she 
begins  to  attack  the  inside, seize  her  by  her  wings, beat  down  her  wings, the  pinions 

1 A.  Jeremias,  Die  Babyl.-Assyr.  Vorstell.  vom  Leben  nach  dem  Tode,  pp.  81-99,  and  the  criticisms 
of  Jensen,  Die  Kosmologie,  pp.  212-214. 

2 The  legend  of  Etana  was  discovered,  and  some  fragments  of  it  translated,  by  G.  Smith,  The 
Chaldxan  Account  of  Genesis,  pp.  138-144.  All  that  is  known  of  it  has  been  collected,  published, 
translated,  and  commented  upon  by  E.  J.  Harper,  Die  Babylonischen  Legenden  von  Etana,  etc.,  in 
the  Beitriige  zur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  391-408,  where  will  be  found  a summary  of  the  analogies 
between  this  legend  and  others  current  in  ancient  and  modern  nations. 

3 This  is  an  allusion  to  the  theft  of  the  destiny  tablets  and  the  defeat  of  the  bird  Zu  by  Shamash; 
see  p.  GG7  of  the  present  work. 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  ETANA  TO  THE  HEAVEN  OF  ANU.  699 


of  her  wings  and  her  claws,  tear  her  and  throw  her  into  a ravine  of  the  mountain, 
that  she  may  die  there  a death  of  hunger  and  thirst.”  The  eagle  did  not  allow 
herself  to  be  taken  by  this  stratagem,  for  one  of  her  eaglets  perceived  the  serpent 
in  the  body  of  the  bull.  In  the  mean  time  the  wife  of  Etana  could  not  bring 
forth  the  son  which  lay  in  her  womb  ; the  hero,  addressing  himself  to  the  eagle, 
asked  from  her  the  plant  which  alleviates  the  birth-pangs  of  women  and  facilitates 
their  deliver}’.  This  was  only  to  be  found,  however,  in  the  heaven  of  Anu, 
and  how  could  one  run  the  risk  of  mounting  so  high,  without  being  destroyed 
on  the  way  by  the  anger  of  the  gods?  The  eagle  takes  pity  upon  the  sorrow 
of  his  comrade,  and  resolves 
to  attempt  the  enterprise  with 
him.  “ ‘ Friend,’  he  says, 

‘ banish  the  cloud  from  thy 
face ! Come,  and  I will  carry 
thee  to  the  heaven  of  the 
Anu.  Place  thy  breast 
against  my  breast — place  thy 
two  hands  upon  the  pinions  etana  carried  to  heaven  by  an  eagle.1 

of  my  wings — place  thy  side 

against  my  side.’  He  places  his  breast  against  the  breast  of  the  eagle,  he 
places  his  two  hands  upon  the  pinions  of  the  wings,  he  places  his  side  against 
her  side  ; — he  adjusts  himself  firmly,  and  his  weight  was  great.”  The  Chaldaean 
artists  have  more  than  once  represented  the  departure  of  the  hero.  They 
exhibit  him  closely  attached  to  the  body  of  his  ally,  and  holding  her  in  a 
strong  embrace.  A first  flight  has  already  lifted  them  above  the  earth,  and 
the  shepherds  scattered  over  the  country  are  stupefied  at  the  unaccustomed 
sight : one  announces  the  prodigy  to  another,  while  their  dogs  seated  at  their 
feet  extend  their  muzzles  as  if  in  the  act  of  howling  with  terror.  “ For  the 
space  of  a double  hour  the  eagle  bore  him — then  the  eagle  spake  to  him,  to 
him  Etana  : ‘ Behold,  my  friend,  the  earth  what  it  is,  regard  the  sea  which  the 
ocean  contains ! See,  the  earth  is  no  more  than  a mountain,  and  the  sea  is  no 
more  than  a lake.’  The  space  of  a second  double  hour  he  bore  him,  then  the 
eagle  spake  to  him,  to  him  Etana  : * Behold,  my  friend,  the  earth  what  it  is  ; 
the  sea  appears  as  the  girdle  of  the  earth  ! ’ The  space  of  a third  double  hour 
he  bore  him,  then  the  eagle  spake  to  him,  to  him  Etana  : ‘See,  my  friend,  the 
earth,  what  it  is: — the  sea  is  no  more  than  the  rivulet  made  by  a gardener.’  ” 
They  at  length  arrive  at  the  heaven  of  Anu,  and  rest  there  for  a moment. 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a Chaldaean  intaglio,  reproduced  in  HelzeY-Sarzec,  Dfcouvertes 
en  Chaldfe,  pi.  30  bit,  No.  13. 


THE  TEMPLES  AND  THE  GODS  OF  C IIALO  AC  A. 


700 

Etana  sees  around  him  nothing  but  empty  space— -no  living  thing  within  it — 
not  even  a bird  : he  is  struck  with  terror,  but  the  eagle  reassures  him,  and  tells 
him  to  proceed  on  his  way  to  the  heaven  of  Isktar.  “ ‘ Come,  my  friend,  let 
me  bear  thee  to  Ishtar, — and  I will  place  thee  near  Ishtar,  the  lady, — and  at 
the  feet  of  Ishtar,  the  lady,  thou  shalt  throw  thyself. — Place  thy  side  against 
my  side,  place  thy  hands  on  the  pinions  of  my  wings.’  The  space  of  a double 
hour  lie  bore  him : ‘ Friend,  behold  the  earth  what  it  is. — The  face  of  the  earth 
stretches  out  quite  flat — and  the  sea  is  no  greater  than  a mere.’  The  space  of 
a second  double  hour  he  bore  him : * Friend,  behold  the  earth  what  it  is, — the 
earth  is  no  more  than  a square  plot  in  a garden,  and  the  great  sea  is  not  greater 
than  a puddle  of  water.’  ” At  the  third  double  hour  Etana  lost  courage,  and 
cried,  “Stop!”  and  the  eagle  immediately  descended  again;  but,  Etana’s 
strength  being  exhausted,  he  let  go  his  hold,  and  was  dashed  to  pieces  on  the 
ground. 

The  gods  allowed  no  living  being  to  penetrate  with  impunity  into  their 
empire : he  who  was  desirous  of  ascending  thither,  however  brave  he  might  be, 
could  do  so  only  by  death.  The  mass  of  humanity  had  no  pretensions  to  mount 
so  high.  Their  religion  gave  them  the  choice  between  a perpetual  abode  in  the 
tomb,  or  confinement  in  the  prison  of  Allat;  if  at  times  they  strove  to  escape 
from  these  alternatives,  and  to  picture  otherwise  their  condition  in  the  world 
beyond,  their  ideas  as  to  the  other  life  continued  to  remain  vague,  and  never 
approached  the  minute  precision  of  the  Egyptian  conception.  The  cares  of  the 
present  life  were  too  absorbing  to  allow  them  leisure  to  speculate  upon  the 
conditions  of  a future  existence. 


CHALDEAN  Cl  V I LTZATION. 


ROYALTY — -THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  FAMILY  AND  ITS  PROPERTY — CHALDiEAN  COMMERCE 

AND  INDUSTRY. 


The  kings  not  gods,  but  the  vicegerents  of  the  gods : their  sacerdotal  character — The  queens 
and  the  women  of  the  royal  family : the  sons  and  the  order  of  succession  to  the  throne  — The 
royal  palaces:  description  of  the  palace  of  Gudea  at  Lagasli,  the  fagades,  the  ziggurdt,  the 
private  apartments,  the  furniture,  the  external  decoration — Costume  of  the  men  and  women : 
the  employes  of  the  palace  and  the  method  of  royal  administration;  the  military  and  the 
great  lords’. 

The  scribe  and  the  day  books. — Cuneiform  writing : its  hieroglyphic  origin;  the  Protean 
character  of  the  sounds  which  may  be  assigned  to  the  ideograms,  grammatical  tablets,  and 
dictionaries — Their  contracts,  and  their  numerous  copies  of  them:  the  finger-nail  mark, 
the  seed. 

The  constitution  of  the  family:  the  position  held  by  the  wife — Marriage,  the  contract,  the 
religious  ceremonies — Divorce : the  rights  of  wealthy  women ; woman  and  marriage  among 
the  lower  classes — Adopted  ch  ildren,  their  position  in  the  family ; ordinary  motives  for  adoption 
— Slaves,  their  condition,  their  enfranchisement. 

The  Chcddcean  towns : the  aspect  and  distribution  of  the  houses,  domestic  life — The  family 
patrimony : division  of  the  inheritance — Lending  on  usury,  the  rate  of  interest,  commercial 


( 702  ) 

intercourse  by  loud  and  sea — Trade  corporations:  brick-making,  industrial  implements 
in  stone  and  meted,  ’goldsmiths,  engravers  of  cylinders,  weavers;  the  state  of  the  working 
classes. 

Farming  and  cultivation  of  the  ground:  landmarks,  slaves,  and  agricultural  labourers — 
Scenes  of  pastoral  life:  fishing,  hunting — Archaic  literature;  positive  sciences : arithmetic  and 
geometry,  astronomy  and  astrology,  the  science  of  foretelling  the  future — The  physician  ; magic 
and  its  influence  on  neighbouring  countries. 


RUINS  OF  ONE  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  BUILDINGS  OF  URUK.1 


CHAPTER  IX. 


CHALD/EAN  CIVILIZATION. 

Royalty — The  constitution  of  the  family  and  its  property — Chaldaeau 
commerce  and  industry. 

r|lHE  Chaldtcan  kings,  unlike  their  contemporaries  the  Pha- 
raohs, rarely  put  forward  any  pretensions  to  divinity. 
They  contented  themselves  with  occupying  an  intermediate 
position  between  their  subjects  and  the  gods,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  mediation  they  believed  themselves  to  be  endowed  with 
powers  not  possessed  by  ordinary  mortals.  They  sometimes 
designated  themselves  the  sons  of  Ea,1 2  or  of  Ningul,3  or  some 
other  deity,  but  this  involved  no  belief  in  a divine  parentage,  and 
was  merely  pious  hyperbole : they  entertained  no  illusions  with 
regard  to  any  descent  from  a god  or  even  from  one  of  his  doubles, 
but  they  desired  to  be  recognized  as  his  vicegerents  here  below,  as 
his  prophets,  his  well-beloved,  his  pastors,  elected  by  him  to  rule  his 
human  flocks,  or  as  priests  devotedly  attached  to  his  service.  While, 
however,  the  ordinary  priest  chose  for  himself  a single  master  to  whom  he 


1 Drawn  by  BoucHer,from  the  sketch  by  Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Clialdxa  and  Susiana, 
p.  75.  The  initial  vignette,  which  is  by  Faucher-Gudin,  represents  a royal  figure  kneeling  and 
holding  a large  nail  in  both  hands  (cf.  p.  757  of  this  volume).  The  nail  serves  to  keep  the  figure 
fixed  firmly  in  the  earth.  It  is  a reproduction  of  the  bronze  figurine  in  the  Louvre,  already  published 
by  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Dicouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  28,  No.  4. 

2 This  title  is  taken  by  the  King  Urbau  of  Lagash,  in  Heuzev-Sarzec,  D&ouvertes  en  Chaldee, 
pi.  7 > col.  i.  11.  7,  8;  cf.  Oppert,  Les  Inscriptions  de  G udCa,  in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  V Acadtmie 
des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  1882,  p.  39 ; Amiaud,  The  Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of 
the  Fast,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  75;  Jensen,  Inscliriften  der  Konige  und  Statthaller  von  Lagasch,  in  the 
Keilschriftliche  Bibliothelc,  vol.  iii‘.  pp.  20,  21. 

3 Singashid,  King  of  Uruk,  proclaims  himself  the  son  of  this  goddess  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W. 


704 


CIIA  LI)  M A N Cl  VI  LIZ  A TION. 


devoted  liimself,  the  priest-king  exercised  universal  sacerdotal  functions  and 
claimed  to  be  pontiff  of  all  the  national  religions.  Ilis  choice  naturally  was 
directed  by  preference  to  the  patrons  of  his  city,thosewho  had  raised  his  ancestors 
from  the  dust,  and  had  exalted  him  to  the  supreme  rank,  but  there  were  other 
divinities  who  claimed  their  share  of  his  homage  and  expected  of  him  a devotion 
suited  to  their  importance.1  If  he  had  attempted  to  carry  out  these  duties  person- 
ally in  detail,  he  would  have  had  to  spend  his  whole  life  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  ; 
even  when  he  had  delegated  as  many  of  them  as  he  could  to  the  regular 
clergy,  there  still  remained  sufficient  to  occupy  a large  part  of  his  time. 
Every  month,  every  day,  brought  its  inevitable  round  of  sacrifices,  prayers,  and 
processions.2  On  the  1st  of  the  second  Elul,  the  King  of  Babylon  had  to 
present  a gazelle  without  blemish  to  Sin  ; he  then  made  an  offering  of  his  own 
choosing  to  Sbamash,  and  cut  the  throats  of  his  victims  before  the  god.  These 
ceremonies  were  repeated  on  the  2nd  without  any  alteration,  but  from  the  3rd 
to  the  12th  they  took  place  during  the  night,  before  the  statues  of  Merodach  and 
Ishtar,  in  turn  with  those  of  Nebo  and  Tashmit,  of  Mullil  and  Ninlil,  of  Rammati 
and  of  Zirbanit;  sometimes  at  the  rising  of  a particular  constellation — as,  for 
instance,  that  of  the  Great  Bear,  or  that  of  the  sons  of  Ishtar ; sometimes  at  the 
moment  when  the  moon  “ raised  above  the  earth  her  luminous  crown.”  On 
such  a date  a penitential  psalm  or  a litany  was  to  be  recited  ; 3 at  another  time 
it  was  forbidden  to  eat  of  meat  either  cooked  or  smoked,  to  change  the  body- 
linen,  to  wear  white  garments,  to  drink  medicine,  to  sacrifice,  to  put  forth  an 
edict,  or  to  drive  out  in  a chariot.4  Not  only  at  Babylon,  but  everywhere  else, 
obedience  to  the  religious  rites  weighed  heavily  on  the  local  princes;  at  Uru, 
at  Lagash,  at  Nipur,  and  in  the  ruling  cities  of  Upper  and  Lower  Chaldaea. 


As.,  vol.  i.  pi.  2,  No.  viii.  1, 11.  1,  2);  cf.  G.  Smith,  Early  History  of  Babylonia,  in  the  Transactions 
of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  vol.  i.  p.  41  (where  the  Dame  of  the  goddess,  read  Belatsunat,  is 
taken  for  that  of  a queen);  Winckler,  Inschriften  von  Konigen  von  Sumer  und  Aldcad,  in  the  Keil- 
schriftliche  Bibliotheh,  vol.  iii.  1st  part,  pp.  82-85. 

1 Thus,  only  to  mention  one  example,  Khammurabi  calls  himself,  in  the  second  inscription  of  the 
Louvre,  “Prophet  of  Anu,  steward  of  Bel,  favourite  of  Shamash,  beloved  shepherd  of  Merodach” 
(Menant,  Une  Nouvelle  Inscription  de  Hammurabi,  roi  de  Babylone,  in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux, 
vol.  ii.  p.  79;  cf.  Fr.  Delitzsch,  Die  Spraclie  der  Koseder,  p.  74).  The  preamble  used  by  Gudea  in 
the  inscription  of  Statue  D of  the  Louvre  is  more  lengthy,  but  at  present  too  obscure  to  be  trans- 
lated at  length  (Heczey-Sarzec,  D&couvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  9,  cols,  i.,  ii. ; cf.  Oppert,  Les  Inscriptions 
de  Gudda,  in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  VAcaddmie  des  Inscriptions,  1882,  pp.  28-40,  123-127;  Amiaud, 
The  Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  89,  90,  and  in  Heczey- 
Sarzec,  Ddcouvertes,  etc.,  pp.  xvii.,  xviii. ; Jensen,  Inschriften  der  Konige  und  Statthalier  von  Lagasch, 
in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliotheh,  vol.  iii.  1st  part,  pp.  50,  51). 

2 All  the  details  which  follow  are  taken  from  the  tablet  iu  the  British  Museum  (Rawlinson,  Cun. 
Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pis.  32,  33),  discovered  and  translated  by  Sayce,  A Babylonian  Saints'  Calendar, 
in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  1st  series,  vol.  vii.  pp.  157-168,  and  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians, 
pp.  69-76.  Cf.  the  fragment  cited  by  Sayce,  The  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians,  p.  69,  note  3. 

3 Thus  on  the  6th,  the  16th,  and  the  26th  of  the  second  month  of  Elul,  in  the  document  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  note,  and  which  has  been  entirely  translated  by  Sayce  at  two  different  periods. 

* Thus  the  7th  of  the  same  month  of  Elul,  then  the  14th,  the  21st,  and  the  28th. 


THE  SACERDOTAL  CHARACTER  OF  TEE  KINO. 


705 


The  king,  as  soon  as  he  succeeded  to  the  throne,  repaired  to  the  temple 
to  receive  his  solemn  investiture,  which  differed  in  form  according  to  the  gods 
he  worshipped  : at  Babylon,  he  addressed  himself  to  the  statue  of  Bel-Merodach, 
in  the  first  days  of  the  month  Nisan  which  followed  his  accession,  and  he 
“ took  him  by  the  hands  ” to  do  homage  to  him.1  From  thenceforth,  he 
officiated  for  Merodach  here  below',  and  the  scrupulously  minute  devotions, 
which  daily  occupied  hours  of  his  time,  were  so  many  acts  of  allegiance  which 
his  fealty  as  a vassal  constrained  him  to  perform  to  his  suzerain.  They  were,  in 
fact,  analogous  to  the  daily  audiences  demanded  of  a great  lord  by  his  steward, 
for  the  purpose  of  rendering  his  accounts  and  of  informing  him  of  current 
business  : any  interruption  not  justified  by  a matter  of  supreme  importance 
would  be  liable  to  be  interpreted  as  a want  of  respect  or  as  revealing  an 
inclination  to  rebel.  By  neglecting  the  slightest  ceremonial  detail  the  king 
would  arouse  the  suspicions  of  the  gods,  and  excite  their  anger  against  himself 
and  his  subjects : the  people  had,  therefore,  a direct  interest  in  his  careful  fulfil- 
ment of  the  priestly  functions,  and  his  piety  was  not  the  least  of  his  virtues 
in  their  eyes.2  All  other  virtues — bravery,  equity,  justice — depended  on  it, 
and  were  only  valuable  from  the  divine  aid  which  piety  obtained  for  them.  The 
gods  and  heroes  of  the  earliest  ages  had  taken  upon  themselves  the  task  of 
protecting  the  faithful  from  all  their  enemies,  whether  men  or  beasts.  If  a 
lion  decimated  their  flocks,  or  a urus  of  gigantic  size  devastated  their  crops, 
it  was  the  king’s  duty  to  follow  the  example  of  his  fabulous  predecessors 
and  to  set  out  and  overcome  them.3  The  enterprise  demanded  all  the  more 
courage  and  supernatural  help,  since  these  beasts  were  believed  to  be  no  mere 
ordinary  animals,  but  were  looked  on  as  instruments  of  divine  wrath  the 
cause  of  which  was  often  unknown,  and  whoever  assailed  these  monsters, 
provoked  not  only  them  but  the  god  who  instigated  them.  Piety  and  con- 
fidence in  the  patron  of  the  city  alone  sustained  the  king  when  he  set  forth  to 
drive  the  animal  back  to  its  lair;  he  engaged  in  close  combat  with  it,  and  no 
sooner  had  he  pierced  it  with  his  arrows  or  his  lance,  or  felled  it  with  axe  and 

1 The  discovery  of  the  meaning  of  this  ceremony  is  due  to  Winckler,  who,  after  having  noticed 
it  in  a cursory  manner  at  the  end  of  his  inaugural  dissertation , De  Inscriptions  Sargonis  regis  Assy  rise 
qux  vocatur  Annalium,  th.  4,  furnished  proofs  of  his  opinion  in  his  Studien  und  Beitrage  zur  baby- 
lonisch-assyrisclien  Geschickte  (in  the  Zeitschri/t  filr  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  302-304);  cf.  the  facts 
since  brought  together  to  confirm  the  hypothesis  of  Winckler,  by  Lehmann,  Schamaschschumukin, 
Kbnig  von  Babylonien,  p.  44,  et  seq. 

2 The  cylinder  of  Cyrus  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  v.  pi.  35 ; cf.  Rawlinson,  Notes  on  a 
newly  discovered  Clay-cylinder  of  Cyrus  the  Great,  in  the  Journ.  of  Royal  As.  Soc.,  new  series,  vol.  xii 
pp.  70-97)  shows  in  the  most  striking  manner  tho  influence  which  this  manner  of  regarding  the 
religious  role  of  the  king  exercised  upon  politics ; the  priests  and  the  people  mentioned  in  it 
considered  Cyrus’s  triumph  as  a revenge  of  the  Chaldsean  gods  whom  Nabonidos  had  offended. 

3 Cf.  the  struggles  of  Gilgames  with  the  bull  and  the  lions  on  pp.  581-583  of  this  volume  ; the 
poem  represents  faithfully,  in  this  and  several  other  points,  the  Chaldsean  ideas  of  a king’s  duties 
about  three  thousand  years  before  our  era. 

2 z 


CTTALDJEA  N CIV  ILIYA  TJON. 


706 


dagger,  than  lie  hastened  to  pour  a libation  upon  it,  and  to  dedicate  it  as 
a trophy  in  one  of  the  temples.1  His  exalted  position  entailed  on  him  no  less 
perils  in  time  of  war : if  he  did  not  personally  direct  the  first  attacking 
column,  he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  band  composed  of  the  flower 
of  the  army,  whose  charge  at  an  opportune  moment  was  wont  to  secure  the 
victory.  What  would  have  been  the  use  of  his  valour,  if  the  dread  of  the  gods 
had  not  preceded  his  march,  and  if  the  light  of  their  countenances  had  not 
struck  terror  into  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  ? 2 As  soon  as  he  had  triumphed 
by  their  command,  he  sought  before  all  else  to  reward  them  amply  for  the 
assistance  they  had  given  him.  He  poured  a tithe  of  the  spoil  into  the 
coffers  of  their  treasury,  he  made  over  a part  of  the  conquered  country  to  their 
domain,  he  granted  them  a tale  of  the  prisoners  to  cultivate  their  lauds  or  to 
work  at  their  buildings.  Even  the  idols  of  the  vanquished  shared  the  fate 
of  their  people : the  king  tore  them  from  the  sanctuaries  which  had  hitherto 
sheltered  them,  and  took  them  as  prisoners  in  his  train  to  form  a court  of  captive 
gods  about  his  patron  divinity.3  Shamash,  the  great  judge  of  heaven,  inspired 
him  with  justice,  and  the  prosperity  which  his  good  administration  obtained 
for  the  people  was  less  the  work  of  the  sovereign  than  that  of  the  immortals.4 

We  know  too  little  of  the  inner  family  life  of  the  kings,  to  attempt  to  say 
how  they  w'ere  able  to  combine  the  strict  sacerdotal  obligations  incumbent  on 
them  with  the  routine  of  daily  life.  We  merely  observe  that  on  great  days 
of  festival  or  sacrifice,  when  they  themselves  officiated,  they  laid  aside  all  the 
insignia  of  royalty  during  the  ceremony  and  were  clad  as  ordinary  priests. 
We  see  them  on  such  occasions  represented  with  short-cut  hair  and  naked 

1 Gilgames  dedicates  in  this  manner,  within  the  temple  of  Shamash,  the  spoils  of  the  urus  of 
Ishtar  which  he  had  vanquished  ; see  p.  582  of  this  volume. 

2 Indingiranagin,  son  of  Akurgal  and  King  of  Lagash,  like  his  father,  attributes  his  victories 
to  the  protection  of  Ningirsu  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  De'couvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  31,  2;  cf.  Oppert,  Inscrip- 
tions arcJiaiques  de  trois  briques  chalddennes,  in  the  Revue  d'Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  8G,  87).  Gudea 
is  led  to  the  attack  by  the  god  Ningislizida  ( Statue  B de  Gudda,  in  Heuzey-Sarzeo,  Ddcouvertes  en 
Chuldde,  pi.  xvi.  col.  iii.  11.  3-5;  cf.  Ajiiaud,  The  Inscriptions  of  Telloli,  in  the  Records  of  the  Past, 
2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  p.  77).  The  expressions  used  in  the  text  are  taken  from  Assyrian  inscriptions. 

3 It  was  in  the  above  manner  that  Marduknadinakhe,  King  of  Babylon,  took  the  statues  of 
itamman  and  the  goddess  Shala  from  Tiglath-pileser,  first  King  of  Assyria  ( Inscription  of  Bavian, 
in  Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  14,  11.  48-50).  On  the  other  hand,  Assurbanipal  carried 
back  to  Uruk  from  Susa  the  statue  of  the  goddess  Nana,  which  Kudurnakhunti,  King  of  Elam,  had 
taken  away  1635  years  before  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  38,  No.  1,  11.  12-18,  and  vol. 
v.  pi.  6,  11.  107-124);  he  carried  away  at  the  same  time  as  prisoners  to  Assyria  the  Elamite  gods  and 
their  priests  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  v.  pi.  6,  11.  30-47). 

1 Cf.  what  is  said  above  of  the  part  played  by  Shamash  as  god  of  justice,  p.  658  of  this  volume. 
A fragment  of  bilingual  inscription  of  the  time  of  Khammurabi,  of  which  Ajiiaud  has  at  two  different 
times  made  a special  study,  TJne  inscription  bilingue  de  Hammourabi,  roi  de  Babylone,  in  the  Recueil 
de  Travaux,  vol.  i.  pp.  181-190,  and  Inscription  bilingue  de  Hammourabi,  in  the  Revue  d'Assyriologie, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  4-19  (cf.  Jensen,  Inschriften  aus  der  Regierungszeit  Hammurabi' s,  in  the  Keilschriftliclie 
Bibliothelc,  vol.  iii1.  pp.  110-117),  shows  how  the  kings  referred  to  the  gods  and  took  them  as  their 
models  in  everything  relating  to  conduct.  The  sacerdotal  character  of  the  Assyro-Babylonian 
sovereigns  has  been  strongly  insisted  on  by  Tiele,  Babylonisch-Assyrische  Geschichte,  pp.  491,  492. 


THE  QUEENS  AND  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  ROYAL  FAMILY.  707 


THE  KING  URNINA  BEARING  THE  KUFA. 


breast,  the  loin-cloth  about  their  waist,  advancing  foremost  in  the  rank,  carry- 
ing the  heavily  laden  “ kufa,”  or  reed  basket,  as  if  they  were  ordinary  slaves  ; 
and,  as  a fact,  they  had  for  the  moment  put  aside  their  sovereignty  and 
were  merely  temple  servants,  or  slaves  appearing  before  their  divine  master 
to  do  his  bidding,  and  disguising  themselves  for  the  nonce  in  the  garb  of 

servitors.1  The  wives  of  

the  sovereign  do  not  seem 
to  have  been  invested 
with  that  semi-sacred 
character  which  led  the 
Egyptian  women  to  be 
associated  with  the  de- 
votions of  the  man,  and 
made  them  indispensable 
auxiliaries  in  all  religious 
ceremonies;2  they  did  not, 
moreover,  occupy  that  im- 
portant position  side  by 
side  with  the  man  which 
the  Egyptian  law  assigned 
to  the  queens  of  the  Pharaohs.  Whereas  the  monuments  on  the  banks  of  the 
Nile  reveal  to  us  princesses  sharing  the  throne  of  their  husbands,  whom  they 
embrace  with  a gesture  of  frank  affection,  in  Chaldaea  the  wives  of  the  prince, 
his  mother,  sisters,  daughters,  and  even  his  slaves,  remain  invisible  to  posterity. 
The  harem  in  which  they  were  shut  up  by  custom,  rarely  opened  its  doors  : the 
people  seldom  caught  sight  of  them,  their  relatives  spoke  of  them  as  little  as 
possible,  those  in  power  avoided  associating  them  in  any  public  acts  of  worship 
or  government,  and  we  could  count  on  our  fingers  the  number  of  those  whom 
the  inscriptions  mention  by  name.1  Some  of  them  were  drawn  from  the  noble 
families  of  the  capital,  others  came  from  the  kingdoms  of  Chaldaea  or  from 

1 This  is  the  attitude  in  which  we  observe  Urnina  on  the  tablets  published  by  Heuzey-Sarzec, 
Ddcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  2 bis,  or  that  of  the  bronze  statuettes  of  Duugi  (Heuzey-Sarzec, 
Decouvertes,  etc.,  pi.  28, 1,  2)  and  of  Kudurmabuk  (Perrot-Chipiez,  Uistoire  de  V Art  dans  l’ Antiguile, 
vol.  ii.  p.  530),  which  bear  the  inscriptions  of  these  sovereigns,  and  are  in  the  possession  of  the 
Louvre  (Heczey,  Nouveaux  Monuments  du  roi  Ournina,  decouoerts  par  M.  de  Sarzec,  in  the  Revue 
d'Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  p.  14,  et  seq.). 

2 See  what  Las  been  said  of  Egyptian  queens  on  pp.  270-272  of  this  volume. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Heozey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  2 bis,  No.  1. 

4 Most  of  them  are  mentioned  with  their  husbands  or  fathers  on  the  votive  offerings  placed  in  the 
temples;  for  example,  the  wife  of  Gudea,  Genduupae  (Oppert,  L' Olive  de  Gudea,  in  the  Zeitschrift 
fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  i.  pp,  439,  410),  or  GinumuDpauddu  (Jensen,  Inschriften  der  Konige  und 
Stattlialter  von  Lagasch,  in  the  Keilschriflliche  Bibliothelc,  vol.  iii1.  pp.  G4,  65),  upon  the  cylinder  in 
the  museum  at  the  Hague,  to  which  Menant  called  attention  and  which  he  published,  Les  Cylindres 
Orientaux  du  Musde  de  la  Haye,  pi.  vii.,  No.  35,  pp,  59,  60),  or  Ganul,  wife  of  Na  nraaghani,  vice- 
gerent of  Lagash  (Heuzey,  Genealogies  de  Sirpurla,  d’apres  les  deoouvertes  de  M.  de  Sarzec,  in  the 


708 


CT1ALDJEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


foreign  courts;  a certain  number  never  rose  above  the  condition  of  mere 
concubines,  many  assumed  the  title  of  queens,  while  almost  all  served  as  living 
pledges  of  alliances  made  with  rival  states,  or  had  been  given  as  hostages  at 
the  concluding  of  a peace  on  the  termination  of  a war.1  As  the  kings,  who  put 
forward  no  pretensions  to  a divine  origin,  were  not  constrained,  after  the  fashion 
of  the  Pharaohs,  to  marry  their  sisters  in  order  to  keep  up  the  purity  of 
their  race,2  it  was  rare  to  find  one  among  their  wives  who  possessed  an  equal 
right  to  the  crown  with  themselves  : such  a case  could  be  found  only  in 
troublous  times,  when  an  aspirant  to  the  throne,  of  base  extraction,  legitimated 
his  usurpation  by  marrying  a sister  or  daughter  of  his  predecessor.3  The  original 
status  of  the  mother  almost  always  determined  that  of  her  children,  and  the 
sons  of  a princess  were  born  princes,  even  if  their  father  were  of  obscure 
or  unknown  origin.1  These  princes  exercised  important  functions  at  court,  or 
they  received  possessions  which  they  administered  under  the  suzerainty  of  the 
head  of  the  family;5  the  daughters  were  given  to  foreign  kings,  or  to  scions 
of  the  most  distinguished  families.  The  sovereign  was  under  no  obligation  to 
hand  down  his  crown  to  any  particular  member  of  his  family ; the  eldest  son 
usually  succeeded  him,  but  the  king  could,  if  he  preferred,  select  his  favourite 
child  as  his  successor  even  if  he  happened  to  be  the  youngest,  or  the  only 

Revue  d'Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  p.  79;  cf.  Jensen,  Inschriften  der  Konige  und  Statthalter  von  Lagasch, 
in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibl.,  vol.  iii1.  pp.  74,  75,  where  the  name  of  the  lady  is  read  Ninkandu).  On 
the  contrary,  in  another  place,  we  find  the  wife  of  Rirnsin,  King  of  Larsam,  whose  name  is  unfortu- 
nately mutilated,  dedicating  a temple  for  her  life  and  for  that  of  her  husband  (Winckler,  Sumer 
und  Akkad , in  the  Mitteilungen  des  Ak.  Orientalisclien  Vereins,  vol.  i.  p.  17,  and  Inschriften  von 
Konigen  von  Sumer  und  Akkad,  in  the  Keilscliriftliche  Bibl.,  vol.  iii1.  pp.  96,  97).  Some  queens, 
however,  appear  to  have  had  their  names  inscribed  on  a royal  canon  ; for  instance,  Ellat-Gula  (Smith, 
Early  Hist,  of  Babylonia,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  i.  pp.  52,  53),  or  Bau-ellit, 
in  Sumerian  Azag-Bau  ( Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  32),  hut  we  know  nothing  further 
about  her,  nor  when  she  reigned. 

1 Political  marriage-alliances  between  Egypt  and  Chaldma  were  of  frequent  occurrence,  accordiug 
to  the  Tel  el-Amarna  tablets  (Bezold-Budge,  The  Tell-el-Amarna  Tablets  in  the  British  Museum,  pp. 
xxv.-xxx.,  xxxii.,  xxxiii.),  and  at  a later  period  between  Chaldma  and  Assyria  (Peiser- Winckler, 
Die  sogenannte  synchronistiche  Geschiclite,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibl.,  vol.  i.  pp.  194,  195,  198-201); 
among  the  few  queens  of  the  very  earliest  times,  the  wife  of  Nammaghani  is  the  daughter  of  Urbau, 
vicegerent  of  Lagash,  and  consequently  the  cousin  or  niece  of  her  husband  (Jensen,  Inschriften  der 
Konige  und  Statthalter  von  Lagasch,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibl.,  vol.  iii1.  pp.  74,  75),  while  the  wife 
of  Eimsin  appears  to  be  the  daughter  of  a nobleman  of  the  name  of  Eimnannar  (Winckler,  Inschriften 
von  Konigen  von  Sumer  und  Akkad,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliothek,  vol.  iii1.  pp.  96,  97). 

2 With  regard  to  the  marriages  of  the  Pharaohs  with  their  sisters,  cf.  what  is  said  on  p.  270,  ct 
seq.,  of  this  volume. 

3 Nammaghani,  vicegerent  of  Lagash,  probably  owed  his  elevation  to  his  marriage  with  the 
sister  of  the  vicegerent  Urbau  (Heuzey,  Ge'ndalogies  de  Sirpurla,  d’apres  les  d&couvertes  de  M.  de 
Sarzec,  in  the  Revue  d’Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  78,  79). 

4 This  fact  is  apparent  from  the  introduction  to  the  inscription  in  which  Sargon  I.  is  supposed  to 
give  an  account  of  his  life  (cf.  pp.  597,  598  of  this  volume):  “My  father  was  unknown,  my  mother 
was  a princess  ; ” and  it  was,  indeed,  from  his  mother  that  he  inherited  Lis  rights  to  the  crown  of  Agade. 

6 This  is  the  conclusion  arrived  at  after  a study  of  the  bas-reliefs  of  Lagash,  where  we  find  Akurgal, 
while  still  a prince,  succeeding  to  the  post  of  cupbearer,  occupied  previously  by  his  brother  Lidda 
(Heczey-Sarzec,  DCcouvertes  en  Chaldde,  pi.  2 bis,  No.  1,  and  Nouveaux  Monuments,  etc.,  in  the  Gomptes 
rendus  de  V Academic  des  Inscriptions,  1852,  p.  344,  and  in  the  Revue  d’ Assyriologie,  Vol.  iii.  p.  16). 


THE  KING'S  SONS  AND  THE  ORDER  OF  SUCCESSION. 


709 


one  born  of  a slave.1  As  soon  as  the  sovereign  had  made  known  his  will,  the 
custom  of  primogeniture  was  set  aside,  and  his  word  became  law.  We  can  well 
imagine  the  secret  intrigues  formed  both  by  mothers  and  sons  to  curry  favour 
with  the  father  and  bias  his  choice ; we  can  picture  the  jealousy  with  which 
they  mutually  watched  each  other,  and  the  bitter  hatred  which  any  preference 
shown  to  one  would  arouse  in  the  breasts  of  all  the  others.  Often  brothers 
who  had  been  disappointed  in  their  expectations  would  combine  secretly 
against  the  chosen  or  supposed  heir ; a conspiracy  would  break  out,  and  the 
people  suddenly  learn  that  their  ruler  of  yesterday  had  died  by  the  hand  of  an 
assassin  and  that  a new  one  filled  his  place.  Sometimes  discontent  spread 
beyond  the  confines  of  the  palace,  the  army  became  divided  into  two  hostile 
camps,  the  citizens  took  the  side  of  one  or  other  of  the  aspirants,  and  civil  war 
raged  for  several  years  till  some  decisive  action  brought  it  to  a close.  Mean- 
time tributary  vassals  took  advantage  of  the  consequent  disorder  to  shake  off 
the  yoke,  the  Elamites  and  various  neighbouring  cities  joined  in  the  dispute 
and  ranged  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  party  from  which  there  was  most  to  be 
gained : the  victorious  faction  always  had  to  pay  dearly  for  this  somewhat  dubious 
help,  and  came  out  impoverished  from  the  struggle.  Such  an  internecine  war 
often  caused  the  downfall  of  a dynasty — at  times,  indeed,  that  of  the  entire  state.2 

The  palaces  of  the  Chaldsean  kings,  like  those  of  the  Egyptians,  presented 
the  appearance  of  an  actual  citadel : the  walls  had  to  be  sufficiently  thick  to 
withstand  an  army  for  an  indefinite  period,  and  to  protect  the  garrison  from 
every  emergency,  except  that  of  treason  or  famine.  One  of  the  statues  found 
at  Telloh  holds  in  its  lap  the  plan  of  one  of  these  residences  : the  external 
outline  alone  is  given,  but  by  means  of  it  we  can  easily  picture  to  ourselves 
a fortified  place,  with  its  towers,  its  forts,  and  its  gateways  placed  between 
two  bastions.3  It  represents  the  ancient  palace  of  Lagash,  subsequently 
enlarged  and  altered  by  Gudea  or  one  of  the  vicegerents  who  succeeded 
him,  in  which  many  a great  lord  of  the  place  must  have  resided  down 
to  the  time  of  the  Christian  era.4  The  site  on  which  it  was  built  in  the 

1 Akurgal  appears  to  have  had  an  elder  brother,  Lidda,  who  did  not  come  to  the  throne  (Heuzey, 
Nouveaux  Monuments,  etc.,  in  the  Revue  d' Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  pp.  15,  16). 

2 The  above  is  perfectly  true  of  the  later  Assyrian  and  Chaldseau  periods  : it  is  scarcely  needful 
to  recall  to  the  reader  the  murders  of  Sargon  II.  and  Sennacherib,  or  the  revolt  of  Assurdainpal  against 
his  father  Shalmaneser  III.  With  regard  to  the  earliest  period  we  have  merely  indications  of  what 
took  place;  the  succession  of  King  Urnina  of  Lagash  appears  to  have  been  accompanied  by  troubles 
of  this  kind  (Heczey,  Genealogies  de  Sirpurla,  etc.,  in  the  Revue  d’ Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  82,  83),  and 
it  is  certain  that  his  successor  Akurgal  was  not  the  eldest  of  his  sons  (Heuzey,  Nouveaux  Monuments, 
etc.,  in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  V Academie  des  Inscriptions,  1892,  p.  344,  and  in  the  Revue  d' Assyriologie, 
vol.  iii.  pp.  16,  18,  19),  but  we  do  not  at  present  know  to  what  events  Akurgal  owed  his  elevation. 

3 Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pp.  138,  139,  who  believes  it  to  be  a fortress  rather 
than  a palace  (cf.  Un  Palais  chaldeen,  p.  15);  in  the  East  a palace  is  always  more  or  less  fortified. 

4 This  palace  was  discovered  by  Mons.  de  Sarzec  during  his  first  excavations,  and  he  has  described 
it  with  great  detail  (Heizey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pp.  13-54);  an  abstract  of  the  description 


710 


CIIALDjEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


THE  PLAN  OF  A PALACE  BUILT  BY  GUDEA.2 


Girsu1  quarter  of  the  city  was  not  entirely  unoccupied  at  the  time  of  its 
foundation.  Urbau  had  raised  a ziggurat  on  that  very  spot 

some  centuries  previously, 
and  the  walls  which  he  had 
constructed  were  falling  into 
ruin.  Gudea  did  not  destroy 
the  work  of  his  remote  pre- 
decessor 
he  mer 
incorporated 
into  the  substruc 
tures  of  the  new 
building,  thus 

showing  an  indifference  similar  to  that  evinced  by  the 
Pharaohs  for  the  monuments  of  a former  dynasty.3 
The  palaces,  like  the  temples,  never  rose  directly 
from  the  soil,  but  were  invariably  built  on  the  top 
of  an  artificial  mound  of  crude  brick.  At  Lagash, 
this  solid  platform  rises  to  the  height  of  40  feet 
above  the  plain,  and  the  only  means  of  access  to  the 
top  is  by  a single  narrow  steep  staircase,  easily  cut  off  . 
or  defended.4  The  palace  which  surmounts  this  artificial 
eminence  describes  a sort  of  irregular  rectangle,  174  feet 
long  by  69  feet  wide,  and  had,  contrary  to  the  custom  in 
Egypt,  the  four  angles  orientated  to  the  four  cardinal 
points.  The  two  principal  sides  are  not  parallel,  but  swell 
out  slightly  towards  the  middle,  and  the  flexion  of  the  lines  almost  follows 


ely 


A TERRA-COTTA  BARREL. 


and  an  attempt  to  restore  the  edifice  will  be  found  in  Heuzey,  TJn  Palais  chaldeen,  d’apres  les  decou- 
vertes  de  M.  de  Sarzec,  Paris,  1888.  It  was  restored  during  the  Parthian  period  by  a small  local 
kinglet  named  Hadadnadinakhe,  a vassal  of  the  kings  of  Mesena  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en 
Chaldee,  pp.  17,  18,  32). 

] This  identification  of  the  name  of  Girsu  with  the  site  on  which  the  palace  of  Gudea  is  built 
was  proposed  from  the  very  first  by  Amiaud,  Sirpourla,  d’apres  les  inscriptions  de  la  collection  de 
Sarzec,  p.  8,  and  adopted  by  Heuzey-  Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  53. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes,  etc.,  pi.  15,  No.  1.  The  plan  is 
traced  upon  the  tablet  held  in  the  lap  of  Statue  E in  the  Louvre  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes,  etc., 
pi.  16,  et  seq.).  Below  the  plan  can  be  seen  the  ruler  marked  with  the  divisions  used  by  the  architect  for 
drawing  his  designs  to  the  desired  scale  ; the  scribe’s  stylus  is  represented  lying  on  the  left  of  the  plan. 

•1  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes,  etc.,  pp.  13,  14,  29,  30,  50-53;  Heuzey,  TJn  Palais  chaldeen,  pp. 
30-34.  The  small  square  construction,  marked /in  the  plan  on  the  opposite  page,  is  one  of  the  older 
portions  buried  under  the  more  recent  bricks  of  Gudea’s  platform. 

* For  the  substructure,  see  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes,  etc.,  pp.  13,  14.  In  one  part  of  the 
mound,  the  platform  constructed  for  Urbau’s  edifice  appears  to  have  reached  the  height  of  33  feet 
(Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes,  etc.,  p.  53,  note).  The  staircase  is  not  mentioned  in  the  account  of  the 
excavations  by  Mons.  de  Sarzec ; perhaps  it  was  destroyed  in  ancient  times. 

5 Prawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  facsimile  by  Place,  Ninive  et  I’Assyrie,  pi.  78,  No.  2. 


THE  PALACE  OF  GUDEA  AT  LAG  ASH. 


711 


the  contour  of  one  of  those  little  clay  cones  upon  which  the  kings  were  wont 
to  inscribe  their  annals  or  dedications.1  This  flexure  was  probably  not 
intentional  on  the  part  of  the  architect,  but  was  owing  to  the  difficulty  of 
keeping  a wall  of  such  considerable  extent  in  a straight  line  from  one  end 
to  another;  and  all  Eastern  nations,  whether  Chaldaeans  or  Egyptians,  troubled 
themselves  but  little  about  correctness  of  alignment,  since  defects  of  this  kind 


PLAN  OF  THE  EXISTING  BUILDINGS  OF  TELLOII." 


were  scarcely  ever  perceptible  in  the  actual  edifice,  and  are  only  clearly  revealed 
in  the  plans  drawn  out  to  scale  with  modern  precision.3  The  fapade  of  the 
building  faces  south-east,  and  is  divided  into  three  blocks  of  unequal  size. 
The  centre  of  the  middle  block  for  a length  of  18  feet  projects  some  3 feet 
from  the  main  front,  and,  by  directly  facing  the  spectator,  ingeniously  masks 
the  obtuse  angle  formed  by  the  meeting  of  the  two  walls.  This  projection 
is  flanked  right  and  left  by  rectangular  grooves,  similar  to  those  which 

1 This  is  the  very  expression  used  by  Mons.  de  Sarzec  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Ddcouvertes  en  Chaldde, 
p.  15),  and  the  resemblance  is  indeed  striking  the  moment  we  look  at  the  ground-plan  of  the  building. 

s Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Bdcouvertes,  etc.,  plan  A. 

3 Mons.  Heuzey  thinks  that  the  outward  deflection  of  the  lines  is  owing  “ merely  to  a primitive 
method  of  obtaining  greater  solidity  of  construction,  and  of  giving  a better  foundation  to  these  long 
facades,  which  are  placed  upon  artificial  terraces  of  crude  brick  always  subject  to  cracks  and  settle- 
ments” (Heuzey,  XJn  Palais  Clialdfen,  p.  25).  I think  that  the  explanation  of  the  facts  which  I have 
given  in  the  text  is  simpler  than  that  ingeniously  proposed  by  Mons.  Heuzey : the  masons,  having 
begun  to  build  the  wall  from  both  ends  simultaneously,  were  not  successful  in  making  the  two  lines 
meet  correctly,  and  they  have  frankly  patched  up  the  junction  by  a mass  of  projecting  brickwork 
which  conceals  their  unskilfulness. 


712 


CBA  LB  JEAN  Cl  VI LIZ  A TION. 


ornament  the  fagades  of  the  fortresses  and  brick  houses  of  the  Ancient  Empire 
in  Egypt : 1 the  regular  alternation  of  projections  and  hollows  breaks  the 
monotony  of  the  facing  by  the  play  of  light  and  shade.  Beyond  these, 
again,  the  wall  surface  is  broken  by  semicircular  pilasters  some  17  inches  in 
diameter,  without  bases,  capitals,  or  even  a moulding,  but  placed  side  by  side 
like  so  many  tree-trunks  or  posts  forming  a palisade.2  Various  schemes  of 
decoration  succeed  each  other  in  progressive  sequence,  less  ornate  and  at 
greater  distances  apart,  the  further  they  recede  from  the  central  block  and 
the  nearer  they  approach  to  the  extremities  of  the  fagade.  They  stop  short 
at  the  southern  angle,  and  the  two  sides  of  the  edifice  running  from  south 
to  west,  and  again  from  west  to  north,  are  flat,  bare  surfaces,  unbroken  by 


DECORATION  OF  COLOURED  CONES  ON  THE  FACADE  AT  URUK.3 


projection  or  groove  to  relieve  the  poverty  and  monotony  of  their  appearance. 
The  decoration  reappears  on  the  north-east  front,  where  the  arrangement  of 
the  principal  fagade  is  partly  reproduced.  The  grooved  divisions  here  start 
from  the  angles,  and  the  engaged  columns  are  wanting,  or  rather  they  are 
transferred  to  the  central  projection,  and  from  a distance  have  the  effect  of 
a row  of  gigantic  organ-pipes.4  We  may  well  ask  if  this  squat  and  heavy 
mass  of  building,  which  must  have  attracted  the  eye  from  all  parts  of  the 
town,  had  nothing  to  relieve  the  dull  and  dismal  colour  of  its  component 
bricks.  The  idea  might  not  have  occurred  to  us,  had  we  not  found  elsewhere 
an  attempt  to  lessen  the  gloomy  appearance  of  the  architecture  by  coloured 
plastering.  At  Uruk,  the  walls  of  the  palace  are  decorated  by  means  of  terra- 
cotta cones,  fixed  deep  into  the  solid  plaster  and  painted  red,  black,  or  yellow, 
forming  interlaced  or  diaper  patterns  of  chevrons,  spirals,  lozenges,  and 
triangles,  with  a very  fair  result : this  mosaic  of  coloured  plaster  covered  all 

1 Cf.  wliat  is  said  of  the  Egyptian  houses  and  fortresses  on  pp.  316,  450  of  this  volume. 

• The  origin  of  this  kind  of  decoration  was  pointed  out  at  the  very  beginning  by  Loftus,  Travels 
and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  175 ; and  again  by  Place,  Ninive  and  VAssyrie,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  50,  52.  The  headpiece  of  the  present  chapter  (cf.  p.  703  of  this  volume),  which  is  taken  from 
Loftus,  affords  a good  example  of  the  appearance  presented  at  Uruk  by  buildings  decorated  in  this 
fashion. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  sketch  by  Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and 

Susiana,  p.  188. 

4 The  description  of  the  fagades  is  from  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Bdcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pp.  14-17 ; 
cf.  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  V Art  dans  V Antiquity  vol.  ii.  pp.  257-263 ; and  IJeuzey,  Tin  Palais 
chald^en,  pp.  22-25. 


TTIE  FACADES,  THE  TEMPLE  WITHIN  THE  PALACE.  713 

the  surfaces,  both  flat  and  curved,  giving  to  the  building  a cheerful  aspect 
entirely  wanting  in  that  of  Lagash.1 

A long  narrow  trough  of  yellowish  limestone  stood  in  front  of  the  palace, 
and  was  raised  on  two  steps : it  was  carved  in  relief  on  the  outside  with 
figures  of  women  standing  with  outstretched  hands,  passing  to  each  other 


PILASTERS  OK  THE  FACADE  OF  GODEa’S  PALACE.2 


vases  from  which  gushed  forth  two  streams  of  water.3  This  trough  formed 
a reservoir,  which  was  filled  every  morning  for  the  use  of  the  men  and  beasts, 
and  those  whom  some  business  or  a command  brought  to  the  palace  could 
refresh  themselves  there  while  waiting  to  be  received  by  the  master.4  The 
gates  which  gave  access  to  the  interior  were  placed  at  somewhat  irregular 

1 The  decoration  of  the  palace  at  Uruk,  which  was  discovered  and  described  by  Loftus,  Travels 
and  Researches,  etc.,  pp.  188,  189,  is  found  in  several  Chaldaean  palaces  of  very  ancient  date,  to  judge 
from  the  number  of  coloured  clay  cones  found  in  the  ruins  of  Abn-Shahrein  (Taylor,  Notes  on  Ahu- 
Shahrein  and  Tel-el-Lahm,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  p.  411)  and  in  several 
other  cities;  cf.  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  V Art  dans  1’ Anti  quite,  vol.  ii.  pp.  493,  494.  Mens,  do 
Sarzec  states  that  in  the  ruins  of  Telloh  he  was  unable  to  find  any  traces  of  decoration  of  this  kind 
on  the  external  face  of  the  enclosing  wall,  either  in  plastering  or  colour  (Heuzey,  Un  Palais 
chald&n,  pp.  17-20). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Heuzey-Sarzeo,  Ddcouvertes,  etc.,  pi.  50,  No.  1. 

3 For  the  probable  signification  of  these  female  figures,  and  of  the  vase  which  they  pass  from  hand 
to  hand,  and  of  the  double  stream  of  water  coming  from  it,  cf.  the  ingenious  memoir  by  Heczey, 
Le  Bassin  sculpt € et  le  Symbole  du  vase  jaillissant,  in  the  Origines  orientates  de  I’Art,  vol.  i.  pp. 
149-171. 

4 Heuzey-Sarzec,  Dfcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  16;  IIet'zey,  Un  Palais  chaldfen,  p.  59,  et  seq. 


714 


cn ALT) ASA  N CIVIL IZ A TION. 


intervals : two  opened  from  the  principal  fapade,  but  on  each  of  the  other 
sides  there  was  only  one  entrance.  They  were  arched  and  so  low  as  not  to 
give  a ready  admittance;  they  were  closed  with  two-leaved  doors  of  cedar 
or  cypress,  provided  with  bronze  hinges,  which  turned  upon  two  flint-stones 
iirmly  set  in  the  masonry  on  either  side,  and  usually  inscribed  with  the  name 
of  the  founder  or  that  of  the  reigning  sovereign.  Two  of  the  entrances 
possessed  a sort  of  covered  way,  in  which  the  soldiers  of  the  external  watch 
could  take  shelter  from  the  heat  of  the  sun  by  day,  from  the  cold  at  night, 
and  from  the  dews  at  dawn.1  On  crossing  the  threshold,  a corridor,  flanked 
with  two  small  rooms  for  porters  or  warders,  led  into  a courtyard  surrounded 
with  buildings  of  sufficient  depth  to  take  up  nearly  half  of  the  area  enclosed 
within  the  walls.  This  court  was  moreover  a semi-public  place,  to  which  trades- 
men, merchants,  suppliants,  and  functionaries  of  all  ranks  had  easy  access. 
A suite  of  three  rooms  shut  off  in  the  north-west  angle  did  duty  for  a magazine 
or  arsenal.  The  southern  portion  of  the  building  was  occupied  by  the  State 
apartments,  the  largest  of  which  measures  only  40  feet  in  length.  In  these 
rooms  Gudea  and  his  successors  gave  audience  to  their  nobles  and  administered 
justice.  The  administrative  officers  and  the  staff  who  had  charge  of  them 
were  probably  located  in  the  remaining  part  of  the  building.  The  roof  was 
flat,  and  ran  all  round  the  enclosing  wall,  forming  a terrace,  access  to  which 
was  gained  by  a staircase  built  between  the  principal  entrance  and  the 
arsenal.2  In  the  north  angle  rose  a ziggurat.  Custom  demanded  that  the 
sovereign  should  possess  a temple  within  his  dwelling,  where  he  could  fulfil 
his  religious  duties  without  going  into  the  town  and  mixing  with  the  crowd. 
At  Lagash  the  sacred  tower  was  of  older  date  than  the  palace,  and  possibly 
formed  part  of  the  ancient  building  of  Urbau.  It  was  originally  composed 
of  three  stories,  but  the  lower  one  was  altered  by  Gudea,  and  disappeared 
entirely  in  the  thickness  of  the  basal  platform.  The  second  story  thus  became 
the  bottom  one ; it  was  enlarged,  slightly  raised  above  the  neighbouring  roofs, 
and  was  probably  crowned  by  a sanctuary  dedicated  to  Ningirsu.  It  was, 
indeed,  a monument  of  modest  proportions,  and  most  of  the  public  temples 
soared  far  above  it ; but,  small  as  it  was,  the  whole  town  might  be  seen  from 
the  summit,  with  its  separate  quarters  and  its  belt  of  gardens ; and  beyond,  the 
open  country  intersected  with  streams,  studded  with  isolated  villages,  patches 

1 Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  e n Chaldee,  pp.  18,  19;  Heuzey,  Un  Palais  chaldeen,  pp.  26, 
27.  The  most  important  of  these  covered  ways  is  marked  D in  the  plan  on  p.  711  of  the  present  work, 

2 The  whole  of  this  semi-public  part  of  the  palace  is  described  at  length  in  Heuzey-Sarzec, 
Ddcouvertes,  etc.,  p.  30,  et  seq.  In  the  course  of  the  excavations  it  will  no  doubt  be  found  necessary 
to  modify  some  details  in  the  attributions  proposed;  at  all  events,  it  is  probable  that  we  know  at 
present  the  general  arrangement  of  the  principal  divisions  of  the  edifice  and  the  uses  to  which 
they  were  put. 


THE  PRIVATE  APARTMENTS  OF  THE  PALACE. 


715 


of  wood,  pools  and  weedy  marshes  left  by  the  retiring  inundation,  and  in 
the  far  distance  the  lines  of  trees  and  bushes  which  bordered  the  banks  of 
the  Euphrates  and  its  confluents.  Should  a troop  of  enemies  venture  within 
the  range  of  sight,  or  should  a suspicious  tumult  arise  within  the  city,  the 
watchers  posted  on  the  highest  terrace  would  immediately  give  the  alarm, 
and  through  their  warning  the  king  would  have  time  to 
close  his  gates,  and  take  measures  to  resist  the 
invading  enemy  or  crush  the  revolt  of  his  subjects.1 

The  northern  apartments  of  the  palace  were 
appropriated  to  Gudea  and  his  family.  They  were 
placed  with  their  back  to  the  entrance  court,  and 
were  divided  into  two  groups ; the  sovereign,  his 
male  children  and  their  attendants,  inhabited  the 
western  one,  while  the  women  and  their  slaves 
were  cloistered,  so  to  speak,  in  the  northern  set. 

The  royal  dwelling  had  an  external  exit  by  means 
of  a passage  issuing  on  the  north-west  of  the 
enclosure,  and  it  also  communicated  with  the 
great  courtyard  by  a vaulted  corridor  which  ran 
along  one  side  of  the  base  of  the  ziggurat : the 
doors  which  closed  these  two  entrances  opened  wide 
enough  to  admit  only  one  person  at  a time,  and  to  flint  socket  of  one  of 

the  right  and  left  were  recesses  in  the  wall  which  ofgudea2 

enabled  the  guards  to  examine  all  comers  unobserved, 

and  stab  them  promptly  if  there  were  anything  suspicious  in  their  be- 
haviour. Eight  chambers  were  lighted  from  the  courtyard.  In  one  of  them 
were  kept  all  the  provisions  for  the  day,  while  another  served  as  a kitchen  : 
the  head  cook  carried  on  his  work  at  a sort  of  rectangular  dresser  of  moderate 
size,  on  which  several  fireplaces  were  marked  out  by  little  dividing  walls 
of  burnt  bricks,  to  accommodate  as  many  pots  or  pans  of  various  sizes. 
A well  sunk  in  the  corner  right  down  below  the  substructure  provided  the 
water  needed  for  culinary  purposes.  The  king  and  his  belongings  accommo- 
dated themselves  in  the  remaining  five  or  six  rooms  as  best  they  could.3  A 
corridor,  guarded  as  carefully  as  the  one  previously  described,  led  to  his  private 
apartments  and  to  those  of  his  wives  : these  comprised  a yard,  some  half-dozen 

1 Heuzey-Sarzec,  Dtfcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pp.  26-30;  Heuzey,  Un  Palais  chaldden,  pp. 
32-34. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Ddcouvertes,  etc.,  pi.  27,  No.  2. 

3 See  the  complete  description  of  the  part  of  the  palace  reserved  for  men,  and  the  rooms  con- 
tained  in  it,  in  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Dfcouvertes,  etc.,  pp.  24-26, 


CH ALB  JEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


7 1(5 

cells  varying  in  size,  a kitchen,  a well,  and  a door  through  which  the  .servants 
could  come  and  go,  without  passing  through  the  men’s  quarters.1  The  whole 
description  in  no  way  corresponds  with  the  marvellous  ideal  of  an  Oriental 
palace  which  we  form  for  ourselves:  the  apartments  are  mean  and  dismal, 
imperfectly  lighted  by  the  door  or  by  some  small  aperture  timidly  cut  in  the 
ceiling,  arranged  so  as  to  protect  the  inmates  from  the  heat  and  dust,  but 
without  a thought  given  to  luxury  or  display.  The  walls  were  entirely  void 
of  any  cedar  woodwork  inlaid  with  gold,  or  panels  of  mosaic  such  as  we  find  in 
the  temples,  nor  were  they  hung  with  dyed  or  embroidered  draperies  such  as 
we  moderns  love  to  imagine,  and  which  we  spread  about  in  profusion,  when  we 
attempt  to  reproduce  the  interior  of  an  ancient  house  or  palace.2  The  walls  had 
to  remain  bare  for  the  sake  of  coolness  : at  the  most  they  were  only  covered 
with  a coat  of  white  plaster,  on  which  were  painted,  in  one  or  two  colours,  some 
scene  of  civil  or  religious  life,  or  troops  of  fantastic  monsters  struggling  with 
one  another,  or  men  each  with  a bird  seated  on  his  wrist.3  The  furniture  was 
not  less  scanty  than  the  decoration ; there  were  mats  on  the  ground,  coffers  in 
which  were  kept  the  linen  and  wearing  apparel,  low  beds  inlaid  with  ivory  and 
metal  and  provided  with  coverings  and  a thin  mattress,  copper  or  wooden  stands 
to  support  lamps  or  vases,  square  stools  on  four  legs  united  by  crossbars,  arm- 
chairs with  lions’  claw  feet,  resembling  the  Egyptian  armchairs  in  outline,4 
and  making  us  ask  if  they  were  brought  into  Chaldaea  by  caravans,  or  made 
from  models  which  had  come  from  some  other  country.  A few  rare  objects  of 
artistic  character  might  be  found,  which  bore  witness  to  a certain  taste  for 
elegance  and  refinement ; as,  for  instance,  a kind  of  circular  trough  of  black 


1 IIeuzey-Sarzec,  Becouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pp.  22,  24. 

2 Mons.  de  Sarzec  expressly  states  that  he  was  unable  to  find  anywhere  in  the  palace  of  Gudea 
“ the  slightest  trace  of  any  coating  on  the  walls,  either  of  colour  or  glazed  brick.  The  walls  appear 
to  have  been  left  bare,  without  any  decoration  except  the  regular  joining  of  the  courses  of  brickwork  ” 
(Heuzey-Sarzec,  Becouvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  20).  The  wood  panelling  was  usually  reserved  for  the 
temples  or  sacred  edifices  : Mons.  de  Sarzec  found  the  remains  of  carbonized  cedar  panels  in  the  ruins 
of  a sanctuary  dedicated  to  Ningirsu  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Becouvertes,  etc.,  p.  05,  note,  and  Un  Palais 
chaldeen,  p.  53).  According  to  Mons.  Heuzey,  the  wall-hangings  were  probably  covered  with  geome- 
trical designs,  similar  to  those  formed  by  the  terra-cotta  cones  on  the  walls  of  the  palace  at  Uruk;  the 
inscriptions,  however,  which  are  full  of  minute  details  with  regard  to  the  construction  and  ornamen- 
tation of  the  temples  and  palaces,  have  hitherto  contained  nothing  which  would  lead  us  to  infer  that 
hangings  were  used  for  mural  decoration  in  Chaldaea  or  Assyria  (Heuzey,  Un  Palais  chaldeen, 

pp.  18-20). 

3 This  was  the  case  in  the  palace  of  Eridu,  excavated  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  Abu-Shahrein  and 
Tel-el-Lahm,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Royal  Asiat.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  pp.  408,  410  ; cf.  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire 
de  VArt,  vol.  ii.  p.  449. 

4 A few  fragments  of  tapestry  cushions  were  found  in  the  tombs  of  Mugheir  (Taylor,  Notes  on 
the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Royal  Asiat.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  p.  271).  The  other  articles  of 
furniture,  seats,  stools,  and  linen  chests,  figure  upon  the  cylinders.  The  most  marked  example  of  an 
armchair  of  Egyptian  style  is  given  on  the  cylinder  of  Urban,  King  of  Uru  (J.  Menant,  Recherches 
sur  la  Glyptique  orientale,  vol.  i.  pi.  iv.  2),  on  the  antiquity  of  which,  however,  doubts  have  been 
raised  (Menant,  Le  Cylindre  de  Urhham  au  Musee  Britannique,  taken  from  the  Revue  Archeologique, 
p.  14,  et  seq.). 


FURNITURE,  THE  DECORATION  OF  THE  PALACE. 


717 


stone,  probably  used  to  support  a vase.  Three  rows  of  imbricated  scales 
surrounded  the  base  of  this,  while  seven  small  sitting  figures  lean  back 
against  the  upper  part  with  an  air  of  satisfaction  which  is  most  cleverly 
rendered.  The  decoration  of  the  larger  chambers  used  for  public  receptions 
and  official  ceremonies,  while  never  assuming  the  monumental  character  which 
we  observe  in  contemporary  Egyptian  buildings,  afforded  more  scope  for 
richness  and  variety  than  was  offered  by  the  living-rooms.  Small  tablets 
of  brownish  limestone,  let  in  to 
the  wall  or  affixed  to  its  surface 
by  terra-cotta  pegs,  and  deco- 
rated with  inscriptions,1  re- 
presented in  a more  or  less 
artless  fashion  the  figure 
of  the  sovereign  officiating 
before  some  divinity,  while 
his  children  and  servants 
took  part  in  the  ceremony  stand  of  dlack  stone  from  the  palace  of  telloh.3 

by  their  chanting.2  In- 
scribed bricks  celebrating  the  king’s  exploits  were  placed  here  and  there  in 
conspicuous  places.  These  were  not  embedded  like  the  others  in  two  layers 
of  bitumen  or  lime,  but  were  placed  in  full  view  upon  bronze  statues  of 
divinities  or  priests,  fixed  into  the  ground  or  into  some  part  of  the 
masonry  as  magical  nails  destined  to  preserve  the  bricks  from  destruction, 
and  consequently  to  keep  the  memory  of  the  dedicator  continually  before 
posterity.  Stelae  engraved  on  both  sides  recalled  the  wars  of  past  times, 
the  battle-field,  the  scenes  of  horror  which  took  place  there,  and  the 
return  of  the  victor  and  his  triumph.4  Sitting  or  standing  figures  of 
diorite,  silicious  sandstone  or  hard  limestone,  bearing  inscriptions  on  their 
robes  or  shoulders,  perpetuated  the  features  of  the  founder  or  of  members 
of  his  family,  and  commemorated  the  pious  donations  which  had  obtained  for 
him  the  favour  of  the  gods : the  palace  of  Lagash  contained  dozens  of  such 


1 Mons.  Koldewey,  who  has  found  several  of  these  pegs,  believes  witli  Taylor  that  the  shape 
represents  the  phallus,  images  of  which  have  been  found  among  them  (R.  Koldewey,  Die  Altbaby- 
lonischen  Griiber  in  Surghul  und  El-Hiba,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  416,  417). 
A peg  of  this  kind,  found  during  Mons.  de  Sarzec’s  excavations  at  Telloh,  is  given  as  the  tailpiece 
on  p.  784  of  this  volume  (Heuzey-Sakzec,  D&ouvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  38). 

2 Heuzey-Sarzec,  Bccouvertes,  etc.,  pp.  167-173  ; Heuzey,  Monuments  du  roi  Our-nina,  dtfcouverts 
par  M.  de  Sarzec,  in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  V Acaddmie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  1892,  pp. 
311,  342,  316,  347 ; two  of  these  tablets  are  reproduced  ou  pp.  608,  707  of  this  volume. 

8 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes,  etc.,  pi.  21,  No.  5,  and  pp. 
161,  162. 

* For  example,  the  stele  of  King  Idingiranagin,  called  the  “Stele  of  the  Vultures;”  cf. 
pp.  606-608  of  this  volume. 


718 


CHALD2EAN  CIVILIZATION. 


statues,  several  of  which  have  come  down  to  us  almost  intact — one  of  the 
ancient  Urbau,  and  nine  of  Gudea.1 

To  judge  by  the  space  covered  and  the  arrangement  of  the  rooms,  the 
vicegerents  of  Lagash  and  the  chiefs  of  towns  of  minor  importance  must,  as 
a rule,  have  been  content  with  a comparatively  small  number  of  servants ; 
their  court  probably  resembled  that  of  the  Egyptian  barons  who  lived  much 
about  the  same  period,  such  as  Khnumhotpu  of  the  nome  of  the  Gazelle,  or 
Thothotpu  of  Hermopolis.2  In  great  cities  such  as  Babylon  the  palace 
occupied  a much  larger  area,  and  the  crowd  of  courtiers  was  doubtless  as  great 
as  that  which  thronged  about  the  Pharaohs.  No  exact  enumeration  of  them 
has  come  down  to  us,  but  the  titles  which  we  come  across  show  with  what 
minuteness  they  defined  the  offices  about  the  person  of  the  sovereign.3  His 
costume  alone  required  almost  as  many  persons  as  there  were  garments.  The 
men  wore  the  light  loin-cloth  or  short-sleeved  tunic  which  scarcely  covered  the 
knees ; after  the  fashion  of  the  Egyptians,  they  threw  over  the  loin-cloth  and 
the  tunic  a large  <f  abayah,”  whose  shape  and  material  varied  with  the  caprice 
of  fashion.  They  often  chose  for  this  purpose  a sort  of  shawl  of  a plain 
material,  fringed  or  ornamented  with  a flat  stripe  round  the  edge ; often  they 
seem  to  have  preferred  it  ribbed,  or  artificially  kilted  from  top  to  bottom.4 
The  favourite  material  in  ancient  times,  however,  seems  to  have  been  a hairy, 
shaggy  cloth  or  woollen  stuff,  whose  close  fleecy  thread  hung  sometimes 
straight,  sometimes  crimped  or  waved,  in  regular  rows  like  flounces  one  above 
another.5  This  could  be  arranged  squarely  around  the  neck,  like  a mantle, 
but  was  more  often  draped  crosswise  over  the  left  shoulder  and  brought  under 


1 Heuzey-Sarzec,  Ddcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  77,  et  seq.,  where  the  description  of  these  monuments 
is  given  at  length  : see  the  statues  of  G-udea  on  pp.  611,  613  of  this  volume. 

2 Cf.  pp.  523-526  of  this  volume  for  these  two  princes  in  particular,  and  pp.  295-301  for  the 
general  condition  of  the  Egyptian  barons. 

3 The  only  document  which  could  furnish  us  with  information  regarding  the  grades  of  Chaldsean 
functionaries  similar  to  that  contained  in  the  Hood  Papyrus  on  Egyptian  offices  (cf.  p.  277,  note  4,  of 
this  volume),  is  the  list  published  in  Rawlinson’s  Cun.  Ins.  TV.  As.,  vol.  ii  p.  31,  No.  5,  interpreted  by 
Fr.  Delitzsch,  Assyrisclie  Studien,  vol.  i.  pp.  128-135;  and  by  Oppert-Henant,  Documents  juridiques 
de  VAssyrie  et  de  la  Chuldde,  pp.  71-78,  with  several  lacuna;  and  doubtful  readings.  It  was  written 
under  the  Sargonids,  but  the  orthography  of  the  names  contained  in  it  points  to  a Chaldsean  origin  : 
several  of  the  civil  and  religious  offices  at  the  Assyrian  court  were  only  reproductions  of  similar  offices 
existing  at  the  court  of  Babylon. 

4 The  relatively  modern  costume  was  described  by  Herodotus,  i.  114;  it  was  almost  identical 
with  the  ancient  one,  as  proved  by  the  representations  on  the  cylinders  and  monuments  of  Telloh. 
The  short-sleeved  tunic  is  more  rarely  represented,  and  the  loin-cloth  is  usually  hidden  under  the 
abayah  in  the  case  of  nobles  and  kings.  We  see  the  princes  of  Lagash  wearing  the  simple  loin- 
cloth, on  the  monuments  of  Urnina,  for  example  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  2,  Nos. 
1,  2;  and  Heuzey,  Nouveaux  Monuments  du  roi  Our-nind,  in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  V Acadfmie  des 
Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  1892,  pp.  342-344).  For  the  Egyptian  abayah,  and  the  manner  of 
representing  it,  cf.  pp.  55-57  of  this  volume. 

5 This  is  the  material,  as  Mods.  Heuzey  has  ingeniously  shown  ( Les  Origines  Orientates  de  V Art, 
vol.  i.  pp.  120-136),  to  which  the  Greeks  subsequently  gave  the  name  of  kaunakes. 


MALE  AND  FEMALE  COSTUME. 


719 


the  right  arm-pit,  so  as  to  leave  the  upper  part  of  the  breast  and  the  arm  bare 
on  that  side.  It  made  a convenient  and  useful  garment — an  excellent  protection 
in  summer  from  the  sun,  and  from  the  icy  north  wind  in  the  winter.1  The  feet 
were  shod  with  sandals,  a tight-fitting  cap  covered  the  head,  and  round  it  was 
rolled  a thick  strip  of  linen,  forming  a sort  of  rudimentary  turban,  which 
completed  the  costume.2  It  is  questionable  whether,  as  in  Egypt,  wigs  and  false 
beards  formed  part  of  the  toilette.  On  some  monuments  we  notice  smooth 
faces  and  close-cropped  heads  ; on  others  the  men  appear  with  long  hair,  either 
falling  loose  or  twisted  into  a knot  on  the  back  of  the  neck.3  While  the 
Egyptians  delighted  in  garments  of  thin  white  linen,  but  slightly  plaited  or 
crimped,  the  dwellers  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  preferred  thick  and  heavy 
stuffs  patterned  and  striped  wdth  many  colours.  The  kings  wore  the  same 
costume  as  their  subjects,  but  composed  of  richer  and  finer  materials,  dyed  red 
or  blue,  decorated  with  floral,  animal,  or  geometrical  designs  ; 4 a high  tower- 
shaped tiara  covered  the  forehead,5  unless  replaced  by  the  diadem  of  Sin  or 
some  of  the  other  gods,  which  was  a conical  mitre  supporting  a double  pair  of 
horns,  and  sometimes  surmounted  by  a sort  of  diadem  of  feathers  and  mysterious 
figures,  embroidered  or  painted  on  the  cap.6  Their  arms  were  loaded  with 
massive  bracelets  and  their  fingers  with  riugs  ; they  wore  necklaces  and  ear- 
rings, and  carried  each  a dagger  in  the  belt.7  The  royal  wardrobe,  jewels,  arms, 
and  insignia  formed  so  many  distinct  departments,  and  each  was  further  divided 


1 One  fashion  of  wearing  the  abayah  is  shown  in  the  initial  vignette  to  chap,  viii.,  on  p.  621  of 
this  volume. 

2 Cf.  the  head  belonging  to  one  of  the  statues  of  Telloh,  which  is  reproduced  on  p.  613  of  this 
volume.  We  notice  the  same  head-dress  on  several  intaglios  and  monuments,  and  also  on  the  terra- 
cotta plaque  which  will  be  found  on  p.  769  of  this  volume,  and  which  represents  a herdsman  wres- 
tling with  a lion.  Until  we  have  further  evidence,  we  cannot  state,  as  G.  Rawlinson  did  ( The  Five 
Great  Monarchies,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  105),  that  this  strip  forming  a turban  was  of  camel’s  hair  : the 
date  of  the  introduction  of  the  camel  into  Chaldma  still  remains  uncertain. 

3 Dignitaries  went  bareheaded  and  shaved  the  chin  ; see,  for  example,  the  two  bas-reliefs  given  on 
pp.  608  and  707  of  this  volume  ; cf.  the  heads  reproduced  as  tailpieces  on  pp.  536,  622.  The  knot 
of  hair  behind  on  the  central  figure  is  easily  distinguished  in  the  vignette  on  p.  723  of  this  volume. 
Upon  Egyptian  wigs,  see  p.  51  of  this  volume. 

4 The  details  of  colour  and  ornamentation,  not  furnished  by  the  Chaldsean  monuments,  are  given 
in  the  wall-painling  at  Beni-Hasan  representing  the  arrival  of  Asiatics  in  Egypt  (cf.  pp.  468,  469  of 
this  volume),  which  belongs  to  a period  contemporary  with  or  slightly  anterior  to  the  reign  of  Gudea. 
The  resemblance  of  the  stuffs  in  which  they  are  clothed  to  those  of  the  Chaldsean  garments,  and  the 
identity  of  the  patterns  on  them  with  the  geometrical  decoration  of  painted  cones  on  the  palace  at 
Uruk  (cf.  p.  712  of  this  volume),  have  been  pointed  out  with  justice  by  II.  G.  Tomkins,  Studies  on 
the  Times  of  Abraham,  p.  Ill,  et  seq. ; and  Hetjzey,  Les  Origines  orientates  de  I’Art,  vol.  i.  pp.  27,  28 
(cf.  Hetjzey-Sarzec,  IJdeouvertes  en  Chaldee,  p.  82). 

5 The  high  tiara  is  represented  among  others  on  the  head  of  Marduknadiuakhe,  King  of 
Babylon : cf.  what  is  said  of  the  conical  mitre,  the  head-dress  of  Sin,  on  pp.  545,  655  of  this 
volume. 

6 As  on  the  protecting  divinity  of  Idingiranagiu  upon  one  of  the  fragments  of  the  Stele  of  the 
Vultures  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Fouilles  en  Chaldee,  pi.  4,  Nos.  B,  C ; IIeuzey,  Les  Origines  orientates  de 
l' Art,  pp.  71,  72)  ; cf.  p.  606  of  this  volume. 

7 G.  Rawlinson,  The  Five  Great  Monarchies,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  98,  99, 106,  107. 


720 


CIJALDJ'JAN  CIVILIZATION. 


into  minor  sections  for  body-linen,  washing,  or  for  this  or  that  kind  of  head- 
dress or  sceptre.  The  dress  of  the  women,  which  was  singularly  like  that  of 
the  men,  required  no  less  a staff  of  attendants.  The  female  servants,  as  well 
as  the  male,  went  about  bare  to  the  waist  at  all  events  while  working  indoors. 
When  they  went  out,  they  wore  the  same  sort  of  tunic  or  loin-cloth,  but  longer 
and  more  resembling  a petticoat ; they  had  the  same  “ abayah  ” 
drawn  round  the  shoulders  or  rolled  about  the  body  like  a 
cloak,  but  with  the  women  it  nearly  touched  the  ground  ; 
sometimes  an  actual  dress  seems  to  have  been  substituted 
for  the  “abayah,”  drawn  in  to  the  figure  by  a belt  and  cut 
out  of  the  same  hairy  material  as  this  of  which  the  mantles 
were  made.1  The  boots  were  of  soft  leather,  laced,  and  without 
heels;  the  women’s  ornaments  were  more  numerous  than  those 
of  the  men,  and  comprised  necklaces,  bracelets,  ankle,  finger, 
and  ear  rings ; their  hair  was  separated  into  bands  and  kept  in 
place  on  the  forehead  by  a fillet,  falling  in  thick  plaits  or  twisted 
into  a coil  on  the  nape  of  the  neck.2  A great  deal  of  the  work 
was  performed  by  foreign  or  native  slaves,  generally  under  the 
command  of  eunuchs,  to  whom  the  king  and  royal  princes 
entrusted  most  of  the  superintendence  of  their  domestic  arrange- 
ments ; they  guarded  and  looked  after  the  sleeping  apartments, 
they  fanned  and  kept  the  flies  from  their  master,  and  handed 
him  his  food  and  drink.  Eunuchs  in  Egypt  were  either  un- 
known or  but  little  esteemed : they  never  seem  to  have  been 
used,  even  in  times  when  relations  with  Asia  were  of  daily 
occurrence,  and  when  they  might  have  been  supplied  from  the 
Babylonian  slave-markets. 

All  these  various  officials  closely  attached  to  the  person  of  the 
sovereign — heads  of  the  wardrobe,  chamberlains,  cupbearers,  bearers  of  the  royal 
sword  or  of  the  flabella,  commanders  of  the  eunuchs  or  of  the  guards — had,  by 
the  nature  of  their  duties,  daily  opportunities  of  gaining  a direct  influence  over 
their  master  and  his  government,  and  from  among  them  he  often  chose  the  generals 
of  his  army  or  the  administrators  of  his  domains.4  Here,  again,  as  far  as  the 


FEMALE  SERVANT 
BARE  TO  TUE 
WAIST.3 


1 Heczey,  Les  Origines  orientules  de  VArt,  vol.  i.  p.  125,  et  seq. 

2 For  tlie  head-dress  of  the  women,  see,  besides  the  vignette  on  p.  721,  the  head  which  serves  as 
frontispiece  to  this  chapter,  p.  702,  and  the  intaglios  reproduced  on  pp.  555,  655,  680,  etc.,  of  this 
volume. 

3 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  the  bronze  figure  in  the  Louvre,  published  by  Heuzey-Sarzec, 
Dfoouvertes  en  Cliald^e,  pi.  14. 

4 All  these  officials  are  represented  later  on  in  the  Assyrian  bas-reliefs,  as  well  as  in  Botta,  Le 
Nonument  de  Ninive,  pi.  14,  et  seq.,  where  we  see  officials  passing  before  Sargon  and  bringing 
offerings ; the  official  posts  which  they  occupied  were  probably  ancient  ones,  which  had  existed  in 


THE  ROYAL  ADMINISTRATION. 


7 21 


few  monuments  and  the  obscurity  of  the  texts  permit  of  our  judging,  we  find 
indications  of  a civil  and  military  organization  analogous  to  that  of  Egypt : 
the  divergencies  which  contemporaries  may  have  been  able  to  detect  in 
the  two  national  systems  are  effaced  by  the  distance  of  time,  and  we  are 
struck  merely  by  the  resemblances.  As  all  business  transactions  were  carried 
on  by  barter  or  by  the  exchange  of  merchandise  for  weighed 
quantities  of  the  precious  metals,  the  taxes  were  consequently 
paid  in  kind  : the  principal  media  being  corn  and  other 
cereals,  dates,  fruits,  stuffs,  live  animals  and  slaves,  as  well 
as  gold,  silver,  lead,  and  copper,  either  in  its  native  state 
or  melted  into  bars  fashioned  into  implements  or  orna- 
mented vases.  Hence  we  continually  come  across  fiscal 
storehouses,  both  in  town  and  country,  which  demanded 
the  services  of  a whole  troop  of  functionaries  and  work- 
men : administrators  of  corn,  cattle,  precious  metals,  wine 
and  oil ; in  fine,  as  many  administrators  as  there  were 
cultures  or  industries  in  the  country  presided  over  the 
gathering  of  the  products  into  the  central  depots  and 
regulated  their  redistribution.1  A certain  portion  was 
reserved  for  the  salaries  of  the  employes  and  the  pay 
of  the  workmen  engaged  in  executing  public  works : 
the  surplus  accumulated  in  the  treasury  and  formed  a 
reserve,  which  was  not  drawn  upon  except  in  cases  of 
extreme  necessity.  Every  palace,  in  addition  to  its  living-rooms,  contained 
within  its  walls  large  store-chambers  filled  with  provisions  aud  weapons, 
which  made  it  more  or  less  a fortress,  furnished  with  indispensable  requisites 
for  sustaining  a prolonged  siege  either  against  an  enemy’s  troops  or  the 
king’s  own  subjects  in  revolt.7  The  king  always  kept  about  him  bodies 


COSTUME  OF  A CHALDiEAN 
LADY.2 


early  Chaldsean  times,  and  several  of  their  names  figure  on  lists,  the  earliest  forms  of  which  go  bark, 
apparently,  very  far  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  31,  No.  5,  col.  i.  1.  11,  and  col.  v.  1.  29, 
the  dagger -bearer,  col.  i.  11.  9,  10,  the  cup-bearers;  cf.  Delitzsch,  Assyrische  Studien,  vol.  i.  p.  132; 
O ppe rt- M EN  A NT,  Les  Documents  juridiques  de  V Assyrie  and  de  la  Chaldde,  pp.  71,  71).  For  the  same 
staff  of  functionaries  at  the  court  of  Pharaoh,  and  about  the  Egyptian  nobles,  cf.  what  is  said  on 
pp.  277-280  of  this  volume. 

1 All  these  functions  and  the  duties  they  represent  are  made  known  to  us  by  Rawlinson’s  list, 
Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  31,  No.  5,  which  has  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding  note;  the 
“ administrators  of  corn  ” (col.  ii.  1.  2)  aud  of  “precious  metals  ” (col.  ii.  1.  3),  the  “chiefs  of  vines  ” 
(col.  iii.  1.  22)  and  “ of  herds  of  oxen  ” (col.  vi.  1.  4)  or  “ of  birds  ” (col.  vii.  1.  5). 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  alabaster  statuette  in  the  Louvre,  published  in  HeuzeY, 
Les  Origines  orientales  de  VArt,  vol.  i.  pl.  v.  She  holds  in  her  hand  the  jar  full  of  water,  analogous 
to  the  streaming  vase  mentioned  above,  p.  712  (cf.  Heuzey,  Les  Origines  orientales  de  VArt,  vol.  i. 
p.  157,  et  seq.). 

3 For  the  military  offices  of  Assyrian  times,  see  the  commentary  by  Fr.  Delitzsch,  Assyrische 
Studien,  vol.  i.  pp.  128-139,  on  Rawlinson’s  list,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pl.  31,  No.  5 ; the  majority 
of  them  go  back  to  Chaldasan  times,  as  is  shown  by  the  forms  of  the  names. 

3 A 


Oil  A L DJEA  N Cl  VI  LIZ  A TJON. 


of  soldiers  who  perhaps  were  foreign  mercenaries,  like  the  Mazaiu  of  the 
armies  of  the  Pharaohs,  and  who  formed  his  permanent  body-guard  in 
times  of  peace.  When  a war  was  immiuent,  a military  levy  was  made  upon 
his  domains,  but  we  are  unable  to  find  out  whether  the  recruits  thus  raised 
were  drawn  indiscriminately  from  the  population  in  general,  or  merely  from  a 
special  class,  analogous  to  that  of  the  warriors  which  we  find  in  Egypt, 
who  were  paid  in  the  same  way  by  grants  of  land.  The  equipment  of  these 
soldiers  was  of  the  rudest  kind : they  had  no  cuirass,  but  carried  a rectangular 
shield,  and,  in  the  case  of  those  of  higher  rank  at  all  events,  a conical  metal 
helmet,  probably  of  bp‘*ten  copper,  provided  with  a piece  to  protect  the  back  of 
the  neck  ; the  heavy  infantry  were  armed  with  a pike  tippor|  with  bronze  or 
copper,  an  axe  or  sharp  adze,  a stone-headed  mace,  and  a dagger  ; the  light  troops 
were  provided  only  with  the  bow  and  sling.1  As  early  as  the  third  millennium 
b.c.,  the  king  went  to  battle  in  a chariot  drawn  by  onagers,  or  perhaps  horses ; 
he  had  his  own  peculiar  weapon,  which  was  a curved  baton  probably  terminating 
in  a metal  point,  and  resembling  the  sceptre  of  the  Pharaohs.2  Considerable 
quantities  of  all  these  arms  were  stored  in  the  arsenals,  which  contained  depots  for 
bows,  maces,  and  pikes,  and  even  the  stones  needed  for  the  slings  had  their 
special  department  for  storage.3  At  the  beginning  of  each  campaign,  a distri- 
bution of  weapons  to  the  newly  levied  troops  took  place  ; but  as  soon  as  the  war 
was  at  an  end,  the  men  brought  back  their  accoutrements,  which  were  stored  till 
they  were  again  required.  The  valour  of  the  soldiers  and  their  chiefs  was  then 
rewarded  ; the  share  of  the  spoil  for  some  consisted  of  cattle,  gold,  corn,  a 
female  slave,  and  vessels  of  value ; for  others,  lands  or  towns  in  the  conquered 
country,  regulated  by  the  rank  of  the  recipients  or  the  extent  of  the  services 
they  had  rendered.  Property  thus  given  was  hereditary,  and  privileges  were  often 
added  to  it  which  raised  the  holder  to  the  rank  of  a petty  prince : for  instance, 
no  royal  official  was  permitted  to  impose  a tax  upon  such  lauds,  or  take  the 
cattle  off  them,  or  levy  provisions  upon  them  ; no  troop  of  soldiers  might  enter 
them,  not  even  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  a fugitive.4  Most  of  the  noble 


1 See  the  cylinder  reproduced  on  p.  723,  on  which  soldiers  are  represented  leading  a band  of  men 
and  women  prisoners;  see  also  the  remains  of  the  “Stele  of  the  Vultures,”  p.  606  of  this  History. 

2 This  is  nearly  the  same  as  the  “liuqh  ” of  the  Egyptians  (cf.  p.  60,  note  3,  of  this  volume), 
known  best  under  the  form  which  it  took  in  later  times,  but  of  which  several  variants  are  exactly 
like  the  Ghaldsean  weapon.  Mons.  Heuzey  believes  it  to  be  a weapon  for  throwing,  perhaps 
analogous  to  the  boomerang. 

3 Rawlinson’s  list,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  31,  No.  5,  gives  for  example  “overseer  of  the 
bows  ” (col.  vi.  1.  6)  and  “keeper  of  the  stones  for  slings”  (col.  vi.  1.  7 ; cf.  Oppeut-Menant,  Les 
documents  juruliques  de  VAssyrie  et  de  la  Chaldde,  p.  75),  and  other  similar  chiefs  of  the  arsenal,  the 
meaning  of  whose  titles  is  at  present  uncertain.  Place  found  at  Khorsabad  large  stores  of  iron  and 
copper  weapons  (Place,  Ninive  et  VAssyrie,  vol.  i.  pp.  81  -90),  which  show  what  these  depots  of  arms 
must  have  been  like. 

* All  these  particulars  are  taken  from  the  inscription  in  Rawlinson,  Can.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  v. 


THE  SOLDIERS  AND  THE  LORDS,  THE  SCRIBE. 


723 


families  possessed  domains  of  this  kind,  and  constituted  in  each  kingdom  a 
powerful  and  wealthy  feudal  aristocracy,  whose  relations  to  their  sovereign  were 
probably  much  the  same  as  those  which  bound  the  nomarchs  to  the  Pharaoh. 
The  position  of  these  nobles  was  not  more  stable  than  that  of  the  dynasties 
under  which  they  lived  : while  some  among  them  gained  power  by  marriages  or  by 
continued  acquisitions  of  land,  others  fell  into  disgrace  and  were  ruined.  As 
the  soil  belonged  to  the  gods,1  it  is  possible  that  these  nobles  were  supposed,  in 
theory,  to  depend  upon  the  gods ; but  as  the  kings  were  the  vicegerents  of  the 
gods  upon  earth,  it  was  to 
the  king,  as  a matter  of  fact, 
that  they  owed  their  eleva- 
tion. Everystate,  therefore, 
comprised  two  parts,  each 
subject  to  a distinct  regime : 
one  being  the  personal  do- 
main of  the  suzerain,  which 
he  managed  himself,  and 
from  which  he  drew  the  re- 
venues ; the  other  was  composed  of  fiefs,  whose  lords  paid  tribute  and  owed  certain 
obligations  to  the  king,  the  nature  of  which  we  are  as  yet  unable  to  define. 

The  Chaldsean,  like  the  Egyptian  scribe,  was  the  pivot  on  which  the 
machinery  of  this  double  royal  and  seignorial  administration  turned.  He 
does  not  appear  to  have  enjoyed  as  much  consideration  as  his  fellow- 
official  in  the  Nile  Valley  : the  Chaldaean  princes,  nobles,  priests,  soldiers, 
and  temple  or  royal  officials,  did  not  covet  the  title  of  scribe,  or  pride 
themselves  upon  holding  that  office  side  by  side  with  their  other  dignities, 
as  we  see  was  the  case  with  their  Egyptian  contemporaries.8  The  position 

pis.  55-57,  translated  by  Hilprecht,  Freihrief  Nebuhadnezar’s  I.  Kdnigs  von  Babylonien,  1883,  and  by 
Pinches-Budge,  On  an  Edict  of  Nebuchadnezzar  I.,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archxology,  1883-84,  vol.  vi.  pp.  144-170;  cf.  Peiser,  Inscliriften  Nebuhadnezar’s  I.,  in  the  Keil- 
schriftliclie  Eibliothelc,  vol.  iii1.  pp.  164-171.  Another  charter  of  the  same  king,  treating  of  a similar 
donation,  has  been  published  by  Alden-Smith,  Assyrian,  Letters , iv.  pis.  viii.,  ix.,  and  translated  by 
Bruno  Meissner,  Ein  Freibrief  Nebuhadnezar’s  II.,  in  the  Zeitsclirift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  iv.  pp. 
250-267  (where  it  is  by  a mistake  attributed  to  Nebuchadrezzar  II.),  and  by  Peiser,  Inscliriften  Nabu- 
liadnezar’s  I.,  in  the  Keilschriftliche  Bibliothelc,  vol.  iii.  1st  part,  pp.  172,  173.  Donations  of  the  same 
kind,  but  apparently  not  so  extensive,  are  engraved  on  stone,  and  take  us  back  to  the  time  of  Mar- 
duknadinakhe  (Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  p.  98,  et  seq.). 

1 Cf.  what  is  briefly  said  on  this  subject  on  pp.  678,  679  of  this  volume. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  Chaldsean  intaglio  in  the  British  Museum  (MenanT, 
Recherches  sur  la  Glyptique  orientate,  vol.  i.  pi.  iii.,  No,  1,  and  pp.  104,  105). 

3 The  scribe’s  name  of  “ dubshar,”  Assyriauized  into  “ tipshar,”  signifies,  properly  speaking, 
“ writer  of  tablets,”  and  the  word  passed  into  the  Hebrew  language  at  the  time  of  the  intimate  con- 
nection between  Judaea  and  Assyria,  towards  the  VIIIth  century  before  our  era.  Schrader  was  the 
first  to  give  its  real  signification  ; it  had  been  previously  translated  “military  chief,”  “captain,” 
“satrap”  (Oppert,  Expedition  en  Mdsopotam’e,  vol.  ii.  p.  361). 


724 


CH A L DA'JA  N Cl  V1L1ZA  T10N. 


of  a scribe,  nevertheless,  was  an  important  one.  We  continually  meet  with 
it  in  all  grades  of  society— in  the  palace,  in  the  temples,  in  the  store- 
houses, in  private  dwellings  ; in  fine,  the  scribe  was  ubiquitous,  at  court,  in  the 
town,  in  the  country,  in  the  army,  managing  affairs  both  small  and  great,  and 
seeing  that  they  were  carried  on  regularly.  His  education  differed  but  little 
from  that  given  to  the  Egyptian  scribe;  he  learned  the  routine  of  administra- 
tive or  judicial  affairs,  the  formularies  for  correspondence  either  with  nobles  or 
with  ordinary  people,  the  art  of  writing,  of  calculating  quickly,  and  of  making 
out  bills  correctly.  We  may  well  ask  whether  he  ever  employed  papyrus  or 
prepared  skins  for  these  purposes.  It  would,  indeed,  seem  strange  that,  after 
centuries  of  intercourse,  no  caravan  should  have  brought  into  Chaldsea  any  of 
those  materials  which  were  in  such  constant  use  for  literary  purposes  in  Africa  ; 1 
yet  the  same  clay  which  furnished  the  architect  with  such  an  abundant 
building  material  appears  to  have  been  the  only  medium  for  transmitting  the 
language  which  the  scribes  possessed.  They  were  always  provided  with  slabs 
of  a fine  plastic  clay,  carefully  mixed  and  kept  sufficiently  moist  to  take  easily 
the  impression  of  an  object,  but  at  the  same  time  sufficiently  firm  to  prevent 
the  marks  once  made  from  becoming  either  blurred  or  effaced.  When  a scribe 
had  a text  to  copy  or  a document  to  draw  up,  he  chose  out  one  of  his  slabs, 
which  he  placed  flat  upon  his  left  palm,  and  taking  in  the  right  hand  a 
triangular  stylus  of  flint,  copper,  bronze,  or  bone,2  he  at  once  set  to  work. 
The  instrument,  in  early  times,  terminated  in  a fine  point,  and  the  marks  made 
by  it  when  it  was  gently  pressed  upon  the  clay  were  slender  and  of  uniform 
thickness ; in  later  times,  the  extremity  of  the  stylus  was  cut  with  a bevel,  and 
the  impression  then  took  the  shape  of  a metal  nail  or  a wedge.  They  wrote 
from  left  to  right  along  the  upper  part  of  the  tablet,  and  covered  both  sides  of 
it  with  closely  written  lines,  which  sometimes  ran  over  on  to  the  edges.3  When 
the  writing  was  finished,  the  scribe  sent  his  work  to  the  potter,  who  put  it 
in  the  kiln  and  baked  it,  or  the  writer  may  have  had  a small  oven  at  his 


1 On  the  Assyrian  monuments  we  frequently  see  scribes  taking  a list  of  the  spoil,  or  writing 
letters  on  tablets  and  some  other  soft  material,  either  papyrus  or  prepared  skin  (cf.  Layard,  The 
Monuments  of  Nineveh,  2nd  series,  pis.  19,  26,  29,  35,  37,  etc.).  Sayce  has  given  good  reasons  for 
believing  that  the  Chaldaeans  of  the  early  dynasties  knew  of  the  papyrus,  and  either  made  it  them- 
selves, or  had  it  brought  from  Egypt  (Sayce,  The  Use  of  Papyrus  as  a writing  material  among  the 
Accadians,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society , vol.  i.  pp.  313-345). 

2 See  the  triangular  stylus  of  copper  or  bronze  reproduced  by  the  side  of  the  measuring-rule,  and 
the  plan  on  the  tablet  of  Gudea,  p.  710  of  this  volume.  The  Assyrian  Museum  in  the  Louvre 
possesses  several  large,  flat  styli  of  bone,  cut  to  a point  at  one  end,  which  appear  to  have 
belonged  to  the  Assyrian  scribes  (A.  de  Longperier,  Notice  des  Aiitiquite's  Assyriens,  3rd  edit.,  p.  82, 
Nos.  414-417;  cf.  Oppert,  Expedition  en  Me'sopotamie,  vol..  i.  p.  63).  Taylor  discovered  in  a tomb 
at  Eridu  a flint  tool,  which  may  have  served  for  the  same  purpose  as  the  metal  or  bone  styli  ( Notes 
on  Abu-Shahrein  and  Tel-el-Lahm,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  As.  Soc.,  vol.  sv.  p.  410,  and  m of  plate  ii.). 

3 Menant,  La  Bibliotheque  du  Palais  de  Ninive,  pp.  25-27. 


THE  SCRIBE  AND  THE  CLAY  BOOKS. 


7 25 


own  disposition,  as  a clerk  with  us  would  have  his  table  or  desk.  The  shape 
of  these  documents  varied,  and  sometimes  strikes  us  as  being  peculiar : besides 
the  tablets  and  the  bricks,  we  find  small  solid  cones,  or  hollow  cylinders  of 
considerable  size,  on  which  the  kings  related  their  exploits  or  recorded  the 
history  of  their  wars  or  the  dedication  of  their  buildings.  This  method  had  a 
few  inconveniences,  but  many  advantages.  These  clay  books  were  heavy  to 
hold  and  clumsy  to  handle,  while  the  characters  did  not  stand  out  well  from 
the  brown,  yellow,  and  whitish  background  of  the  material ; but,  on  the  other 
hand,  a poem,  baked  and  incorporated  into  the  page  itself,  ran  less  danger  of 
destruction  than  if  scribbled  in  ink  on  sheets  of  papyrus.  Fire  could  make  no 
impression  on  it ; it  could  withstand  water  for  a considerable  length  of  time  ; 
even  if  broken,  the  pieces  were  still  of  use : as  long  as  it  was  not  pulverized, 
the  entire  document  could  be  restored,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  a few 
signs,  or  some  scraps  of  a sentence.  The  inscriptions  which  have  been  saved 
from  the  foundations  of  the  most  ancient  temples,  several  of  which  date 
back  forty  or  fifty  centuries,  are  for  the  most  part  as  clear  and  legible  as  when 
they  left  the  hands  of  the  writer  who  engraved  them  or  of  the  workmen  who 
baked  them.  It  is  owing  to  the  material  to  which  they  were  committed  that 
we  possess  the  principal  works  of  Chaldaean  literature  which  have  come  down 
to  us — poems,  annals,  hymns,  magical  incantations;  how  few  fragments  of 
these  would  ever  have  reached  us  had  their  authors  confided  them  to  parch- 
ment or  paper,  after  the  manner  of  the  Egyptian  scribes  ! The  greatest  danger 
that  they  ran  was  that  of  being  left  forgotten  in  the  corner  of  the  chamber  in 
which  they  had  been  kept,  or  buried  under  the  rubbish  of  a building  after  a 
fire  or  some  violent  catastrophe ; even  then  the  debris  were  the  means  of 
preserving  them,  by  falling  over  them  and  covering  them  up.  Protected  under 
the  ruins,  they  would  lie  there  for  centuries,  till  the  fortunate  explorer  should 
bring  them  to  light  and  deliver  them  over  to  the  patient  study  of  the  learned.1 

The  cuneiform  character  in  itself  is  neither  picturesque  nor  decorative.  It 
does  not  offer  that  delightful  assemblage  of  birds  and  snakes,  of  men  and 
quadrupeds,  of  heads  and  limbs,  of  tools,  weapons,  stars,  trees,  and  boats, 
which  succeed  each  other  in  perplexing  order  on  the  Egyptian  monuments, 
to  give  permanence  to  the  glory  of  Pharaoh  and  the  greatness  of  his  gods, 
Cuneiform  writing  is  essentially  composed  of  thin  short  lines,  placed  in  juxta- 
position or  crossing  each  other  in  a somewhat  clumsy  fashion ; it  has  the 
appearance  of  numbers  of  nails  scattered  about  at  haphazard,  and  its  angular 

1 The  Assyrians  and  later  Babylonians  subsequently  sought  after  these  ancient  documents  in 
order  to  copy  them  afresh;  see,  for  examples  of  recopied  texts,  pp.  594,  note  1,  and  597  of  this 
volume. 


726 


C1IA  LDJEA  N Cl  VIL 1ZA  T10N. 


configuration,  and  its  stiff  and  spiny  appearance,  give  the  inscriptions  a dull 
and  forbidding  aspect  which  no  artifice  of  the  engraver  can  overcome.  Yet, 
in  spite  of  their  seemingly  arbitrary  character,  this  mass  of  strokes  had 
its  source  in  actual  hieroglyphs.1  As  in  the  origin  of  the  Egyptian  script 
the  earliest  writers  had  begun  by  drawing  on  stone  or  clay  the  outline  of  the 
object  of  which  they  desired  to  convey  the  idea.  But,  whereas  in  Egypt  the 
artistic  temperament  of  the  race,  and  the  increasing  skill  of  their  sculptors, 
had  by  degrees  brought  the  drawing  of  each  sign  to  such  perfection  that  it 
became  a miniature  portrait  of  the  being  or  object  to  be  reproduced,  in 
Chaldsea,  on  the  contrary,  the  signs  became  degraded  from  their  original  forms 
on  account  of  the  difficulty  experienced  in  copying  them  with  the  stylus  on 
the  clay  tablets : they  lost  their  original  vertical  position,  and  were  placed 
horizontally,2  retaining  finally  but  the  very  faintest  resemblance  to  the 
original  model.  For  instance,  the  Chaldsean  conception  of  the  sky  w'as  that 
of  a vault  divided  into  eight  segments  by  diameters  running  from  the  four 
cardinal  points  and  from  their  principal  subdivisions  ^ ; the  external  circle 
was  soon  omitted,  the  transverse  lines  alone  remaining  which  again  was 

simplified  into  a kind  of  irregular  cross  »-J-.3 4  The  figure  of  a man  standing, 
indicated  by  the  lines  resembling  his  contour,  was  placed  on  its  side 
and  reduced  little  by  little  till  it  came  to  be  merely  a series  of  ill-balanced 
lines  or  We  may  still  recognize  in  ijj.  |=T  the  five 

fingers  and  palm  of  a human  hand  lwj;  but  who  would  guess  at  the  first 

glance  that  stands  for  the  human  foot  K ? In  later  times  lists  were 


made,  in  which  the  scribes  strove  to  place  beside  each  character  the  special 
hieroglyph  from  which  it  had  been  derived.  Several  fragments  of  these  still 
exist,  a study  of  which  seems  to  show  that  the  Assyrian  scribes  of  a more  recent 
period  were  at  times  as  much  puzzled  as  we  are  ourselves  when  they  strove 
to  get  at  the  principles  of  their  owm  script : 5 they  had  come  to  look  on  it  as 


1 The  hieroglyphic  origin  of  the  cuneiform  characters  was  pointed  out  by  the  earlier  Assyriologists, 
and  particularly'  by  Oppert,  Expedition  seievtifique  en  Mesopotamia,  vol.  ii.  pp.  63-69. 

2 This  fact,  which  had  been  suspected  by  Oppert,  was  placed  beyond  doubt  by  the  discovery  of 
the  inscriptions  at  Lagash  (Oppert,  Die  Franzosischen  Ausgrabungen  in  Chaldxa,  in  the  Abliandlungen 
des  5tcn  Internationalen  Orientalisten-Congresses,  2ter  Theil,  i.  pp.  230-241 ; cf.  Hommel,  Die  Semitisclien 
Vollcer  und  Sprachen,  pp.  270-273,  and  GescldclUe  Bahjloniens  und  Assyrians,  pp.  35-37). 

3 This  sigu  is  generally  supposed  to  be  derived  from  that  representing  a star.  Oppert,  who  at 
first  admitted  this  derivation,  has  since  thought  that  it  was  meant  to  be  a conventional  image  of  the 
Chaldsean  heaven,  and  his  opinion  has  been  confirmed  by  an  observation  of  Jensen,  Die  KosmoJogie 
der  Babylonier,  p.  4. 

4 Hojimel,  Geschichte  Babylonians  und  Assyriens,  pp.  35,  36.  This  sign  is  taken  from  Statue  B of 
Gudea  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Ddcouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  xvi.  col.  vii.  11.  59,  61). 

5 The  fragment  which  furnishes  us  with  these  facts  has  been  noticed  and  partly  translated  by 
Oppert,  Expedition  scientifique  en  Mesopotamie,  vol.  ii.  p.  65.  It  comes  from  Kouyunjik,  and  is  pre- 
served in  the  British  Museum.  It  has  been  published  by  Menant,  Lemons  d'epigraphie  assyrienne, 


HIEROGLYPHIC  ORIGIN  OF  THE  CUNEIFORM  CHARACTER.  727 


nothing  more  than  a system  of  arbitrary  combinations,  whose  original  form  had 
passed  all  the  more  readily  into  oblivion,  because  it  had  been  borrowed  from 
a foreign  race,  who,  as  far  as  they  were  concerned,  had  ceased  to  have  a separate 
existence.  The  script  had  been  invented  by  the  Sumerians  in  the  very  earliest 
times,  and  even  they  may  have  brought  it  in  an  elemental  condition  from 
their  distant  fatherland.1  The  first  articulate  sounds  which,  being  attached 


ation,  were  words  in  the  Sumerian 

tongue;  subsequently,  when  the  natural  progress  of  human  thought  led  the 
Chaldmans  to  replace,  as  in  Egypt,  the  majority  of  the  signs  representing  ideas  by 
those  representing  sounds,  the  syllabic  values  which  were  developed  side  by 
side  with  the  ideographic  values  were  purely  Sumerian.  The  group 
throughout  all  its  forms,  designates  in  the  first  place  the  sky,  then  the  god  of 
the  sky,  and  finally  the  concept  of  divinity  in  general.  In  its  first  two  senses 
it  is  read  ana,  but  in  the  last  it  becomes  dingir,  dimir ; and  though  it  never 
lost  its  double  force,  it  was  soon  separated  from  the  ideas  which  it  evoked,  to 
be  used  merely  to  denote  the  syllable  an  wherever  it  occurred,  even  in  cases 

pp.  51,  52  ; and  since  by  W.  Houghton,  On  the  Hieroglyphic  or  Picture  Origin  of  the  Characters  of  the 
Assyrian  Syllabary,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  vi.,  plate  facing  p.  454.  Collec- 
tions of  archaic  characters,  entirely  defaced,  but  nevertheless  translated  into  the  more  recent  cuneiform, 
have  been  discovered  and  commented  on  by  Pinches,  Archaic  Forms  of  Babylonian  Characters,  in  the 
Zeitschrift  fur  Keilforschung,  vol.  ii.  pp.  149-156. 

1 The  foreign  origin  of  the  cuneiform  syllabary  was  pointed  out  for  the  first  time  by  Oppert,  Sur 
V Origine  des  Inscriptions  cundiforntes,  in  the  Alhdnxum  Franyais,  for  the  20th  of  October,  1854  ; 
Rapport  adressd  a Son  Exc.  le  Ministre  de  V Instruction  publique  et  des  Cultes,  p.  71,  et  seq.  (cf. 
Archives  des  Missions  scientifiques,  1st  series,  vol.  v.  p.  186,  et  seq.) ; Expedition  scientifique  en  Mdso- 
potamie,  vol.  i.  pp.  77-86.  Oppert  attributed  the  honour  of  its  invention  to  the  Scythians  of  the 
ancients. 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  photograph  published  by  Houghton,  On  the  Hieroglyphic  or 
Picture  Origin  of  the  Characters  of  the  Assyrian  Syllabary,  in  the  Transactions,  vol.  vi.  p.  454. 


728 


Off  A LDsEAN  Cl  VILIZA  TION. 


where  it  had  no  connection  with  the  sky  or  heavenly  things.  The  same 
process  was  applied  to  other  signs  with  similar  results:  after  having  merely 
denoted  ideas,  they  came  to  stand  for  the  sounds  corresponding  to  them,  and 
then  passed  on  to  be  mere  syllables — complex  syllables  in  which  several 
consonants  may  be  distinguished,  or  simple  syllables  composed  of  only  one 
consonant  and  one  vowel,  or  vice  versa.  The  Egyptians  had  carried  this  system 
still  further,  and  in  many  cases  had  kept  only  one  part  of  the  syllable, 
namely,  a mute  consonant : they  detached,  for  example,  the  final  u from  pu 
and  hi,  and  gave  only  the  values  b and  p to  the  human  leg  J and  the  mat  p. 
The  peoples  of  the  Euphrates  stopped  halfway,  and  admitted  actual  letters 
for  the  vowel-sounds  a,  i,  and  u only.  Their  system  remained  a syllabary 
interspersed  with  ideograms,  but  excluded  an  alphabet. 

It  was  eminently  wanting  in  simplicity,  but,  taken  as  a whole,  it  would  not 
have  presented  as  many  difficulties  as  the  script  of  the  Egyptians,  had  it  not 
been  forced,  at  a very  early  period,  to  adapt  itself  to  the  exigencies  of  a 
language  for  which  it  had  not  been  made.  When  it  came  to  be  appropriated 
by  the  Semites,  the  ideographs,  which  up  till  then  had  been  read  in  Sumerian, 
did  not  lose  the  sounds  which  they  possessed  in  that  tongue,  but  borrowed 
others  from  the  new  language.  For  example,  “ god  ” was  called  ilu,  and 
“ heaven”  called sliami:  »-7K.  ■ and  «-f-,  when  encountered  in  inscriptions  by  the 
Semites,  were  read  ilu  when  the  context  showed  the  sense  to  be  “ god,”  and 
sliami  when  the  character  evidently  meant  “ heaven.”  They  added  these 
two  vocables  to  the  preceding  ana,  an,  dingir,  dimir ; but  they  did  not  stop 
there:  they  confounded  the  picture  of  the  star  ->j<-  with  that  of  the  sky,  and 
sometimes  attributed  to  *-J-,  the  pronunciation  Jcalchabu,  and  the  meaning 

of  star.  The  same  process  was  applied  to  all  the  groups,  and  the  Semitic 
values  being  added  to  the  Sumerian,  the  scribes  soon  found  themselves  in 
possession  of  a double  set  of  syllables  both  simple  and  compound.  This 
multiplicity  of  sounds,  this  polyphonous  character  attached  to  their  signs, 
became  a cause  of  embarrassment  even  to  them.  For  instance,  *— «,  when  found 
in  the  body  of  a word,  stood  for  the  syllables  bi  or  bat,  mid,  mit,  til,  ziz  ; as  an 
ideogram  it  was  used  for  a score  of  different  concepts  : that  of  lord  or  master, 
inu,  bilu  ; that  of  blood,  damn  ; for  a corpse,  pagru,  shalamtu ; for  the  feehle  or 
oppressed,  habtu,  nagpu ; as  the  hollow  and  the  spring,  nalcbu ; for  the  state 
of  old  age,  labaru ; of  dying,  matu  ; of  killing,  mitu ; of  opening,  pitu ; besides 
other  meanings.  Several  phonetic  complements  were  added  to  it;  it  was 
preceded  by  ideograms  which  determined  the  sense  in  which  it  was  to  be 
read,  but  which,  like  the  Egyptian  determinatives,  were  not  pronounced,  and 
in  this  manner  they  succeeded  in  limiting  the  number  of  mistakes  which  it 


THE  POLYPHONOCS  CHARACTER  OF  THE  CUNEIFORM  SIGNS.  729 

was  possible  to  make.  With  a final  it  would  always  mean  > — < ^77“  bilu,  the 
master,  but  with  an  initial  •*-]-  (thus  «)  it  denoted  the  gods  Bel  or  Ea; 

with  g=^-.  which  indicates  a man  " — "•  it  would  be  the  corpse,  pagru 

and  slialamtu ; with  prefixed,  it  meant  mutanu,  the  plague  or  death, 

and  so  on.  In  spite  of  these  restrictions  and  explanations,  the  obscurity  of  the 
meaning  was  so  great,  that  in  many  cases  the  scribes  ran  the  risk  of 
being  unable  to  make  out  certain  words  and  understand  certain  passages ; 
many  of  the  values  occurred  but  rarely,  and  remained  unknown  to  those  who 
did  not  take  the  trouble  to  make  a careful  study  of  the  syllabary  and  its 
history.  It  became  necessary  to  draw  up  tables  for  their  use,  in  which  all  the 
signs  were  classified  and  arranged,  with  their  meanings  and  phonetic  tran- 
scriptions. These  signs  occupied  one  column,  and  in  three  or  four  corresponding 
columns  would  be  found,  first,  the  name  assigned  to  it ; secondly,  the  spelling, 
in  syllables,  of  the  phonetic  values  which  the  signs  expressed  ; thirdly,  the 
Sumerian  and  Assyrian  words  which  they  served  to  render,  and  sometimes 
glosses  which  completed  the  explanation.  If  it  were  desired,  for  instance, 
to  verify  the  possible  equivalents  of  the  sign  a syllabary  would  furnish — 


Ilf 

-f- 

w — y 

M!f= 

!<!«= 

-m 

4~ 

- * — 

A 

— .v.l 

4- 

SH.V  — MU  - 

— U 

hi 

- IS  — Glli 

4- 

I — 

Ll’.M 

in  which  is  interpreted  by  “heaven”  (ana  = shamu)  and  by  “god” 
(dingir  = ilum)  only,1  but  another  syllabary  would  give  the  series  more  com- 
pletely : 


Hr 

4- 

Tf 

*7^ 

4TT= 

.TETT 

Tr 

*7^ 

Mif= 

-ITT 

4- 

Tf 

*7^ 

-TTH 

It 

4- 

If 

— 

NA 

4- 

A 

NU 

— u 

I — 

LU 

4- 

A 

NU 

— U i 

Dl  — IS 

— GIR 

4- 

A — 

NU 

— u 

SHA 

A 

4- 

A 

NU 

— u 

Even  this  is  far  from  exhausting  the  matter.2  Several  of  these  dictionaries 
went  back  to  a very  early  date,  and  tradition  ascribes  to  Sargon  of  Agade  the 
merit  of  having  them  drawn  up  or  of  having  collected  them  in  his  palace. 
The  number  of  them  naturally  increased  in  the  course  of  centuries ; in  the 

1 Lenormant,  Les  Syllabaires,  p.  76  ; Delitzsch,  Assyrisclie  Lesestiiclce,  2nd  edit.,  p.  46,  col.  i.  11.  1, 2. 

2 Lenormant,  Les  Syllabaires,  pp.  113,  114;  Delitzsch,  Ass.  Lesesliidce,  p.  37,  col.  ii.  11.  14-16. 


730 


CHALDJEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


later  times  of  the  Assyrian  empire  they  were  so  numerous  as  to  form 
nearly  one-fourth  of  the  works  in  the  library  at  Nineveh  under  Assurbanipal. 
Other  tablets  contained  dictionaries  of  archaic  or  obsolete  terms,  gram- 
matical paradigms,  extracts  from  laws  or  ancient  hymns  analyzed  sentence 
by  sentence  and  often  word  by  word,  interlinear  glosses,  collections  of 
Sumerian  formulas  translated  into  Semitic  speech — a child’s  guide,  in  fact, 
which  the  savants  of  those  times  consulted  with  as  much  advantage  as  those 
of  our  own  day  have  done,  and  which  must  have  saved  them  from  many 
a blunder.1 

When  once  accustomed  to  the  difficulties  and  intricacies  of  their  calling, 
the  scribes  were  never  at  a standstill.  The  stylus  was  plied  in  Chaldsea  no  less 
assiduously  than  was  the  calamus  in  Egypt,  and  the  indestructible  clay,  which 
the  Chaldmans  were  as  a rule  content  to  use,  proved  a better  medium  in  the 
long  run  than  the  more  refined  material  employed  by  their  rivals  : the  baked  or 
merely  dried  clay  tablets  have  withstood  the  assaults  of  time  in  surprising 
quantities,  while  the  majority  of  papyri  have  disappeared  without  leaving  a trace 
behind.  If  at  Babylon  we  rarely  meet  with  those  representations,  which  we  find 
everywhere  in  the  tombs  of  Saqqara  or  Gizeh,  of  the  people  themselves  and 
their  families,  their  occupations,  amusements,  and  daily  intercourse,  we  possess, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  of  which  the  ruins  of  Memphis  have  furnished  us  but 
scanty  instances  up  to  the  present  time,  namely,  judicial  documents,  regulating 
the  mutual  relations  of  the  people  and  conferring  a legal  sanction  on  the  various 
events  of  their  life.  Whether  it  were  a question  of  buying  lands  or  contracting 
a marriage,  of  a loan  on  interest,  or  the  sale  of  slaves,  the  scribe  was  called  in 
with  his  soft  tablets  to  engross  the  necessary  agreement.  In  this  he  would  insert 
as  many  details  as  possible — the  day  of  the  month,  the  year  of  the  reigning 
sovereign,  and  at  times,  to  be  still  more  precise,  an  allusion  to  some  important 
event  which  had  just  taken  place,  and  a memorial  of  which  was  inserted  in 
official  annals,  such  as  the  taking  of  a town,2  the  defeat  of  a neighbouring  king,3 

1 The  expression  “ child’s  guide  ” was  applied  to  the  grammatical  and  lexicographical  tablets  of 
the  Assyrian  libraries  for  the  first  time  by  Fit.  Lenormant,  Essai  sur  la  propagation  de  V Alphabet 
phenicien,  vol.  i.  p.  48.  These  texts  have  formed  the  subject  matter  of  an  immense  number  of  publi- 
cations and  detailed  memoirs,  of  which  an  almost  complete  bibliography  up  to  1886  will  be  found  in 
Bezold,  Kurzgefasster  Veberblielc  iiber  die  Babylonisch-Assyrisclie  Literatur,  p.  197,  et  seq.  Since  that 
time  the  number  of  works  has  been  considerably  augmented. 

2 Contract  of  “ the  year  of  the  taking  of  Ishin  ” (Meissner,  Beitrdge  zum  alt  babylonisclien  Privat- 
recht,  p.  33)  ; another  of  the  “ 6th  Shebat  of  the  year  in  which  the  wall  of  Mair  was  destroyed  ” 
(Id.,  ibid.,  p.  85). 

3 Contract  dated  “the  10th  Kislev  of  the  year  in  which  the  King  Rirnsin  smote  the  wicked, 
his  enemies”  (Meissner,  Beitrdge  zum  altbabylonisclien  Pricatreclit,  p.  17);  another  which  was  sealed 
on  the  date  “ of  the  23rd  Shebat  of  the  year  in  which  the  King  Khammurabi,  in  the  strength  of  Anu 
and  Bel,  established  his  right,  and  in  which  his  hand  struck  to  the  ground  the  ruler  of  the  country 
of  Iamutbal,  the  King  Rirnsin”  (Jensen,  Inschriften  aus  den  Regierungszeit  Hammurabi s,  in  the 
Eeilschriftlische  Bibliotlicl:,  vol.  iii.  1st  part,  pp.  126,  127). 


THE  DRAWING  UP  OF  CONTRACTS,  THE  SEAL. 


731 


the  dedication  of  a temple,1  the  building  of  a wall  or  fortress,2  the  opening 
of  a canal,3  or  the  ravages  of  an  inundation : 4 the  names  of  the  witnesses  and 
magistrates  be 'ore  whom  the  act  was  confirmed  were  also  added  to  those  of  the 
contracting  parties.5  The  method  of  sanctioning  it  was  curious.  An  indentation 
was  made  with  the  finger-nail  on  one  of  the  sides  of  the  tablet,  and  this  mark, 
followed  or  preceded  by  the  mention  of  a name,  “ Nail  of  Zabudamik,”  “ Nail 
of  Abzii,”  took  the  place  of  our  more  or  less  complicated  sign-manuals.0  In 
later  times,  only  the  buyer  and  witnesses  approved  by  a nail-mark,  while  the 
seller  appended  his  seal ; an  inscription  incised  above  the  impress  indicating 
the  position  of  the  signatory.7  Every  one  of  any  importance  possessed  a seal,8 
which  he  wore  attached  to  his  wrist  or  hung  round  his  neck  by  a cord ; he 
scarcely  ever  allowed  it  to  be  separated  from  his  person  during  his  lifetime, 
and  after  death  it  was  placed  with  him  in  the  tomb  in  order  to  prevent  any 
improper  use  being  made  of  it.9  It  was  usually  a cylinder,  sometimes  a 
truncated  cone  with  a convex  base,  either  of  marble,  red  or  green  jasper,  agate, 
cornelian,  onyx  or  rock  crystal,  but  rarely  of  metal.  Engraved  upon  it  in 
intaglio  was  an  emblem  or  subject  chosen  by  the  owner,  such  as  the  single 
figure  of  a god  or  goddess,  an  act  of  adoration,  a sacrifice,  or  an  episode  in  the 
story  of  Gilgames,  followed  sometimes  by  the  inscription  of  a name  and  title.10 

1 Contract  dated  in  the  “month  of  Adar  in  which  Khammurabi  restored  for  Ishtar  and  Nana  the 
temple  of  Eiturkalama  ” (Meissner,  Beitrdge  zum  altbabylonischen  Privatrecht,  pp.  88,  89). 

3 Contract  of  the  “ 10th  Mareheswan  of  the  year  in  which  Ammiditana,  the  king,  raised  the  wall  of 
Ammiditana,  near  to  the  canal  of  Sin  . . .’’(Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  p.  27,  cf.  p.  28);  another  of  “the  2nd 
Mareheswan,  the  year  of  the  restoration  of  the  foundations  of  the  wall  of  Sippara  ” (Id.,  ibid.,  p 32). 

3 Contract  of  “ the  year  of  the  canal  of  Khammurabi  ” (Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  p.  23,  cf.  pp.  48, 80)  ; 
again  “ of  the  year  of  the  canal  Tutu-khegal  ” (Id.,  ibid.,  pp.  24,  25,  112,  83,  84) ; another  of  “ the  year 
in  which  they  dug  for  the  Tigris,  the  river  of  the  gods,  a bed  towards  the  Ocean  ” (Id.,  ibid.,  p.  44). 

1 Contract  dated  in  the  “month  of  Tishri  in  the  year  in  which  the  flood  ravaged  the  country  of 
Umliyash”  (Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  p.  30,  cf.  pp.  48,  69). 

3 These  contracts,  and  all  the  legal  texts  in  general,  remained  for  a long  time  a sealed  book  for 
savants.  Oppert  was  the  first  to  attack  them  resolutely  in  spite  of  their  difficulties,  and  he  gave 
tentative  translations  of  some  of  them  ( Un  trait d babylonien  sur  brique  consent  dans  la  collection  de 
N.  Louis  de  Clercq,  in  the  Revue  Archdologique,  2nd  series,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  164-177  ; Les  Inscriptions 
commerciales  en  caracteres  cundiformes,  in  the  Revue  Orientate  et  Americaine,  vol.  vi.  p.  333,  et  seq  , 
etc.)  ; he  published  a great  number  in  collaboration  with  Me'nant  ( Les  Documents juridiques,  etc.,  1877). 
Since  then  he  has  devoted  a large  number  of  notes  and  small  memoirs  to  the  explanation  and  correction 
of  points  which  he  had  left  doubtful  in  his  earlier  translations  ( Records  of  the  Past,  1st  series,  vol.  ix.  pp. 
89-108;  Journ.  As/at.,  1880,  vol.  xv.  p.  543,  etc.).  The  publication  of  the  contracts  by  Dr.  Strassmayer 
has  largely  helped  us  to  understand  these  precious  documents  more  fully  ; the  results  deduced  from 
them  up  to  the  present  time  have  been  systematised  in  Germany  principally  by  Peiser  and  Meissner. 

6 The  meaning  of  this  local  custom,  and  the  reading  of  the  word  signifying  finger-nail,  were  dis- 
covered by  Coxe  of  the  British  Museum  (Oppert,  Un  traitd  babylonien  sur  brique,  p.  16). 

7 The  technical  and  archaeological  questions  relating  to  these  seals  have  been  elucidated  by 
Me'nant  in  several  memoirs,  which  he  has  finally  completed  and  incorporated  in  bis  great  work  on 
Les  Pierres  Gravdes  de  la  Idaute-Asie  : Reclierches  sur  la  Ghyptique  Orientate,  2 vols.,  1883-86. 

8 PIerodotus,  i.  195  ; o-tppn  y?Sa  Sf  Hkckttos  exel-  for  the  expressions  used  on  the  application  of  the 
seal,  see  a passage  in  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  pp.  67-70. 

9 Taylor  found  at  Mugheir  a skeleton  having  his  seal  still  attached  to  his  wrist  ( Notes  on  the  Ruins 
of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  p.  270).  For  the  manner  of  wearing  the  seal,  cf. 
M i'nant,  Catalogue  des  Cylinders  Orientaux  du  Cabinet  royal  des  Mddailles  de  la  Ila ye,  pp.  3,  4. 

10  The  impressions  left  by  the  cylinders  and  seals  on  the  cuneiform  tablets  have  beeu  collected 


OH  A L T)JEA  N Cl  VILIZA  TION. 


7 32 

The  cylinder  was  rolled,  or,  in  the  case  of  the  cone,  merely  pressed  on  the  clay, 
in  the  space  reserved  for  it.  In  several  localities 1 the  contracting  parties  had 
recourse  to  a very  ingenious  procedure  to  prevent  the  agreements  being 
altered  or  added  to  by  unscrupulous  persons.  When  the  document  had  been 
impressed  on  the  tablet,  it  was  enveloped  in  a second  coating  of  clay,  upon 
which  an  exact  copy  of  the  original  was  made,  the  latter  thus  becoming 
inaccessible  to  forgers  : if  by  chance,  in  course  of  time,  any  disagreement 


THK  TABLET  OF  TELL-SIFR,  BROKEN  TO  SHOW  THE  TWO  TEXTS.2 


should  take  place,  and  an  alteration  of  the  visible  text  should  be  suspected, 
the  outer  envelope  was  broken  in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  and  a comparison 
was  made  to  see  if  the  exterior  corresponded  exactly  with  the  interior  version. 
Families  thus  had  their  private  archives,  to  which  additions  were  rapidly  made 
by  every  generation  ; every  household  thus  accumulated  not  only  the  evidences 
of  its  own  history,  but  to  some  extent  that  of  other  families  with  whom  they 
had  formed  alliances,  or  had  business  or  friendly  relations.3 

The  constitution  of  the  family  was  of  a complex  character.  It  would 
appear  that  the  people  of  each  city  were  divided  into  clans,  all  of  whose 
members  claimed  to  be  descended  from  a common  ancestor,  who  had  flourished 
at  a more  or  less  remote  period.4  The  members  of  each  clan  were  by  no  means 

and  made  a special  study  of  by  Menant,  Empreintes  cle  cachets  assyro-chalddens  relevd's  au  Mase'e 
Britannique  sur  des  contrats  d’intdret  jrrird,  in  the  Archives  des  Missions  scientifiques,  3rd  series,  vol.  ix. 

1 For  example,  at  Tell-Sifr,  Loftos,  Travels  and  Researches,  etc. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches,  etc.,  p.  269. 

3 The  tablets  of  Tell-Sifr  come  from  one  of  these  family  collections.  They  all,  in  number  about 
one  hundred,  rested  on  three  enormous  bricks,  and  they  had  been  covered  with  a mat  of  which  the 
half-decayed  remains  were  still  visible : three  other  crude  bricks  covered  the  heap  (Loftcs,  Travels 
and  Researches,  etc.,  p.  268,  et  seq.).  The  documents  contained  in  them  relate  for  the  most  part  to 
the  families  of  Sininana  and  Amililani,  and  form  part  of  their  archives. 

4 The  most  celebrated  of  these  families,  under  the  New  Chaldsean  Empire  and  the  Persian 
Dominion,  appears  to  have  been  that  of  Egibi,  in  whom  Mr.  Boscawen  wishes  to  recognize  an  agency 
for  financial  affairs,  and  a bank  carrying  on  business  under  the  name  of  Egibi  and  Sons  ( Babylonian 


THE  PLACE  OF  THE  WOMAN  IN  THE  FAMILY. 


733 


all  in  the  same  social  position,  some  having  gone  down  in  the  world,  others 
having  raised  themselves ; 
and  amongst  them  we  find 
many  different  callings — 
from  agricultural  labourers 
to  scribes,  and  from  mer- 
chants to  artisans.  No 
mutual  tie  existed  among 
the  majority  of  these  mem- 
bers except  the  remem- 
brance of  their  common 
origin,  perhaps  also  a com- 
mon religion,  and  eventual 
rights  of  succession  or 
claims  upon  what  belonged 
to  each  one  individually.1 
The  branches  which  had 
become  gradually  separated 
from  the  parent  stock,  and 
which,  taken  all  together, 
formed  the  clan,  possessed 
each,  on  the  contrary,  a very 
strict  organization.  It  is 
possible  that,  at  the  outset, 
the  woman  occupied  the 
more  important  position, 

A TABLET  BEARING  THE  IMPRESS  OF  A SEAL,’ 

but  at  an  early  date  the 

man  became  the  head  of  the  family,3  and  around  him  were  ranged  the  wives, 


dated  Tablets  and  the  Canon  of  Ptolemy,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soe.,  vol.  vi.  p.  6).  M. 
Oppert  was  the  first  to  show  that  the  people  in  question  were  a tribe,  an  actual  elan,  and  indicated 
the  division  of  the  Chaldrcan  population  into  clans  ( Les  Tablettes  juridiques  de  Babylone,  in  the 
Journal  Asiatique,  1880,  vol.  xv.  p.  513,  et  seq.,  and  the  Condition  des  esclaves  a Babylone,  in  the 
Comptes  rendus  de  VAcad.  des  Insc , 1888,  pp.  120,  121).  This  system  of  division  appears  to  date 
back  to  the  most  ancient  times,  in  spite  of  our  having  found  up  to  the  present  time  but  few  traces  of 
it  on  the  monuments  of  the  First  Chaldeean  Empire.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  allusion  was  made 
to  it  in  passages  analogous  to  that  in  which  Gudea  is  proclaimed  to  be  the  faithful  shepherd,  whose 
power  Ningirsu  has  established  among  the  tribes  of  men  ( Statue  D in  the  Louvre,  col.  iii.  11.  10,  11, 
in  Heuzey-Sarzec,  De'couvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  16);  but  the  translation  of  this  text  is  not  quite  certain. 

1 OrrERT,  Les  Tablettes  juridiques  de  Babylone,  in  the  Journal  Asiatique,  1880,  vol.  xv.  p.  540, 
note  7 ; and  Vn  Acte  de  rente  consent? en  deux  exemplaires,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Keilforschung,  vol.  iii. 
pp.  61,  62.  It  is  a question  whether  the  god  and  goddess  who  watched  over  each  man,  and  of  whom 
he  was  the  son  (cf.  pji.  682, 683  of  the  present  work),  were  not  originally  the  god  and  goddess  of  the  clau. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Layard,  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  p.  609. 

3 The  change  in  the  condition  of  women  would  be  due  to  the  influence  of  Semitic  ideas  and 
customs  in  Chakkea  (Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Viilher  und  Sprachc,  pp.  416-418  ; Pinches,  Notes  upon 


734 


CUALDAIAN  civilization. 


children,  servants,  and  slaves,  all  of  whom  had  their  various  duties  and  privi- 
leges. He  offered  the  household  worship  to  the  gods  of  his  race,  in  accordance 
with  special  rites  which  had  come  down  to  him  from  his  father;  he  made  at 
the  tombs  of  his  ancestors,  at  such  times  as  were  customary,  the  offerings  and 
prayers  which  assured  their  repose  in  the  other  world,  and  his  powers  were  as 
extensive  in  civil  as  in  religious  matters.1  He  had  absolute  authority  over  all 
the  members  of  his  household,  and  anything  undertaken  by  them  without  his 
consent  was  held  invalid  in  the  eyes  of  the  law ; his  sons  could  not  marry 
unless  he  had  duly  authorized  them  to  do  so.  For  this  purpose  he  appeared 
before  the  magistrate  with  the  future  couple,  and  the  projected  union  could 
not  be  held  as  an  actual  marriage,  until  he  had  affixed  his  seal  or  made  his 
nail-mark  on  the  contract  tablet.2  It  amounted,  in  fact,  to  a formal  deed  of 
sale,  and  the  parents  of  the  girl  parted  with  her  only  in  exchange  for  a 
proportionate  gift  from  the  bridegroom.3  One  girl  would  be  valued  at  a 
silver  shekel  by  weight,  while  another  was  worth  a mina,  another  much  less ; 4 
the  handing  over  of  the  price  was  accompanied  with  a certain  solemnity.5 
When  the  young  man  possessed  no  property  as  yet  of  his  own,  his  family 
advanced  him  the  sum  needed  for  the  purchase.6  On  her  side,  the  maiden 
did  not  enter  upon  her  new  life  empty  handed ; her  father,  or,  in  the  case  of 
his  death,  the  head  of  the  family  at  the  time  being,  provided  her  with  a 
dowry  suited  to  her  social  position,  which  was  often  augmented  by  con- 
siderable presents  from  her  grandmother,  aunts,  and  cousins.7  The  dowry 

some  Recent  Discoveries  in  the  Realm  of  Assyriology,  with  special  Reference  to  the  Private  Life  of  the 
Babylonians,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Victoria  Institute , vol.  xxvi.  pp.  138,  139,  181). 

1 The  unlimited  authority  with  which  the  father  of  the  family  was  invested,  has  been  admitted, 
at  least  with  regard  to  the  period  of  early  Chaldaean  history,  by  all  Assyriologists ; cf.  Oppert,  in  the 
Gdttingische  gelehrte  Anzeiger,  1879,  pp.  1604-1606  ; Hommel,  Die  Semitischen  Volker  und  Sprachen, 
p 416;  Meissner,  Beitrdge  zum  altbabylonischen  Privatrecht,  pp.  14,  15. 

2 Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  p.  13.  This  right  remained  unaltered  down  to  the  latest  times,  and 
we  possess  a document  of  the  VIIIth  year  of  Cyrus  (Strassjiayer,  Inschriften  von  Cyrus,  Konig  von 
Babylon,  No.  312),  where  the  judge  annuls  a marriage  which  had  been  celebrated  without  the  consent 
of  the  bridegroom’s  father  (Kohler-Peiser,  Aus  dem  Babylonischen  Rechtsleben,  vol.  ii.  pp.  6-10). 
The  necessity  for  the  bridegroom’s  obtaining  the  paternal  consent  is  also  indicated  in  the  fragments 
of  Sumerian  legal  texts,  translated  into  Assyrian,  which  have  been  published  by  Rawlinson,  Cun- 
Ins.  TV.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  9,  col.  iv.  1.  4,  et  seq.  (cf.  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  p.  44). 

3 Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  pp.  13,  14. 

4 Shamashnazir  receives,  as  the  price  of  his  daughter,  ten  shekels  of  silver  (Meissner,  Beitrdge, 
etc.,  pp.  69,  70),  which  appears  to  have  been  an  average  price  in  the  class  of  life  to  which  he  belonged. 

5 A passage  in  the  old  Sumerian  texts  relating  to  marriage  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  v. 
pi.  24,  11.  48-52)  seems  to  say  expressly  that  the  bridegroom  “placed  the  price  of  the  woman  upon 
a dish  and  brought  it  to  the  father  ” (Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  p.  14,  note  3). 

6 Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  p.  14. 

7 The  nature  of  the  dowry  in  ancient  times  is  clear  from  the  Sumero- Assyrian  tablets  in  which 
the  old  legal  texts  are  explained  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  9,  col.  iii.  11.  5-8),  and 
again  from  the  contents  of  the  contracts  of  Tell-Sifr,  and  the  documents  on  stone,  such  as  the  Michaux 
stone  (Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  p.  85,  et  seq.),  in  which  we  see  women 
bringing  their  possessions  into  the  community  by  marriage,  and  yet  retaining  the  entire  disposition  of 
them.  For  questions  relating  to  the  nature  of  the  dowry  among  the  Chaldseans  of  later  periods,  cf. 
Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  p.  85,  et  seq.  ; E.  and  V.  Revillout,  Les  Obligations  en 


THE  MARRIAGE  CONTRACT  AND  CEREMONIES. 


735 


would  consist  of  a carefully  marked  out  field  of  corn,  a grove  of  date-palms, 
a house  in  the  town,  a trousseau,  furniture,  slaves,  or  ready  money  ; the  whole 
would  be  committed  to  clay,  of  which  there  would  be  three  copies  at  least, 
two  being  given  by  the  scribe  to  the  contracting  parties,  while  the  third 
would  be  deposited  in  the  hands  of  the  magistrate.1  When  the  bride  and 
bridegroom  both  belonged  to  the  same  class,  or  were  possessed  of  equal 
fortunes,  the  relatives  of  the  woman  could  exact  an  oath  from  the  man  that 
he  would  abstain  from  taking  a second  wife  during  her  lifetime;  a special 
article  of  the  marriage  agreement  permitted  the  woman  to  go  free  should 
the  husband  break  his  faith,  and  bound  him  to  pay  an  indemnity  as  a com- 
pensation for  the  insult  he  had  offered  her.2  This  engagement  on  the  part 
of  the  man,  however,  did  not  affect  his  relations  with  his  female  servants. 
In  Chaldsea,  as  in  Egypt,  and  indeed  in  the  whole  of  the  ancient  world, 
they  were  always  completely  at  the  mercy  of  their  purchaser,3  and  the  per- 
mission to  treat  them  as  he  would  had  become  so  much  of  a custom  that 
the  begetting  of  children  by  their  master  was  desired  rather  than  other- 
wise : the  complaints  of  the  despised  slave,  who  had  not  been  taken  into 
her  master’s  favour,  formed  one  of  the  themes  of  popular  poetry  at  a very 
early  period.4  When  the  contract  tablet  was  finally  sealed,  one  of  the 
witnesses,  who  was  required  to  be  a free  man,  joined  the  hands  of  the  young 
couple;5  nothing  then  remained  to  be  done  but  to  invite  the  blessing  of 
the  gods,  and  to  end  the  day  by  a feast,  which  would  unite  both  families 

droit  Jgyptien,  p.  329,  et  seq. ; Kohler-Peiser,  Aus  dem  Babylonischen  Rechtsleben,  vol.  ii.  pp.  10-15, 
which  give  us  an  idea  of  the  difficulties  caused  by  the  payment  of  the  dowry  in  instalments,  and  of 
restoring  it  in  cases  of  divorce. 

1 In  more  modern  times,  notices  inscribed  on  several  tablets  prove  that  the  two  parties  received 
each  a copy  (Peiser,  Babylonischen  Vertrage  des  Berlinen  Museums,  pp.  156,  157,  291).  We  possess 
three  copies  of  the  same  deed  of  sale  in  the  museums  of  Europe— for  example,  in  the  British  Museum 
and  the  Louvre ; of  others  we  possess  but  two  copies  (Bezold,  Kurzgefasster  Ueberblich  iiber  die  Bciby- 
lonisch-Assyrische  Literatur,  pp.  154,  155  ; Strassmayer,  Die  Babylonischen  Inschriften  im  Museum  zu 
Liverpool,  in  the  Actes  du  Ve  Congres  International  des  Orientalistes  a Leyde,  2nd  part,  sect.  1,  p.  580, 
No.  67,  p.  583,  No.  89). 

2 The  existence  of  this  clause  is  known  of  at  present  in  the  times  of  the  New  Chaldoean  Empire, 
and  perhaps  is  applicable  to  a marriage  with  a woman^f  inferior  position  to  that  of  the  man  (Peiser, 
Studien  zum  Babylonischen  Rechtswesen,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  pp.  78-80  ; Kohler- 
Peiser,  Aus  dem  Babyl.  Rechtsleben,  vol.  i.  p.  7 ; Oppert,  Les  Documents  juridiques  cune'iformes,  in  the 
Zeitschrift  fur  Assyr.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  182,  183,  and  Jugement  approbatif  d’un  contrat,  in  the  Journal 
Asiatique,  1886,  vol.  viii.  pp.  555,  556  ; Boissier,  Recherches  sur  quelques  contrats  babyloniens,  pp.  40,  42). 

3 The  care  which  was  taken,  in  the  Achemenian  contracts,  in  cases  where  a slave  was  hired  or 
given  as  a security,  to  forbid  the  hirer  or  the  creditor  using  her  improperly,  shows  that  the  right  of 
the  master  over  the  female  slave  remained  absolute  down  to  the  latest  periods. 

4 This  Sumero- Assyrian  text,  published  in  Rawlinson’s  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  35,  No.  4, 
P.  61-76,  and  previously  translated  by  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  pp.  64-67,  has 
been  completely  elucidated  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  168,  169.  The  slave 
thus  disdained  might  in  time  become  a malevolent  being,  against  whom  precautions  were  taken  by 
magical  conjurations  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  77,  78). 

5 Oppert,  Les  Inscriptions  juridiques,  etc.,  in  the  Actes  du  VIIC  Congres  International  des  Orien- 
talistes, tenua  Vienne,  2nd  sect.,  pp.  178,  179,  181  ; the  custom  to  which  the  document  pointed  out  by 
Oppert  alludes,  goes  back  to  the  very  earliest  times. 


CIIALDAEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


73G 

aud  their  guests.  The  evil  spirits,  however,  always  in  quest  of  an  easy  prey, 
were  liable  to  find  their  way  into  the  nuptial  chamber,  favoured  by  the 
confusion  inseparable  from  all  household  rejoicing:  prudence  demanded  that 
their  attempts  should  be  frustrated,  and  that  the  newly  married  couple  should 
be  protected  from  their  attacks.  The  companions  of  the  bridegroom  took 
possession  of  him,  and,  hand  to  hand  and  foot  to  foot,  formed  as  it  were  a 
rampart  round  him  with  their  bodies,  and  carried  him  off  solemnly  to  his 
expectant  bride.  He  then  again  repeated  the  words  which  he  had  said  in 
the  morning  : “ I am  the  son  of  a prince,  gold  and  silver  shall  fill  thy  bosom  ; 
thou,  even  thou  shalt  be  my  wife,  I myself  will  be  thy  husband ; ” and  he 
continued:  “As  the  fruits  borne  by  an  orchard,  so  great  shall  be  the 
abundance  which  I shall  pour  out  upon  this  woman.”1  The  priest  then 
called  down  upon  him  benedictions  from  on  high  : “ Therefore,  0 ye  (gods), 
all  that  is  bad  and  that  is  not  good  in  this  man,  drive  it  far  from  him  and 
give  him  strength.  As  for  thee,  0 man,  exhibit  thy  manhood,  that  this  woman 
may  be  thy  wife ; thou,  0 woman,  give  that  which  makes  thy  womanhood, 
that  this  man  may  be  thy  husband.”  On  the  following  morning,  a thanks- 
giving sacrifice  celebrated  the  completion  of  the  marriage,  and  by  purifying 
the  new  household  drove  from  it  the  host  of  evil  spirits.2 

The  woman,  once  bound,  could  only  escape  from  the  sovereign  power  of 
her  husband  by  death  or  divorce ; but  divorce  for  her  was  rather  a trial  to 
which  she  submitted  than  a right  of  which  she  could  freely  make  use.  Her 
husband  could  repudiate  her  at  will  without  any  complicated  ceremonies. 
It  was  enough  for  him  to  say : “ Thou  art  not  my  wife  ! ” and  to  restore  to 
her  a sum  of  money  equalling  in  value  the  dowry  he  had  received  with  her  ; 3 
he  then  sent  her  back  to  her  father,  with  a letter  informing  him  of  the 

1 This  part  of  the  ceremony  is  described  on  a Sumero- Assyrian  tablet,  of  which  two  copies  exist, 
discovered  and  translated  by  Pinches,  Notes  upon  some  of  the  Becent  Discoveries  in  the  Realm  of 
Assyriology,  with  special  Reference  to  the  Private  Life  of  the  Babylonians,  in  the  Journal  of  Transactions 
of  the  Victoria  Institute,  vol.  xxvi.  pp.  143,  145,  159,  160,  169,  170.  The  interpretation  appears  to  me 
to  result  from  the  fact  that  mention  is  made,  at  the  commencement  of  the  column,  of  impious  beings 
without  gods,  who  might  approach  the  man  *in  other  places  magical  exorcisms  indicate  how  much 
those  spirits  were  dreaded  “who  deprived  the  bride  of  the  embraces  of  the  man  ” (Fr.  Lenorsiant, 
Ntud.es  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  79,  80).  As  Pinches  remarks  {op.  cit.,  pp.  144,  145),  the  formula  is 
also  found  in  the  part  of  the  poem  of  Gilgames,  where  Ishtar  wishes  to  marry  the  hero  (ef.  p.  580  of 
this  volume),  which  shows  that  the  rite  and  its  accompanying  words  belong  to  a remote  past. 

2 The  text  that  describes  these  ceremonies  was  discovered  and  published  by  Pinches,  Glimpses  of 
Babylonian  and  Assyrian  Life,  III.  A Babylonian  Wedding  Ceremony,  in  The  Babylonian  and  Oriental 
Record,  vol.  i.  pp.  145-147.  As  far  as  I can  judge,  it  contained  an  exorcism  against  the  “knotting 
of  the  tag,”  and  the  mention  of  this  subject  called  up  that  of  the  marriage  rites.  The  ceremony 
commanded  on  the  day  following  the  marriage  was  probably  a purification : as  late  as  the  time  of 
Herodotus,  the  union  of  man  and  woman  rendered  both  impure,  and  they  had  to  perform  an  ablution 
before  recommencing  their  occupations  (i.  198). 

3 The  sum  is  fixed  at  half  a mina  by  the  text  of  the  Sumerian  laws  (Kawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As  , 
vol.  v.  pi.  25, 1.  12);  but  it  was  sometimes  less,  e.g.  ten  shekels,  and  sometimes  more,  e.g.  a whole 
miua  (Meissner,  Beitrdye  zum  altbdbylonischen  Privatrecht,  p.  149). 


DIVORCE — THE  RIGHTS  OF  WEALTHY  WOMEN. 


737 


dissolution  of  the  conjugal  tie.1  But  if  in  a moment  of  weariness  or  anger 
she  hurled  the  fatal  formula  at  him  : “ Thou  art  not  my  husband  ! ” her  fate 
was  sealed  : she  was  thrown  into  the  river  and  drowned.2  The  adulteress 
was  also  punished  with  death,  but  with  death  by  the  sword  ; and  when  the 
use  of  iron  became  widespread,  the  blade  was  to  be  of  that  metal.3  Another 
ancient  custom  only  spared  the  criminal  to  devote  her  to  a life  of  infamy: 
the  outraged  husband  stripped  her  of  her  fleecy  garment,  giving  her  merely 
the  loin-cloth  in  its  place,  which  left  her  half  naked,  and  then  turned  her 
out  of  the  house  into  the  street,  where  she  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  first  passer- 
by.4 Women  of  noble  or  wealthy  families  found  in  their  fortune  a certain 
protection  from  the  abuse  of  marital  authority.  The  property  which  they 
brought  with  them  by  their  marriage  contract,  remained  at  their  own  disposal.5 
They  had  the  entire  management  of  it,  they  farmed  it  out,  they  sold  it,  they 
spent  the  income  from  it  as  they  liked,  without  interference  from  any  one  : 

1 Repudiation  of  a wife,  and  the  ceremonial  connected  with  it,  are  summarized,  as  far  as  ancient 
times  are  concerned,  by  a passage  in  the  Sumero-Assyrian  tablet,  published  by  Raweinson,  Cun.  Ins. 
W.  As.,  vol.  v.  pis.  24,  25,  who  follows  Lenormant,  Clioix  de  textes  cuntiformes,  p.  35,  11.  47-52,  and 
translated  by  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  p.  54.  Bertin  ( Akkadian  Precepts  for  the 
Conduct  of  Man  in  his  Private  Life,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bill.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  viii.  pp.  236,  237, 
252,  253),  on  the  contrary,  takes  the  same  text  to  be  a description  of  the  principal  marriage-rites, 
and  from  it  he  draws  the  conclusion  that  the  possibility  of  divorce  was  not  admitted  in  Chaldsea 
between  persons  of  noble  family.  Meissner  ( Beitrage , etc.,  p.  14)  very  rightly  returns  to  Oppert’s 
interpretation,  a few  details  in  which  he  corrects. 

2 This  fact  was  evident  trom  the  text  of  the  so-called  Sumerian  Laws  concerning  the  Organization 
of  the  Family  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  10,  col.  i.  11.  1-7 ; cf.  vol.  v.  pi.  25,  col.  i.), 
according  to  the  generally  received  interpretation : according  to  that  proposed  by  Oppert-Menant, 
Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  pp.  57,  58,  60-62,  it  was  the  woman  who  had  the  right  of  causing  the 
husband  who  had  wronged  her  to  be  thrown  into  the  river  (cf.  Oppert,  in  the  Gottingisclie  Gelelirte 
Anzeigen,  1879,  p.  1610).  The  publication  of  the  contracts  of  lltani  and  of  Bashtum  appear  to  have 
shown  conclusively  the  correctness  of  the  ordinary  translation  (Meissner,  Beitrage,  etc.,  pp.  70-72)  : 
uncertainty  with  regard  to  one  word  prevents  us  from  knowing  whether  the  guilty  wife  were  strangled 
before  being  thrown  into  the  water,  or  if  she  were  committed  to  the  river  alive. 

3 Oppert,  Jugement  approbatif  d'un  contrat,  in  the  Journal  Asialique,  1886,  vol.  vii.  p.  556,  aud  Les 
Documents  juridiques  cundiformes,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  p.  183.  Perhaps  the  mention 
of  the  iron  sword  is  introduced  to  show  that  the  woman  was  beheaded,  and  did  not  have  her  throat  cut. 

4 This  is  indicated  by  the  Sumero-Assyrian  tablet,  in  which  are  given  the  expressions  relating  to 
things  concerning  marriage  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  10,  col.  ii.  11.  1-21;  and  Lenor- 
hant,  Choix  de  textes  cundiformes,  pp.  35,  36):  the  passage  has  been  translated  by  Oppert-Menant, 
Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  pp.  55,  56,  with  some  corrections  by  Oppert,  in  the  Gottingisclie  Gelelirte 
Anzeiger,  1879,  pp.  1613,  1614.  Here,  again,  Bertin  ( Akkadian  Precepts,  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  viii.  pp.  237-240,  252,  253)  believes  that  it  treats  of  marriage  and  of  the  education 
to  be  given  to  the  eldest  son,  and  that  it  is  a question  of  repudiation  or  divorce. 

5 Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  p.  14.  In  the  documents  of  the  New  Chaldaean  Empire  we  find  instances 
of  married  women  selling  their  property  themselves,  and  even  of  their  being  present,  seated,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  sale  (Oppert,  Un  Acte  de  rente  conserve  en  deux  exemplaires,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Keil- 
forscliung,  vol.  i.  pp.  52,  53),  or  of  their  ceding  to  a married  daughter  some  property  in  their  own 
possession,  thus  renouncing  the  power  of  disposing  of  it,  and  keeping  merely  the  income  from  it 
(Oppert,  Liberty  de  la  femme  a Babylone,  in  the  Revue  d’ Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  89,  90)  ; we  have  also 
instances  of  women  reclaiming  valuables  of  gold  which  their  husbands  had  given  away  without  their 
authorisation,  and  also  obtaining  an  indemnity  for  the  wrong  they  had  suffered  (Peiser,  Babylonische 
Verlrage  des  Berliner  Museums,  pp.  12-15,  230,  231);  also  of  their  lending  money  to  the  mother-in- 
law  of  their  brother  (Peiser,  Babylonische  Vertrage,  etc.,  pp.  18-21,  233,  234);  in  fine,  empowered  to 
deal  with  their  own  property  in  every  respect  like  an  ordinary  proprietor. 

3 B 


738 


CHA  ID  JEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


the  man  enjoyed  the  comforts  which  it  procured,  but  he  could  not  touch  it, 
and  his  hold  upon  it  was  so  slight  that  his  creditors  could  not  lay  their 
hands  on  it.1  If  by  his  own  act  he  divorced  his  wife,  he  not  only  lost  all 
benefit  from  her  property,  but  he  was  obliged  to  make  her  an  allowance 
or  to  pay  her  an  indemnity ; 2 at  his  death,  the  widow  succeeded  to 
these,  without  prejudice  to  what  she  was  entitled  to  by  her  marriage 
contract  or  the  will  of  the  deceased.3  The  woman  with  a dowry,  there- 
fore, became  more  or  less  emancipated  by  virtue  of  her  money.  As  her 
departure  deprived  the  household  of  as  much  as,  and  sometimes  more  than, 
she  had  brought  into  it,  every  care  was  taken  that  she  should  have  no  cause 
to  retire  from  it,  and  that  no  pretext  should  be  given  to  her  parents  for  her 
recall  to  her  old  home ; her  wealth  thus  obtained  for  her  the  consideration 
and  fair  treatment  which  the  law  had,  at  the  outset,  denied  to  her.  When, 
however,  the  wife  was  poor,  she  had  to  bear  without  complaint  the  whole 
burden  of  her  inferior  position.  Her  parents  had  no  other  resource  than 
to  ask  the  highest  possible  price  for  her,  according  to  the  rank  in  which  they 
lived,  or  in  virtue  of  the  personal  qualities  she  was  supposed  to  possess,  and 
this  amount,  paid  into  their  hands  when  they  delivered  her  over  to  the 
husband,  formed,  if  not  an  actual  dowry  for  her,  at  least  a provision  for  her 
in  case  of  repudiation  or  widowhood  : she  was  not,  however,  any  less  the  slave 
of  her  husband — a privileged  slave,  it  is  true,  and  one  whom  he  could  not 
sell  like  his  other  slaves,4  but  of  whom  he  could  easily  rid  himself  when  her 
first  youth  was  passed,  or  when  she  ceased  to  please  him.5  In  many  cases 
the  fiction  of  purchase  was  set  aside,  and  mutual  consent  took  the  place  of 
all  other  formalities,  marriage  then  becoming  merely  cohabitation,  terminating 
at  will.  The  consent  of  the  father  was  not  required  for  this  irregular  union, 
and  many  a son  contracted  a marriage  after  this  fashion,  unknown  to  his 

1 E.  and  V.  Revillolt,  Les  Obligations  en  clroit  e'gyptien  compares  aux  autres  droits  de  V Antiquity, 
p.  344,  et  seq. 

2 The  restitution  of  the  dowry  after  divorce  is  ascertained,  as  far  as  later  times  are  concerned, 
from  documents  similar  to  that  published  by  Kohler-Peiser,  Aus  Babylonischen  Rechtsleben,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  13-15,  in  which  we  see  the  second  husband  of  a divorced  wife  claiming  the  dowry  from  the  first 
husband.  The  indemnity  was  fixed  beforehand  at  six  silver  mime,  in  the  marriage  contract  published 
by  Oppert,  Jugement  approbatif  d’un  contrat,  in  the  Journal  Asiatique,  1886,  vol.  vii.  pp.  555,  556. 

3 On  this  point,  cf.  Peiser,  Jurisprudents  Babylonicx  qux  supersunt,  p.  27  ; Kohler-Peiser,  Aus 
dem  Babyl.  Rechtsleben,  vol.  i.  p.  45. 

4 It  appears,  however,  in  certain  cases  not  clearly  specified,  that  the  husband  could  sell  his  wife, 
if  she  were  a shrew,  as  a slave  (Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  pp.  6,  70,  71). 

5 This  form  of  marriage,  which  was  of  frequent  occurrence  in  ancient  times,  fell  into  disuse 
among  the  upper  classes,  at  least,  of  Babylonian  society.  A few  examples,  however,  are  found  in  late 
limes  (Oppert,  Jugement  approbatif,  in  the  Journal  Asiatique,  1886,  vol.  vii.  pp.  555,  556,  and  Les 
Documents  juridiques  cune'iformes,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  pp.  182,  183;  Peiser, 
Studien  zum  Babyl.  Rechtsicesen,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Assyriologie,  vol.  iii.  pp.  77-80;  Kohler-Peiser, 
Aus  dem  Babyl.  Rechtsleben,  vol.  i.  pp.  7-9).  It  continued  in  use  among  the  lower  classes,  and 
IleroJotus  affirms  that  in  his  time  marriage  markets  wrere  held  regularly  (i.  196),  as  in  our  own 
time  fairs  are  held  for  hiring  male  and  female  servants. 


WOMEN  AND  MARRIAGE  AMONG  TEE  LOWER  CLASSES. 


7 39 


relatives,  with  some  young  girl  either  in  his  own  or  in  an  inferior  station  : 
but  the  law  refused  to  allow  her  any  title  except  that  of  concubine,  and  forced 
her  to  wear  a distinctive  mark,  perhaps  that  of  servitude,  namely,  the  repre- 
sentation of  an  olive  in  some  valuable  stone  or  in  terra-cotta,  bearing  her  own 
and  her  husband’s  name,  with  the  date  of  their  union,  which  she  kept  hung 
round  her  neck  by  a cord.1  Whether  they  were  legitimate  wives  or  not,  the 
women  of  the  lower  and  middle  classes  enjoyed  as  much  independence  as  did 
the  Egyptian  women  of  a similar  rank.  As  all  the  household  cares  fell  to  their 
share,  it  was  necessary  that  they  should  be  free  to  go  about  at  all  hours  of  the 
day : and  they  could  be  seen  in  the  streets  and  the  markets,  with  bare  feet, 
their  head  and  face  uncovered,  wearing  their  linen  loin-cloth  or  their  long 
draped  garment  of  hairy  texture.2  Their  whole  life  was  expended  in  a ceaseless 
toil  for  their  husbands  and  children  : night  and  morning  they  went  to  fetch 
water  from  the  public  well  or  the  river,  they  bruised  the  corn,  made  the  bread, 
spun,  wove,  and  clothed  the  entire  household  in  spite  of  the  frequent  demands 
of  maternity.3  The  Chaldtean  women  of  wealth  or  noble  birth,  whose  civil 
status  gave  them  a higher  position,  did  not  enjoy  so  much  freedom.  They 
were  scarcely  affected  by  the  cares  of  daily  life,  and  if  they  did  any  work 
within  their  houses,  it  was  more  from  a natural  instinct,  a sense  of  duty,  or 
to  relieve  the  tedium  of  their  existence,  than  from  constraint  or  necessity  ; 
but  the  exigencies  of  their  rank  reduced  them  to  the  state  of  prisoners.  All 
the  luxuries  and  comforts  which  money  could  procure  were  lavished  on  them, 
or  they  obtained  them  for  themselves,  but  all  the  while  they  were  obliged 
to  remain  shut  in  the  harem  within  their  own  houses ; when  they  went  out, 
it  was  only  to  visit  their  female  friends  or  their  relatives,  to  go  to  some 
temple  or  festival,  and  on  such  occasions  they  were  surrounded  with  servants, 
eunuchs,  and  pages,  whose  serried  ranks  shut  out  the  external  world.4 

1 See  the  example  quoted  by  Kohleu-Peiser,  Am  dem  Bdbylonischen  Rechtslaben,  vol.  i.  pp.  7-9  ; 
mention  is  made  of  the  mark  given  publicly  by  the  magistrate  to  women  who  accepted  this  kind  of 
free  union.  Terra-cotta  olives,  belonging  to  Babylonian  women,  and  discovered  at  Khorsabad  by 
Place  (Oppert,  Leg  Inscriptions  de  Dour-Sarkayan,  in  Place,  Ninive  et  I’Assyrie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  307,  308), 
probably  furnish  us  with  examples  of  their  shape,  and  enable  us  to  give  their  approximate  tenor. 

2 For  the  long  garment  of  the  women,  see  the  statue  represented  on  p.  721  of  the  present  work  ; 
for  the  loin-cloth,  which  left  the  shoulders  and  bust  exposed,  see  the  bronze  figure  on  p.  720.  The 
latter  was  no  doubt  the  garment  worn  at  home  by  respectable  women ; we  see  by  the  punishment 
inflicted  on  adulteresses  that  it  was  an  outdoor  garment  for  courtesans,  and  also,  doubtless,  for  slaves 
and  women  of  the  lower  classes. 

3 Women’s  occupations  are  mentioned  in  several  texts  and  on  several  ancient  monuments.  On  the 
seal,  an  impress  of  which  is  given  on  p.  699  of  this  volume,  we  see  above,  on  the  left,  a woman 
kneeling  and  crushing  the  corn,  and  before  her  a row  of  little  disks,  representing,  no  doubt,  the  loaves 
prepared  for  baking.  The  length  of  time  for  suckling  a child  is  fixed  at  three  years  by  the  Sumero- 
Assyriau  tablet  relating  the  history  of  the  foundling  (Rawunson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  9, 
col.  ii.  11.  45-50 ; cf.  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  p.  43) ; protracted  suckling  was 
customary  also  in  Egypt  (Chabas,  L’  Egyptologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  44,  45). 

4 For  the  numerous  suite  attending  on  noble  ladies,  cf.  what  is  said  by  Herodotus  of  the  Cbaldman 
women  of  his  time,  when  they  repaired  to  the  temple  of  Mylitta  to  comply  with  her  rites  (i.  199 ; 
cf.  pp.  639,  640). 


740 


CHALDAEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


There  was  no  lack  of  children  in  these  houses  when  the  man  had  several 
mistresses,  either  simultaneously  or  successively.  Maternity  was  before  all 
things  a woman’s  first  duty : should  she  delay  in  bearing  children,  or  should 
anything  happen  to  them,  she  was  considered  as  accursed  or  possessed,  and  she 
was  banished  from  the  family  lest  her  presence  should  be  a source  of  danger 
to  it.1  In  spite  of  this  many  households  remained  childless,  either  because  a 
clause  inserted  in  the  contract  prevented  the  dismissal  of  the  wife  if  barren, 
or  because  the  children  had  died  when  the  father  was  stricken  in  years,  and 
there  was  little  hope  of  further  offspring.2  In  such  places  adoption  filled  the 
gaps  left  by  nature,  and  furnished  the  family  with  desired  heirs.  For  this 
purpose  some  chance  orphan  might  be  brought  into  the  household — one  of  those 
poor  little  creatures  consigned  by  their  mothers  to  the  river,  as  in  the  case  of 
Shargani,  according  to  the  ancient  legend ; 3 or  who  had  been  exposed  at  the 
cross-roads  to  excite  the  pity  of  passers-by,4  like  the  foundling  whose  story  is 
given  us  in  an  old  ballad.  “He  who  had  neither  father  nor  mother, — he  who  knew 
not  his  father  or  mother,  but  whose  earliest  memory  is  of  a well — whose  entry 
into  the  world  was  in  the  street,”  his  benefactor  “snatched  him  from  the  jaws 
of  dogs — and  took  him  from  the  beaks  of  ravens. — He  seized  the  seal  before 
witnesses — and  he  marked  him  on  the  sole  of  the  foot  with  the  seal  of  the 
witness, — then  he  entrusted  him  to  a nurse, — and  for  three  years  he  provided 
the  nurse  with  flour,  oil,  and  clothing.”  When  the  weaning  was  accomplished, 
“he  appointed  him  to  be  his  child, — he  brought  him  up  to  be  his  child, — he 
inscribed  him  as  his  child, — and  he  gave  him  the  education  of  a scribe.”  5 
The  rites  of  adoption  in  these  cases  did  not  differ  from  those  attendant  upon 
birth.  On  both  occasions  the  newly  born  infant  was  shown  to  witnesses,  and  it 
was  marked  on  the  soles  of  its  feet  to  establish  its  identity ; 6 its  registration  in 
the  family  archives  did  not  take  place  until  these  precautions  had  been  observed, 
and  children  adopted  in  this  manner  were  regarded  thenceforward  in  the  eyes 


1 Divorce  for  sterility  was  customary  in  very  early  times.  Complete  sterility  or  miscarriage  was 
thought  to  be  occasioned  by  evil  spirits;  a woman  thus  possessed  with  a devil  came  to  be  looked  on 
as  a dangerous  being  whom  it  was  necessary  to  exorcise  (Fit.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  57,  G8). 

2 Several  documents  of  various  periods  furnish  examples  of  women  who,  having  had  children  by 
a first  husband,  had  none  by  the  second,  but  were  not  on  that  account  divorced. 

3 Cf.  pp.  597,  598  of  the  present  volume  for  the  legend  of  Sargon  the  Elder,  King  of 
Agade. 

4 Many  of  these  children  were  those  of  courtesans  or  women  who  had  been  repudiated,  as  we  learn 
from  the  Sumero-Assyrian  tablet  of  Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  v.  pi.  24,  11.  11-15  (cf.  Fr. 
Lenormant,  Clioix  de  Textes  cuneiform.es,  p.  36)  : “ She  will  expose  her  child  alone  in  the  street,  where 
the  serpents  in  the  road  may  bite  it,  and  its  father  and  mother  will  know  it  no  more.” 

5 Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  9,  col.  ii.  11.  28-66.  This  curious  story  was  first  trans- 
lated into  French  by  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiqy.es,  etc.,  pp.  24-44 ; and  more  fully  by 
Fr.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  164-168. 

0 Meissner,  Beitrdge  zum  Altbabylonischen  Privatrecht,  p.  15. 


ORDINARY  MOTIVES  FOB  ADOPTION. 


741 


of  the  world  as  the  legitimate  heirs  of  the  family.  People  desiring  to  adopt  a 
child  usually  made  inquiries  among  their  acquaintances,  or  poor  friends,  or 
cousins  who  might  consent  to  give  up  one  of  their  sons,  in  the  hope  of  securing 
a better  future  for  him.  When  he  happened  to  be  a minor,  the  real  father  and 
mother,  or,  in  the  case  of  the  death  of  one,  the  surviving  parent,  appeared 
before  the  scribe,  and  relinquished  all  their  rights  in  favour  of  the  adopting 
parents;  the  latter,  in  accepting  this  act  of  renunciation,  promised  henceforth 
to  treat  the  child  as  if  he  were  of  their  own  flesh  and  blood,  and  often  settled 
upon  him,  at  the  same  time,  a certain  sum  chargeable  on  their  own  patrimony.1 
When  the  adopted  son  was  of  age,  his  consent  to  the  agreement  was  required, 
in  addition  to  that  of  his  parents.  The  adoption  was  sometimes  prompted  by  an 
interested  motive,  and  not  merely  by  the  desire  for  posterity  or  its  semblance. 
Labour  was  expensive,  slaves  were  scarce,  and  children,  by  working  for  their 
father,  took  the  place  of  hired  servants,  and  were  content,  like  them,  with  food  and 
clothing.2  The  adoption  of  adults  was,  therefore,  most  frequent  in  ancient  times. 
The  introduction  of  a person  into  a fresh  household  severed  the  ties  which  bound 
him  to  the  old  one ; he  became  a stranger  to  those  who  had  borne  him  ; he  had 
no  filial  obligations  to  discharge  to  them,  nor  had  he  any  right  to  whatever 
property  they  might  possess,  unless,  indeed,  any  unforeseen  circumstance 
prevented  the  carrying  out  of  the  agreement,  and  legally  obliged  him  to  return 
to  the  status  of  his  birth.3  In  return,  he  undertook  all  the  duties  and  enjoyed 
the  privileges  of  his  new  position ; he  owed  to  his  adopted  parents  the  same 
amount  of  work,  obedience,  and  respect  that  he  would  have  given  to  his 
natural  parents ; he  shared  in  their  condition,  whether  for  good  or  ill,  and  he 
inherited  their  possessions.1  Provision  was  made  for  him  in  case  of  his 
repudiation  by  those  who  had  adopted  him,  and  they  had  to  make  him  com- 
pensation : he  received  the  portion  which  would  have  accrued  to  him  after 
their  death,  and  he  then  left  them.5  Families  appear  to  have  been  fairly 
united,  in  spite  of  the  elasticity  of  the  laws  which  governed  them,  and  of  the 
divers  elements  of  which  they  were  sometimes  composed.  No  doubt  polygamy 
and  frequent  divorce  exercised  here  as  elsewhere  a deleterious  influence ; 
the  harems  of  Babylon  were  constantly  the  scenes  of  endless  intrigues  and 
quarrels  among  the  women  and  children  of  varied  condition  and  different 

1 Cf.  for  a more  recent  period  a document  of  the  reign  of  Cyrus,  King  of  BabyloD,  certifying  the 
adoption  of  a little  boy  of  three  years  old,  and  determining  the  amount  settled  on  him  by  the  adopting 
father  (Kohler-Peiser,  Am  dem  Babylonischen  Rechtsleben,  vol.  i.  pp.  9,  10). 

2 Meissner,  Beitrdge  zum  altbdbylonischen  Privatreclit,  pp.  16,  151,  et  seq. 

3 Meissner,  Beitrdge , etc.,  p.  15. 

4 The  above  facts  are  gleaned,  as  regards  early  times,  from  documents  97,  98,  published  and  com- 
mented on  by  Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  pp.  77,  78,  153. 

5 For  more  recent  times,  cf.  Kohler-Peiser,  Am  dem  Babylonischen  Reclitsleben,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
15-18. 


742 


an  a in  jean  ci  viliza  tion. 


parentage  who  filled  them.  Among  the  people  of  the  middle  classes,  where 
restricted  means  necessarily  prevented  a man  having  many  wives,  the  course 
of  family  life  appears  to  have  been  as  calm  and  affectionate  as  in  Egypt, 
under  the  unquestioned  supremacy  of  the  father  : and  in  the  event  of  his  early 
death,  the  widow,  and  later  the  son  or  son-in-law,  took  the  direction  of  affairs.1 
Should  quarrels  arise  and  reach  the  point  of  bringing  about  a complete 
rupture  between  parents  and  children,  the  law  intervened,  not  to  reconcile 
them,  but  to  repress  any  violence  of  which  either  side  might  be  guilty 
towards  the  other.  It  was  reckoned  as  a misdemeanour  for  any  father  or 
mother  to  disown  a child,  and  they  were  punished  by  being  kept  shut  up 
in  their  own  house,  as  long,  doubtless,  as  they  persisted  in  disowning  it  ; 
but  it  was  a crime  in  a son,  even  if  he  were  an  adopted  son,  to  renounce  his 
parents,  and  he  was  punished  severely.  If  he  had  said  to  his  father,  “ Thou 
art  not  my  father!”  the  latter  marked  him  with  a conspicuous  sign  and  sold 
him  in  the  market.  If  he  had  said  to  his  mother,  “ As  for  thee,  thou  art 
not  my  mother!”  he  was  similarly  branded,  and  led  through  the  streets  or 
along  the  roads,  where  with  hue  and  cry  he  was  driven  from  the  town  and 
province.2 

The  slaves  were  numerous,  but  distributed  in  unequal  proportion  among  the 
various  classes  of  the  population  : whilst  in  the  palace  they  might  be  found 
literally  in  crowds,  it  was  rare  among  the  middle  classes  to  meet  with  any 
family  possessing  more  than  two  or  three  at  a time.3  They  were  drawn  partly 
from  foreign  races ; prisoners  who  had  been  wounded  and  carried  from  the 
field  of  battle,  or  fugitives  who  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  victors  after  a 
defeat,  or  Elamites  or  Gutis  who  had  been  surprised  in  their  own  villages 
during  some  expedition  ; not  to  mention  people  of  every  category  carried  off 
by  the  Bedouin  during  their  raids  in  distant  parts,  such  as  Syria  or  Egypt, 


1 For  the  respect  shown  to  the  eldest  son,  of.  V.  and  E.  Revili.out,  Sur  le  droit  de  In  Chaldee,  in 
E.  Revillout,  Les  Obligations  en  Droit  Egyptien,  p.  356,  et  seq. 

2 Ravlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  10,  col.  i.  11.  22-45;  cf.  vol.  v.  pi.  25,  1.  23,  et  seq.  I 
have  adopted  the  generally  received  meaning  of  this  document  as  a whole,  but  I am  obliged  to  state 
that  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  jwidiques  de  VAssyrie  et  de  la  Chaldee,  pp.  56,  57,  60,  61,  admit 
quite  a different  interpretation.  According  to  them,  it  would  appear  to  be  a sweeping  renunciation 
of  children  by  parents,  and  of  parents  by  children,  at  the  close  of  a judicial  condemnation.  Oppert 
has  upheld  this  interpretation  against  Haupt,  in  the  Gbttingische  gelehrte  Anzeigen,  1879,  p.  1604, 
et  seq.,  and  still  keeps  to  his  opinion.  The  documents  published  by  Meissner,  Beitriige,  etc.,  pp. 
73-78,  152,  show  that  the  text  of  the  ancient  Sumerian  laws  applied  equally  to  adopted  children,  but 
made  no  distinction  between  the  insult  offered  to  the  father  and  that  offered  to  the  mother  : the  same 
penalty  was  applicable  in  both  cases. 

3 For  information  on  slavery  in  Chaldtea,  see  particularly  the  memoir  by  OrPERT,  La  Condition 
des  Esclaves  a Babylone,  in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  V Academic  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  1888, 
p.  120,  et  seq.;  and  the  special  memoir  by  Meissner,  De  Servitute  Babyloniaca ; and  scattered 
notices  in  Kohi.er-Peiser,  Aus  dem  Babylonisclien  Itechtsleben,  vol.  i.  pp.  1-7,  vol.  ii.  6,  40-50, 
52-56,  etc. 


SLAVES  AND  THEIR  LEGAL  CONDITION. 


743 


whom  they  were  continually  bringing  for  sale  to  Babylon  and  Uru,  and,  indeed, 
to  all  those  cities  to  which  they  had  easy  access.  The  kings,  the  vicegerents, 
the  temple  administration,  and  the  feudal  lords,  provided  employment  for  vast 
numbers  in  the  construction  of  their  buildings  or  in  the  cultivation  of  their 
domains;  the  work  was  hard  and  the  mortality  great,  but  gaps  were  soon 
filled  up  by  the  influx  of  fresh  gangs.  The  survivors  intermarried,  and  their 
children,  brought  up  to  speak  the  Chaldman  tongue  and  conforming  to  the 
customs  of  the  country,  became  assimilated  to  the  ruling  race  ; they  formed, 
beneath  the  superior  native  Semite  and  Sumerian  population,  an  inferior 
servile  class,  spread  alike  throughout  the  towns  and  country,  who  were 
continually  reinforced  by  individuals  of  the  native  race,  such  as  found- 
lings, women  and  children  sold  by  husband  or  father,  debtors  deprived  by 
creditors  of  their  liberty,  and  criminals  judicially  condemned.1  The  law  took 
no  individual  account  of  them,  but  counted  them  by  heads,  as  so  many  cattle : 
they  belonged  to  their  respective  masters  in  the  same  fashion  as  did  the  beasts  of 
his  flock  or  the  trees  of  his  garden,  and  their  life  or  death  was  dependent  upon 
his  will,2  though  the  exercise  of  his  rights  was  naturally  restrained  by  interest 
and  custom.  He  could  use  them  as  pledges  or  for  payment  of  debt,  could 
exchange  them  or  sell  them  in  the  market.  The  price  of  a slave  never  rose  very 
high:  a woman  might  be  bought  for  four  and  a half  shekels  of  silver  by  weight, 
and  the  value  of  a male  adult  fluctuated  between  ten  shekels  and  the  third  of 
a mina.  The  bill  of  sale  was  inscribed  on  clay,  and  given  to  the  purchaser  at 
the  time  of  payment : the  tablets  which  were  the  vouchers  of  the  rights  of  the 
former  proprietor  were  then  broken,  and  the  transfer  was  completed.3  The 
master  seldom  ill-treated  his  slaves,  except  in  cases  of  reiterated  disobedience, 
rebellion,  or  flight;4  he  could  arrest  his  runaway  slaves  wherever  he  could  lay 
his  hands  on  them;  he  could  shackle  their  ankles,  fetter  their  wrists,  and  whip 


1 Meissner,  Beitrage,  etc.,  pp.  6,  7.  For  example,  sons  condemned  to  servitude  by  their  father, 
according  to  the  laws  above  mentioned,  p.  742  of  the  present  work;  or  the  wife,  whom  the  husband 
is  entitled,  by  a clause  in  the  marriage  contract,  to  sell  for  disobedience  (document  86  in  Meissner, 
Beitrage , etc.,  pp.  70,  71).  A story  of  a fugitive  slave,  preserved  in  a tablet  published  by  Rawlinson, 
Cun.  Ins.  IF,  As , vol.  ii.  pi.  13,  col.  ii.  1.  6,  refers,  perhaps,  to  a son  sold  in  this  way  (Fr.  Lenormant, 
Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  232,  233). 

2 The  murder  of  a slave  by  a person  other  than  the  master  was  punished  by  a fine  paid  to  the 
latter  (Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  10,  col.  ii.  11.  13-22;  cf.  Oppert-Menant,  Documenis 
juridigues , etc.,  pp.  58,  59,  61  ; V.  and  E.  Revillout,  Sur  le  Droit  de  la  Chaldee,  in  E.  Revillout, 
Les  Obligations  en  Droit  Egyptien  compare'  aux  autres  droits  de  V Antiquit e',  pp.  371,  372  ; Kohler- 
Peiser,  Aus  dem  Babylonischen  Rechtsleben,  vol.  i.  pp.  32,  33. 

3 Meissner,  Beitrage  zum  altbabylonischen  Privatrecht,  pp.  6,  7. 

4 Runaway  slaves  are  mentioned  in  one  of  the  Sumero- Assyrian  tablets  published  by  Rawlinson, 
Cun.  Ins.  IP.  As  , vol.  ii.  pi.  13,  col.  ii.  11.  6-14,  and  translated  by  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  jitri- 
diques,  etc.,  p.  14,  and  by  Fr.  Lenorjiant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  232,  233;  cf.  for  the 
purchase  or  sale  of  runaway  slaves  at  the  time  of  the  Second  Chaldpean  Empire,  Kohler-Peiser, 
Aus  dem  Babylonischen  Rechtsleben , vol.  i.  pp.  5-7. 


744 


CHALDAEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


them  mercilessly.  As  a rule,  he  permitted  them  to  marry  and  bring  up  a 
family ; 1 he  apprenticed  their  children,  and  as  soon  as  they  knew  a trade,  he  set 
them  up  in  business  in  his  own  name,  allowing  them  a share  in  the  profits.2 
The  more  intelligent  among  them  were  trained  to  be  clerks  or  stewards;  they 
were  taught  to  read,  write,  and  calculate,  the  essential  accomplishments  of  a 
skilful  scribe ; they  were  appointed  as  superintendents  over  their  former 
comrades,  or  overseers  of  the  administration  of  property,  and  they  ended  by 
becoming  confidential  servants  in  the  household.  The  savings  which  they  had 
accumulated  in  their  earlier  years  furnished  them  with  the  means  of  procuring 
some  few  consolations  : they  could  hire  themselves  out  for  wages,  and  could 
even  acquire  slaves  who  would  go  out  to  work  for  them,  in  the  same  way  as 
they  themselves  had  been  a source  of  income  to  their  proprietors.3  If  they 
followed  a lucrative  profession  and  were  successful  in  it,  their  savings  some- 
times permitted  them  to  buy  their  own  freedom,  and,  if  they  were  married,  to 
pay  the  ransom  of  their  wife  and  children.4  At  times,  their  master,  desirous 
of  rewarding  long  and  faithful  service,  liberated  them  of  his  own  accord, 
without  waiting  till  they  had  saved  up  the  necessary  money  or  goods  for  their 
enfranchisement : in  such  cases  they  remained  his  dependants,  and  continued 
in  his  service  as  freedmen  to  perform  the  services  they  had  formerly  rendered 
as  slaves.5  They  then  enjoyed  the  same  rights  and  advantages  as  the  old 
native  race ; they  could  leave  legacies,  inherit  property,  claim  legal  rights,  and 
acquire  and  possess  houses  and  lands.  Their  sons  could  make  good  matches 
among  the  daughters  of  the  middle  classes,  according  to  their  education  and 
fortune  ; when  they  were  intelligent,  active,  and  industrious,  there  was  nothing 
to  prevent  them  from  rising  to  the  highest  offices  about  the  person  of  the 
sovereign.  If  we  knew  more  of  the  internal  history  of  the  great  Chaldaean 
cities,  we  should  no  doubt  come  to  see  what  an  important  part  the  servile 
element  played  in  them ; and  could  we  trace  it  back  for  a few  generations,  we 

1 The  documents  cited  by  Oppert,  La  Condition  des  esclaves  a Babylone,  in  the  Comptes  rendus  de 
VAcaddmie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres , 1888,  pp.  125-127,  give  us  information  concerning  these 
families  of  slaves ; from  these  it  would  appear  that  care  was  taken  to  sell  them  altogether,  and  that 
they  avoided  as  much  as  possible  separating  children  from  their  father  and  mother. 

2 For  the  apprenticing  of  slaves  in  the  time  of  the  Second  Chaldaean  Empire,  cf.  Kohler-Peiser, 
Aus  dem  Babylonischen  Rechtsleben,  vol.  ii.  pp.  52-56. 

3 We  find  two  good  examples  of  a slave  hiring  himself  out  to  a third  person,  and  of  another 
receiving  as  a pledge  a slave  like  himself,  in  Oppert,  La  Condition  des  esclaves  a Babylone  ( Comptes 
rendus  de  VAcaddmie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles-Lettres,  1888,  pp.  127-129). 

4 Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  p.  7.  The  existence  of  the  right  to  purchase  their  own  freedom  in  the 
times  of  the  Ancient  Chaldaian  Empire  is  proved  by  expressions  in  the  Sumero- Assyrian  legal  tablet 
published  in  Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  43,  col.  ii.  11.  15-88;  cf.  Oppert-Menant, 
Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  P H. 

5 For  these  slaves  capable  of  being  enfranchised,  see  what  is  said  by  Oppert,  La  Con- 
dition des  esclaves  a Babylone,  in  the  Comptes  rendus  de  I’Acaddmie  des  Inscriptions,  1888, 

p.  122. 


THE  ASPECT  OF  THE  TOWNS  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  TEE  HOUSES.  745 


should  probably  discover  that  there  were  few  great  families  who  did  not  reckon 
a slave  or  a freedman  among  their  ancestors. 

It  would  he  interesting  to  follow  this  people,  made  up  of  such  complex 
elements,  in  all  their  daily  work  and  recreation,  as  we  are  able  to  do  in  the 
case  of  contemporary  Egyptians;  but  the  monuments  which  might  furnish  us 
with  the  necessary  materials  are  scarce,  and  the  positive  information  to  be 
gleaned  from  them  amounts  to  but  little.  We  are  tolerably  safe,  however,  in 
supposing  the  more  wealthy  cities  to  have  been,  as  a whole,  very  similar  in 
appearance  to  those  existing  at  the  present  day  in  the  regions  which  as  yet 
have  been  scarcely  touched  by  the  advent  of  European  civilization.1  Sinuous, 
narrow,  muddy  streets,  littered  with  domestic  refuse  and  organic  detritus, 
in  which  flocks  of  ravens  and  wandering  packs  of  dogs  perform  with  more 
or  less  efficiency  the  duties  of  sanitary  officers;2  whole  quarters  of  the  town 
composed  of  huts  made  of  reeds  and  puddled  clay,  low  houses  of  crude  brick, 
surmounted  perhaps  even  in  those  times  with  the  conical  domes  we  find 
later  on  the  Assyrian  bas-reliefs ; crowded  and  noisy  bazaars,  where  each  trade 
is  located  in  its  special  lanes  and  blind  alleys ; silent  and  desolate  spaces 
occupied  by  palaces  and  gardens,  in  which  the  private  life  of  the  wealthy  was 
concealed  from  public  gaze ; and  looking  down  upon  this  medley  of  individual 
dwellings,  the  palaces  and  temples  with  their  ziggurats  crowned  with  gilded 
and  painted  sanctuaries.  In  the  ruins  of  Uru,  Eridu,  and  Uruk,  the  remains 
of  houses  belonging  doubtless  to  well-to-do  families  have  been  brought  to 
light.3  They  are  built  of  fine  bricks,  whose  courses  are  cemented  together 
with  a thin  layer  of  bitumen,  but  they  are  only  lighted  internally  by  small 
apertures  pierced  at  irregular  distances  in  the  upper  part  of  the  walls  : the  low 
arched  doorway,  closed  by  a heavy  two-leaved  door,  leads  into  a blind  passage, 
which  opens  as  a rule  on  the  courtyard  in  the  centre  of  the  building.  In  the 
interior  may  still  be  distinguished  the  small  oblong  rooms,  sometimes  vaulted, 


1 For  information  on  this  subject  reference  can  be  made  to  the  descriptions  given  of  Mosoul 
by  the  traveller  Olivier  ( Voyage  dans  V Empire  Othoman,  vol.  ii.  pp.  356,  357),  of  Bagdad 
(id , vol.  ii.  pp.  381,  382),  and  of  those  which  Niebuhr  has  given  of  Bassorah  (Voyage  en  Arable, 
vol.  ii.  p.  172)  towards  the  end  of  the  last  century,  and  which  have  been  confirmed,  as  far  as  the 
beginning  and  middle  of  the  present  century  are  concerned,  by  the  accounts  of  Keppel,  Personal 
Narrative  of  a Journey  from  India  to  England,  by  Bassorah,  Bagdad,  the  Ruins  of  Babylon,  etc., 
vol.  i.  p.  69. 

2 Cf.  on  p.  740  of  the  present  volume,  the  account  of  the  child  exposed  by  the  side  of  the  well 
whence  the  woman  came  to  draw  water,  and  of  the  adopting  parents  rescuing  it  from  the  jaws  of  dogs 
and  from  the  beaks  of  crows. 

3 Excavations  have  been  carried  on  at  Uru  and  at  Uruk  by  Loftus,  Travels  and  Researches  in 
Chaldxa  and  Susiana ; and  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  iu  the  Journal  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society,  vol.  xv.  pp.  260-276;  at  Eridu  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  Tel-el-Lahm  and  Abou-Shahrein, 
in  the  Journ.  of  the  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  pp.  404-415.  For  an  appreciative  account  of  the  ruins  dis- 
covered by  these  two  explorers,  see  Perrot-Chipiez,  Histoire  de  VArt  dans  V Antiquit C,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  448,  449, 


CTJA  ID  JEAN  Cl VILIZA  TION. 


746 


sometimes  roofed  with  a flat  ceiling  supported  by  trunks  of  palm  trees;1 2 3 
the  walls  are  often  of  a considerable  thickness,  in  which  are  found  narrow 

niches  here  and  there.  The 
majority  of  the  rooms  were 
merely  store  - chambers,  and 
contained  the  family  provi- 
sions and  treasures ; others 
served  as  living-rooms,  and 
were  provided  with  furni- 
ture. The  latter,  in  the  houses 
of  the  richer  citizens  no  less  than  in  those  of  the  people,  was  of  a very  simple 
kind,  and  was  mostly  composed  of  chairs  and  stools,  similar  to  those  in  the  royal 
palaces;  the  bedrooms  contained  the  linen  chests  and  the  beds  with  their  thin 
mattresses,  coverings,  and  cushions,  and  perhaps  wooden  head-rests,  resembling 


CHALDEAN  HOUSES  AT  URU.' 


'•'■“‘‘fcS  alll ^ 


PLANS  OP  HOUSES  EXCAVATED  AT  ER1BU  AND  URU.3 


those  found  in  Africa,4  but  the  Chaldseans  slept  mostly  on  mats  spread  on  the 
ground.  An  oven  for  baking  occupied  a corner  of  the  courtyard,  side  by  side 
with  the  stones  for  grinding  the  corn  ; the  ashes  on  the  hearth  were  always 
aglow,  and  if  by  chance  the  fire  went  out,  the  fire-stick  was  always  at  hand  to 


1 Tayi.or,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Royal  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  p.  266,  found 
the  remains  of  the  palm-tree  beams  which  formed  the  terrace  still  existing.  He  thinks  ( Notes  on 
Tel-el-Lahm,  etc.,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Royal  j4s.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  p.  411)  with  Loftus  that  some  of  the 
chambers  were  vaulted.  Cf.  upon  the  custom  of  vaulting  in  Chaldacan  houses,  Perrot-Chipiez, 
Histoire  de  V Art,  vol.  ii.  p.  163,  et  seq. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  sketch  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the 
Journ.  of  the  Royal  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv  p.  266. 

3 These  plans  were  drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  sketches  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of 
Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Royal  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  pi.  iii.  The  houses  reproduced  to  the  left  of  the 
plan  were  those  uncovered  in  the  ruins  of  Uiu  ; those  on  the  right  belong  to  the  ruins  of  Eridu.  On 
the  latter,  the  niches  mentioned  in  the  text  will  be  found  indicated. 

4 The  dressing  of  the  hair  in  coils  and  elaborate  erections,  as  seen  in  the  various  figures  engraved 
upon  Chaldajan  intaglius  (cf.  what  is  said  of  the  different  ways  of  arranging  the  hair  on  p.  719  of 
this  volume),  appears  to  have  necessitated  the  use  of  these  articles  of  furniture ; such  complicated 
erections  of  hair  must  have  lasted  several  days  at  least,  and  would  not  have  kept  in  condition  so  long 
except  for  the  use  of  the  head-rest. 


DOMESTIC  LIFE. 


747 


relight  it,  as  in  Egypt.1  The  kitchen  utensils  and  household  pottery  com- 
prised a few  large  copper  pans  and  earthenware  pots  rounded  at  the  base, 
dishes,  water  and  wine  jars,  and  heavy  plates  of  coarse  ware  ; 2 metal  had  not 
as  yet  superseded  stone,  and  in  the  same  house  we  meet  with  bronze  axes  and 
hammers  side  by  side  with  the  same  implements  in  cut  flint,  besides  knives, 
scrapers,  and  mace-heads.3  At  the  present  day 
the  women  of  the  country  of  the  Euphrates 
spend  a great  part  of  their  time  on  the  roofs 
of  their  dwellings.4  They  install  themselves 
there  in  the  morning,  till  they  are 
driven  away  by  the  heat;  as  soon  as 
the  sun  gets  low  in  the  heavens,  they 
return  to  their  post,  and  either  pass 
the  night  there,  or  do  not  qv 
it  till  very  late  in  the  even 
ing.  They  perform  all  thei: 
household  duties  there,  gos 
siping  with  their  friends  on  chald.ean  household  utensils  in  terra-cotta.5 

neighbouring  roofs  whilst  they 

bake,  cook,  wash  and  dry  the  linen ; or,  if  they  have  slaves  to  attend  to 
such  menial  occupations,  they  sew  and  embroider  in  the  open  air.  They 
come  down  into  the  interior  of  the  house  during  the  hottest  hours  of  the 
day.  In  most  of  the  wealthy  houses,  the  coolest  room  is  one  below  the 
level  of  the  courtyard,  into  which  but  little  light  can  penetrate.  It  is 


' The  use  of  the  fire-stick  among  the  Chaldaeans  was  pointed  out  almost  simultaneously  by 
Boscawen,  On  some  Early  Babylonian  or  Akkadian  Inscriptions,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Soc.  of  Bill. 
Arch.,  vol.  vi.  pp.  279-281 ; and  by  Houghton,  On  the  Hieroglyphic  or  Picture  Origin  of  the  Characters 
of  the  Assyrian  Syllabary,  ibid.,  pp.  466-468;  cf.  for  Egypt,  p.  818  of  this  volume. 

2 These  pans  are  represented  in  the  scenes  reproduced  on  p.  274,  et  seq.,  of  this  volume.  The 
pottery  discovered  by  Loftus  iu  the  course  of  his  excavations,  and  by  Taylor  (Notes  on  the  Ruins  of 
Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  Royal  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  p.  274,  et  seq.)  among  the  ruins  and  tombs  of 
Mughetr  and  Warka  (cf.  the  tombs  reproduced  ou  pp.  684,  685,  687  of  this  volume),  is  now  in  the 
British  Museum  (cf.  Perrot-Chitiez,  Hist,  de  VArt  dans  V Antiquitt:,  vol.  ii.  pp.  709-711);  speci- 
mens of  that  found  at  Telloh  are  in  the  Louvre  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee , pi.  42). 
Copper  utensils  are  more  rarely  found;  a few  specimens,  however,  have  been  brought  from  the  tombs 
at  Uru  (Taylor,  Notes  on  Abu-Shahrein,  etc.,  p.  415)  and  in  the  remains  of  the  palace  of  Telloh 
(Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes,  etc.,  pp.  26,  35,  61,  etc.). 

3 Implements  in  flint  and  other  kinds  of  stone  have  been  discovered  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  Abu- 
Shahrein,  etc.,  in  the  Journ.  of  the  As.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  pp.  410,  411,  and  pi.  ii.,  and  are  now  in  the  British 
Museum.  The  bronze  implements  come  partly  from  the  tombs  at  Mugheir,  and  partly  from  the  ruins 
explored  by  Loftus  at  Tell-Sifr — that  is  to  say,  the  ancient  cities  of  Uru  and  Larsam  : the  name  of 
Tell-Sifr,  the  “mound  of  copper,”  come3  from  the  quantity  of  objects  iu  copper  which  have  been 
discovered  there. 

4 Olivier,  Voyage  dans  V Empire  Othoman,  vol.  ii.  pp.  356,  357,  381,  382,  392,  393. 

5 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  the  sketch  by  G.  Rawlinson,  The  Five  Great  Monarchies,  2nd 
edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  91,  and  the  heliogravure  in  Heuzey-Sarzec,  De'couvertes,  etc.,  pi.  42. 


748 


CTJALDJEA N C1VIL1ZA TION. 


paved  with  plaques  of  polished  gypsum,  which  resembles  our  finest  grey- 
and- white  marble,  and  the  walls  are  covered  with  a coat  of  delicate  plastering, 
smooth  to  the  touch  and  agreeable  to  the  eye.  This  is  watered  several 
times  during  the  day  in  hot  weather,  and  the  evaporation  from  it  cools 
the  air.  The  few  ruined  habitations  which  have  as  yet  been  explored  seem 
to  bear  witness  to  a considerable  similarity  between  the  requirements  and 
customs  of  ancient  times  and  those  of  to-day.  Like  the  modern  women  of 
Bagdad  and  Mosoul,  the  Chaldsean  women  of  old  preferred  an  existence  in 
the  open  air,  in  spite  of  its  publicity,  to  a seclusion  within  stuffy  rooms  or 
narrow  courts.  The  heat  of  the  sun,  cold,  rain,  and  illness  obliged  them  at 
times  to  seek  a refuge  within  four  walls,  but  as  soon  as  they  could  conveni- 
ently escape  from  them,  they  climbed  up  on  to  their  roof  to  pass  the  greater 
part  of  their  time  there. 

Many  families  of  the  lower  and  middle  classes  owned  the  houses  which  they 
occupied.1  They  constituted  a patrimony  which  the  owners  made  every  effort 
to  preserve  intact  through  all  reverses  of  fortune.2  The  head  of  the  family 
bequeathed  it  to  his  widow  or  his  eldest  son,3  or  left  it  undivided  to  his  heirs, 
in  the  assurance,  no  doubt,  that  one  of  them  would  buy  up  the  rights  of 
the  others.  The  remainder  of  his  goods,  farms,  gardens,  corn-lands,  slaves, 
furniture,  and  jewels,  were  divided  among  the  brothers  or  natural  descendants, 
“ from  the  mouth  to  the  gold  ; ” that  is  to  say,  from  the  moment  of  announcing 
the  beginning  of  the  business,  to  that  when  each  one  received  his  share.4  In 
order  to  invest  this  act  with  greater  solemnity,  it  took  place  usually  in  the 
presence  of  a priest.  Those  interested  repaired  to  the  temple,  “ to  the  gate 
of  the  god  ; ” they  placed  the  whole  of  the  inheritance  in  the  hands  of  the 
chosen  arbitrator,  and  demanded  of  him  to  divide  it  justly ; or  the  eldest 
brother  perhaps  anticipated  the  apportionment,  and  the  priest  had  merely 
to  sanction  the  result,  or  settle  the  differences  which  might  arise  among  the 
lawful  recipients  in  the  course  of  the  operation.  When  this  was  accomplished, 
the  legatees  had  to  declare  themselves  satisfied ; and  when  no  further  claims 
arose,  they  had  to  sign  an  engagement  before  the  priestly  arbitrator  that  they 


1 This  fact  is  established  by  the  relatively  large  number  of  documents,  in  which  we  find  people  of 
the  middle  class  either  mortgaging  or  selling  their  houses,  or  giving  them  as  bail. 

2 A house  could  be  let  for  various  lengths  of  time— for  three  months  (Peiser,  Babyl.  Vertrdge, 
pp.  5G,  57,  254,  255),  for  a year  (id.,  pp.  60-63,  256),  for  five  years  (id. , pp.  194-197,  300,  301),  for  an 
indefinite  term  (id.,  pp.  196-199,  301),  but  with  a minimum  of  sis  months,  since  the  rent  is  payable 
at  the  beginning  and  in  the  middle  of  each  year.  For  the  liabilities  and  rights  of  the  tenant  and  the 
landlord,  see  for  later  times,  the  memoir  of  Kohler,  in  Kohler-Peiser,  Babyl.  Vertrage,  pp.  44,  45. 

3 It  is  no  doubt  this  “duty  of  the  elder  brother”  which  is  alluded  to  in  an  obscure  passage  of 
the  text  of  the  so-called  Sumerian  laws  (Bawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  9,  col.  iii.  11.  7-9 ; 
Fr.  Lenormant,  Choix  de  Textes  Cuneiformes,  p.  13). 

4 'this  is,  at  least  in  the  main,  the  interpretation  which  Meissner,  Beitriige,  etc.,  p.  146,  has 
proposed  of  this  original  expression. 


LENDING  ON  USURY. 


7 49 


would  henceforth  refrain  from  all  quarrelling  on  the  subject,  and  that  they 
would  never  make  a complaint  one  against  the  other.1  By  dint  of  these  con- 
tinual redistributions  from  one  generation  to  another,  the  largest  fortunes  soon 
became  dispersed : the  individual  shares  became  smaller  and  smaller,  and 
scarcely  sufficed  to  keep  a family,  so  that  the  slightest  reverse  obliged  the 
possessor  to  have  recourse  to  usurers.  The  Chaldseans,  like  the  Egyptians, 
were  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  money,  but  from  the  earliest  times  the 
employment  of  precious  metals  for  purposes  of  exchange  was  practised  among 
them  to  an  enormous  extent.’2 3  Though  copper  and  gold  were  both  used,  silver 
was  the  principal  medium  in  these  transactions,  and  formed  the  standard 
value  of  all  purchaseable  objects.  It  was  never  cut  into  flat  rings  or  twists 
of  wire,  as  was  the  case  with  the  Egyptian  “ tabnu ; ” 8 it  was  melted  into 
small  unstamped  ingots,  which  were  passed  from  hand  to  hand  by  weight, 
being  tested  in  the  scales  at  each  transaction.4  “ To  weigh  ” was  in  the 
ordinary  language  the  equivalent  for  “payment  in  metal,”  whereas  “to  measure” 
denoted  that  the  payment  was  in  grain.5  The  ingots  for  exchange  were, 
therefore,  designated  by  the  name  of  the  weights  to  which  they  corresponded. 
The  lowest  unit  was  a shekel,  weighing  on  an  average  nearly  half  an  ounce, 
sixty  shekels  making  a mina,  and  sixty  minas  a talent.  It  is  a question 
whether  the  Chaldoeans  possessed  in  early  times,  as  did  the  Assyrians  of  a later 
period,  two  kinds  of  shekels  and  minas,  one  heavy  and  the  other  light.6 
Whether  the  loan  were  in  metal,  grain,  or  any  other  substance,  the  interest  was 
very  high.7  A very  ancient  law  fixed  it  in  certain  cases  at  twelve  drachmas 


1 Meissner,  Beitrdge  zum  altbabylonischen  Privatreeht,  p.  1C;  cf.  Acts,  Nos.  101-111,  where  the 

whole  procedure  followed  in  such  a case  is  illustrated  by  the  examples  themselves  which  have  come 
down  to  us. 

3  Questions  relating  to  this  use  of  precious  metals  have  been  summarized  by  Fr.  Lenormant, 
La  Monnaie  dans  V Antiquity,  vol.  i.  pp.  110-122.  See  Rawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  41, 
11.  15-30,  where  the  equivalent  of  a field  is  given  in  various  objects,  e.g.  chariots,  asses,  bulls,  stufi's, 
etc.,  whose  value  in  silver  is  inscribed  in  front  of  each  article  (Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques, 
etc.,  pp.  116-119,  122,  124-134;  Belser,  Babylonische  Kudurru-Inschriften,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur 
Assyriologie,  vol.  ii.  pp.  124-127,  151,  152). 

3 See  what  is  said  of  these  Egyptian  metal  “ tabnu  ” on  pp.  323-326  of  this  volume. 

4 If  the  primitive  meaning  of  the  ideogram  by  which  the  shekel  is  represented  in  the  inscriptions 
is  indeed  that  of  the  “ mace-head  ” — “ globe,”  as  Lenormant  believes,  we  may  conclude  that  the  ingots 
used  by  the  Chaldseans  were  usually  of  the  ovoid,  slightly  flattened  shape  of  the  early  Lydian 
coins  (Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Monnaie  dans  l' Antiquite,  vol.  i.  pp.  112,  113). 

5 “He  weighs  silver,  he  measures  grain”  (Rawlinson,  Cuns.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  13,  col.  ii. 
11.  44,  45;  cf.  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  p.  12;  Fr.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes, 
vol.  iii.  p.  2). 

6 Cf.  for  all  the  questions  raised  by  the  double  system  of  weights  in  use  by  the  Assyrians,  and 
the  weights  in  general,  with  their  equivalents,  in  our  own  money,  Oppert,  L'Etalon  des  mesures 
Assyriennes  jix€ par  les  textes  cundiformes,  p.  69,  et  seq  , and  the  observations  of  Lehmann  in  Meissner, 
Beitrdge,  etc  , pp.  95-101. 

7 We  find  several  different  examples,  during  the  Second  Chaldsean  Empire,  of  an  exchange  of  corn 

for  provisions  and  liquids  (Peiser,  Babylonische  Vertrage,  pp.  76-79),  or  of  beams  for  dates  (id., 
206,  207,  305,  306).  As  a fact,  exchange  has  never  completely  died  out  in  these  regions,  and  at  the 


750 


CHALDEE  A N Cl  VIL1ZA  TlUN. 


per  mina,  per  annum — that  is  to  say,  at  twenty  per  cent.1 — and  more  recent 
texts  show  us  that,  when  raised  to  twenty-five  per  cent.,  it  did  not  appear 
to  them  abnormal.2 

The  commerce  of  the  chief  cities  was  almost  entirely  concentrated  in 
the  temples.  The  large  quantities  of  metals  and  cereals  constantly  brought 
to  the  god,  either  as  part  of  the  fixed  temple  revenue,  or  as  daily  offer- 
ings, accumulated  so  rapidly,  that  they  would  have  overflowed  the  storehouses, 
had  not  a means  been  devised  of  utilizing  them  quickly  : the  priests  treated 
them  as  articles  of  commerce  and  made  a profit  out  of  them.3  Every 
bargain  necessitated  the  calling  in  of  a public  scribe.4  The  bill,  drawn  up 
before  witnesses  on  a clay  tablet,  enumerated  the  sums  paid  out,  the  names 
of  the  parties,  the  rate  per  cent.,  the  date  of  repayment,  and  sometimes  a penal 
clause  in  the  event  of  fraud  or  insolvency : the  tablet  remained  in  the 
possession  of  the  creditor  until  the  debt  had  been  completely  discharged.  The 
borrower  often  gave  as  a pledge  either  slaves,  a field,  or  a house,5  or  certain  of 
his  friends  would  pledge  on  his  behalf  their  own  personal  fortune  ; 6 at  times 
he  would  pay  by  the  labour  of  his  own  hands  the  interest  which  he  would 
otherwise  have  been  unable  to  meet,  and  the  stipulation  was  previously  made 
in  the  contract  of  the  number  of  days  of  corvee  which  he  should  periodically 
fulfil  for  his  creditor.7  If,  in  spite  of  all  this,  the  debtor  was  unable  to 
procure  the  necessary  funds  to  meet  his  engagements,  the  principal  became 
augmented  by  a fixed  sum — for  instance,  one-third — and  continued  to  increase 

present  day,  in  Chaldasa,  as  in  Egypt,  corn  is  used  in  many  cases  either  to  pay  Government  taxes  or 
to  discharge  commercial  debts. 

1 The  old  Sumero-Assyrian  text  published  in  Kawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  12,  col.  i. 
11.  20,  21  ; cf.  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  etc.,  pp.  19,  23  ; Peiser,  Bdbyl.  Vertrage,  etc., 
p.  227.  On  the  bills  published  by  Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  21-29,  mention  is  made  of  the  interest  to 
be  paid  with  the  capital  without  specifying  the  amount. 

2 Kawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  W.  As.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  47,  No.  9 ; cf.  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques, 
etc.,  193-195.  The  documents  are  Assyrian,  and  belong  to  the  reign  of  Assnrbanipal. 

3 Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  p.  819.  It  was  to  the  god  himself — Shamash,  for  example — that  the 
loan  was  supposed  to  be  made,  and  it  is  to  him  that  the  contracts  stipulate  that  the  capital  and 
interest  shall  be  paid.  It  is  curious  to  find  among  the  most  successful  money-lenders  several  prin- 
cesses consecrated  to  the  sun-god  (Meissner,  Beitrdge,  etc.,  p.  8).  Cf.  pp.  678,  679  of  the  present  vol. 

4 The  documents  relating  to  these  transactions  were  first  studied  by  Oppert,  Les  Inscriptions  com- 
mercial es  en  caracteres  cundiformes,  in  the  Revue  Orientate  el  Americaine,  1st  series,  vol.  vi.  pp. 
334-337  ; the  different  kinds  of  notes  relating  to  these  transactions  are  summarized  by  Fr.  Lenormant, 
La  Monnaie  dans  V Antiquite',  vol.  i.  p.  113,  et  seq. 

5 Kawlinson,  Cun.  Ins.  IF.  As.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  13,  col.  i.  II.  27-29;  cf.  Oppert-Menant,  Documents 
juridiques,  etc.,  p.  15 ; Fit.  Lenormant,  Etudes  Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  p.  42  ; Meissner,  Beitrdge , etc., 
p.  9.  Easy  credit  was  allowed  on  the  security  of  slaves  (Peiser,  Bdbyl.  Vertrage,  pp.  114-117),  on 
fields  (Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  pp.  155-157,  184,  185,234-236;  Peiser,  Bdbyl.  Vertrage, 
pp.  110-113,  164,  165),  on  a house  (Id.,  ibid.,  pp.  4-7,  10-13,  42,  43,  72-75);  in  other  cases  jewels 
of  gold  (Id.,  ibid.,  pp.  130,  131,  280,  281),  or  a charge  on  the  temple  revenues  (Id.,  ibid.,  pp.  158-161, 
292,  293),  served  as  a pledge  to  a creditor. 

6 We  sec,  for  example,  a father  going  bail  for  his  son  (Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques, 
etc.,  pp.  260-262). 

■ We  find  in  a document  of  a recent  period  a clause  imposing  two  days  of  work  on  the  debtor 
(Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques.  etc.,  pp.  266-268). 


COMMERCIAL  INTERCOURSE  BY  LAND  AND  SEA. 


751 


at  this  rate  until  the  total  value  of  the  amount  reached  that  of  the  security  : 1 
the  slave,  the  field,  or  the  house  then  ceased  to  belong  to  their  former  master, 
subject  to  a right  of  redemption,  of  which  he  was  rarely  able  to  avail  himself  for 
lack  of  means.2  The  small  tradesman  or  free  workman,  who  by  some  accident 
had  become  involved  in  debt,  seldom  escaped  this  progressive  impoverish- 
ment except  by  strenuous  efforts  aud  incessant  labour.  Foreign  commerce, 
it  is  true,  entailed  considerable  risk,  but  the  chances  of  acquiring  wealth  were 
so  great  that  many  individuals  launched  upon  it  in  preference  to  more  sure 
but  less  lucrative  undertakings.  They  would  set  off  alone  or  in  companies  for 
Elam  or  the  northern  regions,  for  Syria,  or  even  for  so  distant  a country 
as  Egypt,3  and  they  would  bring  back  in  their  caravans  all  that  was  accounted 
precious  in  those  lands.  Overland  routes  were  not  free  from  dangers  ; not 
only  were  nomad  tribes  and  professional  bandits  constantly  hovering  round  the 
traveller,  and  obliging  him  to  exercise  ceaseless  vigilance,  but  the  inhabitants 
of  the  villages  through  wdiich  he  passed,  the  local  lords  and  the  kings  of  the 
countries  which  he  traversed,  had  no  scruple  in  levying  blackmail  upon  him 
in  obliging  him  to  pay  dearly  for  right  of  way  through  their  marches  or 
territory.4  There  were  less  risks  in  choosing  a sea  route  : the  Euphrates  on 
one  side,  the  Tigris,  the  Ulai,  and  the  Uknu  on  the  other,  ran  through  a 
country  peopled  with  a rich  industrial  population,  among  whom  Chaldaean 
merchandise  was  easily  and  profitably  sold  or  exchanged  for  commodities  which 
would  command  a good  price  at  the  end  of  the  voyage.5  The  vessels  gene- 
rally were  keleks  or  “ kufas,”  but  the  latter  were  of  immense  size.  Several 

1 It  is  easy  to  foresee,  from  the  contracts  of  the  New  Assyrian  or  Babylonian  Empire,  how  in  this 
manner  the  original  sum  lent  became  doubled  (Oppebt-Menant,  Documents  juridiques,  pp.  186,  1 87)  and 
trebled  (Id.,  ibid,.,  pp.  162,  et  seq.,  187, 188)  ; generally  the  interest  accumulated  till  it  was  quadrupled 
(Id.,  il/icl.,  pp.  181,  182,  226-228,  232-234,  239,  240,  247,  248),  after  which,  no  doubt,  the  security  was 
taken  by  the  creditor.  They  probably  calcul  ated  that  the  capital  and  compound  interest  was  by  then 
equal  in  value  to  the  person  or  object  given  as  a security. 

2 The  creditors  protected  themselves  against  this  right  of  redemption  by  a maledictory  formula 
inserted  at  the  end  of  the  contracts  against  those  who  should  avail  themselves  of  it ; it  is  generally 
inscribed  on  the  boundary  stones  of  the  First  Chaldajan  Empire  (Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juri- 
diques, etc.,  p.  85,  et  seq. ; Belser,  Babylonisrhe  Kudurru-Inschriften,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  118-125;  cf.  the  observations  of  Kohler  in  Kohler-Peiser,  Babyl.  Vertriige,  pp.  40,  41). 

3 Cf.  what  is  said  of  the  commerce  of  Uru,  pp.  613-616  of  the  present  work.  A proper  name, 
Shamisri,  found  on  a contract  of  the  time  of  the  first  Babylonian  dynasty,  shows  that  there  were 
relations  between  Egypt  and  Chaldsoa,  if  it  is  correct  to  translate  it  by  “ The  Egyptian,”  as  Meissner 
believes  ( Beitrdge , etc.,  pp.  21,  107). 

4 We  have  no  information  from  Babylonian  sources  relating  to  the  state  of  the  roads,  and  the 
dangers  which  merchants  encountered  in  foreign  lauds  : the  Egyptian  documents  partly  supply  what 
is  here  lacking.  The  “instructions”  contained  in  the  Saltier  Papyrus,  No.  ii.,  show  what  were  the 
miseries  of  the  traveller  (pi.  vii.  11.  6-8),  and  the  Adventures  of  Sinulnt  (11.  96-98;  cf.  Maspero,  Les 
Contes  populaires  de  t'Egypte  ancienne,  2nd  edit.,'pp.  105,  106)  allude  to  the  insecurity  of  the  roads  in 
Syria,  by  the  very  care  taken  by  the  hero  to  relate  all  the  precautions  which  he  took  for  his  pro- 
tection. These  two  documents  are  of  the  XII"1  or  XIIIth  dynasty — that  is  to  say,  contemporaneous 
with  the  kings  of  Uru  and  with  Gudea. 

5 For  the  maritime  commerce  of  the  Chaldteau  cities,  cf.  what  is  said  on  pp.  615,  616  of  the 
present  volume. 


752 


Oil  ALB  JEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


individuals,  as  a rule,  would  club  together  to  hire  one  of  these  boats  and  freight 
it  with  a suitable  cargo.1  The  body  of  the  boat  was  very  light,  being  made  of 
osier  or  willow  covered  with  skins  sewn  together  ; a layer  of  straw  was  spread  on 
the  bottom,  on  which  were  piled  the  bales  or  chests,  which  were  again  protected 
by  a rough  thatch  of  straw.  The  crew  was  composed  of  two  oarsmen  at  least, 
and  sometimes  a few  donkeys  : the  merchants  then  pursued  their  way  up 
stream  till  they  had  disposed  of  their  cargo,  and  taken  in  a sufficient  freight 
for  their  return  voyage.2  The  dangers,  though  apparently  not  so  great  as 
those  by  the  land  route,  were  not  the  less  real.  The  boat  was  liable  to  sink 
or  run  aground  near  the  bank,  the  dwellers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
river  might  intercept  it  and  pillage  its  contents,  a war  might  break  out 
between  two  contiguous  kingdoms  and  suspend  all  commerce  : the  merchants’ 
career  continually  vacillated  between  servitude,  death,  and  fortune. 

Business  carried  on  at  home  in  the  towns  was  seldom  the  means  of  enriching 
a man,  and  sometimes  scarcely  afforded  him  a means  of  livelihood.  Rent  was 
high  for  those  who  had  not  a house  of  their  own  ; the  least  they  could  expect 
to  pay  was  half  a silver  shekel  per  annum,  but  the  average  price  was  a whole 
shekel.  On  taking  possession  they  paid  a deposit  which  sometimes  amounted 
to  one-third  of  the  whole  sum,  the  remainder  being  due  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
The  leases  lasted,  as  a rule,  merely  a twelvemonth,  though  sometimes  they 
were  extended  for  terms  of  greater  length,  such  as  two,  three,  or  even  eight 
years.  The  cost  of  repairs  and  of  keeping  the  house  in  good  condition  fell 
usually  upon  the  lessee,  who  was  also  allowed  to  build  upon  the  land  he  had 
leased,  in  which  case  it  was  declared  free  of  all  charges  for  a period  of  about 
ten  years,  but  the  house,  and,  as  a rule,  all  he  had  built,  then  reverted  to  the 
landlord.3  Most  possessors  of  shops  made  their  own  goods  for  sale,  assisted  by 
slaves  or  free  apprentices.  Every  workman  taught  his  own  trade  to  his  children, 
and  these  in  their  turn  would  instruct  theirs ; families  which  had  an  here- 
ditary profession,  or  from  generation  to  generation  had  gathered  bands  of 
workmen  about  them,  formed  themselves  into  various  guilds,  or,  to  use  the 
customary  term,  into  tribes,  governed  by  chiefs  and  following  specified  customs. 
A workman  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  the  weavers,  or  of  the  blacksmiths, 
or  of  the  corn-merchants,  and  the  description  of  an  individual  would  not 

1 We  find  ill  Strassmaier,  Die  Babylonischen  Inschriften  in  Museum  zum  Liverpool  (in  the  Acles 
du  VI-  Congres  International  des  Orientalistes,  2nd  part,  sect.  i.  p.  575,  No.  28,  and  pis.  xxvii.,  xxviii.), 
a list  of  people  who  had  hired  a boat.  The  payment  demanded  was  sometimes  considerable:  the  only- 
contract  which  I know  of  existing  for  such  a transaction  is  of  the  time  of  Darius  I.,  and  exacts 
a silver  shekel  per  day  for  the  hire  of  boat  and  crew  (Peiser,  Babyl.  Vertrdge,  pp.  108-111,  273). 

2 These  are  the  vessels  seen  and  described  by  Herodotus  (i.  194).  Very  similar  ones  are  still  in 
use  on  the  Tigris  (Layard,  Nineveh  and  its  Remains,  I.  ch.  xiii.,  and  II.  ch.  v.). 

3 Meissner,  Beilrdge  zum  altbabylonischen  Privatrecht,  pp.  71,  72. 


TEE  COB  POTATIONS : TEE  MANUFACTURE  OF  BRICKS. 


753 


have  been  considered  as  sufficiently  exact,  if  the  designation  of  his  tribe  were 
not  inserted  after  his  name  alongside  his  paternal  affiliation.1  The  organization 
was  like  that  of  Egypt,  but  more  fully  developed.2  The  various  trades,  more- 
over, were  almost  the  same  among  the  two  peoples,  the  exceptions  being  such 
as  are  readily  accounted  for  by  the  differences  in  the  nature  of  the  soil  and 
physical  constitution  of  the  respective  countries.  We  do  not  meet  on  the 
banks  of  the  Euphrates  with  those  corporations  of  stone-cutters  and  marble 
workers  which  were  so  numerous  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  The  vast 
Chaldaean  plain,  in  the  absence  of  mountains  or  accessible  quarries,  would  have 
furnished  no  occupation  for  them  : the  Chaldaeans  had  to  go  a long  way  in  quest 
of  the  small  quantities  of  limestone,  alabaster,  or  diorite  which  they  required, 
and  which  they  reserved  only  for  details  of  architectural  decoration  for  which  a 
small  number  of  artisans  and  sculptors  were  amply  sufficient.  The  manufacture 
of  bricks,  on  the  other  hand,  made  great  progress;  they  made  crude  bricks 
larger  than  those  of  Egypt,  and  they  were  more  enduring,  composed  of  liner 
clav  and  better  executed  ; the  manufacture  of  burnt  brick  too  was  carried  to  a 
degree  of  perfection  to  which  Memphis  or  Thebes  never  attained.  An  ancient 
legend  ascribes  the  invention  of  the  bricks,  and  consequently  the  construc- 
tion of  the  earliest  cities,  jointly  to  Sin,  the  eldest  son  of  Bel,  and  Ninib  his 
brother  : 3 this  event  was  said  to  have  taken  place  in  May- J une,  and  from  that 
time  forward  the  third  month  of  the  year,  over  which  the  twins  presided,  was 
called,  Murga  in  Sumerian,  Simanu  in  the  Semitic  speech,  the  month  of  brick.4 
This  was  the  season  which  was  especially  devoted  to  the  processes  of  their 
manufacture : the  flood  in  the  rivers,  which  was  very  great  in  the  preceding 
months,  then  began  to  subside,  and  the  clay  which  was  deposited  by  the  waters 
during  the  weeks  of  overflow,  washed  and  refined  as  it  was,  lent  itself  readily 
to  the  operation.  The  sun,  moreover,  gave  forth  sufficient  heat  to  dry  the  clay 
blocks  in  a uniform  and  gradual  manner:  later,  in  July  and  August,  they 
would  crack  under  the  ardour  of  his  rays,  and  become  converted  externally 

1 The  existence  of  these  corporations  or  tribes  is  proved,  at  Babylon,  for  instance,  by  the  docu- 
ments of  the  Second  Chaldsean  Empire,  which  almost  always  furnish  the  name  of  the  tribe  together 
with  the  affiliation  of  the  individuals  engaged  in  any  legal  claims.  This  fact  was  pointed  out  by 
OrrERT,  Balylone  et  les  Babyloniens  (in  the  Encyclopedic  des  Gens  du  Monde,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  658), 
in  which  the  meaning  “ caste”  was  suggested  ; cf.  Les  Tablettes  juridiques  de  Babylone,  in  the  Journal 
Asiatique,  vol.  xv.  1880,  pp.  543,  541. 

2 On  the  corporations  and  handicraftsmen  in  Egypt,  see  pp  310,  311  of  the  present  work. 

3 The  legendary  origin  and  the  manufacture  of  bricks  have  been  fully  treated  by  Fr.  Lenormant, 
Les  Origines  de  VHistoire,  vol.  i.  p.  141,  et  seq. 

4 These  names  have  been  taken  from  a tablet  in  the  British  Museum,  which  was  first  published 
by  Edwin  Norris,  Assyrian  Dictionary,  part  1,  p.  50 ; afterwards  by  Delitzsch,  Assyrisclie  Lesestiicke, 
2nd  edit.,  p.  70,  No.  3.  The  proof  that  Simanu,  the  Sivan  of  the  Jews,  was  the  month  devoted  to  the 
manufacture  of  bricks,  was  first  met  with  in  the  inscription  called  “the  Barrels”  or  “Cones”  of 
Sargon,  which  was  first  examined  by  Oppert,  Expedition  scientifique  en  Mesopotamie,  vol.  i.  pp.  355, 
356,  and  Les  Inscriptions  de  Dour-Sarlcayan,  in  Place,  Ninive,  vol.  ii.  p.  290. 

3 c 


754 


CTTA  LDJEA  N CIVIL1ZA  T10N. 


into  a friable  mass,  while  their  interior  would  remain  too  moist  to  allow  them  to 
be  prudently  used  in  carefully  built  structures.  The  work  of  brick-making  was 
inaugurated  with  festivals  and  sacrifices  to  Sin,  Merodach,  Nebo,  and  all  the 
deities  who  were  concerned  in  the  art  of  building  : further  religious  ceremonies 
were  observed  at  intervals  during  the  month  to  sanctify  the  progress  of  the 
work.  The  manufacture  did  not  cease  on  the  last  day  of  the  month,  but  was 
continued  with  more  or  less  activity,  according  to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  the 
importance  of  the  orders  received,  until  the  return  of  the  inundation  : but  the 
bricks  intended  for  public  buildings,  temples,  or  palaces,  could  not  be  made 
outside  a prescribed  limit  of  time.1  The  shades  of  colour  produced  naturally 
in  the  process  of  burning — red  or  yellow,  grey  or  brown — were  not  pleasant  to 
the  eye,  and  they  were  accustomed,  therefore,  to  coat  the  bricks  with  an 
attractive  enamel  which  preserved  them  from  the  disintegrating  effects  of  sun 
and  rain.2  The  paste  was  laid  on  the  edges  or  sides  while  the  brick  was  in 
a crude  state,  and  was  incorporated  with  it  by  vitrification  in  the  heat  of 
the  kiln.  The  process  was  known  from  an  early  date  in  Egypt,  but  was  rarely 
employed  there  in  the  decoration  of  buildings,3  while  in  Chaldaea  the  use  of 
such  enamelled  plaques  was  common.  The  substructures  of  palaces  and  the 
exterior  walls  of  temples  were  left  unadorned,  but  the  shrines  which  crowned 
the  “ ziggurat,”  the  reception-halls,  and  the  headings  of  doors  were  covered 
with  these  many-coloured  tiles.  Fragments  of  them  are  found  to-day  in  the 
ruins  of  the  cities,  and  the  analysis  of  these  pieces  shows  the  marvellous 
skill  of  the  ancient  workers  in  enamel ; the  shades  of  colour  are  pure  and 
pleasant  to  the  eye,  while  the  material  is  so  evenly  put  on  and  so  solid,  that 
neither  centuries  of  burial  in  a sodden  soil,  nor  the  wear  and  tear  of  transport, 
nor  the  exposure  to  the  damp  of  our  museums,  have  succeeded  in  diminishing 
their  brilliance  and  freshness.4 

To  get  a clear  idea  of  the  industrial  operations  of  the  country,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  see  the  various  corporations  at  their  work,  as  we  are  able  to  do, 
in  the  case  of  Egypt  in  the  scenes  of  the  mastabas  of  Saqqara,  or  of  the 
rock-chambers  of  Beni-Hasan.  The  manufacture  of  stone  implements  gave 

1 These  facts  are  deduced  from  the  passage  in  the  “ Barrel  Inscription,”  11.  57-61,  in  which  Sargon, 
King  of  Assyiia,  gives  an  account  of  the  founding  of  the  city  of  Dur-Sharrukin. 

2 In  regard  to  enamelled  brick,  and  the  pait  it  played  in  Chaldaean  decoration,  see  Perrot- 
Chipiez,  Histoire  de  V Art  dans  V Antiquity  vol.  ii.  p.  295,  et  seq. 

3 The  only  ancient  example  known  would  be  the  sepulchral  chamber  of  the  step-pyramid  of 
Saqqara,  if,  as  I believe,  the  enamelled  bricks  which  case  it  date  back,  in  part,  at  least,  to  the 
Memphite  empire  ; see  p.  243,  note  1,  of  the  present  work. 

4 Taylor  found  numerous  fragments  of  these,  most  of  them  blue  in  colour,  at  Muglieir,  in  the 
ruins  of  Urn  ( Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  Royal  Asiat.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  p.  262)  ; Loftus 
(Travels  and  Researches  in  Ghaldxa  and  Susiana,  p.  185)  brought  to  light  as  many  in  the  ruins  of 
Uruk.  It  is  possible  that  those  fragments  are  to  be  attributed,  not  to  the  early  structures,  but  to  the 
works  of  restoration  undertaken  in  these  temples  by  the  kings  of  the  Second  Chaldsean  Empire. 


STONE  AND  METAL  IMPLEMENTS. 


755 


considerable  employment,  and  the  equipment  of  the  dead  in  the  tombs  of  Uru 
would  have  been  a matter  of  small  moment,  if  there  were  taken  from  it  its  flint 
implements,  its  knives,  cleavers,  scrapers,  adzes,  axes,  and  hammers.1  The 
cutting  of  these  objects  is 
bold,  and  the  final  touches 
show  skill,  but  we  rarely 
meet  with  that  purity  of  con- 
tour and  intensity  of  polish 
which  distinguish  similar 
objects  among  Western 
peoples.  A few  examples,  it 
is  true,  are  of  fairly  artistic  chald.ean  stone  implements.2 

shape,  and  bear  engraved 

inscriptions  : one  of  these,  a flint  hammer  of  beautiful  form,  belonged  to  a 
god,  probably  Ramman,  and  seems  to  have  come  from  a temple  in  which  one 
of  its  owners  had  deposited  it.3  It  is  an  exception,  and  a remarkable  ex- 


CHALDJEAN  STONE  HAMMER  BEARING  AN  INSCRIPTION.4 


ception.  Stone  was  the  material  of  the  implements  of  the  poor — implements 
which  were  coarse  in  shape,  and  cost  little:  if  much  care  were  given  to  their 
execution,  they  would  come  to  be  so  costly  that  no  oue  would  buy  them,  or,  if 
sold  for  a moderate  sum,  the  seller  would  obtain  no  profit  from  the  transaction. 
Beyond  a certain  price,  it  was  more  advantageous  to  purchase  metal  implements, 

1 The  British  Museum  possesses  a very  interesting  collection  made  by  Taylor,  Notes  on  Abu- 
Shahrein,  etc.,  in  the  Journ.  Asiat.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  pi.  ii.  b,  h,  i,  1;,  m,  n;  and  by  Loftus,  Travels  and 
Researches  in  Clialdxa  and  Susiana.  Some  of  these  objects  have  been  reproduced  by  G.  Rawlinson, 
Five  Great  Monarchies,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  95-98. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  sketches  published  by  Taylor  and  by  G.  Rawlinson,  Five 
Great  Monarchies,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  95,  9G.  On  the  left  a scraper  and  two  knives  one  above  the 
other,  an  axe  in  the  middle,  on  the  right  an  axe  and  a hammer.  All  these  objects  were  found  in 
Taylor’s  excavations  {Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  in  the  Journ.  Royal  Asiat.  Soc.,  vol.  xv. 
pi.  ii.  b,  h,  i,  It,  m,  n ),  and  are  now  in  the  British  Museum. 

3 It  was  found  in  the  ancient  collection  of  Cardinal  Borgia,  and  belonged  some  years  ago  to 
Count  Ettore  Borgia.  An  engraving  of  it  was  given  in  Stevens,  Flint  Chips,  p.  115,  and  a facsimile 
of  it  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  Tre  Monument i Caldei,  etc.,  1879,  pp.  4-9,  and  pi.  vi.  1 ; C'artailhac,  L’Age  de 
la  pierre  en  Asie,  in  the  Troisieme  Congres  provincial  des  Orientalistes,tenu  a Lyon,  vol.  i.  pp.  321,  322, 
has  reproduced  Lenormant’s  notes  on  it. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  illustration  published  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  Tre  Monumenti 
Caldei,  etc.,  pi.  vi.,  No.  1, 


C II ALT) JEAN  Cl V1L1ZA TION. 


75  G 


of  copper  in  the  early  ages,  afterwards  of  bronze,  and  lastly  of  iron.1  Among 
the  metal-founders  and  smiths  all  kinds  of  examples  of  these  were  to  be  found 
— axes  of  an  elegant  and  graceful  design,  hammers  and  knives,  as  well  as  culinary 

and  domestic  utensils,  cups,  cauldrons, 

dishes,  mountings  of  doors  and  coffers, 
statuettes  of  men,  bulls,  monsters,  and 
gods — which  could  be  turned  promptly  into 
amulets  by  inscribing  on  them,  or  pronouncing 
over  them,  some  prayer  or  formula ; 
ornaments,  rings,  earrings,  bracelets, 
and  anlde-rings;  and  lastly,  weapons 
of  all  descriptions — arrow  and  lance 
heads,  swords,  daggers,  and  rounded 
helmets  with  neck-piece  or  visor.3  Some  of  the  metal  objects  manufactured  by 
the  Chaldmans  attained  large  dimensions;  for  instance,  the  “ brazen  seas  ” which 
were  set  up  before  each  sanctuary,  either  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the 
libations,  or  for  the  prescribed  rites  of  purification.4  As  is  often  the  case 
among  half-civilized  peoples,  the  goldsmiths  worked  in  the  precious  metals 
with  much  facility  and  skill.  We  have  not  succeeded  up  to  the  present  in 
finding  any  of  those  golden  images  which  the  kings  were  accustomed  to 
dedicate  in  the  temples  out  of  their  own  possessions,  or  the  spoil  obtained  from 
the  enemy ; but  a silver  vase  dedicated  to  Ningirsu  by  Entena,  vicegerent 


CHALDJ5AN  IMPLEMENTS  OF  BRONZE.2 


1 It  was  at  first  thought  that  all  the  objects  found  in  the  tombs  of  Uru  were  of  bronze  : Berthelot’s 
analyses  ( Introduction  a V Etude  de  la  Chirnie  des  Anciens  et  du  Moyen  Age,  p.  225)  have  demonstrated 
that  some  at  least  are  of  pure  cojiper. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudiu,  from  Rawlinson’s  Fioe  Great  Monarchies,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  97. 
On  the  right  two  axes,  in  the  middle  a hammer,  on  the  left  a knife,  and  below  the  head  of  a lance. 

3 The  axes,  adze-heads,  hammers,  and  knives  come  from  the  tombs  of  Uru,  as  well  as  part  of  the 
cups  and  domestic  vessels  (Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer,  pp.  271,  273).  The  mountings  and 
the  statuettes  were  found  almost  everywhere  in  the  ruius  at  Lagash  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Fouilles  en 
Chaldee,  pp.  28,  29),  or  in  the  modem  town  of  Afaji,  near  Bagdad  (A.  de  Longperier,  Le  Muses 
Napoleon,  vol.  iii.  pi.  ii.),  or  at  Kalwadha  (inscription  in  TF.  A.  Lise.,  vol.  i.  pi.  iv.,  No.  15).  The 
ornaments  and  weapons  come  from  either  Uru  or  Uruk  (Taylor,  Notes  on  the  Ruins  of  Muqeyer , in  the 
Journ.  Asiat.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  pp.  272,  273;  Notes  on  Abu-Shahrein,  ibid.,  p.  415),  or  from  Lagash  and  its 
neighbourhood  (Hedzey,  La  Lance  colossale  d’Izdoubar,  etc.,  in  the  Comptes  Rendus  de  VAcad.  des 
Insc.  et  Belles-Lettres,  1893,  vol.  xxi.  pp.  305-310).  II  lmets  are  seen  on  the  remains  of  the  “ Vulture 
Stele”  (see  p.  GOO  of  the  present  work);  the  Louvre  possesses  one  of  the  same  shape  (A.  de  Long- 
perier, Notices  des  Antiquites  Assyriennes,  3rd  edit.,  p.  53,  No.  223),  which  belonged  to  the  Assyrian 
epoch,  and  came  from  Khorsabad.  The  bronze  or  copper  lance  discovered  by  Sarzec  at  Telloh  shows 
that  the  Chaldiean  smiths  were  not  afraid  to  undertake  colossal  objects ; it  is  decorated  with  engraved 
desigus  of  a remarkable  clearness. 

4 King  Urnina  of  Lagash  set  up  a “ Great  ” and  “ Little  Sea,”  and  the  word  which  he  used, 
“ zuab,”  “abzu,”  is  that  which  designates  the  celestial  Ocean  (see  p.  5 17  of  the  present  work),  in 
whose  bosom  the  world  rests  (Heuzey-Sarzec,  Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  pi.  2,  No.  2,  col.  iii.  11.  5,  G, 
col.  iv.  11.  6,  7 ; Oppert,  Deux  Textes  tres  anciens,  in  the  Comptes  Rendus  de  VAcad.  des  Insc.  et  Belles- 
Lettres,  vol.  xi.,  1883,  p.  75,  et  seq. ; Amiaud,  Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  in  the  Records  of  the  Fast,  2nd 
series,  vol.  ii.  p.  66).  The  comparison  of  these  “abzu,”  so  common  in  ancient  Ch.ddaian  temples, 
with  the  “ brazen  sea  ” of  the  temple  of  Solomon,  was  made  by  Sayce  in  a note  to  the  translation 
of  Amiaud  ( Records  of  the  Fast,  2nd  series,  vol.  i.  p.  65,  note  1). 


GOLDSMITHS’  WORK  AND  THE  ENGRAVING  OF  CYLINDERS.  7 57 


of  Lagash,  gives  us  some  idea  of  this  department  of  the  temple  furniture.1  It 
stands  upright  on  a small  square  bronze  pedestal  with  four 
feet.  A piously  expressed  inscription  runs  round  the  neck, 
and  the  bowl  of  the  vase  is  divided  horizontally  into  two 
divisions,  framed  above  and  below  by  twisted  cord-work.  Four 
two-headed  eagles,  with  outspread  wings  and  tail,  occupy 
the  lower  division  ; they  are  in  the  act  of  seizing  with  their 
claws  two  animals,  placed  back  to  back,  represented  in  the 
act  of  walking  : the  intervals  between  the  eagles  are  filled 
up  alternatively  by  two  lions,  two  wild  goats,  and  two  stags.  Above, 
and  close  to  the  rise  of  the  neck,  are  disposed  seven  heifers  lying 
down  and  all  looking  in  the  same  direction : they  are  all  engraved 
upon  the  flat  metal,  and  are  without  relief  or  incrustation.  The 
whole  composition  is  harmoniously  put  together,  the  posture  of  the 
animals  and  their  general  form  are  well  conceived  and  boldly 
rendered,  but  the  details  of  the  mane  of  the  lions  and  the  feathers 
of  the  eagles  are  reproduced  with  a realism  and 
attention  to  minutiae  which  belong  to  the  infancy  of 
art.  This  single  example  of  ancient  goldsmiths’  work 
would  be  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  early  Chaldaeans 
were  not  a whit  behind  the  Egyptians  in  this  handi- 
liLLL  craft,  even  if  we  had  not  the  golden  ornaments,  the 
bracelets,  ear  and  finger  rings  to  judge  from,  with 
which  the  tombs  have  furnished  us  in  considerable 
numbers.3  Alongside  the  goldsmiths  there  must  have 
been  a whole  army  of  lapidaries  and  gem-cutters  occu- 
pied in  the  engraving  of  cylinders.  Numerous  and  deli- 
cate operations  were  required  to  metamorphose  a scrap 
of  crude  rock,  marble,  granite,  agate,  onyx,  green  and  red 
jasper,  crystal  or  lapis-lazuli,  into  one  of  those  marvellous 
seals  which  are  now  found  by  the  hundred  scattered 
throughout  the  museums  of  Europe.  They  had  to  be 
rounded,  reduced  to  the  proper  proportions,  and  polished,  vase  of  silver.4 
before  the  subject  or  legend  could  be  engraved  upon  them 
with  the  burin.  To  drill  a hole  through  them  required  great  dexterity, 


1 Heuzey,  Le  Vase  du  paie.d  Entdna,  in  the  Comptes  Rendus  de  V Acaddmie  des  Inscriptions,  1893,  vol. 
xxi.  pp.  169-171 ; and  Le  patesi  Entdmdna,  d’apres  les  ddcouvertes  de  M.  de  Sarzec,  ibid.,  pp.  318,  319. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  Heuzey-Sarzec,  De'couverte s en  Chaldde,  pi.  28,  No.  6.  The 
initial  vignette  of  the  present  chapter  (p.  703)  gives  a good  idea  of  this  kind  of  amulet. 

3 Taylor,  Notes  on  Abu-Shahrein,  in  the  Journ.  Asiat.  Soc.,  vol.  xv.  p.  415. 

4 Drawn  by  Faucher-GuJiu,  from  Heuzey- Sarzec,  Ddcouvertes  en  Chaldde,  pi.  43. 


758 


CEA  LDJEA  N Cl  VI L IZA  T1 0 N. 


and  some  of  the  lapidaries,  from  a dread  of  breaking  the  cylinder,  either 
did  not  pierce  it  at  all,  or  merely  bored  a shallow  hole  into  each  extremity 
to  allow  it  to  roll  freely  in  its  metallic  mounting.  The  tools  used  in 
engraving  were  similar  to  those  employed  at  the  present  day,  but  of  a 
rougher  kind.  The  burin,  which  was  often  nothing  more  than  a flint  point, 
marked  out  the  area  of  the  design,  and  sketched  out  the  figures;  the  saw 
was  largely  employed  to  cut  away  the  depressions  when  these  required 
no  detailed  handling ; and  lastly,  the  drill,  either  worked  with  the  hand 
or  in  a kind  of  lathe,  was  made  to  indicate  the  joints  and  muscles  of  the 
individual  by  a series  of  round  holes.  The  object  thus  summarily  dealt  with 
might  ba  regarded  as  sufficiently  worked  for  ordinary  clients ; but  those  who 
were  willing  to  pay  for  them  could  obtain  cylinders  from  which  every  mark  of 
the  tool  had  been  adroitly  removed,  and  where  the  beauty  of  the  workmanship 
vied  with  the  costliness  of  the  material.1  The  seal  of  Shargani,  King  of  Agade, 
that  of  Bingani-shar-ali,2  and  many  others  which  have  been  picked  up  by 
chance  in  the  excavations,  are  true  bas-reliefs,  reduced  and  condensed,  so  to 
speak,  to  the  space  of  something  like  a square  inch  of  surface,  but  conceived 
with  an  artistic  ingenuity  and  executed  with  a boldness  which  modern 
engravers  have  rarely  equalled  and  never  surpassed.  There  are  traces  on 
them,  it  is  true,  of  some  of  the  defects  which  disfigured  the  later  work  of  the 
Assyrians — heaviness  of  form,  exaggerated  prominence  of  muscles  and  hardness 
of  outline — but  there  are  also  all  the  qualities  which  distinguish  an  original 
and  forcible  art. 

The  countries  of  the  Euphrates  were  renowned  in  classic  times  for  the 
beauty  of  the  embroidered  and  painted  stuffs  which  they  manufactured.3  Nothing 
has  come  down  to  us  of  these  Babylonian  tissues  of  which  the  Greek  and  Latin 
writers  extolled  the  magnificence,  but  we  may  form  some  idea,  from  the  statues 
and  the  figures  engraved  on  cylinders,  of  what  the  weavers  and  embroiderers  of 
this  ancient  time  were  capable.  The  loom  which  they  made  use  of  differed 
but  slightly  from  the  horizontal  loom  commonly  employed  in  the  Nile  Yalley, 
and  everything  tends  to  show  that  their  plain  linen  cloths  were  of  the  kind 
represented  in  the  swathings  and  fragments  of  clothing  still  to  be  found  in  the 
sepulchral  chambers  of  Memphis  and  Thebes.  The  manufacture  of  fleecy 
woollen  garments  so  much  affected  by  men  and  women  alike  indicates  a great 

1 The  numerous  ojjerations  required  in  tlie  manufacture  of  cylinders  have  been  treated  by  Menanw, 
Eecherches  sur  la  Glyptique  orientale,  vol.  i.  p.  45,  et  seq. 

2 The  Shargani  cylinder  is  reproduced  on  p.  601,  that  of  Bingani  on  p.  582  of  the  present  work. 

3 Pliny,  Hist.  Nat.,  viii.  74  : “ Colores  diversos  picturse  intexere  Babylon  maxime  celebravit, 
et  nonren  imjrosuit.”  Most  modern  writers  understand  by  tapestry  what  the  ancients  were  accus- 
tomed to  call  needle  embroidery  or  painting  on  stuffs : I can  find  no  indication  on  the  most  ancient 
monuments  of  Chaldsea  or  Egypt  of  the  manufacturing  of  real  tapestry. 


WEAVERS:  CONDITION  OF  OPERATIVES. 


759 


dexterity.  When  once  the  threads  of  the  woof  had  been  stretched,  those  of 
the  warp  were  attached  to  them  by  knots  in  as  many  parallel  lines — at  regular 
intervals — as  there  were  rows  of  fringe  to  be  displayed  on  the  surface  of  the  cloth, 
the  loops  thus  formed  being  allowed  to  hang  down  in  their  respective  places : 
sometimes  these  loops  were  retained  just  as  they  stood,  sometimes  they  were 
cut  and  the  ends  frayed  out  so  as  to  give  the  appearance  of  a shaggy  texture.1 
Most  of  these  stuffs  preserved  their  original  white  or  creamy  colour — especially 
those  woven  at  home  by 
the  women  for  the  require- 
ments of  their  own  toilet, 
and  for  the  ordinary  uses 
of  the  household.  The 
Chaldaeans,  however,  like 
many  other  Asiatic  peoples, 
had  a strong  preference 
for  lively  colours,  and  the 
outdoor  garments  and  gala  attire  of  the  rich  were  distinguished  by  a pro- 
fusion of  blue  patterns  on  a red  ground,  or  red  upon  blue,  arranged  in  stripes, 
zigzags,  checks,  and  dots  or  circles.3  There  must,  therefore,  have  been  as  much 
occupation  for  dyers  as  there  was  for  weavers ; and  it  is  possible  that  the  two 
operations  were  carried  out  by  the  same  hands.  We  know  nothing  of  the  bakers, 
butchers,  carriers,  masons,  and  other  artisans  who  supplied  the  necessities  of  the 
cities : they  were  doubtless  able  to  make  two  ends  meet  and  nothing  more,  and 
if  we  should  succeed  some  day  in  obtaining  information  about  them,  we  shall 
probably  find  that  their  condition  was  as  miserable  as  that  of  their  Egyptian 
contemporaries.4  The  course  of  their  lives  was  monotonous  enough,  except 
when  it  was  broken  at  prescribed  intervals  by  the  ordinary  festivals  in  honour 


1 With  regard  to  the  stuffs  called  “ kaunakes  ” by  the  Greeks,  and  the  methods  employed  in  their 
manufacture,  see  Heczey,  Let  Origines  Orientates  de  I’Art,  vol.  i.  p.  120,  et  seq. ; cf.  pp.  718-720  of  the 
present  work  for  the  various  modes  of  wearing  the  mantle. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a heliogravure  in  Mesant’s  Catalogue  de  la  collection  de  M.  de 
Clercq,  vol.  i.  pi.  1,  No.  1. 

3 Egyptian  monuments  give  us  an  idea  of  the  colours  of  Asiatic  stuffs,  in  the  absence  of  any  infor- 
mation from  Chaldrean  sources.  The  most  ancient  example  is  furnished  by  the  scen9  in  the  tomb  of 
Khnumhotpu,  where  we  see  an  Asiatic  tribe  bearing  a present  of  Kohl  to  the  prince  of  Beni-Hasau 
(Champollion,  Monuments  de  VEgypte,  etc.,  pis.  ccclxi.,  ccclxii.,  and  vol.  ii.  pp.  410-412 ; Rosellim, 
Monumenti  Storici,  pis.  xxvi.-xxviii. ; Lepsius,  Denkm.,  x.  131-133;  Guiffith-Newberry,  Beni- 
Hasan,  vol.  i.  pis.  xxx.,  xxxi.  ; cf.  pp.  468,  469  of  the  present  work.  This  sceue  belongs  to  the  XIIth 
dynasty — that  is  to  say,  a little  earlier  than  the  period  of  Gudea  at  Lagash.  [For  the  esteem  in 
which  these  “ goodly  Babylonish  garments  ” were  held  by  other  nations,  cf.  Joshua  vii.  21. — Trs.] 

4 See  pp.  311-315  of  the  present  work  for  an  account  of  the  miseries  of  artisans  in  Egypt.  This 
is  taken  from  a source  belonging  to  the  XIIth  or  possibly  the  XIIIth  dynasty.  We  may  assume,  from 
the  fact  that  the  two  civilizations  were  about  on  the  same  level,  that  the  information  supplied  in  this 
respect  by  the  Egyptian  monuments  is  generally  applicable  to  the  condition  of  Chaldasan  workmen 
of  the  same  period. 


OB  ALT)  JEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


7G0 

of  the  gods  of  the  city,  or  by  the  casual  suspensions  of  work  occasioned  by 
the  triumphant  return  of  the  king  from  some  warlike  expedition,  or  by  his 
inauguration  of  a new  temple.  The  gaiety  of  the  people  on  such  occasions  was 
the  more  exuberant  in  proportion  to  the  undisturbed  monotony  or  misery  of 
the  days  which  preceded  them.  As  soon,  for  instance,  as  Gudea  had  brought 
to  completion  Ininnu,  the  house  of  his  patron  Ningirsu,  “ he  felt  relieved  from 
the  strain  and  washed  his  hands.  For  seven  days,  no  grain  was  bruised  in  the 
quern,  the  maid  was  the  equal  of  her  mistress,  the  servant  walked  in  the  same 
rank  as  his  master,  the  strong  and  the  weak  rested  side  by  side  in  the  city.”  1 2 
The  world  seemed  topsy-turvy  as  during  the  Roman  Saturnalia;  the  classes 
mingled  together,  and  the  inferiors  were  probably  accustomed  to  abuse  the 
unusual  licence  which  they  momentarily  enjoyed:  when  the  festival  was  over, 
social  distinctions  reasserted  themselves,  and  each  one  fell  back  into  his 
accustomed  position.  Life  was  not  so  pleasant  in  Chaldsea  as  in  Egypt.  The 
innumerable  promissory  notes,  the  receipted  accounts,  the  contracts  of  sale  and 
purchase — these  cunningly  drawn  up  deeds  which  have  been  deciphered  by  the 
hundred — reveal  to  us  a people  greedy  of  gain,  exacting,  litigious,  and  almost 
exclusively  absorbed  by  material  concerns.  The  climate,  too,  variable  and 
oppressive  in  summer  and  winter  alike,  imposed  upon  the  Chaldsean  painful 
exactions,  and  obliged  him  to  work  with  an  energy  of  which  the  majority  of 
Egyptians  would  not  have  felt  themselves  capable.  The  Chaldeean,  suffering 
greater  and  more  prolonged  hardships,  earned  more  doubtless,  but  was  not  on 
this  account  the  happier.  However  lucrative  his  calling  might  be,  it  was  not 
sufficiently  so  to  supply  him  always  with  domestic  necessities,  and  both 
tradespeople  and  operatives  were  obliged  to  run  into  debt  to  supplement  their 
straitened  means.  When  they  had  once  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  usurer, 
the  exorbitant  interest  which  they  had  to  pay  kept  them  a long  time  in  his 
power.  If  when  the  bill  fell  due  there  was  nothing  to  meet  it,  it  had  to  be 
renewed  under  still  more  disastrous  conditions;  as  the  pledge  given  was  usually 
the  homestead,  or  the  slave  who  assisted  in  the  trade,  or  the  garden  which 
supplied  food  for  the  family,  the  mortgagor  was  reduced  to  the  extreme  of 
misery  if  he  could  not  satisfy  his  creditors.  This  plague  of  usury  was  not, 
moreover,  confined  to  the  towns ; it  raged  with  equal  violence  in  the  country, 
and  the  farmers  also  became  its  victims. 

1 Statue  B of  Gudea,  col.  vii.  11.  26-34;  cf.  Heczey-Sarzec,  Dfaouvertes,  pis.  17,  18;  Amxaud, 
Inscriptions  of  Telloh,  in  tlie  Records  of  the  Past,  2nd  series,  vol.  ii.  pp.  83,  84  (cf.  Heozey-Sarzec, 
op.  cit.,  p.  xii.) ; Jensen,  Inschriften  der  Kdnige,  in  the  Keihchriftliclie  Bibliothelc,  vol.  iii1.  pp.  41,  42  ; 
cf.  p.  322  of  the  present  work  for  a description  of  the  Feast  of  Drunkenness  in  Egypt,  as  it  was  cele- 
brated at  Denderah. 

2 On  the  increase  of  the  debt  consequent  upon  failure  to  meet  a bill,  sec  pp.  750,  751  of  the 
present  work. 


THE  RENT  OF  THE  LAND. 


761 


If,  theoretically,  the  earth  belonged  to  the  gods,  and  under  them  to  the 
kings,  the  latter  had  made,  and  continued  daily  to  make,  such  large  concessions 
of  it  to  their  vassals,  that  the  greater  part  of  their  domains  were  always  in  the 
hands  of  the  nobles  or  private  individuals.  These  could  dispose  of  their 
landed  possessions  at  pleasure,  farm  it  out,  sell  it  or  distribute  it  among  their 
heirs  and  friends.  They  paid  on  account  of  it  a tax  which  varied  at  different 
epochs,  but  which  was  always  burthensome ; but  when  they  had  once  satisfied 
this  exaction,  and  paid  the  dues  which  the  temples  might  claim  on  behalf  of  the 
gods,  neither  the  State  nor  any  individual  had  the  right  to  interfere  in  their 
administration  of  it,  or  put  any  restrictions  upon  them.  Some  proprietors 
cultivated  their  lands  themselves — the  poor  by  their  own  labour,  the  rich  by 
the  aid  of  some  trustworthy  slave  whom  they  interested  in  the  success  of  his 
farming  by  assigning  him  a certain  percentage  on  the  net  return.  Sometimes 
the  lands  were  leased  out  in  whole  or  in  part  to  free  peasants  who  relieved  the 
proprietors  of  all  the  worry  and  risks  of  managing  it  themselves.  A survey  of 
the  area  of  each  state  had  been  made  at  an  early  age,  and  the  lots  into  which 
it  had  been  divided  were  registered  on  clay  tablets  containing  the  name  of  the 
proprietor  as  well  as  those  of  his  neighbours,  together  with  such  indications 
of  the  features  of  the  land,  dykes,  canals,  rivers,  and  buildings  as  would 
serve  to  define  its  boundaries : rough  plans  accompanied  the  description,  and 
in  the  most  complicated  instances  interpreted  it  to  the  eye.1  This  survey 
was  frequently  repeated,  and  enabled  the  sovereign  to  arrange  his  scheme  of 
taxation  on  a solid  basis,  and  to  calculate  the  product  of  it  without  material 
error.  Gardens  and  groves  of  date-palms,  together  with  large  regions  devoted 
to  rough  attempts  at  vegetable  culture,  were  often  to  be  met  with,  especially  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  towns  ; these  paid  their  contributions  to  the  State,  as 
well  as  the  owners’  rent,  in  kind — in  fruit,  vegetables,  and  fresh  or  dried  dates. 
The  best  soil  was  reserved  for  the  growth  of  wheat  and  other  cereals,  and  its 
extent  was  measured  in  terms  of  corn ; corn  was  also  the  standard  in  which  the 
revenue  was  reckoned  both  in  public  and  private  contracts.2  Such  and  such  a 
field  required  about  fifty  litres  of  seed  to  the  arura.3  Another  needed  sixty- 
two  or  seventy-five  according  to  the  fertility  of  the  land  and  its  locality. 
Landed  property  was  placed  under  the  guardianship  of  the  gods,  and  its 

1 See  the  survey  map  of  a vast  property  published  by  Father  Schell,  Notes  d’Epigraphie,  etc., 
in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  36,  37. 

2 With  regard  to  this  mode  of  measuring  the  value  of  a field,  which  was  also  employed  iu  Egypt 
(Maspero,  Eludes  Egyptiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  235-238),  see  Oppert-IVI  enant,  Documents  juridiques  de 
VAssyrie  et  de  la  Chaldde , p.  04  : it  is  called  in  question  by  Delitzsch  and  his  school  (see,  for  the 
latest  opinions,  Belser,  Babylonisclie  Kudurru-Inschriften,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  130,  131). 

8 [For  the  “ arura,”  see  p.  306,  note  6,  of  the  present  work. — Tr.]. 


7G2 


cn ALT) JEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


transfer  or  cession  was  accompanied  by  formalities  of  a half-religious,  half- 
magical  character : the  party  giving  delivery  of  it  called  down  upon  the  head 
of  any  one  who  would  dare  in  the  future  to  dispute  the  validity  of  the  deed, 
imprecations  of  which  the  text  was  inserted  on  a portion  of  the  surface  of  an 
egg-shaped  nodule  of  flint,  basalt,  or  other  hard  stone.1 
These  little  monuments  display  on  their  cone-shaped  end 
a series  of  figures,  sometimes  arranged  in  two  parallel 
divisions,  sometimes  scattered  over  the  surface,  which 
represent  the  deities  invoked  to  watch  over  the 
sanctity  of  the  contract.  It  was  a kind  of  repre- 
sentation in  miniature  of  the  aspect  which  the 
heavens  presented  to  the  Chaldseans.  The  disks 
of  the  sun  and  moon,  together  with  Venus-Ishtar, 
are  the  prominent  elements  in  the  scene : the 
zodiacal  figures,  or  the  symbols  employed  to 
represent  them,  are  arranged  in  an  apparent  orbit 
around  these — such  as  the  Scorpion,  the  Bird, 
the  Dog,  the  Thunderbolt  of  Kamman,  the  mace, 
the  horned  monsters,  half  hidden  by  the  temples 
they  guard,  and  the  enormous  Dragon  who  em- 
braces in  his  folds  half  the  entire  firmament.  “ If 
ever,  in  the  course  of  days,  any  one  of  the 
brothers,  children,  family,  men  or  women,  slaves  or 
servants  of  the  house,  or  any  governor  or  functionary 
the  michaux  stone.2  whatsoever,  arises  and  intends  to  steal  this  field,  and 
remove  this  landmark,  either  to  make  a gift  of  it  to 
a god,  or  to  assign  it  to  a competitor,  or  to  appropriate  it  to  himself ; if  he 
modifies  the  area  of  it,  the  limits  and  the  landmark ; if  he  divides  it  into 
portions,  and  if  he  says  : ‘ The  field  has  no  owner,  since  there  has  been  no 
donation  of  it ; ’ — if,  from  dread  of  the  terrible  imprecations  which  protect  this 
stele  and  this  field,  he  sends  a fool,  a deaf  or  blind  person,  a wicked  wretch,  an 
idiot,  a stranger,  or  an  ignorant  one,  and  should  cause  this  stele  to  be  taken 


1 Tlie  most  ancient  specimen  of  these  landmarks  is  the  “Michaux  Stone,”  of  which  Oppert  was 
the  first  to  recognize  the  nature  and  value  ( Les  Mesures  de  longueur  chez  les  Chaldtfens,  in  the  Bulletin 
Arclte'ulogique  de  VAthenxum  Franyais,  1850,  pp.  33-36)  ; the  generic  name  was  “kudurru,”  “kuturru,” 
which  may  be  translated  “ raised  stone.”  The  number  of  them  at  the  present  time  is  considerable. 
The  translation  of  several  will  be  found  in  Opi  eut-Menant,  Documents  juridiques  de  VAssyrie  et  de  la 
Clialde'e,  pp.  81-138 ; and  in  Belser,  Babylouische  Kudurru- Inschr  if  ten,  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  111-203. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin ; cf.  Millin,  Monuments  inddits,  vol.  i.  pis.  vii.,  ix.  The  original  is 
in  the  medal  cabinet  of  the  Bibliotlreque  Nationale  (Ciiahouillet,  Catalogue  gdndral,  p.  109, 
No.  702). 


TEE  CULTURE  OF  THE  LAND. 


7G3 


away,1  and  should  throw  it  into  the  water,  cover  it  with  dust,  mutilate  it  by 
scratching  it  with  a stone,  burn  it  in  the  fire  and  destroy  it,  or  write  anything 
else  upon  it,  or  carry  it  away  to  a place  where  it  will  be  no  longer  seen, — this 
man,  may  Ann,  Bel,  Ea,  the  exalted  lady,  the  great  gods,  cast  upon  him  looks 
of  wrath,  may  they  destroy  his  strength,  may  they 
exterminate  his  race.”  2 All  the  immortals  are  associ- 
ated in  this  excommunication,  and  each  one  promises 
in  his  turn  the  aid  of  his  power.  Merodach,  by  whose 
spells  the  sick  are  restored,  will  inflict  upon  the 
guilty  one  a dropsy  which  no  incantation  can  cure. 

Shamash,  the  supreme  judge,  will  send  forth 
against  him  one  of  his  inexorable  judgments. 

Sin,  the  inhabitant  of  the  brilliant  heavens,  will 
cover  him  with  leprosy  as  with  a garment.  Adar, 
the  warrior,  will  break  his  weapons;  and  Z unama, 
the  king  of  strifes,  will  not  stand  by  him  on  the 
field  of  battle.  Ramwau  will  let  loose  his  tem- 
pest upon  his  fields,  and  will  overwhelm  them. 

The  whole  band  of  the  invisibles  hold  themselves 
ready  to  defend  the  rights  of  the  proprietor  against 
all  attacks.  In  no  part  of  the  ancient  world  was 
the  sacred  character  of  property  so  forcibly  laid 
down,  or  the  possession  of  the  soil  more  firmly 
secured  by  religion. 

In  instruments  of  agriculture  and  modes  of  culti-  TUE  other  side  of  the 

J1ICHAUX  STONE. 

vation  Chaldoea  was  no  better  off  than  Egypt.  The 

rapidity  with  which  the  river  rose  in  the  spring,  and  its  variable  subsidence 
from  year  to  year,  furnished  little  inducement  to  the  Chaldteans  to  entrust 
to  it  the  work  of  watering  their  lands ; on  the  contrary,  they  were 
compelled  to  protect  themselves  from  it,  and  to  keep  at  a distance  the 
volume  of  waters  it  brought  down.  Each  property,  whether  of  square, 
triangular,  or  any  other  shape,  was  surrounded  with  a continuous  earth- 
built  barrier  which  bounded  it  on  every  side,  and  served  at  the  same  time 


1 All  the  people  enumerated  in  this  passage  might,  in  ignorance  of  what  they  were  doing,  be 
induced  to  tear  up  the  stone,  and  unconsciously  commit  a sacrilege  from  which  every  Chaldscan  in  his 
senses  would  have  shrunk  back.  The  formula  provides  for  such  cases,  and  it  secures  that  the  curse 
shall  fall  not  only  on  the  irresponsible  instruments,  but  reach  the  instigator  of  the  crime,  even  when 
he  had  taken  no  actual  part  in  the  deed. 

2 Caillou  Michaux,  col.  ii.  1.  1,  col.  iii.  1.  12,  in  Kawlinson,  W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  i.  pi.  60;  cf.  Opfert- 
Menant , Documents  juridiques  de  I’Assyrie  et  de  la  Clialdde,  pp.  88-90;  A.  Boisser,  Recherches  sur 
quelques  contrats  Babyloniem,  pp.  2G,  27,  31-33. 


764 


CHA  LB  JEAN  Cl  VIL1ZA  T10N. 


us  a rampart  against  the  inundation.  Rows  of  shadufs  installed  along  the 
banks  of  the  canals  or  streams  provided  for  the  irrigation  of  the  lands.1 2 3  The 
fields  were  laid  out  like  a chess-board,  and  the  squares,  separated  from  each 
other  by  earthen  ridges,  formed  as  it  were  so  many  basins  : when  the  elevation 
of  the  ground  arrested  the  flow  of  the  waters,  these  were  collected  into  reser- 
voirs, whence  by  the  use  of  other  shadufs  they  were  raised  to  a higher  level.a 
The  plough  was  nothing  more  than  an  obliquely  placed  mattock,  whose  handle 
was  lengthened  in  order  to  harness  oxen  to  it.  Whilst  the  ploughman  pressed 


TWO  ROWS  OF  SHADUFS  ON  HIE  BANK  OF  A RIVER.3 


scattered  the  seed  in  the  furrow.  A considerable  capital  was  needed  to 
ensure  success  in  agricultural  undertakings  : contracts  were  made  for  three 
years,  and  stipulated  that  payments  should  be  made  partly  in  metal  and 
partly  in  the  products  of  the  soil.  The  farmer  paid  a small  sum  when 
entering  into  possession,  and  the  remainder  of  the  debt  was  gradually  liqui- 
dated at  the  end  of  each  twelve  months,  the  payment  being  in  silver  one 
year,  and  in  corn  the  two  following.  The  rent  varied  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  soil  and  the  facilities  which  it  afforded  for  cultivation:  a 
field,  for  instance,  of  three  bushels  was  made  to  pay  nine  hundred  measures, 
while  another  of  ten  bushels  had  only  eighteen  hundred  to  pay.4  In  many 
instances  the  peasant  preferred  to  take  the  proprietor  into  partnership,  the 


1 In  Mesopotamia  and  Chaldsea  there  may  still  be  seen  “everywhere  ruins  of  ancient  canals;  and 
there  are  also  to  be  met  with,  in  many  places,  ridges  of  earth,  which  stretch  for  considerable  distances 
in  a straight  line,  and  surround  lands  perfectly  level  ” (Olivier,  Voyage  dans  V Empire  Othoman,  vol.  ii. 
p.  423). 

2 Herodotus,  i.  193,  indicates  evidently  the  “shaduf”  under  the  name  K-q\wvt]'iov ; it  is  still 
employed,  together  with  the  “sakieh”  (Chesnky,  Euphrates  Expedition,  vol.  i.  p.  653;  Layakd, 
Nineveh  and  Babylon,  p.  109).  See  p.  340  of  the  present  work  for  an  illustration  of  the  Egyptian 
shaduf. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  an  Assyrian  bas-relief  from  Koyunjik  (Layaud,  The  Monuments 
of  Nineveh,  2nd  series,  pi.  15). 

4 Meissner,  Beitrage  zum  vdtbabylonisclien  Privatrecht,  pp.  12,  13. 


SLAVES  AND  AGRICULTURAL  LABOURERS. 


765 


latter  in  such  case  providing  all  the  expenses  of  cultivation,  on  the  under- 
standing that  he  should  receive  two-thirds  of  the  gross  product.  The  tenant 
was  obliged  to  administer  the  estate  as  a careful  householder  during  the 
term  of  his  lease : he  was  to  maintain  the  buildings  and  implements  in  good 
repair,  to  see  that  the  hedges  were  kept  up,  to  keep  the  shadufs  in  working 
order,  and  to  secure  the  good  condition  of  the  watercourses.1 2  He  had  rarely 
enough  slaves  to  manage  the  business  with  profit : those  he  had  purchased  were 
sufficient,  with  the  aid  of  his  wives  and  children,  to  carry  on  ordinary  operations, 


but  when  any  pressure  arose,  especially  at  harvest-time,  he  had  to  seek  else- 
where the  additional  labourers  he  required.  The  temples  were  the  chief  sources 
for  the  supply  of  these.  The  majority  of  the  supplementary  labourers 
were  free  men,  who  were  hired  out  by  their  family,  or  engaged  themselves  for  a 
fixed  term,  during  which  they  were  subject  to  a sort  of  slavery,  the  conditions 
of  which  were  determined  by  law.  The  workman  renounced  his  liberty  for 
fifteen  days,  or  a month,  or  for  a whole  year;  he  disposed,  so  to  speak,  of  a 
portion  of  his  life  to  the  provisional  master  of  his  choice,  and  if  he  did  not  enter 
upon  his  work  at  the  day  agreed  upon,  or  if  he  showed  himself  inactive  in  the 
duties  assigned  to  him,  he  was  liable  to  severe  punishment.  He  received  in 
exchange  for  his  labour  his  food,  lodging,  and  clothing ; and  if  an  accident 
should  occur  to  him  during  the  term  of  his  service,  the  law  granted  him  an 

1 Rawlinson,  Cun.  TV.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  14,  11.  29,  30,  col.  ii.  11.  9-19,  and  Fr.  Lenormant,  Etudes 
Accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  44,  45,  vol.  iii.  p.  17 ; cf.  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques  de  VAssyrie 
et  de  la  Chaldee,  pp.  26-28. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,.  from  a Chaldrcan  intaglio  reproduced  in  Lajard,  Introduction  a 
VliUtoire  da  culte  public  et  des  Mysteres  de  Mithra  en  Occident  et  en  Orient,  pi.  xxsiv.  No  5.  The 
original  is  in  the  cabinet  of  me.lals  in  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  (Chabouielet,  Catalogue  qdndral, 
No.  931). 


7GG  CIIALDJEAN  CIVILIZATION. 

indemnity  in  proportion  to  the  injury  he  had  sustained.1  Ilis  average  wage  was 
from  four  to  six  shekels  of  silver  per  annum.  He  was  also  entitled  by  custom 
to  another  shekel  in  the  form  of  a retaining  fee,  and  he  could  claim  his  pay, 
which  was  given  to  him  mostly  in  corn,  in  monthly  instalments,  if  his  agree- 
ment were  for  a considerable  time,  and  daily  if  it  were  for  a short  period. 

The  mercenary  never  fell  into  the  condition  of  the  ordinary  serf:  be 
retained  his  rights  as  a man,  and  possessed  in  the  person  of  the  patron  for 
whom  he  laboured,  or  whom  he  himself  had  selected,  a defender  of  his 

interests.2  When  he  came 
to  the  end  of  his  engage- 
ment, he  returned  to  his 
family,  and  resumed  his 
ordinary  occupation  until 
the  next  occasion.  Many 
of  the  farmers  in  a small 
way  earned  thus,  in  a few 
weeks,  sufficient  means  to 
supplement  their  own 
modest  personal  income.  Others  sought  out  more  permanent  occupations, 
and  hired  themselves  out  as  regular  farm-servants. 

The  lands  which  neither  the  rise  of  the  river  nor  the  irrigation  system 
could  reach  so  as  to  render  fit  for  agriculture,  were  reserved  for  the  pasture 
of  the  flocks  in  the  springtime,  when  they  were  covered  with  rich  grass. 
The  presence  of  lions  in  the  neighbourhood,  however,  obliged  the  husbandmen 
to  take  precautions  for  the  safety  of  their  flocks.  They  constructed  provisional 
enclosures  into  which  the  animals  were  driven  every  evening,  when  the 
pastures  were  too  far  off  to  allow  of  the  flocks  being  brought  back  to  the 
sheepfold.  The  chase  was  a favourite  pastime  among  them,  and  few  days 
passed  without  the  hunter’s  bringing  back  with  him  a young  gazelle  caught  in 
a trap,  or  a hare  killed  by  an  arrow.  These  formed  substantial  additions  to 
the  larder,  for  the  Chaldseans  do  not  seem  to  have  kept  about  them,  as  the 
Egyptians  did,  such  tamed  animals  as  cranes  or  herons,  gazelles  or  deer : 4 
they  contented  themselves  with  the  useful  species,  oxen,  asses,  sheep,  and 
goats.  Some  of  the  ancient  monuments,  cylinders,  and  clay  tablets  reproduce 

1 Cun.  W.  A.  Tnsc.,  vol.  ii.  pi.  10,  col.  iv.  11.  13-22;  cf.  Oppert-Menant,  Documents  juridiques, 
pp.  58,  59. 

2 Meissner,  B tit r age  zum  altbabylonischen  Privatrecht,  pp.  10,  11. 

3 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a green  marble  cylinder  in  the  Louvre  (A.  de  Longperier, 
Notes  des  anliquitds  Assyriennes,  2nd  edit.,  p.  101,  No.  481). 

4 See  pp.  61-64  of  the  present  work  for  an  account  of  the  flocks  of  gazelles  owned  by  the 
Egyptians.  Cf.  W.  Houghton,  On  the  Mammalia  of  the  Assyrian  Sculptures,  in  the  Transactions  of 
the  Bill,  Arch.  Soc,,  vol.  v.  p.  42,  et  seep 


SCENES  OF  PASTORAL  LIFE . 


767 


in  a rough  manner  scenes  from  pastoral  life.1 2 3  The  door  of  the  fold  opens, 
and  we  see  a flock  of  goats  sallying  forth  to  the  cracking  of  the  herdsman’s 
whip : when  they  reach  the 
scatter  over 
the  meadows,  and  while  the 
shepherd  keeps  his  eye  upon 
them,  he  plays  upon  his 
reed  to  the  delight  of  his 
dog.  In  the  mean  time  the 
farm-people  are  engaged  in 
the  careful  preparation  of 
the  evening  meal : two  in- 
dividuals on  opposite  sides 
of  the  hearth  watch  the  pot 
boiling  between,  them  while  a baker  makes  his  dough  into  round  cakes. 
Sometimes  a quarrel  breaks  out  among  the  comrades,  aud  leads  to  a stand- 


SOENES  OP  PASTORAL  LIFE  IN  CHALDiEA.3 


up  fight  with  the  fists ; or  a lion,  perhaps,  in  quest  of  a meal  surprises 
and  kills  one  of  the  bulls:4  the  shepherd  runs  up,  his  axe  in  his  hand, 


pasture  they 


COOKING  : A QUARREL.2 


1 Menant,  Recherche.?  stir  la  Glyptique  orientate,  vol.  i.  pp.  205-210. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucker-Gudin,  from  one  of  the  terra-cotta  plaques  discovered  by  Loftus,  Travels  and 
researches  in  Chaldxa  and  Susiana , p.  257. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucker-Gudin,  from  a Ckaklsean  intaglio  reproduced  in  Lajard,  Introduction  a 
Vhistoire  des  Mysteres  de  Mithra,  pi.  xli.,  No  5;  cf.  Menant,  op.  cit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  205,  206.  Anotker 
cylinder  of  tke  same  kind  is  reproduced  at  p.  699  of  tke  present  work;  it  represents  Etana  arising  to 
heaven  by  the  aid  of  his  friend  tke  eagle,  while  the  pastoral  scene  below  resembles  in  nearly  all 
particulars  that  given  above. 

4 See  Menant,  Recherches  sur  la  Glyptique  orientate,  vol.  i.  p.  207,  where  will  be  found  the 
reproduction  of  a cylinder  from  the  Luynes  collection,  containing  a representation  of  a bull  attacked 
by  a lion, 


OH  A LDJEA  N ' OIVILIZA  TION. 


to  contend  bravely  with  the  marauder  for  the  possession  of  his  beast.  The 

shepherd  was  accustomed  to 
provide  himself  with  assist- 
ance in  the  shape  of  enor- 
mous dogs,  who  had  no  more 
hesitation  in  attacking  beasts 
of  prey  than  they  had  in 
pursuing  game.  In  these 
combats  the  natural  courage 
of  the  shepherd  was  stimu- 
lated by  interest : for  he  was 
personally  responsible  for  the 
safety  of  his  flock,  and  if  a 
lion  should  find  an  entrance 
mulcted  out  of  his  wages  of  a sum 


FIGHT  WITH  A LION. 


into  one  of  the  enclosures,  its  guardian  was 
equivalent  to  the  damage  aris- 
ing from  his  negligence.1 2  Fish- 
ing was  not  so  much  a pastime 
as  a source  of  livelihood  ; for 
fish  occupied  a high  place  in 
the  bill  of  fare  of  the  common 
folk.  Caught  by  the  line,  net, 
or  trap,  it  was  dried  in  the  sun, 
smoked,  or  salted.3 *  The  chase 
was  essentially  the  pastime  of 
the  great  noble — the  pursuit  of 
the  lion  and  the  bear  in  the 
wooded  covers  or  the  marshy 
thickets  of  the  river-bank ; the 
pursuit  of  the  gazelle,  the  ostrich, 
and  bustard  on  the  elevated 
plains  or  rocky  table-lands  of  the  desert.5 


THE  DOG  IN  THE  l.EASH.* 


The  onager  of  Mesopotamia  is  a 


1 Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  one  of  tlie  terra-cotta  tablets  discovered  by  Loftus,  Travels  in 
Clialdxa,  etc.,  p.  258. 

2 Meissner,  Beitrdge  zum  altbabylonischen  Privatrecht,  pp.  18,  144. 

3 See  p.  556  of  the  present  work  for  an  account  of  the  Chaldsean  Icbthyophagi. 

* Drawn  by  Fauclier-Gudin,  from  a terra-cotta  tablet  discovered  by  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  in  the  rains 
of  Babylon,  and  now  in  the  British  Museum. 

5 The  ostrich  is  often  represented  on  Assyrian  monuments  (W.  Houghton,  The  Birds  of  Assyrian 
Monuments,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  viii.  pp.  100, 101,  133,  pi.  xi.).  The  pursuit 
of  the  ostrich  and  bustard  is  described  by  Xenophon  ( Anabasis , I.  v.  1-3)  during  the  march  of  the 
younger  Cyrus  across  Mesopotamia. 


THE  ONAGER  TAKEN  WITH  THE  LASSO.2 

1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  one  of  the  terra-cotta  tablets  discovered  by  Loftus,  Travels 
in  Chaldxa,  etc.,  p.  260. 

2 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  the  Assyrian  bas-relief  of  Nimrud  (cf.  Place,  Ninive  et  I’Assyrie, 
pi.  54,  No.  3).  See  p.  559  of  the  present  work  for  an  illustration  of  onagers  pierced  by  arrows  in  the 
chase. 

3 D 


FISHING  AND  HUNTING. 


769 


very  beautiful  animal,  with,  its  grey  glossy 
coat,  and  its  lively  and  rapid  action.  If  it 
is  disturbed,  it  gives  forth  a cry,  kicks  up  its 
heels,  and  dashes  off : when  at  a safe  distance, 
it  stops,  turns  round,  and  faces  its  pursuer  : 
as  soon  as  he  approaches,  it  starts  off  again, 
stops,  and  takes  to  its  heels  again,  continu- 
ing this  procedure  as  long  as  it  is  followed. 

The  Chaldaeans  found  it  difficult  to  catch  by 
the  aid  of  dogs,  but  they  could  bring  it  down 
by  arrows,  or  perhaps  catch  it  alive  by  strata- 
gem. A running  noose  was  thrown  round  its 
neck,  and  two  men  held  the  ends  of  the  ropes. 

The  animal  struggled,  made  a rush,  and 
attempted  to  bite,  but  its  efforts  tended  only 
to  tighten  the  noose  still  more  firmly,  and  it  at 
length  gave  in,  half  strangled  ; after  alternating  struggles  and  suffocating 


CHALD.EAX  CARRYING  A FISH. 


770 


Oil  A LB  JEAN  Cl  V1L1ZA  T10N. 


paroxysms,  it  became  somewhat  calmer,  and  allowed  itself  to  be  led.1  It 
was  finally  tamed,  if  not  to  the  extent  of  becoming  useful  in  agriculture,  at 
least  for  the  purposes  of  war : before  the  horse  was  known  in  Chaldaea,  it  was 
used  to  draw  the  chariot.2  The  original  habitat  of  the  horse  was  the  great 
table-lands  of  Central  Asia  : it  is  doubtful  whether  it  was  brought  suddenly 
into  the  region  of  the  Tigrus  and  Euphrates  by  some  barbaric  invasion,  or 
whether  it  was  passed  on  from  tribe  to  tribe,  and  thus  gradually  reached  that 
country.3  It  soon  became  acclimatized,  and  its  cross-breeding  with  the  ass 
led  for  centuries  to  the  production  of  magnificent  mules.  The  horse  was 
known  to  the  kings  of  Lagask,  who  used  it  in  harness.4  The  sovereigns  of 
neighbouring  cities  were  also  acquainted  with  it,  but  if  seems  to  have  been 
employed  solely  by  the  upper  classes  of  society,  and  never  to  have  been  used 
generally  in  the  war-chariot  or  as  a charger  in  cavalry  operations. 

The  Chaldseans  carried  agriculture  to  a high  degree  of  perfection,  and 
succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  soil  everything  it  could  be  made  to  yield. 
Their  methods,  transmitted  in  the  first  place  to  the  Greeks,  and  afterwards 
to  the  Arabs,  were  perpetuated  long  after  their  civilization  had  disappeared, 
and  were  even  practised  by  the  people  of  Irak  under  the  Abbasside  Caliphs.5 
Agricultural  treatises  on  clay,  which  contained  an  account  of  these  matters, 
were  deposited  in  one  or  other  of  the  sacred  libraries  in  which  the  priests 
of  each  city  were  long  accustomed  to  collect  together  documents  from  every 
source  on  which  they  could  lay  their  hands.  There  were  to  be  found  in  each 
of  these  collections  a certain  number  of  works  which  were  unique,  either 
because  the  authors  were  natives  of  the  city,  or  because  all  copies  of  them 
had  been  destroyed  in  the  course  of  centuries — the  Epic  of  Gilgames,  for 
instance,  at  Uruk ; a history  of  the  Creation,  and  of  the  battles  of  the  gods 


1 See  Xenophon,  Anabasis,  I.  v.  2,  from  whom  I take  this  description  of  the  character  of  the  animal. 
The  onager  is  now  rare  in  this  regiou,  but  it  has  not,  as  was  believed,  entirely  disappeared,  and 
several  modern  travellers  have  come  across  it  (Layaiid,  Nineveh  and  its  Remains,  vol.  i.  pp.  323,  321). 

2 Cf.  p.  656  of  the  present  work  for  an  account  of  the  onagers  harnessed  to  the  chariot  of  the 
Sun. 

3 For  the  principal  views  on  this  question,  see  Pietrement,  Les  Chevaux  dans  les  temps  pr€- 
historiques  et  historiques,  pp.  355-358 ; cf.  W.  Houghton,  On  the  Mammalia  of  the  Assyrian  Sculptures, 
in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  v.  pp.  50-52. 

4 This  was,  at  least,  the  opinion  of  Mons.  Heuzey  ( Reconstruction  partielle  de  la  Stele  du  roi 
Eannadou,  dite  Stele  des  Vautours,  in  the  Comptes  Rendus  de  l' Acad,  des  Insc.  et  Belles-Lettres,  1893, 
vol.  xx.  p.  265)  : the  portion  of  the  stele  containing  the  animals  has  been  destroyed. 

5 The  “Nabataean  Agriculture”  of  Ibn  Wahshiyah  contains  an  echo  of  these  ancient  methods. 
“It  is  possible  that  the  method  which  is  taught  in  them  goes  actually  back,  as  far  as  the  processes  are 
concerned,  to  the  most  ancient  periods  of  Assyria;  just  as  the  Agrimensores  latini,  so  recent  in  regard 
to  the  editing  of  them,  have  preserved  for  us  customs  and  ceremonies  which  can  be  explained  only  by 
the  ‘ Brahmanas  ’ of  India,  and  which  are  consequently  associated  with  the  earliest  ages  of  the  Aryan 
race  ” (E.  Renan,  Me'moire  sur  Vage  du  livre  intitule  Agriculture  Nabatdenne,  p.  38).  Gutsclimid  will 
scarcely  allow  the  existence  of  anything  of  Babylonian  origin  in  this  work  ( Kleine-Schriften , vol.  ii. 
pp.  568-753). 


ANCIENT  LITERATURE. 


771 


with  the  monsters  at  Kutha:  all  of  them  had  their  special  collections  of  hymns 
or  psalms,  religious  and  magical  formulas,  their  lists  of  words  and  grammatical 
phraseology,  their  glossaries  and  syllabaries,  which  enabled  them  to  under- 
stand and  translate  texts  drawn  up  in  Sumerian,  or  to  decipher  those  whose 
writing  presented  more  than  ordinary  difficulty.1  In  these  libraries  there  was, 
we  find,  as  in  the  inscriptions  of  Egypt,  a complete  literature,  of  which  only 
some  shattered  fragments  have  come  down  to  us.  The  little  we  are  able  to 
examine  has  produced  upon  our  modern  investigators  a complex  impression, 
in  which  astonishment  rather  than  admiration  contends  with  a sense  of 
tediousness.2  There  may  be  recognized  here  and  there,  among  the  wearisome 
successions  of  phrases,  with  their  rugged  proper  names,  episodes  which  seem 
something  like  a Chaldaean  “Genesis”  or  “Veda;”  now  and  then  a bold 
flight  of  fancy,  a sudden  exaltation  of  thought,  or  a felicitous  expression, 
arrests  the  attention  and  holds  it  captive  for  a time.  Jn  the  narrative  of 
the  adventures  of  Gilgames,  for  instance,  there  is  a certain  nobility  of 
character,  and  the  sequence  of  events,  in  their  natural  aud  marvellous  deve- 
lopment, are  handled  with  gravity  and  freedom  : if  we  sometimes  encounter 
episodes  which  provoke  a smile  or  excite  our  repugnance,  we  must  take  into 
account  the  rudeness  of  the  age  with  which  they  deal,  and  remember  that 
the  men  and  gods  of  the  later  Homeric  epic  are  not  a whit  behind  the 
heroes  of  Babylonian  story  in  coarseness.  The  recognition  of  divine  omni- 
potence, and  the  keenly  felt  afflictions  of  the  soul,  awakened  in  the  Chaldaean 
psalmist  feelings  of  adoration  and  penitence  which  still  find,  in  spite  of  the 
differences  of  religion,  an  echo  in  our  own  hearts;  and  the  unknown  scribe, 
who  related  the  story  of  the  descent  of  Ishtar  to  the  infernal  regions,  was 
able  to  express  with  a certain  gloomy  energy  the  miseries  of  the  “ Land 
without  return.”3  These  instances  are  to  be  regarded,  however,  as  excep- 
tional : the  bulk  of  Chaldaean  literature  seems  nothing  more  than  a heap 
of  pretentious  trash,  in  which  even  the  best-equipped  reader  can  see  no 
meaning,  or,  if  he  can,  it  is  of  such  a character  as  to  seem  unworthy  of  record. 
His  judgment  is  natural  in  the  circumstances,  for  the  ancient  East  is  not, 
like  Greece  and  Italy,  the  dead  of  yesterday  whose  soul  still  hovers  around 

1 For  information  on  the  temple  libraries,  see  Sayce,  Babylonian  Literature,  p.  9,  et  seq.,  who  was 
inclined  to  think  that  they  were  accessible,  like  our  own  public  libraries,  to  the  bulk  of  the  people. 
This  has  not  been  verified,  and  does  not  seem  probable  (Tiele,  Babylonisch-Assyrische  Geschichte,  p.  582). 

- The  sense  of  tediousness  predominates,  in  the  severe  judgment  of  Gutschmid  on  the  subject — 
“ der  nieder  driickenden  Ode  der  ninevitischen  Biedermaierpoesie  aus  Sardanapal’s  Bibliothek” 
( Neue  Beitrdge  zur  Geschichte  des  Alten  Orients,  p.  45,  note).  Enthusiasm,  on  (he  other  hand,  marks 
that  of  Hommel  ( Geschichte  Babyloniens  und  Assyrians,  p.  262,  et  seq.).  Bezold  ( Kurzgefasster  Ueberblich 
iiber  die  Babylonisch-Assyrische  Literatur,  p.  193)  recommends  a suspension  of  judgment  until  the 
poetical  texts  have  been  completely  explained  and  interpreted  from  a philological  standpoint. 

3 See  the  legend  of  Gilgames,  pp.  575-587  of  the  present  work ; the  “ Descent  of  Ishtar,”  pp.  693- 
696;  and  the  hymns  and  psalms,  pp.  633-636,  644,  651-658,  682,  683. 


772 


CE ALL  JEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


us,  and  whose  legacies  constitute  more  than  the  half  of  our  patrimony  : 
on  the  contrary,  it  was  buried  soul  and  body,  gods  and  cities,  men  and 
circumstances,  ages  ago,  and  even  its  heirs,  in  the  lapse  of  years,  have  become 
extinct.  In  proportion  as  we  are  able  to  bring  its  civilization  to  light,  we 
become  more  and  more  conscious  that  we  have  little  or  nothing  in  common 
with  it.  Its  laws  and  customs,  its  methods  of  action  and  its  modes  of  thought, 
are  so  far  apart  from  those  of  the  present  day,  that  they  seem  to  us  to  belong 
to  a humanity  utterly  different  from  our  own.  The  names  of  its  deities  do 
not  appeal  to  our  imagination  like  those  of  the  Olympian  cycle,  and  no 
traditional  respect  serves  to  do  away  with  the  sense  of  uncouthness  which 
we  experience  from  the  jingle  of  syllables  which  enter  into  them.  Its  artists 
did  not  regard  the  world  from  the  same  point  of  view  as  we  do,  and  its 
writers,  drawing  their  inspiration  from  an  entirely  different  source,  made  use 
of  obsolete  methods  to  express  their  feelings  and  co-ordinate  their  ideas. 
It  thus  happens  that  while  we  understand  to  a shade  the  classical  language 
of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  can  read  their  works  almost  without  effort, 
the  great  primitive  literatures  of  the  world,  the  Egyptian  and  Chaldsean, 
have  nothing  to  offer  us  for  the  most  part  but  a sequence  of  problems  to 
solve  or  of  enigmas  to  unriddle  with  patience.  How  many  phrases,  how  many 
words  at  which  we  stumble,  require  a painstaking  analysis  before  we  can 
make  ourselves  master  of  their  meaning  ! And  even  when  we  have  deter- 
mined to  our  satisfaction  their  literal  signification,  what  a number  of 
excursions  we  must  make  in  the  domain  of  religious,  ethical,  and  political 
history  before  we  can  compel  them  to  render  up  to  us  their  full  import, 
or  make  them  as  intelligible  to  others  as  they  are  to  ourselves ! When  so 
many  commentaries  are  required  to  interpret  the  thought  of  an  individual 
or  a people,  some  difficulty  must  be  experienced  in  estimating  the  value  of 
the  expression  which  they  have  given  to  it.  Elements  of  beauty  were 
certainly,  and  perhaps  are  still,  within  it ; but  in  proportion  as  we  clear  away 
the  rubbish  which  encumbers  it,  the  mass  of  glossaries  necessary  to  interpret 
it  fall  in  and  bury  it  so  as  to  stifle  it  afresh. 

While  the  obstacles  to  our  appreciation  of  Chalda3an  literature  are  of  such 
a serious  character,  we  are  much  more  at  home  in  our  efforts  to  estimate  the 
extent  and  depth  of  their  scientific  knowledge.  They  were  as  well  versed  as 
the  Egyptians,  but  not  more,  in  arithmetic  and  geometry  in  as  far  as  these 
had  an  application  to  the  affairs  of  everyday  life  : the  difference  between 
the  two  peoples  consisted  chiefly  in  their  respective  numerical  systems — the 
Egyptians  employing  almost  exclusively  the  decimal  system  of  notation, 
while  the  Chaldmans  combined  its  use  with  the  duodecimal.  To  express 


ARITHMETIC  AND  GEOMETRY. 


773 


the  units,  they  made  use  of  so  many  vertical  “nails”  placed  one  after,  or 
above,  each  other,  thus  T.  II-  ITT,  V,  etc. ; tens  were  represented  by  bent 
brackets'^.  ((  UP  to  60;  beyond  this  figure  they  had  the  choice  of 
two  methods  of  notation : they  could  express  the  further  tens  by  the  con- 
tinuous additions  of  brackets  thus,  <<<.  or  they  could  represent  50  by  a vertical 
“nail,”  and  add  for  every  additional  ten  a bracket  to  the  right  of  it,  thus: 
J<  60,  [«  70.  The  notation  of  a hundred  was  represented  by  the  vertical 
“ nail  ” with  a horizontal  stroke  to  the  right  thus  and  the  number  of 
hundreds  by  the  symbols  placed  before  this  sign,  thus  jf-  100,  ||f-  200,  IIII- 
300,  etc. : a thousand  was  written  <f-,  i.e.  ten  times  one  hundred,  and  the 
series  of  thousands  by  the  combination  of  different  notations  which  served  to 
express  units,  tens,  and  hundreds.  They  subdivided  the  unit,  moreover,  into 
sixty  equal  parts,  and  each  of  these  parts  into  sixty  further  equal  subdivisions, 
and  this  system  of  fractions  was  used  in  all  kinds  of  quantitive  measurements. 
The  fathom,  the  foot  and  its  square,  talents  and  bushels,  the  complete  system 
of  Chalda3an  weights  and  measures,  were  based  on  the  intimate  alliance  and 
parallel  use  of  the  decimal  and  duodecimal  systems  of  notation.  The  sixtieth 
was  more  frequently  employed  than  the  hundredth  when  large  quantities  were 
in  question  : it  was  called  a “ soss,”  and  ten  sosses  were  equal  to  a “ ner,” 
while  sixty  ners  were  equivalent  to  a “sar;”  the  series,  sosses,  ners,  and 
sars,  being  employed  in  all  estimations  of  values.  Years  and  measures  of 
length  were  reckoned  in  sosses,  while  talents  and  bushels  were  measured 
in  sosses  and  sars.  The  fact  that  these  subdivisions  were  all  divisible  by 
10  or  12,  rendered  calculations  by  means  of  them  easy  to  the  merchant 
and  workmen  as  well  as  to  the  mathematical  expert.1  The  glimpses 
that  we  have  been  able  to  obtain  up  to  the  present  of  Chaldeean  scientific 
methods  indicate  that  they  were  on  a low  level,  but  they  were  sufficiently 
advanced  to  furnish  practical  rules  for  application  in  everyday  affairs : 
helps  to  memory  of  different  kinds,  lists  of  figures  with  their  names 
phonetically  rendered  in  Sumerian  and  Semitic  speech,2  tables  of  squares 

1 The  mathematical  knowledge  of  Chaldseans  and  Assyrians,  and  their  system  of  weights  and 
measures,  have  been  elucidated  chiefly  by  Oppert  in  a long  series  of  articles,  of  which  the  earliest 
deals  with  the  Mesures  de  longeur  cliez  les  Chaldeans  (in  the  Bulletin  Archdologique  de  V Athenaeum 
Franfais,  1856,  pp.  33-36),  and  the  most  important  with  I’Etalon  des  Mesures  Assijriennes  fixe  par  les 
textes  cundiformes  (in  the  Journ.  Asiatique,  1872,  vol.  xx.  pp.  157-177,  and  1874,  vol.  iv.  pp.  417-486). 
The  subject  has  called  forth  a considerable  number  of  works  (Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  sur  un  Document 
mathdmatique  chaldden,  etc.,  1868)  and  discussions,  in  which  Oppert,  Lepsius  (Die  Babylonisch- 
Assyrischen  Langemasse  nach  der  Tafel  von  Senlcereli,  1877),  and  Aures  (Essai  sur  le  Systeme  mdtrique 
Assyrien , in  the  Recueil  de  Travaux,  vol.  iii.  p.  27,  vol.  iv.  pp.  157-220,  vol.  v.  pp.  139-156,  vol.  vi. 
pp.  81-96,  vol.  vii.  pp.  8-15,  49-82,  vol.  viii.  pp.  150-158,  etc.)  took  part. 

2 See  the  lists  of  numbers  and  their  names  in  Sumerian  and  Assyrian  in  Fu.  Lenormant,  Etudes 
Accadiennes,  vol.  iii.  pp.  225,  226 ; and  in  Pinches,  The  Akkadian  Numerals,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iv.,  1881-82,  pp.  111-117. 


77  4 


CJIA  LB  JEAN  Cl  VI LIZA  TION. 


and  cubes,1  and  rudimentary  formulas  and  figures  for  land-surveying, 
furnished  sufficient  instructions  to  enable  any  one  to  make  complicated 
calculations  in  a ready  manner,  and  to  work  out  in  figures,  with  tolerable 
accuracy,  the  superficial  area  of  irregularly  shaped  plots  of  land.  The 
Chaldseans  could  draw  out,  with  a fair  amount  of  exactness,  plans  of 
properties  or  of  towns,2  and  their  ambition  impelled  them  even  to  attempt 
to  make  maps  of  the  world.  The  latter  were,  it  is  true,  but  rough  sketches, 
in  which  mythological  beliefs  vitiated  the  information  which  merchants 
and  soldiers  had  collected  in  their  journeys.  The  earth  was  represented 
as  a disk  surrounded  by  the  ocean  stream : (Jhaldsea  took  up  the  greater 
part  of  it,  and  foreign  countries  did  not  appear  in  it  at  all,  or  held  a posi- 
tion out  in  the  cold  at  its  extremities.  Actual  knowledge  was  woven  in  an 
extraordinary  manner  with  mystic  considerations,  in  which  the  virtues  of 
numbers,  their  connections  with  the  gods,  and  the  application  of  geometrical 
diagrams  to  the  prediction  of  the  future,  played  an  important  part.3  We 
know  what  a brilliant  fortune  these  speculations  attained  in  after-years,  and 
the  firm  hold  they  obtained  for  centuries  over  Western  nations,  as  formerly 
over  the  East.  It  was  not  in  arithmetic  and  geometry  alone,  moreover,  that 
the  Chaldaeans  were  led  away  by  such  deceits:  each  branch  of  science  in  its 
turn  was  vitiated  by  them,  and,  indeed,  it  could  hardly  be  otherwise  when 
we  come  to  consider  the  Chaldsean  outlook  upon  the  universe.  Its  operations, 
in  their  eyes,  were  not  carried  on  under  impersonal  and  unswerving  laws, 
but  by  voluntary  and  rational  agents,  swayed  by  an  inexorable  fate  against 
which  they  dared  not  rebel,  but  still  free  enough  and  powerful  enough  to 
avert  by  magic  the  decrees  of  destiny,  or  at  least  to  retard  their  execution. 
From  this  conception  of  things  each  subordinate  science  was  obliged  to  make 
its  investigations  in  two  perfectly  distinct  regions : it  had  at  first  to  deter- 
mine the  material  facts  within  its  competence — such  as  the  position  of  the 
stars,  for  instance,  or  the  symptoms  of  a malady  ; it  had  then  to  dis- 
cover the  beings  which  revealed  themselves  through  these  material  manifes- 
tations, their  names  and  their  characteristics.  When  once  it  had  obtained  this 
information,  and  could  lay  its  hands  upon  them,  it  could  compel  them  to 
work  on  its  behalf:  science  was  thus  nothing  else  than  the  application  of 
magic  to  a particular  class  of  phenomena. 

1 These  came  from  Senkereh,  see  Lenokmant,  Textes  Cuntfiformes,  pp.  219-225,  and  Rawlinson, 
IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  40,  Nos.  1,  2. 

2 Cf.  the  portion  of  a plan  published  by  Pinches  (On  a Cuneiform  Inscription  relating  to  the  Capture 
of  Babylon , in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  vii.  p.  152),  which  is  said  to  represent  a 
part  of  Babylon  named  Tuma,  near  the  “Great  Gate  of  the  Sun.”  Father  Seheil  discovered  a survey 
with  geometrical  figures  ; cf.  p.  7G1,  note  1,  of  the  present  work. 

3 Such  was  the  fragment  of  the  treatise,  with  figures,  published  by  Sayce,  Babylonian  Augury  by 
means  of  Geometrical  Figures,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iv.  pp  302-314 


ASTRONOMY.  775 

The  number  of  astronomical  facts  with  which  the  Chaldmans  had  made 
themselves  acquainted  was  considerable.  It  was  a question  in  ancient  times 
whether  they  or  the  Egyptians  had  been  the  first  to  carry  their  investigations 
into  the  infinite  depths 
of  celestial  space  : when 
it  came  to  be  a question 
as  to  which  of  the  two 
had  made  the 
greater  progress  in  this 
branch  of  knowledge,  all 
hesitation  vanished,  and 
the  pre-eminence  was  ac- 
corded by  the  ancients 
to  the  priests  of  Babylon 
rather  than  to  those  of 
Heliopolis  and  Memphis.1 
The  Chaldaeans  had  con- 
ducted astronomical  ob- 
servations from  remote 
antiquity.2  Callisthenes 
collected  and  sent  to  his  uncle  Aristotle  a number  of  these  observations, 
of  which  the  oldest  had  been  made  nineteen  hundred  and  three  years 
before  his  time— that  is,  about  the  middle  of  the  twenty-third  century 
before  our  era:4  he  could  have  transcribed  many  of  a still  earlier  date 
if  the  archives  of  Babylon  had  been  fully  accessible  to  him.  The  Chaldaean 
priests  had  been  accustomed  from  an  early  date  to  record  on  their  clay 
tablets  the  aspect  of  the  heavens  and  the  changes  which  took  place  in 
them  night  after  night,  the  appearance  of  the  constellations,  their  com- 
parative brilliancy,  the  precise  moments  of  their  rising  and  setting  and 
culmination,  together  with  the  more  or  less  rapid  movements  of  the 

1 Clement  of  Alexandria  ( Stromata , i.  1C,  § 74),  Lueien  ( De  Astrologia,  § 3-9),  Diogenes  Laertius 
(I'roxmium  to  his  Lives  of  the  Philosophers , § 11),  Macrobius  ( The  Dream  of  Scipio,  i.  21 , § 9),  attribute 
the  origin  of  astronomy  to  the  Egyptians,  and  Diodorus  Siculus  asserts  that  they  were  the  teachers  of 
the  B ibylonians;  Josephus  (Ant.  Jud.,  i.  8,  2)  maintains,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  Egyptians  were  the 
pupils  of  the  Chaldaeans. 

2 Epigenius  asserts  that  their  observations  extended  back  to  720,000  years  before  the  time  of 
Alexander,  while  Berossus  and  Critodemus  limit  their  antiquity  to  490,000  years  (Pliny,  Hist.  Nat., 
vii.  07),  which  was  further  reduced  to  473,000  years  by  Diodorus  (ii.  31),  to  470,000  by  Cicero  ( De 
Divinatione,  i.  19),  and  to  270,000  by  Hipparchus. 

3 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Peiser,  Dine  Babylonisclie  Landkarte,  in  the  Zeit- 
schrift  fiir  Assyriologie,  vol.  iv.  p.  369. 

4 The  number  1903  is  merely  introduced  by  way  of  correction  in  the  text  of  Simplicius  (Com- 
mentary on  the  De  Ccelo  of  Aristotle,  p.  503  a),  to  whom  we  are  indebted,  after  Porphyry,  for  the 
account  of  the  observations  sent  by  Callisthenes  to  Aristotle. 


77  6 


CHA  L DJEA  N Cl  VIL1ZA  TION. 


planets,  and  their  motions  towards  or  from  one  another.  To  their  unaided 
eyes,  sharpened  by  practice  and  favoured  by  the  transparency  of  the  air, 
many  stars  were  visible,  as  to  the  Egyptians,  which  we  can  perceive  only 
by  the  aid  of  the  telescope.  These  thousands  of  brilliant  bodies,  scattered 
apparently  at  random  over  the  face  of  the  sky,  moved,  however,  with  perfect 
regularity,  and  the  period  between  their  departure  from  and  their  return  to 
the  same  point  in  the  heavens  was  determined  at  an  early  date : their  position 
could  be  predicted  at  any  hour,  their  course  in  the  firmament  being  traced  so 
accurately  that  its  various  stages  were  marked  out  and  indicated  beforehand. 
The  moon,  they  discovered,  had  to  complete  two  hundred  and  twenty-three 
revolutions  of  twenty-nine  days  and  a half  each,  before  it  returned  to  the 
point  from  which  it  had  set  out.  This  period  of  its  career  being  accomplished, 
it  began  a second  of  equal  length,  then  a third,  and  so  on,  in  an  infinite 
series,  during  which  it  traversed  the  same  celestial  houses  and  repeated  in 
them  the  same  acts  of  its  life : all  the  eclipses  which  it  had  undergone  in 
one  period  would  again  afflict  it  in  another,  and  would  be  manifest  in  the 
same  places  of  the  earth  in  the  same  order  of  time.1  Whether  they  ascribed 
these  eclipses  to  some  mechanical  cause,  or  regarded  them  as  so  many 
unfortunate  attacks  made  upon  Sin  by  the  seven,2  they  recognized  their 
periodical  character,  and  they  were  acquainted  with  the  system  of  the  two 
hundred  and  twenty-three  lunations  by  which  their  occurrence  and  duration 
could  be  predicted.  Further  observations  encouraged  the  astronomers  to 
endeavour  to  do  for  the  sun  what  they  had  so  successfully  accomplished  in 
regard  to  the  moon.  No  long  experience  was  needed  to  discover  the  fact  that 
the  majority  of  solar  eclipses  were  followed  some  fourteen  days  and  a half 
after  by  an  eclipse  of  the  moon ; but  they  were  unable  to  take  sufficient 
advantage  of  this  experience  to  predict  with  certainty  the  instant  of  a future 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  although  they  had  been  so  struck  with  the  connection  of 
the  two  phenomena  as  to  believe  that  they  were  in  a position  to  announce 
it  approximately.3  They  were  frequently  deceived  in  their  predictions,  and 
more  than  one  eclipse  which  they  had  promised  did  not  take  place  at  the 
time  expected:4  but  their  successful  prognostications  were  sufficiently  frequent 

1 This  period  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-throe  lunations  is  that  described  by  Ptolemy  in  the  fourth 
book  of  his  1‘  Astronomy,”  in  which  he  deals  with  the  average  motion  of  the  moon.  The  Chaldseans 
seem  not  to  have  been  able  to  make  a skilful  use  of  it,  for  their  books  indicate  the  occurrence  of  lunar 
eclipses  outside  the  predicted  periods  (Kawlinson,  TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  51,  No.  7,  and  pi.  55,  No.  1). 

2 The  mythological  interpretation  seems  to  have  been  still  prevalent  in  the  treatise  published  by 
Rawlinson,  IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  Gl,  col.  ii.  11.  15,  16;  cf.  Lenoemant,  Les  Origines  de  VHwtoire, 
vol.  i.  p.  523. 

3 Tannery  is  of  opinion  that  the  Chaldseans  must  have  predicted  eclipses  of  the  sun  by  means 
of  the  period  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  lunations,  and  shows  by  what  a simple  means  they 
could  have  arrived  at  it  ( Pour  Vhisloire  de  la  Science  Hellene ; de  Thales  a Empddocle,  pp.  57-GO). 

4 An  astronomer  mentions,  in  the  time  of  Assurbanipal,  that  on  the  28th,  29th,  aud  30th  of  the  month 
he  prepared  for  the  observation  of  an  eclipse ; but  the  sun  continued  brilliant,  and  the  eclipse  did  not 


ASTROLOGY. 


777 


to  console  them  for  their  failures,  ancl  to  maintain  the  respect  of  the  people 
and  the  rulers  for  their  knowledge.  Their  years  were  vague  years  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty  days.  The  twelve  equal  months  of  which  they  were 
composed  bore  names  which  were  borrowed,  on  the  one  hand,  from  events  in 
civil  life,  such  as  “ Sirnanu,”  from  the  making  of  brick,  and  “ Addaru,”  from 
the  sowing  of  seed,  and,  on  the  other,  from  mythological  occurrences  whose 
origin  is  still  obscure,  such  as  “Nisauu,”  from  the  altar  of  Ea,  and  “Elul,” 
from  a message  of  Ishtar.1  The  adjustment  of  this  year  to  astronomical 
demands  was  roughly  carried  out  by  the  addition  of  a month  every  six 
years,  which  was  called  a second  Adar,  Elul,  or  Nisan,  according  to  the 
place  in  which  it  was  intercalated.2  The  neglect  of  the  hours  and  minutes 
in  their  calculation  of  the  length  of  the  year  became  with  them,  as  with 
the  Egyptians,  a source  of  serious  embarrassment,  and  we  are  still  ignorant 
as  to  the  means  employed  to  meet  the  difficulty.  The  months  had  relations 
to  the  signs  of  the  zodiac,  and  the  days  composing  them  were  made  up 
of  twelve  double  hours  each.  The  Chaldteans  had  invented  two  instruments, 
both  of  them  of  a simple  character,  to  measure  time — the  clepsydra  and 
the  solar  clock,  the  latter  of  which  in  later  times  became  the  source  of 
the  Greek  “polos.”  The  sun-dial  served  to  determine  a number  of  simple 
facts  which  were  indispensable  in  astronomical  calculations,  such  as  the  four 
cardinal  points,  the  meridian  of  the  place,  the  solstitial  and  equinoctial  epochs, 
and  the  elevation  of  the  pole  at  the  position  of  observation.  The  construction 
of  the  sun-dial  and  clepsydra,  if  not  of  the  polos  also,  is  doubtless  to  be 
referred  back  to  a very  ancient  date,  but  none  of  the  texts  already  brought 
to  light  makes  mention  of  the  employment  of  these  instruments.3 

come  (IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  51,  9 ; cf.  Fox  Talbot,  On  an  Ancient  Eclipse,  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  i.  p.  15;  Oppert,  in  the  Journ.  Asiatigue,  1871,  vol.  xviii.  p.  67;  Sayce, 
Astronomy  and  Astrology  of  the  Babylonians,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.  pp. 
233,  231 ; Smith,  Assyrian  Discoveries,  p.  109). 

1 See  the  bilingual  list  published  for  the  first  time  by  Norris,  Assyrian  Dictionary,  vol.  i.  p.  50, 
as  well  as  the  explanations  given  by  Sayce,  Astronomy  and  Astrology  of  the  Babylonians,  in  the  Trans- 
actions of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.  p.  160,  et  seq. ; and  by  Lexormant,  Les  Origines  de  VHistoire 
vol.  i.  pi.  cxl.,  et  seq.,  and  p.  598,  et  seq. 

2 With  regard  to  the  intercalated  month,  see  Sayce,  Op.  cit.,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch. 
Soc.,  vol.  iii.  p.  160  : we  had  occasion,  at  p.  676  of  the  present  work,  to  refer  to  the  features  or  ceremonies 
in  which  the  king  took  part  during  the  second  Elul.  The  fragment  of  a calendar  indicating  a 
triple  intercalation  was  published  by  Bawlinson,  TF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  56,  No.  5.  The  latest,  and, 
as  far  as  the  period  of  the  Second  Chaldsean  Empire  is  concerned,  the  most  successful  attempt  to  fix 
the  epochs  of  intercalation,  is  that  of  Ed.  Mahler,  Der  Schaltcyclus  der  Babylonier,  in  the  Zeitschrift 
fur  Assyriologie,  vol.  ix.  pp.  42-61. 

3 Herodotus  (ii.  109)  formally  attributes  the  invention  of  the  sun-dial  and  polos  to  the  Babylonians ; 
ir6\ov  plv  yap  uai  yvdpova  ual  rci  SdSzKa  pipta  rijs  ripepas  napa  Ba0u\a>vlcou  epaOov  ol  "EAArji'es.  The 
“ polos  ” was  a solar  clock.  It  consisted  of  a concave  hemisphere  with  a style  rising  from  its  centre: 
the  shadow  of  the  style  described  every  day  an  arc  of  a circle  parallel  to  the  equator,  and  the  daily 
parallels  were  divided  into  twelve  or  twenty-four  equal  parts.  Smith  discovered,  in  the  palace  of 
Sennacherib  at  Koyunjik,  a portion  of  an  astrolabe,  which  is  now  in  the  British  Museum  ( Assyrian 
Discoveries,  pp.  407,  408). 


778 


CNALDjEAN  civilization. 


All  these  discoveries,  which  constitute  in  our  eyes  the  scientific  patrimony 
of  the  Chaldseans,  were  regarded  by  themselves  as  the  least  important  results 
of  their  investigations.1  Did  they  not  know,  thanks  to  these  investigations, 
that  the  stars  shone  for  other  purposes  than  to  lighten  up  the  nights — to  rule, 
in  fact,  the  destinies  of  men  and  kings,  and,  in  ruling  that  of  kings,  to  deter- 
mine the  fortunes  of  empires?  Their  earliest  astronomers,  by  their  assiduous 
contemplation  of  the  nightly  heavens,  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  heavenly  bodies  were  in  fixed  relations  with  mundane 
phenomena  and  events.  If  Mercury,  for  instance,  displayed  an  unusual 
brilliancy  at  his  rising,  and  his  disk  appeared  as  a two-edged  sword,  riches 
and  abundance,  due  to  the  position  of  the  luminous  halo  which  surrounded 
him,  would  be  scattered  over  Chaldsea,  while  discords  would  cease  therein, 
and  justice  would  triumph  over  iniquity.2  The  first  observer  who  was  struck 
by  this  coincidence  noted  it  down ; his  successors  confirmed  his  observations, 
and  at  length  deduced,  in  the  process  of  the  years,  from  their  accumulated 
knowledge,  a general  law.  Henceforward,  each  time  that  Mercury  assumed 
this  same  aspect  it  was  of  favourable  augury,  and  kings  and  their  subjects 
became  the  recipients  of  his  bounty.  As  long  as  he  maintained  this  appearance 
no  foreign  ruler  could  install  himself  in  Chaldtea,  tyranny  would  be  divided 
against  itself,  equity  would  prevail,  and  a strong  monarch  bear  sway ; while 
the  landholders  and  the  king  would  be  confirmed  in  their  privileges,  and 
obedience,  together  with  tranquillity,  would  rule  everywhere  in  the  land. 
The  number  of  these  observations  increased  to  such  a degree  that  it  was  found 
necessary  to  classify  them  methodically  to  avoid  confusion.  Tables  of  them 
were  drawn  up,  in  which  the  reader  could  see  at  one  and  the  same  moment 
the  aspect  of  the  heavens  on  such  and  such  a night  and  hour,  and  the 
corresponding  events  either  then  happening,  or  about  to  happen,  in  Chaldaea, 
Syria,  or  some  foreign  land.3  If,  for  instance,  the  moon  displayed  the  same 
appearance  on  the  1st  and  27th  of  the  month,  Elam  was  threatened;  but 

1 A classification  of  astrological  works,  of  which  there  is  a collection  in  the  British  Museum, 
was  made  for  the  first  time  by  Fr.  Lenormant,  Essai  de  Comment aire  sur  les  fragments  cosmogoniques 
de  Berose,  pp.  25-30 ; the  rest  have  been  examined  and  translated  in  part  by  Sayce,  Astronomy  and 
Astrology  of  the  Babylon  ians,  with  Translations  of  the  Tablets  relating  to  these  Subjects,  in  the  Transactions 
of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc.,  vol.  iii.  pp.  145-339 ; and  a summary  of  the  results  to  which  the  Chaldaean 
astrologers  had  come  is  given  by  Lenormant,  La  Divination  et  la  Science  des  PrAsages  chezles  ChaldAens, 
pp.  1-15. 

2 W.  A.  Disc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  52,  No.  1, 11.  1-17 ; cf.  Sayce,  op.  cit.,  pp.  193, 194,  where  the  name  of  the 
planet  Guttam  is  rendered  Jupiter,  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  Oppert  ( Tablettes  Assyriennes,  in  the 
Journal  Asiatique,  1871,  vol.  viii.  p.  445,  and  Un  Annuaire  Aslronomique  Babylonien,  in  the  Journal 
Asiatique,  1890,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  519,  520).  Jensen  (Die  Kosmologie  der  Babylonier,  pp.  131,  132)  identified 
Guttam  with  Mars. 

3 Sec  the  portents  drawn  from  the  conjunction  of  the  sun  and  moon  at  different  dates,  favourable 
(IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  58,  No.  11,  11.  9-14)  or  unfavourable  to  Akkad  (ibid.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  58,  No.  12, 
11.  3-11),  but  favourable  to  Elam  and  Phoenicia. 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  PORTENTS. 


779 


if  the  sun,  at  his  setting,  appears  double  his  usual  size,  with  three  groups 
of  bluish  rays,  the  King  of  Chaldaea  is  ruined.” 1 To  the  indications  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  the  Chaldteans  added  the  portents  which  could  be  deduced 
from  atmospheric  phenomena:2  if  it  thundered  on  the  27th  of  Tammuz,  the 
wheat-harvest  would  be  excellent  and  the  produce  of  the  ears  magnificent ; 
but  if  this  should  occur  six  days  later,  that  is,  on  the  2nd  of  Abu,  floods  and 
rains  were  to  be  apprehended  in  a short  time,  together  with  the  death  of  the 
king  and  the  division  of  his  empire.3  It  was  not  for  nothing  that  the  sun  and 
moon  surrounded  themselves  in  the  evening  with  blood-red  vapours  or  veiled 
themselves  in  dark  clouds ; that  they  grew  suddenly  pale  or  red  after  having 
been  intensely  bright ; that  unexpected  fires  blazed  out  on  the  confines  of  the 
air,  and  that  on  certain  nights  the  stars  seemed  to  have  become  detached 
from  the  firmament  and  to  be  falling  upon  the  earth.  These  prodigies  were 
so  many  warnings  granted  by  the  gods  to  the  people  and  their  kings  before 
great  crises  in  human  affairs:  the  astronomer  investigated  and  interpreted 
them,  and  his  predictions  had  a greater  influence  than  we  are  prepared  to 
believe  upon  the  fortunes  of  individuals  and  even  of  states.  The  rulers 
consulted  and  imposed  upon  the  astronomers  the  duty  of  selecting  the  most 
favourable  moment  for  the  execution  of  the  projects  they  had  in  view.  From 
an  early  date  each  temple  contained  a library  of  astrological  writings,  where 
the  people  might  find,  drawn  up  as  in  a code,  the  signs  which  bore  upon  their 
destinies.4  One  of  these  libraries,  consisting  of  not  less  than  seventy  clay 
tablets,  is  considered  to  have  been  first  drawn  up  in  the  reign  of  Sargon  of 
Agade,5  but  to  have  been  so  modified  and  enriched  with  new  examples  from 
time  to  time  that  the  original  is  well-nigh  lost.  This  was  the  classical  work 
on  the  subject  in  the  VIIth  century  before  our  era,  and  the  astronomers-royal, 
to  whom  applications  were  accustomed  to  be  made  to  explain  a natural  pheno- 
menon or  a prodigy,  drew  their  answers  ready-made  from  it.6  Astronomy,  as 

1 Rawlinson,  W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  61,  No.  7.  1.  57 ; cf.  Fr.  Lenormant,  La  Divination  et  la 
Science  chez  les  Chalddens,  p.  8,  No.  1;  and  for  solar  portents,  W.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi.  69,  15  recto, 
1.  1 ; cf.  Sayce,  The  Astronomy  and  Astrology  of  the  Babylonians,  p.  224  ; Fr.  Lenormant,  op.  cit.,  p.  8, 
No.  1. 

2 Fr.  Lenormant,  op.  cit.,  pp.  63,  et  seq. 

3 Fr.  Lenormant,  op.  cit.,  pp.  73,- 74. 

4 Fr.  Lenormant,  op.  cit.,  pp.  33,  et  seq.  None  of  these  works  has  come  down  to  us  in  its  entirety, 
but  we  are  in  possession  of  the  table  of  contents  of  one  of  them,  which  contained  not  less  than  twenty- 
five  tablets,  and  which  was  placed  in  the  library  of  Assurbauipal  at  Nineveh  (IF.  A.  Insc.,  vol.  iii.  pi. 
52,  53 ; cf.  Sayce,  Astronomy  and  Astrology  of  the  Babylonians,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Bibl.  Arch.  Soc., 
vol.  iii.  pp.  151-160).  We  may  estimate,  from  the  summary  which  it  has  preserved  for  us,  the  amount 
of  work  and  the  number  of  observations  which  the  Chaldroan,  and  afterwards  the  Assyrian,  astronomers 
must  have  accomplished  during  the  centuries  to  make  up  the  materials  of  their  science. 

5 At  least,  the  examples  are  taken  from  the  life  of  this  monarch  and  from  that  of  his  son  and 
successor,  Naramsiu  ; cf.  pp.  598,  599  of  the  present  work. 

a Fr.  Lenormant  thinks  that  this  work,  in  its  modified  form,  was  that  which  llerossus  translated 


780 


CHALDEAN  CIVILIZATION. 


thus  understood,  was  not  merely  the  queen  of  sciences,  it  was  the  mistress  of 
the  world  : taught  secretly  in  the  temples,  its  adepts — at  least,  those  who 
had  passed  through  the  regular  curriculum  of  study  which  it  required — 
became  almost  a distinct  class  in  society.  The  occupation  was  a lucrative 
one,  and  its  accomplished  professors  had  numerous  rivals  whose  educational 
antecedents  were  unknown,  but  who  excited  the  envy  of  the  experts  in  their 
trading  upon  the  credulity  of  the  people.  These  quacks  went  about  the 
country  drawing  up  horoscopes,  and  arranging  schemes  of  birthday  prognosti- 
cations, of  which  the  majority  were  without  any  authentic  warranty.  The 
law  sometimes  took  note  of  the  fact  that  they  were  competing  with  the 
official  experts,  and  interfered  with  their  business:  but  if  they  happened  to 
be  exiled  from  one  city,  they  found  some  neighbouring  one  ready  to  receive 
them. 

Chaldtea  abounded  with  soothsayers  and  necromancers  no  less  than  with 
astrologers ; she  possessed  no  real  school  of  medicine,  such  as  we  find  in 
Egypt,  in  which  were  taught  rational  methods  of  diagnosing  maladies  and  of 
curing  them  by  the  use  of  simples.1  The  Chaldceans  were  content  to  confide 
the  care  of  their  bodies  to  sorcerers  and  exorcists,  who  were  experts  in  the  art 
of  casting  out  demons  and  spirits,  whose  presence  in  a living  being  brought 
about  those  disorders  to  which  humanity  is  prone.  The  facial  expression  of  the 
patient  during  the  crisis,  the  words  which  escaped  from  him  in  delirium,  were, 
for  these  clever  individuals,  so  many  signs  revealing  the  nature  and  sometimes 
the  name  of  the  enemy  to  be  combated — the  Fever-god,  the  Plague-god,  the 
Headache-god.2  Consultations  and  medical  treatment  were,  therefore,  religious 
offices,  in  which  were  involved  purifications,  offerings,  and  a whole  ritual  of 
mysterious  words  and  gestures.  The  magician  lighted  a fire  of  herbs  and  sweet- 
smelling plants  in  front  of  his  patient,  and  the  clear  flame  arising  from  this  put 
the  spectres  to  flight  and  dispelled  the  malign  influences,  a prayer  describing 
the  enchantments  and  their  effects  being  afterwards  recited.  “ The  baleful 
imprecation  like  a demon  has  fallen  upon  man ; — the  voice  of  the  magician 
weighs  like  a yoke  upon  him, — the  baleful  imprecation,  the  malevolent  designs 
of  the  sorceror,  the  pains  in  the  head ! — This  man,  the  baleful  imprecation 


into  Greek,  and  which  became  one  of  the  chief  classical  texts  of  Groeeo-Roman  Astrology  (La  Divination 
et  la  Science  des  Driftages  chez  les  Chaldeans,  pp.  46,  47). 

1 See,  for  an  account  of  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Egypt,  pp.  214-220  of  the  present  work.  As 
late  as  the  Persian  period  the  physicians  about  the  court  of  the  Achsemenides  were  Egyptians  or 
Greeks,  and  not  Babylonians;  see  in  Herodotus  (iii.  1)  the  story  of  the  oculist  sent  by  Amasis  to 
Cyrus,  and  whose  ill-will  brought  about  the  ruin  of  Egypt. 

2 As  to  the  malevolent  genii,  and  the  diseases  which  they  could  occasion  by  entering  ihe 
bodies  of  men,  see  p.  683  of  the  present  work ; the  same  belief  was  entertained  in  Egypt  (see  p.  212, 
et  seq.). 


MEDICINE. 


781 


slaughters  him  like  a sheep, — for  his  god  has  quitted  his  body,  his  goddess  has 
withdrawn  herself  in  displeasure  from  him,  the  voice  has  spread  itself  as  a 
garment  upon  him  and  has  troubled  him ! ” The  harm  done  by  the  magician, 
though  terrible,  could  be  repaired  by  the  gods,  and  Merodach  was  moved  to 
compassion  betimes,  Merodach  cast  his  eyes  on  the  patient,  Merodach  entered 
into  the  house  of  his  father  Ea,  saying  : “ My  father,  the  baleful  curse  has  fallen 
like  a demon  upon  the  man  ! ” Twice  he  thus  speaks,  and  then  adds  : “ What 
this  man  ought  to  do,  I know  not ; how  shall  he  be  healed  ? ” Ea  replies  to 
his  son  Merodach  : “ My  son,  w'hat  is  there  that  I could  add  to  thy  knowledge  ? — 
Merodach,  what  is  there  that  I could  add  to  thy  knowledge  ? — That  which  I 
know,  thou  knowest  it: — go  then,  my  son,  Merodach, — lead  him  to  the  house  of 
purification  of  the  god  who  prepares  remedies, — and  break  the  spell  that  is  upon 
him,  draw  away  the  charm  which  is  upon  him, — the  ill  which  afflicts  his  body, — 
which  he  suffers  by  reason  of  the  curse  of  his  father, — or  the  curse  of  his  mother, — 
or  the  curse  of  his  eldest  brother, — or  by  the  baleful  curse  of  some  unknown 
person. — The  curse,  may  it  be  taken  from  him  by  the  charm  of  Ea, — like  a clove 
of  garlic  which  is  stripped  skin  by  skin, — like  a cluster  of  dates  may  it  be  cut  off, 
— like  a bunch  of  flowers  may  it  be  uprooted ! The  malevolent  designs  of  the 
sorcerer,  0 double  of  the  heaven,  avert  them, — double  of  the  earth,  avert  them!” 
The  god  himself  deigned  to  point  out  the  remedy : the  sick  man  was  to  take 
a clove  of  garlic,  some  dates,  and  a stalk  bearing  flowers,  and  was  to  throw 
them  into  the  fire,  bit  by  bit,  repeating  appropriate  prayers  at  each  stage  of  the 
operation.  “ In  like  manner  as  this  garlic  is  peeled  and  thrown  into  the  fire, — 
and  the  burning  flame  consumes  it, — as  it  will  never  be  planted  in  the  vegetable 
garden,  it  will  never  draw  moisture  from  the  pond  or  from  the  ditch, — its  root 
will  not  be  planted  in  the  earth, — its  stalk  will  not  pierce  the  ground  and  behold 
the  sun, — it  will  not  serve  as  food  for  the  gods  or  the  king, — so  may  it  remove  the 
baleful  curse,  so  may  it  loose  the  bond — of  sickness,  of  sin,  of  shortcomings,  of 
perversity,  of  crime ! — The  sickness  which  is  in  my  body,  in  my  flesh,  in  my 
muscles, — like  this  garlic  may  it  be  stripped  off, — and  may  the  burning  flame 
consume  it  in  this  day  ; — cast  out  the  evil  designs  of  the  sorcerer,  that  I may 
behold  the  light ! ” The  ceremony  could  be  prolonged  at  will : the  sick  person 
pulled  to  pieces  the  cluster  of  dates,  the  bunch  of  flowers,  a fleece  of  wool, 
some  goats’  hair,  a skin  of  dyed  thread,  and  a bean,  which  were  all  in  turn 
consumed  in  the  fire.  At  each  stage  of  the  operation  he  repeated  the  formula, 
introducing  into  it  one  or  two  expressions  characterizing  the  nature  of  the 
particular  offering  : as,  for  instance,  “ the  dates  will  no  more  hang  from  their 
stalks,  the  leaves  of  the  branch  will  never  again  be  united  to  the  tree,  the  wool 
and  the  hair  will  never  again  lie  on  the  back  of  the  animal  on  which  they  grew, 


CEALD2EA  N CIV1L1ZA  T10N. 


782 

and  will  never  be  used  for  weaving  garments.”1  The  use  of  magical  words  was 
often  accompanied  by  remedies,  which  were  for  the  most  part  both  grotesque 
and  disgusting  in  their  composition  : they  comprised  bitter  or  stinking  wood- 
shavings,  raw  meat,  snake’s  flesh,  wine  and  oil,  the  whole  reduced  to  a pulp,  or 
made  into  a sort  of  pill  and  swallowed  on  the  chance  of  its  bringing  relief.'2 
The  Egyptian  physicians  employed  similar  compounds,  to  which  they  attributed 
wonderful  effects,  but  they  made  use  of  them  in  exceptional  circumstances  only. 
The  medical  authorities  in  Chaldaea  recommended  them  before  all  others,  and 
their  very  strangeness  reassured  the  patient  as  to  their  efficacy  : they  filled  the 
possessing  spirits  with  disgust,  and  became  a means  of  relief  owing  to  the 
invincible  horror  with  which  they  inspired  the  persecuting  demons.  The 
Chaldteans  were  not,  however,  ignorant  of  the  natural  virtues  of  herbs,  and  at 
times  made  use  of  them ; 3 but  they  were  not  held  in  very  high  esteem,  and  the 
physicians  preferred  the  prescriptions  which  pandered  to  the  popular  craving 
for  the  supernatural.  Amulets  further  confirmed  the  effect  produced  by  the 
recipes,  and  prevented  the  enemy,  once  cast  out,  from  re-entering  the  body ; 
these  amulets  were  made  of  knots  of  cord,  pierced  shells,  bronze  or  terra-cotta 
statuettes,  and  plaques  fastened  to  the  arms  or  worn  round  the  neck.  On  each 
of  the  latter  kind  were  roughly  drawn  the  most  terrible  images  that  they  could 
conceive,  a shortened  incantation  was  scrawled  on  its  surface,  or  it  was  covered 
with  extraordinary  characters,  which  when  the  spirits  perceived  they  at  once 
took  flight,  and  the  possessor  of  the  talisman  escaped  the  threatened  illness.4 

However  laughable,  and  at  the  same  time  deplorable,  this  hopeless  medley 
of  exact  knowledge  and  gross  superstition  may  appear  to  us  at  the  present  day, 
it  was  the  means  of  bringing  a prosperity  to  the  cities  of  Chaldaea  which  no 
amount  of  actual  science  would  ever  have  produced.  The  neighbouring  barbaric 
peoples  were  imbued  with  the  same  ideas  as  the  Chaldeeans  regarding  the 
constitution  of  the  world  and  the  nature  of  the  laws  which  governed  it.  They 
lived  likewise  in  perpetual  fear  of  those  invisible  beings  whose  changeable 
and  arbitrary  will  actuated  all  visible  phenomena ; they  attributed  all  the 

1 The  text  or  this  casting  of  the  spell  was  published  in  Rawlinson,  Cun.  In?.  W.  As.,  vol.  iv.  pi.  7, 
and  was  inscribed  on  the  VIth  tablet  of  the  series  entitled  “ Shurbu.”  It  was  translated  at  length  by 
Fr.  Lenormant  ( Eludes  Accadiennes,  vol.  ii.  pp.  225-238,  vol.  iii.  pp.  83-93),  Halevy  ( Documents  religieux 
de  V Assyrie  et  de  la  Babylonie,  pp.  135-144,  30-34),  and  Jensen  (De  Incantamentorum  sumerico-assyriorum, 
etc.,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Keilforschung,  vol.  i.  pp.  279-322,  vol.  ii.  pp.  15-61,  306-311,  416-425). 

2 Examples  of  these  incoherent  formulas  will  be  found  in  Sayce,  An  Ancient  Babylonian  Work  on 
Medicine,  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Keilforschung,  vol.  ii.  pp.  1-14.  For  the  Egyptian  receipts  of  the  same 
kind,  see  what  is  said  on  p.  219  of  the  present  work. 

3 See,  for  example,  the  simples  enumerated  on  a tablet  in  the  British  Museum  recently  published 
by  A.  Boissieb,  Liste  de  plantes  me'dicinales,  in  the  Revue  sAmilique  d’Epijraplne  et  d’ Histoire  Ancienne, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  135-145. 

4 Talbot,  On  the  Religious  Belief  of  the  Assyrians,  No.  3,  § 5-8,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society 
of  Biblical  Archxology,  vol.  ii.  pp.  54-57,  65-73 ; Fb.  Lenormant,  La  Magie  chez  les  ClialdCens,  pp. 
38-52. 


MAGIC,  AND  ITS  INFLUENCE  ON  NEIGHBOURING  COUNTRIES.  7 83 

reverses  and  misfortunes  which  overtook  them  to  the  direct  action  of  these 
malevolent  beings;  they  believed  firmly  in  the  influence  of  stars  on  the  course 
of  events  ; they  were  constantly  on  the  look  out  for  prodigies,  and  were  greatly 
alarmed  by  them,  since  they  had  no  certain  knowledge  of  the  number  and 
nature  of  their  enemies,  and  the  means  they  had  invented  for  protecting  them- 
selves from  them  or  of  overcoming  them  too  often  proved  inefficient.  In  the 
eyes  of  these  barbarians,  the  Chaldmans  seemed  to  be  possessed  of  the  very  powers 
which  they  themselves  lacked.  The  magicians  of  Chaldtea  had  forced  the 
demons  to  obey  them  and  to  unmask 
themselves  before  them  ; they  read 
with  ease  in  the  heavens  the  present 
and  future  of  men  and  nations;  they 
interpreted  the  will  of  the  immortals 
in  its  smallest  manifestations,  and 
with  them  this  faculty  was  not 
a limited  and  ephemeral  power, 
quickly  exhausted  by  use  : the  rites 
and  formulas  known  to  them  en- 
abled them  to  exercise  it  freely  at 
all  times,  in  all  places,  alike  upon  the  most  exalted  of  the  gods  and  the  most 
dreaded  of  mortals,  without  its  ever  becoming  weakened.  A race  so  endowed 
with  wisdom  was,  indeed,  destined  to  triumph  over  its  neighbours,  and  the  latter 
would  have  no  chance  of  resisting  such  a nation  unless  they  borrowed  from  it 
its  manners,  customs,  industry,  writing,  and  all  the  arts  and  sciences  which  had 
brought  about  their  superiority.  Chaldaean  civilization  spread  into  Elam  and 
took  possession  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  then, 
since  its  course  was  impeded  on  the  south  by  the  sea,  on  the  west  by  the  desert, 
and  on  the  east  by  the  mountains,  it  turned  in  the  direction  of  the  great  northern 
plains  and  proceeded  up  the  twTo  rivers,  beside  whose  lower  waters  it  had  been 
cradled.  It  was  at  this  very  time  that  the  Pharaohs  of  the  XIIIth  dynasty  had 
just  completed  the  conquest  of  Nubia.  Greater  Egypt,  made  what  she  was  by 
the  efforts  of  twenty  generations,  had  become  an  African  power.  The  sea 
formed  her  northern  boundary,  the  desert  and  the  mountains  enclosed  her  on 
all  sides,  and  the  Nile  appeared  the  only  natural  outlet  into  a new  world : 
she  followed  it  indefatigably  from  one  cataract  to  another,  colonizing  as  she 
passed  all  the  lands  fertilized  by  its  waters.  Every  step  which  she  made  in  this 
direction  increased  the  distance  between  her  capitals  and  the  Mediterranean,  and 


1 Drawn  by  Faucher-Gudin,  from  a sketch  by  Loftos,  Travels  and  Researches  in  Chaldxa  and 
Susiana.  The  original  is  in  the  British  Museum. 


784 


CIJALD2EAN  CIVILIZATION. 


brought  her  armies  further  south.  Asia  would  have  practically  ceased  to  exist, 
as  far  as  Egypt  was  concerned,  had  not  the  repeated  incursions  of  the  Bedouin 
obliged  her  to  make  advances  from  time  to  time  in  that  direction  ; still  she 
crossed  the  frontier  as  seldom  as  possible,  and  recalled  her  troops  as  soon  as  they 
had  reduced  the  marauders  to  order  : Ethiopia  alone  attracted  her,  and  it  was 
there  that  she  firmly  established  her  empire.  The  two  great  civilized  peoples 
of  the  ancient  world,  therefore,  had  each  their  field  of  action  clearly  marked 
out,  and  neither  of  them  had  ever  ventured  except  in  a passing  way  into  that 
of  the  other.  There  had  been  no  lack  of  intercourse  between  them,  and  the 
encounter  of  their  armies,  if  it  ever  really  had  taken  place,  had  been  accidental, 
had  merely  produced  passing  results,  and  up  till  then  had  terminated  without 
bringing  to  either  a decisive  advantage  : how  many  centuries  was  their  isolation 
still  to  continue  ? 


MAGIC  NAIL  OF  TEBKA  COTTA. 


EGYPTIAN  CORNICE  BEARING  THE  CARTOUCHES  OF  RAMSES  I. 


APPENDIX. 

THE  PHARAOHS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  AND  MIDDLE  EMPIRES. 

(dynasties  i.-xiy.) 

THE  lists  of  tlie  Pharaohs  of  the  Memphite  period  appear  to  have  been 
drawn  up  in  much  the  same  order  as  we  now  possess  them,  as  early  as 
the  XIIth  dynasty : it  is  certain  that  the  sequence  was  definitely  fixed  about 
the  time  of  the  XXth  dynasty,  since  it  was  under  this  that  the  Canon 
of  Turin  was  copied.  The  lists  which  have  come  down  to  us  appear  to  follow 
two  traditions,  which  differ  but  slightly  : one  has  been  preserved  for  us  by 
the  abbreviators  of  Manetho,  while  the  other  was  the  authority  followed  by  the 
compilers  of  the  tables  of  Abydos  and  Saqqara,  as  well  as  by  the  author  of 
the  Turin  Papyrus. 

There  appear  to  have  been  in  the  first  five  dynasties  a certain  number  of 
kings  whose  exact  order  and  filiation  were  supposed  to  be  well  known  to  the 
compilers;  but,  at  the  same  time,  there  were  others  whose  names  were  found 
on  the  monuments,  but  whose  position  with  regard  to  their  predecessors  was 
indicated  neither  by  historical  documents  nor  by  popular  romance.  We  find, 
therefore,  in  these  two  traditional  lists  a series  of  sovereigns  always  occupying 
the  same  position,  and  others  hovering  around  them,  who  have  no  decided  place. 
The  hieroglyphic  lists  and  the  Royal  Canon  appear  to  have  been  chiefly 
concerned  with  the  former;  but  the  authorities  followed  by  Manetho  have 
studiously  collected  the  names  of  the  latter,  and  have  intercalated  them  in 
different  places,  sometimes  in  the  middle,  but  mostly  at  the  end  of  the 
dynasty,  where  they  form  a kind  of  caput  mortuum.  The  most  striking- 
example  of  this  arrangement  is  afforded  us  in  the  IVth  dynasty.  The  con- 
temporary mouuments  show  that  its  king3  formed  a compact  group,  to  which 
are  appended  the  first  three  sovereigns  of  the  Vth  dynasty,  always  in  the  same 
order : Menkauri  succeeded  Khafri,  Shopsiskaf  followed  Menkauri,  Usirkaf 
followed  Shopsiskaf,  and  so  on  to  the  end.  The  lists  of  Manetho  suppress 
Shopsiskaf,  and  substitute  four  other  individuals  in  his  place,  namely,  Ratoises, 
Bikheris,  Seberkheres,  Thamphthis,  whose  reigns  must  have  occupied  more 
than  half  a century;  these  four  were  doubtless  aspirants  to  the  throne,  or 
local  kings  belonging  to  the  time  between  the  IVth  and  Vth  dynasties, 
whom  Manetho’s  authorities  inserted  between  the  compact  groups  made  up 
of  Kheops  and  his  sons  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  Usirkaf  and  his  two  real 
or  supposed  brothers  on  the  other,  omitting  Shopsiskaf,  and  having  no 

3 E 


786 


APPENDIX. 


idea  that  Usirkaf  was  his  immediate  successor,  with  or  without  rivals  to  the 
throne. 

In  a course  of  lectures  given  at  the  College  de  France  (1893-4),  I have 
examined  at  length  the  questions  raised  by  a study  of  the  various  lists,  and 
I may  be  able,  perhaps,  some  day  to  publish  the  result  of  my  researches : for 
the  present  I must  confine  myself  merely  to  what  is  necessary  to  the  elucida- 
tion of  the  present  work,  namely,  the  Manethonian  tradition  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  tradition  of  the  monumental  tables  on  the  other.  The  text  which  I 
propose  to  follow  for  the  latter,  during  the  first  five  dynasties,  is  that  of  the 
second  table  of  Abydos;  the  names  placed  between  brackets  [ ] are  taken 
either  from  the  table  of  Saqqara  or  from  the  Royal  Canon  of  Turin.  The 
numbers  of  the  years,  months,  and  days  are  those  furnished  by  the  last- 
mentioned  document. 


LISTS  OF  MANETEO. 

LISTS  ON  TUE  MONUMENTS. 

Ist  DYNASTY  (THINITE). 

Years. 

Y ears. 

Dys. 

Mill-'. 

Menes 

62 

MinI 

Athothis 

57 

Teti  I 





— 

Kenkenes 

31 

Ati  I 

— 

— 

— 

OuENEPHES 

23 

Ati  II 

— 

— 

— 

OtlSAPHAIDOS 

20 

HuSAPFI  AITI 

— 

— 

— 

Miebidos 

26 

Maribi  ...  

73 

— 

— 

Semempses 

is 

Sajisu  

72 

— 

— 

i Bienekhes  

26 

Qabhu  

83 

II"'1  DYNASTY  (THINITE). 

Boethos  

Buzau  

95 





Kaiekhos 

39 

Kakou  

— 

— 

— 

Binothris 

47 

Binutri 

95 

— 

— 

Tlas 

17 

flzNASIT 

70 

— 

— 

Setiienes 

41 

SoNDI  

74(?) 

— 

— 

Khaires 

17 

Nepherkheres  

[Nofirkar!] 

70 

— 

— 

Sesokhris 

48 

Kheneres 

30 

IIP'1  DYNASTY  (MEMPHITE). 

Nekiieropbes 

28 

[Nofirkarsokari] 

8 

4 

2 

Tosorthros 

29 

[IIuZAUFl] 

25(?) 

8 

4 

Tyreis 

7 

Zazai,  [Babai] 

37 

2 

1 

Mesokhris 

17 

Nebkari 

19 

— 

— 

SoYPHIS 

16 

Zosir  Sa  [Zosiri] 

19 

2 

— 

Tosertasis  

19 

Teti  II.  [Zosiri  Teti]  . . . 

6 

— 

— 

Akhes 

42 

Sazisu 

— 

— 

— 

Sephouris 

Nofirkari  II 

6 

— 

— 

Kerpheres 

26 

[Huni] 

24 

— 

” 

LISTS  OF  THE  PHARAOHS  OF  THE  ANCIENT  EMPIRE. 


787 


LISTS  OF  MANETHO— {continued). 

LISTS  ON  THE  MONUMENTS— (continued). 

IVth  DYNASTY  (MEMPHITE). 

Years. 

Years.!  Dys. 

Mths. 

SoRIS 

29 

Snofrvi 

24  — 

SODPHIS  I 

G3 

Khufui 

23  • — 

— 

SOUPHIS  II 

Dudifri 

S — 

— 

Menkheres  ....  

G3 

Khafri 



— 

RatoJses 

25 

Menkauri 



— 

Bikheris 

22 

Shopsiskaf 



— 

Seberkheres  

7 

Thamphthis 

9 

Vth  DYNASTY  (ELEPHANTITE). 

OlJSERKHERES 

28 

tjSIRKAF 

28  — 

Sephres 

13 

Sahuri  

4 — 



Neferkheres  11 

23 

Kakiu  • 

2 



SlSIRES 

7 

Nofir[irike]ri  I.  .... 

7 — 

— 

Kheres 

20 

[Sen  . . .] 

12  — 

— 

Rathoures  

44 

[Shopsiskeri] 



— 

Menkheres  I 

9 

[Akauhord]  

7 — 



Tankheres 

44 

Usirnir!  I.  [Anu] 

25  1 — 



Onnos 

33 

Menkauhoru  

8 I — 



Dadker!  I.  [Assi] 

28  — 



Vnas 

30  — 

— 

VIth  DYNASTY  (MEMPHITE). 

Othoes  

30 

Teti  III 

_ _ 

_ 

Phios 

53 

Miriri  [Papi'  I.] 

20  — 

— 

Metesouphis 

7 

Mirnir!  I.  [Mihtimsauf  I.]  . 

14  — 

— 

Phiops 

100 

Nofirkari  Ilf.  [Papi  II.]  . . 

90+  — 

— 

Menthesouphis 

1 

Mirnir!  II.  [Mihtimsauf  II.]  . 

1 1 

Nitokris  . 

12 

Nitauqrit 

— 

From  the  VIth  to  the  XIIth  dynasty,  the  lists  of  Manetho  are  at  fault : they 
give  the  origin  and  duration  of  the  dynasties,  without  furnishing  us  with  the 
names  of  the  kings.  This  blank  is  partially  filled  by  the  table  of  Abydos,  by 
the  fragments  of  the  Turin  Papyrus,  and  by  information  supplied  by  the 
monuments.  No  such  definitely  established  sequence  appears  to  have  existed  for 
this  period,  as  for  the  preceding  ones.  The  Heracleopolitan  dynasties  figure, 
perhaps,  in  the  Canon  of  Turin  only;  as  for  the  later  Memphite  dynasties,  the 
table  of  Abydos  gives  one  series  of  Pharaohs,  while  the  Canon  adopts  a 
different  one.  After  the  close  of  the  VIth  dynasty,  and  before  the  accession 
of  the  IXth,  there  was,  doubtless,  a period  when  several  branches  of  the  royal 
family  claimed  the  supremacy  and  ruled  in  different  parts  of  Egypt : this  is 
what  we  know  to  have  taken  place  later  between  the  XXIImt  and  the  XXIVth 
dynasties.  The  tradition  of  Abydos  had,  perhaps,  adopted  one  of  these 


788 


A PPEND1X. 


contemporaneous  dynasties,  while  the  Turin  Papyrus  had  chosen  another ; 
Manetho,  on  the  other  hand,  had  selected  from  among  them,  as  represen- 
tatives of  the  legitimate  succession,  the  line  reigning  at  Memphis  which 
immediately  followed  the  sovereigns  of  the  VP11  dynasty.  The  following  table 
gives  both  the  series  known,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  for  the  present  to  re-establish 
the  order : — 


TABLE  OF  ABYDOS. 

CANON  OF  TURIN. 

[VI Ith  AND  VIIIth  DYNASTIES  (MEMPHITE)  OF  MANETHO] 

Y ears. 

1 

Years. 

Dys. 

Milis. 

Nutirkeri 

Nofirkari  IV 2 

1 

Menkepi 

— 

Nofieus 4 

2 

— 

Nofirkari  IV 

— 

Abi 2 

1 



NOFIRKAlli  V.  NlBI 

1 

I 

— 

— 

Dadkeri  II.  Shauma 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Nofirkari  VI.  Khondf 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Marnihoru 

— 

. . . . - . 

— 

— 

Sanofieka  1 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Kaniri 

— 

— 

— 



Nofirkari  VII.  Tarakou 

| 

— 

— 

— 

Nofirkaiiorc 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Nofirkari  VIII.  Papi  III.  Sonbu  . . 

— 

— 

— 



Sanofirka  II  Anu 

— 

— 

— 



OUSIRKEURI 

— 



— 



Nofirkeuri 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Nofirkephoru 

— 

— 

— 

— 

Nofiririker!  II 

— 

— 

[IXth  AND  Xth  DYNASTIES  (HERACLEOPOLITAN)  OF  MANETHO.] 

— 

Khiti  I.  [Miribri] — 

— 

- 

— 

Mirikeri — 

— 

— 



NoFIIiKAIii  IX — 



— 

Khiti  II — 

— 

— 

The  XIth  (Theban)  dynasty  contains  but  a small  number  of  kings  according 
to  the  official  lists.  The  tables  on  the  monuments  recognize  only  two, 
Nibkhrouri  and  Sbnkhkari,  but  the  Turin  Canon  admits  at  least  half  a dozen. 
These  differences  probably  arose  from  the  fact  that,  the  second  Heracleopolitan 
dynasty  having  reigned  at  the  same  time  as  the  earlier  Theban  princes,  the 
tables  on  the  monuments,  while  rejecting  the  Heracleopolitans,  recognized  as 
legitimate  Pharaohs  only  those  of  the  Theban  kings  who  had  ruled  over  the 
whole  of  Egypt,  namely,  the  first  and  last  of  the  series ; the  Canon,  on  the 
contrary,  replaced  the  later  Heracleopolitans  by  those  among  the  contemporary 
Thebans  who  had  assumed  the  royal  titles.  Whatever  may  have  been  the 


THE  PHARAOHS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  EMPIRE. 


789 


cause  of  these  combinations,  we  find  the  lists  again  harmonizing  with  the 
accession  of  the  XIIth  (Theban)  dynasty. 


LISTS 

OF  MANET  HO. 

CANON  OF  TURIN. 

XIIth 

DYNASTY  (THEBAN). 

Years  | 

Years. 

Dys. 

Mtlis. 

Ammenemes 

10 

ShotpabrI  I.  AmenemhAit  I.  . 

20 

Sesonkhosis  . 

1 KhOPIRKEr!  I.  ttsIRTASEN  I.  . 

42 

— 

— 

Ammenemes 

38  j 

Nubkeur!  Amenemhait  II..  . 

32 

— 

— 

Sesostris  . . 

48 

KhAkHOPIEr!  tjstRTASEN  II.  . 

19 

— 

— 

Lakhares  . . 

8 ! 

IVHAKEURt  USIRTASEN  III.  . . 

30  + 

— 

— 

Ameres  . . . 

8 | 

Maitnir!  Amenemhait  III. 

40+ 

— 

— 

Amlnemes  . . 

8 

Makhrour!  Amenemhait  IV.  . 

9 

3 

27 

Skemiophris 

4 

SovkunofriurI  

3 

10 

24 

For  the  succeeding  dynasties  we  possess  merely  the  names  enumerated  on 
the  fragments  of  the  Turin  Papyrus,  several  of  which,  however,  are  also  found 
either  in  the  royal  chamber  at  Karnak,  or  on  contemporary  monuments. 
The  order  of  the  names  is  not  always  certain  : it  is,  perhaps,  best  to  tran- 
scribe the  sequence  as  we  are  able  to  gather  it  from  the  fragments  of 
the  Royal  Papyrus,  without  attempting  to  distinguish  between  those  which 
belong  to  the  XIIIth  and  those  which  must  be  relegated  to  the  following 
dynasties. 


1.  Sakhemkhoutoouki  I.  [Sovkhot- 

to 

* 

<D 

® | 
1 I 

« s 

21.  SakhmuaztouirI  Sovkhotpu  III. 

. 

1 1> 

£ 

a 

Q 

Ja 

a 

o 

PU  I.] 

— 

— — 

22.  Sasheshkiiari  Nofiehotpu  I.  . 

— 

— 

— 

2.  Sakhemkari 

— 

— — 

23.  Sihathorri 

— 

— 

— 

3.  AmenemhaIt  \ 

— 

— — 

24.  Khanofiuki  Sovkhotpu  IV.  . . 

— 

— 

— 

4.  Shoptabri  II 

— — 

25.  [Khakeri] 

— 

— 

5.  Aufni 

— 

— — 

26.  fKiiAONKHRi  Sovkhotpu  V.]  . . 

— 

— 

— 

6.  Sonkhabr!  [Amoni  Antuf  Ame- 

— 

— — 

27.  Khihotpcri  Sovkhotpu  VI  . . 

— 

— 

— 

nemhaIt] 

— 

— — : 

28.  ffAHIBRI  Jaibu 

— 

— 

— 

7.  Smankhari 

— 

— — 

29.  Marnofirri  [Ani] 

13 

8 

18 

8.  Shotpabri  III 



— — ; 

30.  Marhotpuri 

2 

2 

9 

9.  Sonkhkar!  II 

— 

— — 

31.  Sonkhnisuazturi 

3 

2 

— 

10 

— 

— — 

32.  Marsakhmuri  Andu  .... 

8 

1 

— 

11.  Nozmabr! 

— 

— — 

33.  Sauazkeuri  Uiri 

— 

— 

12.  Sovkhotpur! 

— 

— — , 

1 34 r! 

— 

— 

— 

13.  Rindsonbu 

— 

_ _ 

i 35-43 

— 

— 

— 

14.  AutuabrI  I.  [Horu] 

— 

— — 

44.  Mirikhopirr! 

— 

— 

— 

15.  Sazauf[ke]ei 

— 

— — 

45.  Mirikeuri  [Sovkhotpu  VII]  . 

— 

— 

— 

10.  Sakhemkhoutouiri  II.  Sovkhot- 

— 

— — 

46-50 

— 

— 

— 

PU  II 



— 





— 

17.  *0" SIRNIRI  II 

— 

— — 



— 

— 

18.  Smankhkeri  Miiimonfitu  . . . 

— 



53.  Nofirubnur!  I 

— 

— 

— 

19 kar! 

— 

— — 

— 

— 

— 

20.  Susiristri 

— 

— — 

55.  [Sauaz]niri 





— 

790 


APPENDIX. 


. 

jn 

tfj 

A3 

§ 

c 

U 

g 

£ 

o 

56-57 



_ 

_ 

72.  Nibsunulu 

_ 

_ 

_ 

58.  Nahsiiu 

— 

— 

— 

73-74 

— 

— 

— 

59.  Khakhrouri 

— 

— 

— 

75 r!  . . . . . . . 

— 

— 

21 

60.  Nibufauturi 

— 

— 

76.  Skhopirniri 

0 

— 

— 

61.  Sahaburi 

3 

— 

— 

77.  DADRHROURi  . . .... 

0 

— 

— 

62.  Mirizaufiuri 

3 

— 

— 

78.  Sonkhkar!  ...  .... 

— 

— 

— 

63.  SauazkerI 

1 

— 

79.  Nofirtumfri  . . .... 

64.  Nibzaufiur!  I 

1 





80.  Sakhm  . . . ri 







65.  Vbnuri  I 

0 

— 



81.  Ka  . . . . rI 

— 

— 

— 

66-67 

— 

— 

— 

82.  Nofirabri 

— 

— 

68.  [Nib]zaufiur!  II 

4 

— 

83.  A KAIil 

— 

— 



69.  [Nofir]ubnuri  11 

— 

— 

— 

84.  Kha  . . . . ri 

— 

— 

— 

70.  Autuabri  11 

— 





85.  Nofirkaki 

— 

— 

— 

71.  Hirabri 

— 

— 

_ 

86.  Sman ri 

- 

— 

About  fifty  names  still  remain,  but  so  mutilated  and  scattered  over  such 
small  fragments  of  papyrus,  that  their  order  is  most  uncertain.  We  possess 
monuments  of  about  one-fifth  of  these  kings,  and  the  lengths  of  their  reigns, 
as  far  as  we  know  them,  all  appear  to  have  been  short : we  have  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  they  did  really  govern,  and  we  can  only  hope  that  in  time  the  progress 
of  excavation  will  yield  us  records  of  them  one  after  another.  They  bring  us 
down  to  the  period  of  the  invasion  of  the  Shepherds,  and  it  is  possible  that 
some  among  them  may  be  found  to  be  contemporaries  of  the  XVth  and  XVIth 
dynasties. 


IVORY  FROM  TEL-LOH. 


EGYPTIAN  FRIEZE  OF  LOTUS  FLOWERS. 


INDEX. 


A 

A.  See  Sirrida 
Abba.it  (Mahalla  ?),  423 
Abousir  (Abusir),  383,  390 
AbO,  442 

Abydos,  197,  198,  226,  232,  303, 
310, 393, 416,  422,  424,  440, 450, 
460,  462,  530,  785,  786,  787 
Accad,  573,  616,  619 
Accadians.  See  Sumerians 
Adabehait,  494 
Adahnit,  494 
Adapa,  659,  660,  661 
“Addaru,”  777 
Adhem,  548,  549 
Administrative  officials,  285,  et 
seq.,  292,  31 0, 332, 333, 402,  474, 
720,  721 

Adoption,  rites  of,  740 
“Adventures  of  SinCihit,”  467, 469, 
471,  473 

Agade,  562,  595,  597,  600 
Agriculture  in  Chaldsea,  763,  et 
seq,,  770 

Agriculture  in  Egypt,  67,  68,  69, 
70,  75,  174,  330,  331,  332,  333, 
338,  339, 340 
Abi,  105 

Abuit  (Abaitib),  383 
Ait-nobsO,  170,  171 
Akauborb,  389 
AJthimu  Soku.  (or  urdu),  94 
Akhmim  (Panopolis,— Ekbmim), 
31,  414,  454,  461,  506 
Akhtboes  (Kbiti  I.),  440,  448, 
455,  456,  526 
Akki,  598 
Akurgal,  606,  609 
Alaparos,  564 
Allala,  580 


Allat,  073,  674, 091,  692, 693,  694, 
695,  696,  697,  700 
AlGros,  564,  566 
“ Alu,”  631,  633 
Alusbarsid,  602 
Amakliu,  118 

AmamiO,  394,  419,  431,  432,  435, 
459,  478 

Amanus,  549,  610,  627 
j Atnelagaros,  565 
j Amempsinos,  565 
Amenembait  I.,  446,  459,  462, 
463, 404,  465,  407, 409, 478,  500, 
502,  503,505,  506,517,519,  526 
Amenembait  II.,  468,  474,  490, 
500,  518,  519 

Amenembait  III.,  468,  476,  481, 
488,  491,  502,  506,  513,  518, 
519,  520,  527 

I Amenembait  IV.,  468,  476,  527 
Amentit  (Amenti),  250 
Amillaros,  565 
i Amitsi,  419 
Ammenon,  565 
Ammiansbi,  473 
Amnanu,  619 

Amon,  87,  99,  101,  125,  144,  149, 
159, 267, 478, 479, 484,  506,  507, 
530 

Amon-Maut-Khonsu,  150 
Amoni- Amenembait,  524,  526 
Amsit,  143,  182,  187 
Amten,  290-296,  328 
Amb,  434 
Anat.  See  Anu 
Anbb-baz-u,  233 

AnbOri-Sbu,  99,  100,  101,  109, 
116, 139, 140, 144, 152,  231,  232 
Anit,  150 
Anititt,  526 
Aukht.  See  Onkbit 


Annedotos,  565 

Anodaphos,  565 

Anshar,  538,  539,  603,  610 

Antuf  I.  (Antef),  432,  454,  462 

Antuf  II.,  454 

Antuf  III.,  454,  459 

Anu,  414 

Anu  (Anat),  538,  539,  540,  566, 
569,  570, 573, 578, 581,  62G,  634, 
641,  644,  645,  648,  650,  651, 652, 
654,  658,  660,  661,  663, 664,  667, 
672,  673,  698,  699,  763 
Anubis,  103,  112,  113,  116,  134, 
174, 176, 178, 182,  183, 187, 191, 
213,  250,  252,  364,  432,  505 
Anukit  (Anuke),  105,  240,  428 
Auunit,  562,  597,  665,  670 
Anunnaki,  568, 569,  634,  635,  636, 
696 

! Anunnas,  634,  696 
Anupb,  116 
AnOpumonklia,  290 
Aphrodite,  639,  640 
Aphroiitopolis  Parva  (Zobui), 
454,  522 
Api,  298 
Apit-to,  18 

Apollinopolis  Magna.  See  Ed  fa 
Apopi,  90,  91,  159,  170,  200 
Apsu,  537 
Apb,  73 

Arad-Ea,  585,  586,  587,  588 
Aralu,  690 
Argo,  532 

Ari-bos-nofir  (or  Tatb),  105,  151 
Ark  of  tbe  Deluge,  tbe,  571,  572 
Army,  tbe  Ckaldman,  722 

, tbe  Egyptian,  305,  306, 

307,  452 
Arura,  761 
Aruru,  574,  576 


INDEX. 


792 

Ashmunoiu.  See  Khmuuu 
Asp,  the,  33 

Assi  (Assn).  See  Dadkeri  Assi 
Assurbauipal,  517,  G42,  GS9,  706,  j 
730 

Astrologers,  Chaldsean,  780 
Astronomy,  Ancient  Egyptian, 
201,  et  seq.,  209,  281 

, Chaldsean,  G86, 775, 77G,  778 

Aswan  (Syene),  11,  414,  425,430,  [ 
435,  458,  482 
Asycliis  (Sasychisj,  382 
Ata,  237 
Atkribis,  77 
Ati,  236,  237,  415,  442 
Atonu,  87 

Aturnu  (see  also  Tiimu),  106,  111, 
138,  139, 141, 144, 147, 150, 151. 
156,  276 

Aunu  of  the  North  (Heliopolis), 
74,  190 

Aunu  of  the  South.  See  Hermon- 
this. 

Autuabri  I.  Horu,  528,  530,  532 
Axes,  ancient,  60 
Aza'i,  102 
Azupirani,  598 


B 

Babbar,  638 
Babbar-Shamash,  655 
Babel,  573 

Babylon,  562,  590,  591,  595,  597, 
600,  604,  628,  644,  648,  649,  i 
669,  675,  688,  705,  718,  730, 
741,  743,  775 
Bagdad,  548 
Bahnesa,  Oasis  of,  432 
Bahr  el-Abiad,  20 
Bahr  el-Ghazal,  20 
Bahr-i-Nedjif,  552,  562 
Bahr-Yusuf,  7,  445,  446,  447 
Bait  (Bebit),  355 
Baklru,  18,  45 
Balikli,  549,  559 
Bamia,  the,  65 

“Banner,”  or  “Ka  Name,”  the, 
261 

Bara,  667 
Barku,  660,  661 

Barsip,5t>2, 648.  See  also  Borsippa 
Barter,  methods  of,  323,  324,  326, 
748,  et  seq. 

Bastit,  102,  106,  503 
Batn-el-Bagarah,  6 
Bnu,  604,  672,  673 
Bauka,  479 
Bayadiyeb,  506 
Bazaars,  the,  323,  et  seq. 


Hegig,  512 

Bel-Merodach  (god  of  Babylon),  | 
649,  650,  651,  652,  666,  669, 
671,  672,  673,  674,  67.5,  676, 
696,  704,  705,  754,  763,  781 
Bel  of  Nipur,  566,  567,  569,  570, 

571,  572,  5S6,  588,  597,  626, 

634,  635  (637,  638  identified 

with  Inlil-Bel),  640,  641,  644, 

645,  648,  663,  666 
Belit,  635,  664 
Belit-ilanit,  670 
Belnadinabal,  677,  678 
Beilis,  637,  676 
Beltis-Allat,  691 
Beni-Hasau,  470,  524,  754 
Bennu.  See  Bonu 
Berenice.  See  Head  of  Nekhabit 
Bersim,  7 
Bes.  See  Bisu 
Biabmu,  513 
Bikheres,  387,  785 
Bingani-shar-ali,  602,  758 
Biuotliris,  238 
Biqit,  523 

Birds  of  Egypt,  the,  35 
Birds,  legend  of  the  (Geb  4 ct- 
Ter),  10 
Bir-el-Ain,  12  L 

Birket-Kerum.  See  Lake  Mceris 

Birket-Nu,  20 

Bisrt  (Bes),  84,  397,  398 

Bitlis-Khai,  549 

Boethos,  238,  242 

Bohani,  484 

Bonu  (Bennu),  96,  131.  136,  190 
“ Book  of  the  Opening  of  the 
Mouth,”  180,  256 
“Book  of  the  Dead,”  183,  199, 
224,  398 

Borsippa,  670, 675.  See  also  Barsip 
“Bowarieh,”  624 
Bread,  early  method  of  making, 
320 

“ Bride  of  the  Nile,”  24 
Bubastis,  77,  102,  242,  364,  401, 
422,  503,  530,  533 
Building,  methods  and  styles  of, 
315,  et  seq. 

Burial,  ancient  modes  of,  112 
Busiris,  432 

Buto,  45,  77,  99,  101,  176 
Buzur-Bel,  568 


C 

Calendar,  the  Chaldasan,  777 

, the  Egyptian,  207,  et  seq. 

Callisthenes,  775 
Calneli,  573 


Camel,  the,  32 
Canopic  branch  of  Nile,  5 
Cataracts,  the,  11,  15,  482 
Cereals  of  Egypt,  66,  331 
Cerkasoros,  6 
Chaldaja,  cereals  of,  555 

, fauna  of,  556 

, flora  of,  554 

Ckaos-Tiamat,  537 
Charms  and  spells,  ancient,  213, 
281,  282,  780,  et  seq. 

Cheops.  See  Khufui 
“ Children  of  Defeat  ” (or  lte- 
bellion),  159 
“ Children  of  Kuin,”  265 
Clubs  and  maces,  ancient,  59,  60, 
C42 

Colocasia,  the,  65 
Commerce,  maritime,  392,  et  seq., 
397 

Coptos.  See  Koptos 
Corvee,  the,  333,  334,  336,  337, 
339,  378,  379 

Costumes  of  the  Chaldseans,  718, 
719 

Creation,  traditions  of  the,  146, 
et  seq.,  156,  et  seq. 

Cremation  in  Chaldsea,  687 
Crocodile,  the,  34,  235 
Crocolilopodis.  See  Shodit 
Cultivation.  See  Agriculture 
Cuneiform  characters,  726 
Cusse.  See  Kusit 
Cush  (Kush).  See  Kaushii 
Cylinders,  writing,  725,  758 


D 

Dadkeri  Assi,  389,  390,  398,  414 
Dadufii,  387 
Dagan  (Dagon),  674 
Dahshur,  358,  365,  383,  386,  464, 
517,  520,  530 
Dait,  18 

Dakhel,  oasis  of,  432 
Dakkeh,  479,  480 
Damkina.  See  Ea 
Dangas,  the,  397,  398,  428,  431, 
433 

Darfur,  488 

“ Daughter  of  the  Prince  of 
Bakhtan,  Tale  of,”  110 
Davos,  565 

Dead,  festival  of  the,  321 
Decani,  the  (Genii),  205,  208 
Delta,  age  of,  4,  5 

, formation  of,  3,  74,  75,  132 

deities,  the,  37,  132,  177 

Denderah,  77,  97,  364,  422,  454, 
508 


INDEX. 


793 


Derr  (Der),  479 

“ Destruction  of  Men,”  tlie,  110 
Didft  of  Osiris,  tbe,  130 
Didftn  (Libyan  god),  479 
Dilbat,  658,  670 

Dilmun  (Nar  - Marratum)  562, 
598,  616 

“ Divine  Palace,”  tbe,  250 
Diyaleh,  54S,  549 
“ Domains  of  tbe  Eternal  House,” 
255 

Domestic  implements,  318,  et  seq. 

life  of  Cbaldseans,  747,  et 

seq. 

Dom-palm  (Egyptian  Mama),  31 
Dosbkeh,  temple  at,  479 
Double,  legends  of  tbe,  256,  et 
seq.,  262 

“ Double  Truth, ” tbe,  190 
Drab  abft’l-Neggah,  460 
Durnuzi  (Tammuz),  (Dunzi),  645, 
646,  647,  660,  672,  674,  693, 
694,  695,  696 
Dumuzi-Zuaba,  638 
Duugi,  613,  617,  630 
Duusbagana,  636,  638 
Dunziranna,  609 
Durilu,  593 
Dur-Sharrukin,  597 
Dusb,  oasis  of,  432 
Dynasties  of  tbe  Chaldaean  kings, 
573,  592,  593,  594 
Dynasties  of  Egypt,  tbe,  224,  et 
seq.,  387,  389,  415,  410,  454, 
785-790 


E 

Ea  (Damkina),  538,  539,  545, 
566,  567,  572,  586,  634,  635, 
638,  640,  641,  644,  645,  646, 
648,  649,  650,  651,  652,  658, 
660,  661,  634,  666,  667,  672, 
673,  684,  695,  696,  698,  703, 
763,  777,  78 1 

Eabani,  576,  577,  578,  581,  582. 

583,  588,  58!),  590 
E-Babbara,  675 
Ebarra,  658 

Edfft  (Apollinopolis  Magna), 
(Tbft),  77,  97,  201,  328,  508 
Education  and  schools,  288 
Egyptian  language,  the,  46 
Egyptians,  ancient  customs  of,  50 

, costumes  of  ancient,  55,  57 

, early  civilization  of,  53 

, origin  of  the,  45 

— -,  types  and  characteristics  of, 
47-49 

, weapons  of  ancient,  58,  59 


Eileithyiapolis.  See  El-Kab 
Ekarrakais,  677 
Ekkmim.  See  Akkmini 
“ Ekimmu,”  633,  689 
Ekur,  597,  600 

Elam  and  Elamites,  563,  590,  598, 
602,  709,  742,  751,  778 
El-Arisk,  348,  420 
El-Ashshur,  564 
El-Bersheh,  523 

El-Kab  (Eileithyiapolis,  Nekha- 
bit),  450,  454,  460,  508 
El-Kliarbeh,  510 

Elephantine,  415,  423,  424,  428, 
430,  454,  456,  459,  405,  480, 
488,  493,  494,  508,  522 
Embalming,  process  of,  112,  216, 
362 

Enlil-Bel,  648.  See  also  Inlil-Bel 
Enneads,  the,  142,  et  seq.,  149, 
150,  159,  191 
Entena,  756 

Epagomenal  days,  the  five,  208 
Eratosthenes,  canon  of,  236 
Erech  (see  Uruk),  573 
Eridu  (Abu-Sbahrein),  561,  614, 
615,  625,  028,  042,  648,  650, 
665,  693,  716,  745 
Ernient,  101 

Erythraean  Sea,  the,  546 
Esliarra,  645,  646,  672 
Esnch  (Latopolis),  97 
Etaua,  573,  698,  699,  700 
E-Timila,  625 
Eulbar,  597,  600 

Euphrates,  the,  513,  546,  549, 
552,  553,  590,  595,  697, 751 , 753 
Evechoiis,  573 
Evedoranchos,  565 
Exchange,  methods  of.  See 
Barter 
E-Zida,  675 


F 


Fakus,  484,  504 

Fauna  of  Egypt,  32,  33 

Fellah,  status  and  life  of  the, 
308,  314,  326,  327,  338,  339, 
340,  343 

Fennec,  the,  103 

Festivals,  ancient  Chaldaean,  676, 
et  seq.,  681,  704 

, Egyptian,  208,  cl  seq., 

210,  250,  321 

Feudal  gods  of  Egypt,  104,  111, 
129,  142 

Feudal  lords.  See  Nobility 

Finger-nail  signatures,  731 

Fire-god,  the,  635 


Fish  of  the  Nile,  35,  36 
“ Five,  House  of  the,”  147 
Flood,  Chaldaean  story  of  the,  561 
Flora  of  Egypt,  26,  27,  30 
Food-plants,  65 

Funeral  rites,  ancient,  115,  180, 
252,  254,  257,  318,  399,  684 
Funerary  gods,  the,  143 


Gr 


Galalama,  613 
Galalim,  636 
“ Gallu,”  631,  633 
Gaft,  456 

Gebel  Abftfeda,  10 

el-Ahmar,  10 

et-Ter,  It) 

Genefi'eh,  351 

Mokattam,  10 

Gebelen,  10,  460,  461 
Genii  of  Chaldaean  mythology, 
631,  et  seq. 

Gibil,  635,  674 

Gilgames,  566,  5 74,  575,  576,  577, 
578,580-590,  601,  642, 698,706, 
731 

Gilgames,  Ejiic  of,  566,  770,  771 
Girgeh.  See  Cerkasoros 
Girsu  (site  of  palace  of  Gudea), 
603,  637 
Gishgalla,  603 
Gishzida,  660 

Gizeh,  242,  257,  258,  365,  366, 
370,  406,  531,  730 
Gods  of  Egypt,  the,  81,  99,  104, 
103,  116,  302 
Gods,  endowment  of,  126 
Government,  officials  of  the,  285, 
et  seq.,  292 

Granites  of  Egypt,  12 
Gubin,  616 

Gudea,  609,  610,  613,  618,  620, 
627,  637,  709,  713,  714,  715, 
718,  750 

Gula,  665,  672,  673,  676,  696 
Gulkishar,  677 
Gungunum,  619 
Guti,  563,  742 


H 

Hades,  the  Egyptian,  196,  197, 
206 

Hah  ft,  490 
Hahft-Heliit,  149 
Haikftphtah  (Hakftphtah),  43 
Hait-Qait,  356,  357 
Ilait-Osirtaseii  Hotpft,  519 


794 


INDEX. 


Hainan,  677 

Hauibn.  See  lluki-nibu 
Hapi,  37,  38,  40,  43,  143,  182 

, hymn  to,  40 

Hapis  (Apis),  234,  238,  364 
Hapizaufi  I.,  522 
Hapunimait,  294 
Hardidkf,  224 
Hare,  nome  of  tlie,  72 
Harhkditi  (Hor-hud),  100,  143, 
204 

Harkhobi,  100 

Harmakhis,  204,  247,  505,  646 
Harmakkuiti,  100,  138,  139 
Harmerati,  99 
Harnubi,  100,  105 
Haroeris  (Horus),  86,  88,  92,  93, 
97,  99,  100,  102,  105,  106,  107, 
111,118, 142, 143, 144, 150, 151, 

158. 159. 176. 177. 186,  200,  204, 
247,  257,  260,  270,  304,  353,  364, 
416,  484,  505 

Harpoon,  nome  of  the,  75,  76 
Harran,  564,  596,  648,  649,  655 
Har-Sapdi  (Hor-Sopd),  99 
Ilarshafitk  (Her-skafui),  98,  99, 
103,  119,  447,  511 
llarsiesis,  142 
Harsiisit,  131,  132 
Hartima,  100 
Ha-smonitu,  447 

Hatlior,  84,  87,  89,  99,  102,  105, 
106,  116, 122, 144, 150, 165, 177, 

184. 186,  187,  208,  273, 322, 354, 
355,  364,  422,  475 

Hatnkb-k,  384,  422,  423,  435 
Hatskopsitu  (Hatusu),  427 
“ Haui-nibu”  (Hanibu),  391,  392, 
476,  477 

Haunch  constellation,  the,  94,  95 
Haunch,  nome  of  (he,  74 
Haurit,  99 

Hawara,  pyramid  of,  519,520,  521 
Heliopolis  ( see  also  Ahnu  of  the 
North),  116,  118,  134,  135,  192, 
230,  233,  422,  504 
Heracleopolis  Magna  (Hininsu, 
Ahnas,  or  Henassieli),  capital 
of  nome  of  the  Oleander,  427, 
441,  442,  445,  446,  447,  449, 
456,  457,  458,  510,  511,  514, 
517,  526,  528 
Heracleopolis  Parva,  441 
Hermonthis  (Aunk  of  the  South), 
453,  454,  506 

Hermopolis  Magna.  SeeKhmknk 
Heru-sha.  See  Hirk-Shkitk 
Hfuit,  454 

Hibonk  (Minieh),  201,  202,  524 
Hierakonpolis  (Hibonk,  Minieh), 
508 


Ilierodules,  126 

Hininsu,  73.  See  Heracleopolis 
Magna. 

Iliquit  (Heqit),  388 
Hirkhkf,  427,  430,  431,  433,  434 
Iliru  Khakeri,  480,  487 
1 Hirk-Shaitk  (Heru-sha),  350,  353, 
419,  420,  426,  434,  469,  526 
“History  of  the  Peasant,”  310, 
427 

Hor-hud.  See  Harhkditi 
“Horizon,”  the.  See  Khuit 
Horse,  the,  32,  770 
Hor-Sopd.  See  Har-Sapdi 
Horus  (Haroeris),  86,  88,  92,  93, 
97,  99,  100,  102,  105,  106,  107, 
111,  142, 143, 144, 150,  151, 158, 

159, 176, 177, 186,  200,  201,  204, 
214, 247,  257,  260,  270,  304,  354, 
364,  416,  479,  484,  501 
Hosi,  404 

“House  of  Adoratiou,”  276 
“ House  of  Books,”  398 
Household  of  the  kings,  278,  et 
seq. 

Hk  (Diospolis  Parva),  454 
Hua,  district  of,  492 
Hunting,  ancient  methods  of,  61- 
64,  766,  et  seq. 

Hknk,  494,  495 
Husaphaiti,  224 
Ilu-Sk,  211 
Ilypsele  (Shashotpu) 


I 

Ialk.  See  “Reeds,  Field  of” 
Iatur-au  (lar-o),  6 
Iakliu,  96 
Ibis,  the,  35,  299 
Ibrahimiyeh,  7 

Ichneumon,  the,  Egyptian  names 
of,  32 

Idingiranagin,  606,  607,  608,  609, 
706,  717 

“ Igigi,”  634,  666 
Ilabrat,  660 
Ilani,  674 

Illahun,  513,  514,  519,  520 
Imhotep.  See  Imhotpu 
Imbotpu,  106,  107,  239,  240, 
415 

Inanna,  636,  637,  638 
Inannatuma  I.,  609 
Inaunatuma  II.,  609 
Incantations,  etc.,  213,  281,  282, 
780,  et  seq. 

Iuinnu,  760 

Inlil  (Inlil-Bel),  538,  617,  636, 
637,  638,  704 


Innugi,  566 

Iutiua,  609 

Inzu,  636,  637,  638 

Iritit,  395,  419,  424,  430,  432,  434. 

435,  478 
Irkalla,  693 

Irrigation.  See  Agriculture 
Isban,  606,  608 

Ishtar  (Venus),  538, 569, 570, 573, 
575,  576, 577,  578,  580, 581,  582, 
598,  634,  635,  637,  638,  639, 
646,  647,  648,  658,  662,  663, 
664,  667,  669,  670,  671,  672, 
673,  674,  682,  693,  694,  695, 
696,  700,  704,  762,  777 
Ishullanu,  581,  598 
Isis,  99,  101,  106,  107,  129,  131, 
132,  140,  144,  150,  155,  162, 
163,  172,  174,  176,  178,  182, 
188,  239,  240,  272,  364,  388, 
389,  413 

“ Island  of  the  Double,”  497,  et 
seq. 

“Islands  of  the  Blest,”  186,  194- 
198 

Iusasit,  104,  151 


J 

Justice,  administration  of,  336, 
337 


Iv 

Kaapirk,  407 
Kaak,  419 

Kabhsonuf  (Kabhsnuf),  143 
Ivadkma,  470,  471 
Kahiri  (planet  Saturn),  95 
Kakiu,  389 
Kakou,  238 
Kaku-Kakit,  149 
Kara-Su,  549 

Karnak,  302,  303,  305,  336,  353, 
506,  530,  789 
Karun,  548 
Kasbshi,  563 

Kasr-es-Sayad,  9,  414,  454 
Kassa,  484 

Kakshk  (Kush),  488, 491,  523, 526 

Kazalla,  598 

Kenkenes,  237 

Kerkesoura.  See  Cerkasoros 

Kerkha,  548 

Kha,  lake  of,  186 

Kka,  the,  358 

Khabur,  549 

Khafri,  260,  387,  785 

Khait-nktrit,  201 


INDEX. 


7 95 


Khakeri  (Hiru  Khakeri),  480, 487 
Khalif  Omar,  39 
Khamsin,  the,  23 
Kharsog-Kalama,  595 
Khartum,  15,  488 
Khasisadra,  571,  698 
Khasoshushri  Nofirliotpu,  530 
Kheops  (see  also  Khufui),  225, 
269,  272,  362,  363,  366,  371, 
378,  380,  382,  385,  388,  402, 
413,  785 

Kheper.  See  Khopri 
Khephren  (Khafra,  Khafri),  363, 
371,  372,  377,  378,  380,  382, 
387,  401,  501,  531 
Kheres,  389 
Khiti  I.  See  Akhthoes 
Khiti  II.,  457 

Khmunu  (HermopolisMagua),72, 
77,  102, 128,  145,  147,  149,  230, 
453,  522,  523 

Khnumhotep.  See  Khnumhotpu 
Khnumhotpu  I.  (Khnumhotep), 
279,  301,  405,  464,  469,  470, 
495,  523,  525 

Khnumhotpu  II.,  523,  526,  718 
Khnurnu  (god  of  Elephantine), 
40,  98,  103,104,  111,  119,  128, 
151, 156,  240, 241,  304, 388,  389, 
430,  447,  478,  479 
Kliomasbclos,  573 
Khomninu,  149 
Khonsu,  110 

Khontamentit  (Khent-Amenti),  ! 

116,  117,  181, 195, 198,  232,  508 
Khonthanunofir,  490 
Khopri  (Kheper),  116,  138,  139, 
163,  1S6 

Khh  (Khuu),  114 
Khu  apiru,  183 
Kliu  aquiru,  183 

Khufui  (see  also  Kheops),  363, 
387 

Khu-Isiut,  pyramid  of,  462 
Khiiit,  367,  370,  376,  385,  4C2, 
408 

Khuithotep.  See  Khiiithotpu 
Khuithotpfi,  242 
Khumbaba,  579,  580,  590 
King,  functions  and  occupations 
of  the,  263,  et  seq.,  274,  301 
Kings,  tables  of,  225,  et  seq. 

Kingu,  539,  542 
Kish,  648 
Kishar,  538 

Kishu,  562,  595,  597,  602 
Ko-kome,  pyramids  of,  238 
Kom-el-Ahmar,  524 
Konusit,  428 

Koptos  (Qobt),  454,  460,  494,  506, 
522 


Kordofan,  488 
Kornah,  548 
Korosko,  394,  458,  478 
Kubban,  479,  480,  482 
“ Kufa,”  615,  751 
Kummeh,  485,  488 
Kusit  (Cusse),  454 
Kutha,  538,  562,  595,  618,  618, 
694,  771 


L 

Labour  corporations,  310,  753 
Lagash  (Telloh),  561,  602,  603, 
604, 607, 608,  611,  613,  616,  618, 
626, 636, 637,  704,  709,  710,  713, 
714,  717,  718,  757 
Lakhamu,  537 
Lamassi,  633 
“ Land  of  Shades,”  19 
Larsam  (Senkereh),  562,  602, 
616,  617,  625,  648,  675 
Laws.  See  Justice. 

Laz,  672 

Letopolis  (Sokhem),  106,  275,  423 
Lidda,  709 

Life,  Ancient  Egyptian  theory  of, 
216 

Lisht,tke  pyramids  of,  401,  518 
Literature  of  Chaldsea,  the,  771 
" Lords  of  the  Sands.”  See  Hiru 
Shaitu 

Lotus,  the,  27, 37,  65, 66, 136, 137, 
312 

Lukhmu,  537 
Luxor,  506,  508,  530 


31 


Mabit,  the,  58 
Madir,  240 
Madut,  454 
Mafkait  (Mafka),  355 
Magan,  564,  600,  606,  610,  614, 
616,  627 

Magicians,  the  kiug’s,  281,  282 

, Chaldsean,  780 

Mahatta,  port  of,  428 
MS.it,  145,  187 
Malatiyeh,  548 
Mamitu,  585 
“ Maneros,”  the,  234 
Manes,  225 
Man-ish-turba,  602 
Manu,  18,  45,  90 
Mar,  562,  654 

Marriage  amongst  Egyptians,  51 

and  divorce  in  Chaldsea,  734, 

et  seq.,  737 


Mars-Doshiri,  96 
Martu,  564 
Mashu,  584,  614 
Maskhait,  94 
Maskhonit,  82,  3s8,  389 
“ Maskim,”  631 

Masnit,  or  Masnitiu  (Marches  of 
Horus),  202 

Mastahas,  248,  251,  358,  et  seq., 
402 

“ Masfabat-el-Faraoun,”  218, 249 
415 

Mathematical  calculations,  earlv 
220, 773 
Matu,  661 
Matuga,  484 
Maut  (Mut),  507 
Mazaiu  (Maazeh),  394,  396,  419, 
424,  430,  459,  464,  478 
Mazit,  90 

“ Meadow  of  Heeds.”  See  “Reeds 
Field  of” 

“ Meadow  of  Rest.”  See  “ Rest 
field  of  ” 

Measurements  and  surveys,  328 
329,  761 

Medamot  Taud,  101 
Medamut,  506 

Medicine,  early  practice  of,  215, 
281 

Medinet-  el-Fay  um,  512 
Medum,  358,  359,  362,  448 
“ Melayahs,”  73 
Meloukhia,  The,  65 
Memphis  (MinnofirO),  228,  233, 
234,  268,  277,  433, 442, 464, 504, 
526,  730 

Memphite  period,  the,  228,  229 
Mendes,  116,  119,  140,  432 
Menes,  4,  69,  225,  230,  232,  233, 
234,  237,  507 

Menkauhoru  (Menkheres,  Dy- 
nasty V.),  260,  389,  390,  414 
Menkauri.  See  Mykerinos 
Menkheres  ( see  also  Mykerinos, 
Dynasty  IV.),  387,  389 
Menkheres  (Dynasty  V.).  See 
Menkauhoru 

Mentuhotep.  See  Monthofpu 
Mermer  (Meru),  638 
Merodach  (Marduk),  538,  539, 
540,  541, 542,  544, 545,  547,  568, 
628, 634, 638, 644,  646, 647,  648, 
650,  666, 669,  671,  672,  673,  676, 
696,  704,  705,  754,  763. 
Metesoupliis  I.  (Mihtimsauf),  422, 
423,  430,  433,  435,  436-440 
Metesouphis  II.,  437,  438,  440 
Miama,  479 

Michaux,  stone  of,  762,  768 
Mihit,  231 


79f 


INDEX. 


Mlhi-fliiSt,  381 

Mihtimsauf.  See  Metesouphis 
Military  service.  See  Army 
Milukhkha,  564,  614,  616,  627 
Min  (God  of  Koptos).  See  Minu 
Mines  and  miners  at  Sinai,  355, 
421,  435,  473 

Minnoffru.  See  Memphis 
Minu,  99,  119, 144,  250,  506 
Mirikari,  457,  458 
Miriri-onkhnas,  422 
Miriri  Papi  1.  See  Papi  I. 
Mirisonkhu  Meri-ankh,  360 
Mirit  Mihit,  37 
Mirit  Qimait,  37 
Mirmashau.  531 

Mirniri  Mihtimsauf  I.  See  Mete- 
souphis  I. 

Mirniri  Mihtimsauf  II.  See  Mete- 
souphis II. 

Mirruka,  tomb  of,  253 
Mirtittefsi,  272 
Misharu,  658 
Mnevis,  136,  238 
Mceris,  King,  69 

Mceris,Lake  (Birket-Kerun),235, 
446,  514,  515,  517 
Monad,  the,  149 
Monait,  92,  105 
Monait-Khufui,  464,  523 
Money,  etc.,  in  Chaldsea,  749 
Monitu,  354,  355,  361,  526 
Monthotpu  I.,  453,  454,  462,  509, 
528 

Monthotpu  Nibtouiri,  462 
Montu  (Mtntu),  god  of  Hermon- 
this,  101, 119, 150, 159,305, 454, 
506,  507 

Montuns:su,  526 

Moon,  ancient  traditions  of  the,  92 
Muglieir,  561,  612,  686 
Mullil,  704 
Murga,  753 

Music,  invention  of,  220 
Mykerinos  (Menkauri),  224,  363, 
376, 377,  378, 380,  381,  382,  387, 
438,  785 
Mylitta,  640 


N 

Nabonidos  (Nabona'id),  595,  600, 
602,  630 
Nahasit,  496 
Nahmauit,  101,  105 
Naklnti  I.,  523 
Nakliiti  II.,  523 
Namtar,  691,  695 
Nana,  665,  670,  673,  674 
Nannar,  626,  629,  630,  654 


Napri,  40,  42,  81 
Naprit,  81 

Naramsin,  599,  (500,  601,  602,  611, 
620 

Naru  Khoniti,  445 
Nai  u l'ahui,  445 

Nebo,  538,  568,  635,  644,  648,  669, 
670,  671,  672,  673,  675,  676, 
696,  704,  754 
Nebthotpit,  104,  151 
Nefcrt.  See  Nofrit 
Nekhabit  (Eileithyapolis,  El- 
Kab),  45,  74,  77,  491 
Nekhabit,  head  of  (Ras  Banat), 
426,  434,  494,  496 
Nekhabit,  the  vulture  goddess,  102 
Nepbercheres,  238,  389 
Nephthys,  134,  140, 141,  150, 173, 
174,  176,  182,  188,  364,  3s8 
Nera,  568,  573 

Nergal,  53S,  588,  589,  645,  616, 
617,  648, 669, 671,  672,  673,  674, 
676,  691 
Ngagu  oiru,  87 
Nibiru  (Jupiter),  545 
Nibkauri,  449 
Nibkhrouri,  462 
Nibsonit,  290,  294 
“ Night  of  the  Drop,”  21,  23 
Nile,  the  Blue,  22,  488 

, — - Green,  22,  391 

, Red,  23 

, White,  26,  488 

, inundations  of  the,  22,  39, 

42,  68,  330,  338 

festivals,  the,  39 

, mouths  of  the,  5 

, rise  of  the,  23,  39,  43,  68, 

330,  488 

, source  of  the,  20 

, valley  of  the,  6 

Nile-gods,  the  (Hapi  and  his 
two  goddesses,  Mirit  Qimait 
and  Mirit  Mihit;  also  Khnumu, 
Osiris,  Harshafiu),  36,  37,  38, 
98,  103,  119,  128,  447 
Nilometer,  the,  488,  532 
Nimrod  (also  see  Gilgames),  573, 
574 

Nina,  603,  604,  605,  610,  617,  677 
Ninagal,  609,  636 
Ninazu,  588 

Nineveh,  547,  590,  597,  730 
| Niugal,  664,  703 
Ningirsu,  604,  606,  607,  609,  610, 
636,  637,  714,  756,  760 
Ningishzida,  637 
Ninib,  538,  566,  568,  635,  637,  645, 
646,  647, 648,  669, 671, 672,  673, 
674,  753 
Ninkasi,  635 


Ninlil-Beltis,  674 
Ni  nl  ilia,  617 
Ninmar,  637 
Ninsia,  636 
Ninu-Ninit,  149 
Ninursag,  636,  637 
Niphates,  548 

Nipur,  562,  583,  597,  600,  602, 
616,  617,  648,  650,  704 
Nisaba,  610 
Nisin,  562,  602 
Nisir,  570 

Nit,  41,  99,  102,  105,  116,  118, 
127,  144,  184,  187,  273,  381 
Nitauqrit.  See  Nitokris 
Nitokris  (Rhodopis),  380,  438,  440, 
441 

Nobility  of  Egypt,  the,  296,  et  seq., 
336 

Nofir,  410,  411 
Nofir-horu,  105 
Nofirhotpu  II.,  528 
Nofiririkeri,  389,  396 
Nofirkeri  (title  of  several  kings 
of  Dynasties  VII.  and  VIII.), 
262,  442 

Nofirkeri  Papi  II.  See  Papi  II. 
Noilrmait,  362 
Nofir-tumu,  106 
Nofirus,  442 
Nofrit,  362,  363,  501 
Nofriuphtah,  520 
Nome-gods,  98,  116, 130,  114 
Nomes  of  Egypt,  the,  71-78,  293, 
296,  523 

Nomiu-Shaitu  (Nemu-sha),  350 
Nu,  or  Nun,  127,  146,  159,  164, 
165,  167 
Nu,  Lake,  488 
Nubit,  Ombos,  200 
Nubkhopirri  Autuf,  460 
Nuhri,  464,  523 

Nuit  (Nut),  86,  90,  92,  122,  128, 
129,  133,  140,  141,  146,  150, 
160,  167,  168,  169,  173,  184, 
377 

Nu-Nuit,  149 
Nurammam,  619 
Nusku,  634,  674 
Nut.  &eNuit 
“Nutir  hotpuu,”  301,  et  seq. 


O 

Oannes,  546,  565 
Oasis  of  Amon,  446 
Oasis,  the  Great  (Uit,  Uhat), 
(Oasis  of  El-Khargeh),  232, 
432,  459 
Obartes,  565 


INDEX. 


7 97 


Obnos,  389 

QZdipus  Egyptiacus  (Kireher), 
map  from,  21 
Ogdoad,  the,  149,  152 
Oiru  mau  (Ur-ma),  125,  161,  206 
Oleander  (Naru),  nome  of,  72,  76, 
445,  448 

Ombos  (Nhbit),  102 
Omens  and  auspicious  days,  211 
On.  See  Aunu  of  the  North 
Onager,  the,  768,  769 
Onkhit  (Ankht),  18 
Onnophris  (Osiris),  130,  182, 188, 
191,  195,  196,  206 
Onouris,  101 

“ Opening  of  the  Mouth,”  the, 

180,  256 

Orion-Sahu.  See  Sahu 
Osiris,  69,  98,  99,  103,  105,  106, 
107,  111,  116,  117,  119,  129, 
130,  131,  132,  133,  134,  140, 
150,  172,  174,  175,  178,  179, 

181,  182,  187,  191,  193,  194, 
195,  196,  19S,  200,  201,  202, 
206,  210,  211,  213,  216,  232, 
250,  252,  259,  266,  272,  310, 
364,  377,  437,  447,  500,  508, 
645 

Osiris  Khontamentit,  195, 197 
Othoes,  440 
Ouenephes,  237,  238 
Ousirkheres,  389 
Oxyrrhynchos  (Pimazit,  Bah- 
nasa),  200,  201 

Oxyrrhynchus  ( mormyrus  Csh), 
102,  176 


P 

Pak-hit,  304 

Palaces,  the  Chaldoean,  711,  et  seq. 

of  the  kings,  the,  275,  et  seq. 

Panopolis  (Apu).  See  Akhmim 
Pantibibla,  565 
Paophi,  212 

Papi  1 , 233,  416,  417,  419,  421, 
422,  424,  431,  436,  440,  442,  454 
Papi  II.,  433,  434,  435,  436,  437, 
440,  441,  442,  454,  473,  522 
Papi  III.  (Sonbh),  441 
Papinakhiti,  426,  434 
Papsukal,  609,  694 
Papyrus,  the,  37,  66 
Paradise,  the  ancient  idea  of,  199 
Pasag,  636,  638 
Pasht.  See  Bastit 
Pauiti,  142 

Pelusiac  branch  of  Nile,  5 
Pelusium,  351 
Pepi  See  Papi 


Pharaoh,  241,  259,  260,  263,  266, 
267,  268 
Pharmuti,  208 
Phiala,  6 

Philre,  428,  478,  482 
Philitis,  380 
Phiops,  410 
Phios,  440 
Phoenix,  the,  136 
Phtah,  40,  99,  106,  111,  116,  m, 
144, 156, 159,  211, 233, 236,  240, 
266,  304,  364,  377,  504 
Phtahhotep.  See  Phtahhotpu 
“ Phtahhotph,  The.  Proverbs  of,” 
400,  401 

Phtah-Sokar-Osiris,  195 
Piarit,  170,  171 
Pi-ra.  See  Heliopol  i s 
Piruit,  207,  208 
Piru-m-hru,  199 
Pitaititt,  472 
Pnftbsit,  478 

Priesthood,  the  Chaldsean,  675, 
et  seq.,  705 

, the  Egyptian,  122, 123, 124, 

125,  266,  273,  304,  305 
Princes  and  nobility,  71 
Pselcis,  478 
Ptolemy,  King,  240 
Puauit,  84,  396, 397,  426, 433, 431, 
461,  489,  492,  494,  495,  498 
Puut.  See  Puanit 
Pyramid  of  Kheops,  the  Great. 
See  Khuit 

Pyramid,  the  Step-,  242 
Pyramids,  the,  358,  et  seq.,  402, 
et  seq. 


Q 


Qabhsonuf,  182 
Qasr-es-Sayad,  9,  414,  454 
Qenqoni,  236 
Qimit,  43 
Qim-oirit,  17 
Qobhu  Pyramid,  386 
Qom  el-Qalanli,  504 
Qonbitift,  277,  305,  336 
Qosheish,  68,  69 

Quarries  of  stone,  the,  375,  383, 
384,  404,  422,  490,  533 
Qubti,  73 

Queen,  position  and  functions  of 
the,  271,  272 


R 

Ra,  40,  86,  87,  88,  91,  93,  96,  100, 
103,  111,118,119,136,137,138, 


139, 140, 156, 158, 159, 160,  162, 
163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 169, 170, 
173,  178, 186, 196,  200,  206, 210, 
230, 257,  258, 259,  260,  262,  270, 
304,  388,  495,  504,  646 
Ra-Harmakhis,  170,  266 
Ra-Harmakhuiti,  138 
Rahotep.  See  Rahotpu 
Rahotpu,  362,  363,  407 
Raian,  7 

Ramman,  538,  568,  634,  635,  638, 
642, 650,  651,  653,  654,  658,  661, 
662,  667,  673,  704,  755,  763 
Ramses  II.,  226,  233,  236,  360 
Raninit,  82 
Ranofir,  362,  409 
Ranuit  (Rarnuit),  208 
Ra-qririt,  116 
Ras-Mohammed,  354 
Rathoures,  389 
Raloises,  387,  785 
“Reeds,  The  Field  of,”  168,  180, 
183,  196 

Religious  rites  and  ceremonies, 
123,  266,  267 

Remedies  for  disease,  early,  218, 
et  seq. 

Rert.  See  Ririt 
“Respondents,”  193 
“Rest,  The  Field  of,”  168,  180 
Rhodopis  (Nitokris),  380,  381, 
438,  440 
Ririt  (Rert),  94 

Ritual  of  Chaldsean  religion,  680, 
et  seq.,  704 

Rohanu,  422,  495,  506 
Romitu  (Rotu),  43 
Royal  etiquette,  263,  et  seq.,  276, 
281 

family  of  Chaldoea,  the,  707 

of  Egypt,  the,  270,  273 

household,  the,  278,  et  seq. 

insignia,  264,  265 

Ruditdidit,  388,  389 


S 

“ Sa,”  the,  110 
Sabitu,  584 
Sabu,  666,  667 
Sabu,  mastaba  of,  249 
Sadjur,  the,  549 
Safir,  83 

Sahu,  96,  97,  205,  207 
Sahu-Orion,  108 
Sahuri,  389,  390,  418,  454 
Said  (Arabic  name  of  Upper 
Egypt),  35,  73,  428,  522,  532 
Saidu,  577 
Sa'is,  77,  229,  381 


798 


INDEX. 


Sa'ite  period,  the,  220 
Siikiek,  tlie,  14 
Saktit,  the,  90 
Samid  Sit,  170 

Samniuu  - Kharp  - Khakeri.  See 
Semneli 
Sapdi,  12S 
Sap-hod,  212 
Sapi,  400 

Saqqara,  22G,  238,  212,  257,  359, 
369, 383,  385,  386,  400, 408, 415, 
418,  423,  730,  754,  785,  786 
Sarbut-el-K’nadim,  473,  474,  476 
Sargon,  King,  595,  596,  598,  599, 
602,  729,  779 

Satit  (Sati),  105,  240,  428 
“ Satni,  Tale '.of,”  145 
Sad  (Kosseir),  494,  495,  496 
Saza,  83 

Scribe,  life  and  functions  of  the, 
287,  et  seq.,  333,  723 
Seb.  See  Sibu 

Sebek.  See  Sovku  (or  Sobkhu) 
Sebek-hotep.  See  Sovklioptd 
Sebennytic  branch  of  Nile,  5 
Seberklieres,  387,  785 
Sehel,  12,  423,  428 
Sehel  stele,  the,  242 
Seleucidse,  the,  572 
Selkit,  151,  364 1 
Semempses,  238 

Semites,  550,  551,  560,  575,  637, 
638,  665,  730,  743 
Semneh,  479,  485,  486,  487,  532 
Sen,  389 
Sephres,  389 
Serfs.  See  Slaves 
Serpent-worship,  121 
Sesochris,  238 
Seti  I.,  49,  202,  226,  233 
“Seven,”  the,  634,  776 
Sha,  83 
Shaad,  490 
Shalt,  207,  208 
Shala,  665 

Shamash,  538,  562,  576,  577,  579, 
582,  584,  634,  638,  646,  648, 
650,  653,  657,  658,  664,  666, 
667,  671,  672,  673,  674,  675. 
676,  694,  698,  704,  706,  763 
Shamashnapisbtim,  566,  567,  570, 
572,  583,  584,  585, 586,  587, 653 
Shargani-shar-ali,  596,  601,  758 
Shargina,  688 
Shargina-Sharrukin,  596 
Shas-hirit,  Berenice,  201 
Shashotpu  (Hypsele),  522 
Shatadi,  479 
Shatt-el-Arab,  548 
Shatt-el-Hni.  552,  561,  603,  614, 
619 


Shatt-en-Nil,  552,  562 
Shed.  See  Shodit 
Shehadidi,  85 
Sheikh-el-Beled,  407 
Sheshait-Safkhilabdi,  104,  105 
Sheshonqd,  38 
Shiuar,  land  of,  573 
Ships,  the,  392,  393,  397 
“ Shipwrecked  Sailor,  Story  of 
the,”  497,  et  seq. 

Shiil,  stele  of,  252 
Shodit,  Shadu,  or  Shed  (capital 
of  the  FayOm),  446,  511,  512, 
514 

Shornd,  207 
Shonitid,  277 
Sbopsiskaf,  386,  3S7,  785 
Shopsiskeri,  389 

Shosdu  Horu  (Shesu  Hor),  176, 
182 

Shu,  127,  128,  129,  140,  141,  144, 
150, 151, 160, 167, 169, 170, 172, 
178,  211 

Sfaumir,  573,  616,  619 
Shurippak,  562,  566 
Shut!,  563 
Shutu,  659,  660,  661 
Sibd  (Seb),  40,  86,  89,  128,  129, 
133,  140,  141,  144,  146,  150, 
160,  167,  169,  170,  172,  177, 
178,  200,  377 
Si-Hathor,  481 
Silili,  581 

Silsileb,  Khend,  39,  44,  394 
Simanu,  753,  754,  777 
Sin,  538,  588,  634,  635,  637,  638, 
649,  650,  653,  654,  655,  656, 
658,  664,  665,  673,  675,  676, 
693,  691,  704,  753,  754,  776 
Sinai,  353,  et  seq.,  421,  435 
Singashid,  619 
Sinidinnam,  G19 

Sindhit  and  his  adventures,  467, 
469,  471,  473 

Sippara  (Sepharvaim),  562,  572, 
595,  597,  600,  601,  648  , 665, 
675 

Siranpitu,  493 
Siris,  659 
Sirrida  (A),  66  4 
Sisires,  389 

Sit,  128,  129,  133,  134,  140,  144, 
150,  172,  176,  177,  178,  181, 
192,  200,  201,  204,  210,  213, 
265,270 
Sit-Ndbiti,  178 
Sit-Typhon,  174 
Situ,  431 

Siut  (Siadt),  71,  76,  77,  103,  303, 
322,  432,  453,  455,  457,  463, 
521,  522 


Slaves,  status  and  life  of,  309, 
326,  327,  742,  et  seq. 

Snefru.  See  Snofrui 
Snofrui  (Snefru),(Hord  nib-mait), 
262,  269, 272, 290, 347,  351,  355, 
358,  3G0,  361,  363,  387,  420, 
448,  454 
Sobat,  the,  20 
Sohagiyeli,  7 

Sokaris,  116,  117,  181,  195,  198 
Sokhit,  106,138,  165,  166,  211, 

212,  216,  231,  364 
Sokhitnionku,  418 
Sondi,  236,  237 
Sonkheri,  462,  494 

Sopdit  (Sopd),  Sirius,  or  Sothis, 
96 

Soris,  387 

Sothis,  96,  205,  207,  209 
Soul,  ancient  traditions  of  the, 
113,  182,  et  seq.,  252,  256 

, Chaldsean  theories  about 

the,  683,  et  seq.,  689 
Souphis  I.,  387 
Souphis  II.,  387 

Sovkhotpu  I.  (Sebek-hotep  or 
Serk-hotep),  527,  528,  532 
Sovkhotpu  III.,  528,  533 
Sovkhotpu  IV.,  531 
Sovkd,  Sobku  (Sebek),  41,  102, 
104,  144,  171,  447,  511,  512 
Sovkdmsauf  I.,  528 
Sovkumsauf  II.,  530,  531 
Sovkdnofiiui'i,  Queen,  513,  527 
Spells  and  Incantations,  ancient, 

213,  281,  282,  780,  et  seq. 

Speos  Artemidos  (Paklut),  304 
Sphinx,  the  Great,  242,  247,  266, 

375,  401 

Stars,  ancient  traditions  of  the, 
92,  93,  94,  95,  96 
Step-Pyramid,  the,  242,  et  seq. 
Storehouses,  Government  (Asui), 
284,  et  seq.,  298 

Sumerians  (Accadians),  the,  550, 
551,  560,  575,  637,  638,  665, 
727,  730,  743 

Sun,  legends  and  traditions  of  the, 
89,  90,  91,  100,  137,  162,  196 
Surveys  and  measurements,  328, 
329,  761 
Susa,  563 
Sycamores,  122 

Syene  (Suanit),  414,  425, 428, 430, 
435,  458,  482 


T 

Tablets,  writing,  724,  731 
“ Tabnd,”  323,  324 


INDEX. 


799 


Tabulu,  581 
Tafnakhti,  235 
Tafnuit,  141,  144,  150,  151 
Takazze,  the,  15,  24 
Tale  of  the  Two  Brothers,”  176 
Tamarisk,  Egyptian  and  Semitic 
names  of,  28 

Tammuz  (Dumuzi),  579,  580,  779 
Tamphthis,  387,  785 
Taninit,  151 

Tanis,  422,  491,  500,  502, 504,  530, 
531,  533 
Tankheres,  389 
Tanu,  150 
Tasbmit,  672,  676 
Tau,  496 

Taurus,  the,  548,  549 
Taxes  and  their  collection,  311, 
314,  328,  330,  332, 333,  761 
Tefabi,  456,  457 

Tel-el-Amarna  Tablets,  659,  708 
Tell-Mokhdam,  530 
Tell-Nebesheh,  504 
Telloh,  603,  641,  672,  709,  711, 
717,  718 

Tel-Sifr  Tablets,  732 
Temples  of  the  Chaldsean  gods, 
674,  et  seq. 

Tennu.  See  Tonu 
Terebinth,  the,  71,  76,  457 
TetiL,  114,  230,  260 
Teti  III.,  416,  417,  436,  410 
Thamos,  220 
Thebaid,  the,  42 
Theban  Ennead,  the,  150 

period,  the,  229 

Thebes,  453,  491,  506,  521,  526, 
528,  533 

Thinis,  or  This,  73, 77, 99, 101 , 1 1 6, 
230,  232,  414, 432,  454,  522 
Thot,  42,  92,  102,  104,  105,  111, 
143, 145, 147, 149,  150, 159, 173, 
174,  176, 177,  178, 182, 186, 190, 
198,  200,  204,  207, 211, 212, 21 3, 
214,  215,  220,  224,  240,  282, 321, 
364,  478 

Thoth.  See  Thot 
Thotkmes  I.,  52 
Thothotpu,  523,  718 
Thutmosis  III.,  479 
Ti,  the  tomb  of,  251,  254 
Tiamat,  538,  540,  541,  542,  669 
Tiba,  421 
Tidanum,  564 
Tiglath-Pileser,  652,  662 
Tigris,  the,  548, 549, 559,  603, 627, 
697,  751 
Tihhnft,  477 

Time,  divisions  of.  See  Calendar 
Timihft,  432,  459,  477,  489 
Titovti,  464,  517 


Tiurnautf,  143,  182 
Tiu-mitiri,  96 
Tombos,  533 

Tombs,  the  Chaldsean,  685,  et  seq. 
Tonu  (Tennu),  349,  472 
Tonuatamon,  266 
To-Shit,  445,  446 
To-SImit,  349 
To-Tamu,  419 
Tosorthros,  238 
“ Tree  of  the  Virgin,”  122 
Tree-worship,  121 
Triads  of  gods,  106,  et  seq.,  150. 
650 

Troiu,  383,  384,  418 
Turn.  See  Tumu 
Tumu  (see  Atumu),  104,  116,  138, 
140,  116,  159,  163,  186,  268, 
463 

Tunari,  226 
Turah,  404,  418,  506 
Typhon,  172,  176,  190,  200,  201, 
202,  210,  262 

Typhonians.  See  Typhon 


U 

tJagait,  250,  321 
Oapirahuliui,  177 
tJapshetatiu  (planet  Jupiter),  95 
tJap-uaitft  (Anubis),  103, 116, 143, 
187,  457 

tlashbiti,  193,  194 
tlati,  96 

Oauaiu  (Wawa),  394,  396,  419. 
424,  430,  432,  434,  459,  461, 
464,  478,  480 

Uaz-oirit  (Uaz-ur),  17,  391 
Ubaratutu,  567, 583 
Uchoreus,  234 
Uddushanamir,  695 
tJirfl  (Ur,  pyramid  of  Kliephren), 
371 

tlisit,  526,  527 

Uit  (Uhat),  the  Great  Oasis,  232, 
432, 459 
Uknu,  751 
Ulai,  751 

Onas,  389,  390,  396,  414,  416, 431, 
436 

Uni,  414,  416,  419,  421,  423,  424, 
433,  441,459 

Universe,  Egyptian  theory  of  the, 
16, 128,  129 
tlnnofrui  (Osiris),  130 
Urseus,  the,  33, 170, 185,  262,  265, 
270, 278 

Urbau,  609,  613,  617,  626,  710, 
714,  718 
tJrdu-hit,  U6 


Urnina,  605,  608,  757 
Urningirsu,  613 
Urshu,  206 

Uru  (Urum),  561,  602,  609,  615, 
616,  617,  620,  625, 626,  628,  629, 
648,  649,  654,  655,  675,  684, 704, 
743,  745,  746,  755 
Uruazagga,  C03 

Uruk  (Erecli),  ( Warka),  562,  573, 
574, 575,  576,  577, 578, 58 1 , 587, 
589,  602,  604, 608,  616, 617, 618, 
619,  625, 626, 628, 659,  674, 688, 
712,  745,  746,  770 
Urukagina,  604 
Urus,  579,  582 

tJsirkaf  (Userclieres),  389,  396, 
785 

tJsirkeri,  260 

Osirniri  Anil,  389,  300,  454 
tJsirtasen  I.,  454,  465,  466,  467, 
473,  478,  481,  484,  490,  495, 
500,  502,  503,  507,  509,  512, 
519,  522,  523,  530 
tJsirtasen  II.,  468,  470,  490,  501, 
519,  520 

tJsirtasen  III.,  240,  468,  479,  484, 
487,  490,  491,  492, 503,  504, 510, 
518,  519 
Utuku,  631,  633 


V ' 

Venus,  663 

“Very  Green,”  the.  See  tlaz-oirit 
Votive  offerings  (“  nutir  hotpuu”), 
301,  et  seq.,  677 

Vultures,  the  Stele  of  the,  607, 
717,  722 


W 

Wady-el-Arish,  348,  420 
Wady  Feiran,  354 

Haifa,  426,  478,  482,  484 

Hammamat,  384,  415,  416, 

461,  494,  511 

Maghara  inscription,  242, 

364,  390 

mines,  etc.,  355,  356, 

476 

Nazleh,  446 

Rummein,  613 

Tamieh,  446 

Tumilat,  351 

Warka.  See  Uruk 
Wawa.  See  Uauaiu 
“ White  Wall,”  the,  275 
Willow  (Egyptian  tarit,  tore), 
31 


800 


INDEX. 


World,  Chaidsoan  conception  of, 
543,  775 

Worship,  rites  of,  122-124 
W liters.  See  Scribe 
Writing,  the  invention  of,  220, 
et  seq.,  724,  731 


X 

Xisuthros,  5G5,  572,  698 


Y 

Y&uhft  Aulift,  92 


Z 

Zab,  the,  549 

Zalu,  or  Zaru  (Selle,  Tell  Abu 
Seifeh),  201,  202 
Zamama,  763 


Zatmit,  201 

Zawyet  el-Meiyetio,  524 
Ziggurats,  G27,  et  seq.,  641,  G74, 
710, 754 

Zirbanit,  G72,  704 
Zirlab,  562 
Zobu,  74 

Zodiacal  signs,  the,  6G9,  7G2,  777 
Zorit,  454,  508 

Zosiri,  240,  241,  242,  355, 359,  428 
Zu,  659,  G66,  GG7,  698 


PRINTED  BY  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS,  LIMITED,  LONDON  AND  BECCLES. 


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